Eleven FASS Researchers Awarded SSHRC Insight Grants
Congratulations to the following FASS researchers who were awarded Insight Grants by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) in the October 2024 competition!
Sarah Brouillette (English Language and Literature) will examine the gendering of work in publishing, which has intensified as social media platforms have become central to the industry. Brouillette pinpoints two areas for investigation: the transformation of authors into care workers and entrepreneurs and the transformation of readers into unpaid marketers and scouts. Brouillette aims to explore how contemporary economic conditions – in which the work of producing culture has been cheapened – shapes the kinds of texts written and circulated today.
Lorna Clark (English Language and Literature) will produce a scholarly edition of Frances Burney’s last and most controversial novel, The Wanderer. An early English woman writer, Burney’s reputation has been transformed into canonical writer and important cultural figure whose fiction influenced the development of the novel. While her journals, letters, and plays have been published in recent years, her fiction has lagged. Clark seeks to rectify this omission by participating in publishing a seven-volume set of Burney’s novels through Cambridge University Press. This will not only introduce Burney’s fiction to a new generation of readers but will also expand our knowledge of early women’s fiction.
Robert Coplan (Psychology) will focus on the developmental progression of the characteristics and implications of solitude from childhood to young adulthood. Global experiences of lockdowns and social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the importance of understanding the positive and negative meanings and implications of solitude. A series of studies will assess and validate assessments of solitary experiences that are developmentally appropriate, examine developmental differences in the characteristics and implications of solitude from childhood to young adulthood, and explore how daily experiences of solitude might contribute to positive or negative outcomes. The results could assist parents and educators in facilitating best practices for solitude and how best to intervene with youth who may be suffering from spending too much time alone.
Shawna Dolansky (College of the Humanities) will document the lives of ancient women between 4th millennium BCE and 1st century CE in graphic format. Women of the Ancient World (WOAW) will feature a website with graphic reconstructions of women’s lives, a data repository of the artifacts and texts on which these reconstructions rely, and a print series of volumes of individual ancient women. Dolansky seeks to both expand knowledge of ancient women’s often obscured lives and render transparent the historiographical process. Where data is lacking, scholars traditionally make assumptions to fill in the gaps; Dolansky’s approach explicitly explains why and how those gaps have been filled and links to the data used to inform those decisions. In this way, WOAW pioneer new methods of investigating and educating about ancient women.
Laura Horak (Film Studies) will investigate how arts institutions have supported trans filmmaking from the 1990s to today. In Canada and the United States, mainstream films and media often overlook trans people, or portray them in negative ways as tragic figures, deceptive characters, or objects of ridicule. This exists alongside the harsh realities many trans people face, including poverty, violence, discrimination and an alarming rise in targeted attacks. Despite these challenges, trans creators have produced ground-breaking films. This project explores how film festivals, funders and distributors have helped trans filmmakers navigate a difficult landscape and what changes need to happen to better support trans filmmakers and other marginalized artists going forward to create more equitable arts communities.
Yan Liu (Psychology) will conduct three inter-related studies to investigate how school disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic have affected secondary school students’ academic performance and well-being. Using large datasets, Liu will examine trends across globally, including gender gaps and disparities between marginalized students and their peers. Leveraging techniques from psychology, education, sociology, statistics and computer science, this research will generate urgently needed empirical data to provide a more generalized understanding of lockdowns and identify factors that can mitigate growing educational and well-being disparities, particularly for marginalized groups. The findings will enable researchers and educators to provide faster, more coordinated, and more robust responses in future crises.
Kirk Luther (Psychology) will develop a set of evidence-based, trauma-informed interviewing guidelines for the justice system. Victims often hold crucial information for solving crimes; however, the trauma they experience can significantly impact their ability to provide accurate and complete accounts to the police. While trauma-informed training is available, there is a lack of standardization and alignment with empirically validated best practices. Through five interconnected studies, this project will analyze the complex relationship between trauma, memory and reporting; gather insights from victim support workers and police investigators; and systematically analyze existing training guidelines to identify areas for improvement and inform the development of interviewing guidelines. Through a trauma-informed approach to justice, these guidelines will enhance the quality of investigations, support victim well-being, and contribute to safer communities.
Dominique Marshall (History) will produce the first monograph of the history of Oxfam in Canada. One of the largest and oldest aid organizations in Canada, Oxfam’s history presents a unique way to understand the apparent contradictions and disjuncture in the thoughts and actions of the Canadian public concerning the Global South as Oxfam staff worked daily to find ways to enact the organization’s commitment to justice and self-government, assistance, and poverty reduction. In addition to the monograph, the project includes building a depository of Oxfam documents at Carleton University and build connections between this collection and other existing collections to facilitate future research on the organization and transnational aid solidarity.
Thuy Nguyen (Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies) aims to examine how young women and girls with disabilities in South Africa, India, and Vietnam can identify, facilitate, sustain and transform their decolonial learning networks to support disability justice and social change in the Global South. Through methods such as collective biography, digital storytelling, participatory artmaking, and oral history, her team aims to deepen our understanding of how these young women and girls can effectively use their networks and spaces, drawing on their collective memories, stories, strategies, and knowledge to become young leaders in their communities.
Johanna Peetz (Psychology) will conduct research to identify ways to balance adherence to financial goals with relationship harmony. Confronted daily with self-control dilemmas requiring choices between temptations and goal-consistent decisions, people can employ self-control strategies to make goal-consistent choices easier, some of which may involve the help of a romantic partner. This could aid goal adherence but also spark conflict between partners. Across two pilot studies and one cross-sectional study, Peetz will test if proactive self-control strategies lead to less interpersonal conflict, and if financial stress has an impact on the strategies used.
Michael Wohl (Psychology) will conduct timely research on different types of “strong leaders” and how support for them manifests from a social psychological perspective. His team seeks to understand how crises constructed through real and perceived existential threats to the nation and collective nostalgia may fuel growing displeasure with liberal democratic institutions and principles. The findings will assess previously neglected signals that predict support for the erosion of democratic principles. Given the growing challenge to democratic principles globally, Wohl’s research will fill a pressing need to understand the psychological mechanisms that lead people to support strong authoritarian leaders despite their tendency to undermine democratic institutions and remove power from the people.
The SSHRC Insight Grant supports research excellence in the social sciences and humanities, providing funding for both emerging and established scholars for research initiatives of two to five years.