Faculty of Arts

Institute for the Humanities

The University of Manitoba Institute for the Humanities (UMIH) was established in 1990 to foster research and scholarship in the humanities, to communicate the value of humanities scholarship to the public and to help obtain external funding for humanities research.

The UMIH is a member of the Consortium of Humanities Centers and Institutes (CHCI).

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Students at Frankenreads event

What we do

  • The Institute addresses the needs and interests of researchers in a broad range of subjects including:

    • literature and languages,
    • film and visual culture,
    • philosophy,
    • history and religion and
    • the literary, philosophical, theological and historical aspects of the social and physical sciences, mathematics, the arts and professional studies.

    The University of Manitoba Institute for the Humanities also supports research clusters and research affiliates. The Institute is located within the Faculty of Arts but, serves the entire humanities constituency in the university and the general community.

    The Institute is committed to community outreach through public programs, exhibitions, microgrants and lectures.

  • Students walking outdoors in varying directions in front of the administration building.

Programming

Throughout the year, the Institute for the Humanities offers a number of lectures, colloquia, workshops and discussions both on and off campus.

Upcoming events

  • 2025 J.W. Dafoe Book Prize Winner presentation: The Honourable John Norquay: Indigenous Premier, Canadian Statesman

    By Dr. Gerald Friesen 

    Monday, November 17, 2025
    11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
    108 St. John’s College (Cross Common Room)

    Gerald Friesen will be talking about his multi-award winning book, including the Dafoe Book Prize, "The Honourable John Norquay: Indigenous Premier, Canadian Statesman". 

    The book explores the life and contributions of John Norquay, leader and premier of Manitoba who was once described as Louis Riel’s alter ego. Have some lunch with the author and engage in questions and discussion about the book and about a new research tool developed for students of Manitoba politics and history.

    This event is sponsored by the J.W. Dafoe Foundation, the Duff Roblin Professor of Government, the University of Manitoba Institute for the Humanities, and the Department of Political Science.
     

 

The Great Overlooked - Prof. Leonid Biletskyi as Teacher and Scholar

Tuesday, November 18, 2025
12:00 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.
Keynote delivered at 2:30 p.m. 
409 Tier building and online via Zoom

This is a one-day symposium honouring Leonid Biletskyi (1882–1955), an influential Ukrainian literary scholar, educator, and cultural leader whose work in Winnipeg left a lasting legacy. 

The symposium will feature a mixed format, combining in-person sessions at UM with online participation. It will include scholarly presentations (in Ukrainian and English), from several local and international scholars with the keynote delivered via Zoom at 2:30 p.m. by Prof. Rostyslav Radyshevskyi, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.

This event counts on the support of the Kyiv National Linguistic University (Ukraine), the H.S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical University (Ukraine), the Center for Canadian and Quebec Studies / Centre d'Études Canadiennes et Québécoises, Saarland University (Germany), the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (Manitoba) and “Oseredok” Ukrainian Cultural and Educational Centre (Winnipeg).
 

More about Leonid Biletskyi

Born in 1882 in Kyiv province, Biletskyi studied at Saint Volodymyr University (today Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv), graduating in 1913 with a gold medal. He taught at Kamiyanets-Podilskyi State Ukrainian University, the Ukrainian Secret University in Lviv, and later served as professor and rector of the Drahomanov Pedagogical Institute in Prague. Alongside his teaching, he was active as a journalist and editor. In 1949, Biletskyi emigrated to Winnipeg, where—although he lived only a short time—he made a lasting contribution to Ukrainian cultural and academic life in Canada. He became a professor at St. Andrew’s College, chaired the Cultural-Educational Council of the Ukrainian Canadian Committee, was an active member of Oseredok (Ukrainian Cultural and Educational Centre), and worked with the “Trident” publishing house. His four-volume edition of Taras Shevchenko’s Kobzar (1952–1954) was groundbreaking in restoring the poet’s texts to their original form. 

Symposium schedule (English)

SYMPOSIUM IN HONOUR OF PROFESSOR LEONID BILETSKYI
On the 70th Anniversary of his Passing
University of Manitoba Institute for the Humanities (UMIH, Canada)

NOTE: most of the presentations will be delivered in Ukrainian

Opening remarks

  • Mariya Shymchyshyn, Kyiv National Linguistic University/ University of Manitoba, Chair of the Organizing Committee
  • Jorge Nallim, Director of the Institute for the Humanities, University of Manitoba
  • Serhii Sorokin, Acting Rector of Kyiv National Linguistic University Yurii Boychuk, Rector of H.S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical University
  • Astrid Fellner, Director, Center for Canadian and Quebec Studies / Centre d'Études Canadiennes et Québécoises, Saarland University (Germany)
  • Joanne Lewandowski, President of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (Manitoba) Glen Knapp, Executive Director, “Oseredok” Ukrainian Cultural and Educational Centre (Winnipeg)

Session: Reception of Leonid Biletskyi’s Work

Leonid Biletskyi and Yurii Shevelov: Professional Points of Scholarly Contact (in English)
Serhii Vakulenko & Kateryna Karunyk 
PhD (Philology), Associate Professors, H.S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical University and V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University

The Hero and the Archetype: Biletskyi’s Poetics of the National Hero in the Context of Contemporary Military Poetry (in English)
Tetiana Starostenko 
Doctoral Student, Department of Ukrainian Literature and Journalism named after Professor Leonid Ushkalov, H.S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical University

Leonid Biletskyi and Oleksandr Oles: At the Intersection of Fates and Literary Paths
Kostiantyn Holoborodko 
Doctor of Science (Philology), Professor, Director of the Educational and Scientific Institute of Ukrainian Philology named after H.F. Kvitka-Osnovianenko, H.S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical University

Leonid Biletskyi and Oleksandr Potebnia: On the Issue of Methodology
Artur Malynovskyi 
Professor, Odesa I.I. Mechnikov National University

Leonid Biletskyi: Prolegomena to the Systemic Study of Oleksandr Potebnia's Hermeneutics
Nataliia Levchenko 
Doctor of Science (Philology), Professor of the Department of Ukrainian Literature and Journalism named after Professor Leonid Ushkalov, H.S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical University, Academician of the Academy of Sciences of the Higher School of Ukraine

Kamianets-Podilskyi Pages of Leonid Biletskyi’s Biography
Nina Bernadska 
Doctor of Science (Philology), Professor, Department of the History of Ukrainian Literature, Theory of Literature, and Literary Creativity, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv

Leonid Biletskyi as a Literary Historian 
Stepan Khorob
Professor, Head of the Department of Ukrainian Literature, Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University

Leonid Biletskyi & Ivan Franko: Intersections of Criticism and Literature
Olena Malenko 
Doctor of Science (Philology), Professor, Head of the Department of Ukrainian Studies and Linguodidactics named after Professor O.H. Muromtseva, H.S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical University, Member of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine

Shevchenko's Work in the Scientific Reception of Leonid Biletskyi
Olena Varenikova 
Doctoral Student, PhD (Philology), Associate Professor of the Department of Ukrainian Literature and Journalism named after Professor Leonid Ushkalov, Deputy Director of the Educational and Scientific Institute of Ukrainian Philology named after H.F. Kvitka-Osnovianenko, H.S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical University, Member of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine

Meter and Rhythm in Leonid Biletskyi’s Versification System
Andrii Piskun 
PhD Student, T. H. Shevchenko Institute of Literature, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine

Break (2:20pm): Coffee and Networking Break (10 minutes)

Keynote address
The Great Absent One: Leonid Biletskyi as a Scholar and Educator
Rostyslav Radyshevskyi 
Professor, Head of the Department of Polish Studies, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv

Concluding remarks
Prof. Mariya Shymchyshyn

The symposium is dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the death of the prominent Ukrainian literary scholar, critic, and educator Leonid Biletsky (1882–1955).

Honoured Guests of the Symposium: Leonid Biletskyi’s grandson, Bohdan Kozoris, and his partner Calla Grabish

Symposium schedule (Ukrainian)

ПОЧЕСНИЙ СИМПОЗІУМ НА ПОШАНУ
ПРОФЕСОРА ЛЕОНІДА БІЛЕЦЬКОГО

До сімдесятих роковин з дня смерті вченого
УНІВЕРСИТЕТ МАНІТОБИ (КАНАДА)

Відкриття симпозіуму
Марія Шимчишин, голова організаційного комітету,доктор філологічних наук, професор, Київський національний лінгвістичний університет / Університет Манітоби 

Хорхе Найєм, директор Інституту гуманітаристики, Університет Манітоби 

Сергій Сорокін, в.о. ректора Київського національного лінгвістичного університету 

Юрій Бойчук, ректор Харківського національного педагогічного університету імені Г. С. Сковороди 

Астрід Феллнер, директор Центру канадських та квебекських студій Саарського університету (Німеччина) 

Джоан Левандовські, президент Конгресу Українців Канади (Манітоба) 

Глен Кнепп, виконавчий директор Осередку української культури і освіти (Вінніпег)

СЕКЦІЯ: Рецепція творчості Леоніда Білецького

Леонід Білецький і Юрій Шевельов: професійні точки дотику (доповідь англ. мовою)
Сергій Вакуленко та Катерина Каруник, кандидати філологічних наук, Харківське історико-філологічне товариство/Харківський національний університет імені В. Н. Каразіна

Герой і архетип: білецьківська поетика національного героя в контексті мілітарної поезії
сучасності дотику (доповідь англ. мовою) Тетяна Старостенко, докторантка кафедри української літератури та журналістики імені професора Леоніда Ушкалова, Харківський національний педагогічний університет імені Г. С. Сковороди

Леонід Білецький і Олександр Олесь: на перетині доль і літературних доріг
Костянтин Голобородько, доктор філологічних наук, професор, директор навчально- наукового інституту української філології імені Г. Ф. Квітки-Основ’яненка, Харківський національний педагогічний 
університет імені Г. С. Сковороди

Леонід Білецький і О. Потебня: до питання методології
Артур Малиновський, професор Одеського національного університету імені І. І. Мечникова

Леонід Білецький: пролегомени до системного вивчення герменевтики Олександра Потебні
Наталія Левченко, доктор філологічних наук, професор кафедри української літератури та журналістики 
імені професора Леоніда Ушкалова, Харківський національний педагогічний університет імені Г. С. Сковороди

Кам’янець-Подільські сторінки біографії Леоніда Білецького
Ніна Бернадська, доктор філологічних наук, професор кафедри історії української літератури, теорії літератури та літературної творчості, Київський національний університет імені Тараса Шевченка

Леонід Білецький – історик української літератури
Степан Хороб, професор, завідувач кафедри української літератури, Прикарпатський національний університет імені В. Стефаника

Леонід Білецький та Іван Франко: перетини критики й літератури
Олена Маленко, доктор філологічних наук, професор, завідувач кафедри українознавства та лінгводидактики імені професора О. Г. Муромцевої, Харківський національний педагогічний університет імені Г. С. Сковороди

Творчість Шевченка в науковій рецепції Леоніда Білецького
Олена Варенікова, докторант, кандидат філологічних наук, доцент кафедри української літератури та журналістики імені професора Леоніда Ушкалова, заступник директора навчально-наукового інституту української філології імені Г. Ф. Квітки-Основ’яненка, Харківський національний педагогічний університет імені Г. С. Сковороди

Метр і ритм у версифікаційній системі Леоніда Білецького
Андрій Піскун, аспірант Інституту літератури імені Т. Г. Шевченка НАН України


2:20 – ПЕРЕРВА НА КАВУ

ПЛЕНАРНА ДОПОВІДЬ:

Великий відсутній: Леонід Білецький — науковець і педагог
Ростислав Радишевський, професор, завідувач кафедри полоністики, Київський національний університет імені Тараса Шевченка


Підбиття підсумків і заключне слово — проф. Марія Шимчишин

Симпозіум присвячено 70-тим роковинам з дня смерті видатного українського літературознавця, критика 
та педагога Леоніда Білецького (1882–1955)

Почесні гості симпозіуму: внук Леоніда Білецького – Богдан Козоріз та його партнерка
Калла Грабіш

 

  • UMIH Guest Lecture Series: “i-Crimes and Misdemeanours: [Presti]Digit[iz]ation, Analogue Photographs, and their Digital Surrogates”

    Joan Schwartz (Queen’s University)

    Thursday, November 20, 2025
    3:30 p.m.
    335 Isbister building

    Under pressure from administrators, funders, and the user-public, institutions strive to make photographs available online as searchable single items. In the process, the relationship between materiality and meaning is easily effaced, and valuable information about the physical and intellectual contexts of creation, circulation, and viewing is sacrificed at the altar of speed, quantity, convenience, and the almighty dollar. This lecture will point to examples of those instances for which institutions can justly be accused of "i-Crimes and Misdemeanours". With a view to balancing access aims and descriptive affordances, it raises the distinction between search and research, call for a broader appreciation of photographs as "working objects in their own time" (Frizot), and advocate for better "best practices" as a way to bring the in-situ experience of analogue photographs and on-screen encounter with their digital surrogates into closer alignment.

    This event counts on the support of the Department of History.

 

  • Black Film Collective- Third Annual Screening

    November 23, 2025 
    Door opens at 6:00 p.m. Films at 7:00 p.m.
    The Park Theatre

    The Black Film Collective celebrates its third year as a local grassroots organization dedicated to the preservation, cultivation and promotion of Black cinematic art form from Prairie Black people.

    Organized by the Black Film Collective, this event counts on the support of Creative Manitoba, the Assiniboine Credit Union, IATSE Local 856, the University of Manitoba Institute for the Humanities, and the University of Winnipeg Department of Women’s and Gender Studies. 

 

  • International conference
    Identity in Motion: Literary Representations of Refugees, Exiles, and Immigrants

    February 5-6, 2026
    Call for proposals deadline: January 5, 2026

    The Institute for Humanities invites proposals for papers and panel presentations for the international conference Identity in Motion: Literary Representations of Refugees, Exiles, and Immigrants. This conference seeks to explore the diverse literary portrayals of displacement, migration, exile, and the refugee experience across genres, languages, and cultures. We welcome interdisciplinary approaches, including but not limited to literary studies, cultural studies, history, and sociology.

    The format for this conference is hybrid (in person/Zoom). 

    For more information, contact Dr. Mariya Shymchyshyn.
     

Call for papers details

Topics of interest may include, but are not limited to:

  • Literary representations of forced migration and exile
  • Diaspora and transnational identities
  • Memory, nostalgia, and post-memory in migrant literature
  • Intersection of migration with gender, race, and class
  • Translation and reception of refugee and immigrant narratives
  • Comparative studies of migrant experiences in literature

Submission Guidelines:

Abstracts of up to 300 words, along with a short biography (100 words), should be submitted.

Deadline for submissions: January 5, 2026

Notification of acceptance: January 10, 2026

Format: hybrid conference (in person/Zoom)

Please send your proposals Dr. Mariya Shymchyshyn.

Who we are

Jorge-Nallim

Director

Dr. Jorge Nállim
Director of the Institute for the Humanities 
jorge.nallim@umanitoba.ca

Assistant to the director

Britney McFadyen
Assistant to the Director
306A Fletcher Argue Building
Phone: 204-474-6323
umih@umanitoba.ca

Board members

Elizabeth Alexandrin
Department of Religion
2025-2028

Joyce Chadya
Department of History
2021-2026

Alexandra Hebeger
Department of German and Slavic Studies
2025-2028

Rhonda Martens
Department of Philosophy
2025-2028

Armelle St. Martin
Department of French, Spanish and Italian
2021-2026

Suzanne McLeod
School of Art
2025-2028

Nicole Rosen
Department of Linguistics
2023-2026

Vanessa Warne
Department of English, Theatre, Film & Media, 
2025-2028

Rebecca Simpson-Litke 
Faculty of Music 
2025-2028

Leah Stirling
Department of Classics
2025-2028

Adrian Thieret
Asian Studies
2025-2028 

Research Clusters

Research clusters are groups of faculty and graduate students from different departments and disciplines with shared research interests. Research clusters undertake activities related to the mandate of the institute:

  • facilitating meaningful dialogue on an exploration of humanities-related themes across disciplinary boundaries;
  • fostering and promoting interdisciplinary research in the humanities;
  • demonstrating a willingness to seek external funding or collaborative research.

Successful groups are awarded up to $5,000 (subject to budgetary approval) annually.

Application deadline is April 30, 2025.

2025 - 2026 Research Clusters

  • Prairie Abolition

    The Prairie Abolition Research Cluster comes out of the urgent need to understand what prison abolition means on the prairies, on treaty land and occupied land where Indigenous people are disproportionately incarcerated. This Research Cluster regards prisons as a core part of the settler colonial project on the prairies. Working together, members will explore abolition within the specific context of Indigenous resistance, including movements and calls for land back. Part of this Research Cluster is also involved in tracing Indigenous practices and theories of justice and repair that exceed settler colonialism and its recent history.

    Photo: Research cluster coordinator, Dr. Hee-Jung Serenity Joo, Department of English, Theatre, Film & Media

  • Headshot of Hee Jung Serenity Joo standing in front of green trees outside of Tier Building.

Prairie Abolition Research Cluster Members

Dr. Hee-Jung Serenity Joo
Professor, English, Theatre, Film & Media
Research Cluster Coordinator

Karrie Auger
Community educator and artist

Danielle Bird
Indigenous Studies, University of Saskatchewan

Jacob Carson
Faculty of Education

Anny Chen
Community Engaged Learning

Dr. Joe Curnow
Faculty of Education

Dr. Bronwyn Dobchuk-Land
Department of Criminal Justice, Univeristy of Winnipeg

Ashley Huot
Librarian and interdisciplinary artist

Dr. Erin Keating
English, Theatre, Film & Media

Trixie Maybituin
Faculty of Law

Dr. Nancy Van Styvendale
Native Studies, University of Alberta

Kirsten Wurmann
Manitoba Library Association and Manitoba Law Library

How to create a research cluster

Eligibility

  • Research clusters must contain at least two UM faculty members from the Faculty of Arts, ideally from two different departments.
  • Clusters involving students, members of the community or scholars at other universities are particularly welcome.
  • Proposals must be on a humanities theme (defined in terms of both content and methodology).
  • Clusters may receive UMIH funding for a maximum of three years in any consecutive six-year period. First- or second-year applications will be prioritized over third-year applications.

Selection criteria

The UMIH Board will act as the selection committee using the following criteria:

  • the qualifications of the applicants;
  • the sig­nificance of the proposed theme and its potential appeal to a wider humanities audience;
  • the proposed activities for the coming year;
  • the viability of the program and budget. 

Award

Successful groups are awarded up to $5,000 (subject to budgetary approval) annually in seed money, which can be used toward the costs of meetings, photocopying, visiting speakers, etc. Clusters will have access to space on the UMIH website, the UMIH blog and to room 409 Tier Building for meetings. Clusters will receive some administrative support. As part of their activities, each group will be required to plan at least one public event for the fall term and one for the winter term. Awards are granted annually, but may be renewable for a second year. Two-year schedules are welcome.

How to apply

The following materials must be submitted:

  • a one-page curriculum vitae for each member of the cluster with one contact person clearly identified;
  • a maximum two-page proposal outlining the theme of the cluster and highlighting the original and interdisciplinary features of the proposal; 
  • a tentative outline of the activities to be undertaken by the cluster with preference given to activities leading to a tangible scholarly event such as a workshop, conference, speaker series or publication;
  • a one-page budget with justifications and an indication of the potential sources of additional funds, if required.

Application materials will be handled in accordance with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (Manitoba).

All application materials are to be submitted to:
University of Manitoba Institute for the Humanities
c/o Arianna Snare
umih@umanitoba.ca

Past research clusters

2024-2025

The Prairie Abolition
Ecology, Canadian Poetry, and Labour Cluster

2022-2024

Writing Towards a Just World
Food Matters

2020-2021

The Occupy Bartleby Collective
Graphic Narrative: Beyond the Gutter
Power and Resistance in Latin America 
Death as a Transformative Experience

2019-2020

Power and Resistance in Latin America 
Health Humanities
Shelter

2018-2019

Collecting, Citing, Curating
Health Humanities

2017-2018

Alternate Histories
Critical Environments Research Group (CERG)
Collecting, Citing, Curating
Power and Resistance in Latin America

2016-2017

Alternate Histories
Critical Environments Research Group (CERG)

2015-2016

Alternate Histories
History of Emotions
Power and Resistance in Latin America

2014-2015

Conceptualizing and Experiencing Aging Before Modernity
History of Emotions
Passions, Pedagogies, Publics

2013-2014

Film Worlds
Group for Premodern Studies
Passions, Pedagogies, Publics
Queer Biopolitics

2012-2013

Film Worlds
Group for Premodern Studies
Histories of the Body

2011-2012

Film Worlds
Power and Resistance in Latin America

2010-2011

Histories of the Body
Power and Resistance in Latin America

2009-2010

Jewish Studies
Law and Society
Power and Resistance in Latin America

2008-2009

Histories of the Body
Power and Resistance in Latin America

2007-2008

Histories of the Body
Postcolonial South Asian and African Study Group
Representations of War

2006-2007

Law and Society
Postcolonial South Asian and African Study Group
Representations of War

Research Affiliates

The Institute for the Humanities regularly supports research affiliates. Each affiliate works on the research project outlined in their application and is expected to present a colloquium on their research during or soon after their affiliateship. These positions are non-stipendiary.

Application deadline is April 30 of each year.

  • 2025 - 2026 Research Affiliates

    Mariya Shymchyshyn (Kyiv National Linguistics University)
    Mariya Shymchyshyn is the Department of Literary theory and World Literature Chair at Kyiv National Linguistics University in Ukraine. She is currently a visiting professor at the University of Manitoba and holds a PhD in World Literature and Literacy Theory and a MA in Comparative Literature. During 2003-2004, she was a Junior Faculty Development Program Fellow at Iowa State University. As a Fullbright Scholar, she researched "Urban Space and Identity" at Loyola University Chicago in 2013-2014. In 2022, she received a Volkswagen stipend and continued research at the University of Duisburg-Esse in Germany. Her current research explores the lives of objects - how things travel, transform, and take on meaning in Ukrainian Canadian literature.

    Photo: Research affiliate, Mariya Shymchyshyn

  • Mariya Shymcyshyn stading in front of a building in a crowded street

  • Dr. Youcef Soufi (University of Toronto)
    Youcef Soufi, Ph.D, is the author of Homegrown Radicals: A Story of State Violence, Islamophobia, and Jihad in the Post 9/11 World (NYU Press, 2025), a book that critiques the violence unleashed during the War on Terror by focusing on the voices of a Muslim community under suspicion after the "radicalization" of three of its members in 2007. An authority in the history of premodern Islamic legal thought with publications that include The Rise of Critical Islam: 10th–13th Century Legal Debate (Oxford UP, 2023), Dr. Soufi is the former head of the Connaught Global Challenge Project’s International Working Group on Islamophobia at the University of Toronto. He is also the former Chair of the Canadian Association for the Study of Islam and Muslims (CASIM).

    Photo: Research affiliate, Dr. Youcef Soufi.
     

  • Headshot of Youcef Soufi.

How to become a Research Affiliate

Selection criteria

Applications are welcome from:

  • post-doctoral fellows,
  • independent scholars,
  • graduate students enrolled in the program generally considered to be the highest in their field (e.g. PhD, LLM, MFA) and
  • individuals in full-time university appointments who wish to spend all or part of a sabbatical leave in Manitoba.

Applicants must have a clearly defined project in some field of humanities scholarship. Interdisciplinary projects are particularly welcome. Graduate candidates will be considered only if they have completed all course requirements at the highest degree level and expect to be engaged in full-time research. Preference will be given to students not enrolled in a program at the University of Manitoba.

The University of Manitoba is strongly committed to diversity within its community and especially welcomes applications from visible minority groups, women, Indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, persons of all sexual orientations and genders and others who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas.

Details

There is no stipend, but a private office, library privileges and some administrative assistance will be provided. Affiliates may also apply to the Director for limited subsidies for research expenses. Additional support for UMIH programming ideas (panels, roundtables, workshops, etc.) may be available. Affiliates are expected to participate in UMIH events and use their offices regularly. The maximum teaching load during the tenure of the affiliateship will normally not exceed six credit hours.

The standard tenure of the affiliateship is twelve months, from July 1 to June 30. However, applications for alternative tenures will also be considered (e.g., six- or eight-month terms).

How to apply

Submit a letter of application stating the period for which the affiliateship is desired, together with:

  • a research proposal,
  • curricula vitae and
  • two letters of reference.

Applications materials should be sent to:
University of Manitoba Institute for the Humanities
c/o Arianna Snare
umih@umanitoba.ca

Application materials will be handled in accordance with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (Manitoba). 

Past research affiliates 2010-2024

2024

Rachel Shields
English

2022-2024

Dr. Melanie Dennis Unrau
English

2021-2022

Caitlin McIntyre
English

Dr. Melanie Dennis Unrau
English

Dr. Shoshannah Bryn Jones Square
English

2020-2021

Dr. Melanie Unrau
English

Dr. Murray Leeder
Communication, Media and Film

Viviane Luiza
Anthropology

Tracey Turner
Anthropology

2019-2020

Dr. Katelyn Dykstra
Kinesiology and Recreation Management

Dr. Christopher Crocker
Icelandic Language and Literature

Dr. Shoshannah Bryn Jones Square
English

Dr. Murray Leeder
Communication, Media and Film

Celiese Lypka
English

Dr. Adrian Thieret
Asian Studies

2018-2019

Dr. Matthew Neufeld
History

Dr. Shoshannah Bryn Jones Square
English

Jason Brown
Medieval Studies

Celiese Lypka
English

2017-2018

Dr. Jessica Herdman
Musicology

Dr. Sarah Bezan
English

Jon Malek
History

Jason Brown
Medieval Studies

2016-2017

Dr. Jessica Herdman
Musicology

Dr. Maria Mazzoli
Linguistics

Dr. Dustin Geeraert
English

Jon Malek
History

2015-2016

Christopher Crocker
Icelandic and Comparative Cultural Studies

Dr. Scott de Groot
Gender and Sexuality

Monika Vrečar
Philosophy and Theory of Visual Culture

2014-2015

Jon Malek
History/Migrant and Ethnic Relations

Dr. Kenton Storey
History

Monika Vrečar
Philosophy and Theory of Visual Culture

2013-2014

Dr. Dina Guth
Classics

Dr. Paul Jenkins
History

2012-2013

Dr. Albert Kaganovitch
History

Anne Lindsay
History/Archival Studies

2011-2012

Dr. James Honeyford
Religious Studies

Matthew McRae
History

Christopher Mead
English

2010-2011

Dr. James Honeyford
Religious Studies

Nicholas Simon
History

 

Past research affiliates 1998-2009

2009-2010

Virginia Lee Strain
English

Dr. Albert Kaganovitch
History

2008-2009

Dr. Albert Kaganovitch
History

Krista Walters
History

2007- 2008

Christopher Dooley
History

Gregory Scofield
Writer/Independent Scholar

2006-2007

Christopher Dooley
History

Emily Downing Muller
Philosophy

Stephanie Pena-Sy
English

2005-2006

Dr. Roewan Crowe
Artist/Independent Scholar

Chris Dooley
History

Chunhong Zhang
English

2004-2005

Brandon Christopher
English

Dr. Seth Wigderson
History

2003-2004

Brandon Christopher
English

David Cuthbert
English

Dr. Chris Frank
History

Dr. Seth Wigderson
History

2002-2003

David Cuthbert
English

Youngok Kang-Bohr
History

Dr. Len Kuffert
History

2001-2002

Christopher Frank
History

Youngok Kang-Bohr
History

Dr. Rose Montgomery-Whicher
Art Education/Art History

Nicole Rosen
Linguistics

2000-2001

Dr. Warren Cariou
English

Dr. Fred Cutler
Political Studies

Dr. Rose Montgomery-Whicher
Art Education/Art History

1999-2000

Dr. Peter Ives
Sociology/Political Studies

Len Kuffert
History

Dr. Phyllis Portnoy
English

1998-1999

Dr. Val Clemens
English

Dr. Moti Shojania
English

Fellowships

UMIH Graduate Fellowship

The University of Manitoba Institute for the Humanities is pleased to offer the UMIH Graduate Fellowship. An annual fellowship valued at up to $5000 (subject to budgetary approval).

Application deadline is April 30 of each year.

Eligibility

The UMIH Graduate Fellowship will be offered to a University of Manitoba graduate student who:

  • is enrolled full-time in the Faculty of Graduate Studies in any year of a masters' or doctoral program and is conducting research in the humanities
  • has achieved a minimum degree GPA of 3.5 (or equivalent) based on the previous 60 credit hours of study.

While preference will be given to students at a late stage of their PhD program, all graduate students in the humanities are welcome to apply. 

The University of Manitoba is strongly committed to diversity within its community and especially welcomes applications from visible minority groups, women, Indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, persons of all sexual orientations and genders, and others who may contribute to the future diversification of ideas.

Application requirements

Candidates are required to submit an application consisting of:

  • A cover letter (maximum 1000 words) that describes
    • the status of the applicant's research,
    • the potential significance that the applicant's research will have for one or more disciplines in the humanities,
    • the benefits the student hopes to gain by being associated with the Institute for the Humanities,
    • the expected timeline for the completion of the degree.
  • A statement describing the applicant's research project. This statement should follow UM Graduate Fellowship guidelines for the applicant's department;
  • A current academic transcript;
  • Two letters of recommendation.

Please send your application materials or any questions to:
University of Manitoba Institute for the Humanities
c/o Arianna Snare
umih@umanitoba.ca

Application materials are handled in accordance with the freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (Manitoba).

Current recipients

Headshot of Karen Brglez.

Karen Brglez
PhD student
History

Karen Brglez is a settler scholar in the Department of History at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Treaty 1 Territory and the Homeland of the Métis Nation. Her PhD research examines the role of the sentimental emotions in the settler colonial project to determine how white Christian women justified their intervention into Indigenous lives on the Canadian prairies. Supported by the Winnipeg Foundation Centenary Fellowship for Doctoral Studies in Canadian History and a Drummond Fellowship, Karen’s research draws on frameworks of history of emotions, critical race scholarship, feminist historiography and postcolonial theory to explore how British and Canadian-born women from the eastern provinces moved to the Prairie West to facilitate the operation of Protestant missions and their involvement in the genocide perpetuated at Indian Residential Schools in Saskatchewan. She serves as Graduate Student Representative for the Canadian Committee on Women’s and Gender History and has published works on the history of German migrants to Canada. During her affiliation with the Institute, she plans to complete her dissertation and to continue to work with Parks Canada on Indigenous histories of the Motherwell Homestead National Historic Site, the File Hills Colony and the File Hills Residential School.
 

Headshot of Carla Kennedy.

Carla M. Kennedy
PhD student
Indigenous Studies

Carla M. Kennedy, an Anishinaabe-Nehiyaw Ikwe from Zagime Anishinaabek First Nation of the Treaty 4 Territory, is a PhD student at the University of Manitoba, located on Treaty One Territory. Her educational background includes a 4-year BA in Indigenous Studies from what is now First Nations University of Canada [aka Saskatchewan Indian Federated College]. She holds an Honours certificate in Anthropology and Archaeology from the University of Saskatchewan, an MA in Anthropology from UM, and a MEdin Educational Foundations from the University of Saskatchewan. While in Graduate school, Carla worked as a Research Curriculum Officer at Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies and as a Sessional Lecturer at First Nations University of Canada. She has experience in developing culturally relevant curriculums and teaching about contemporary issues; Indigenous history and culture; Indigenous paradigms; and pre-treaty history as recanted through oral traditions. Carla seeks to contribute to Humanities through Indigenous stories and land-based learnings.

Past recipients

2022-24
Jessie Krahn
English, Theatre, Film & Media

Amal Majumder
English, Theatre, Film & Media

2021-22
Tasheney Francis
Linguistics

2020-21
Ifeoluwa Adeniyi
English, Theatre, Film & Media

2019-20
Jacqueline Jordaan
Anthropology

2018-19
Krista Barclay
History

2017-18
Sardana Nikolaeva
Anthropology

2016-17
Gerhard Jordaan
Anthropology

2015-16
Cameron Burt
English

Blue and purple graphic. Text: Funding Opportunity. Conducting research in the humanities? Become a graduate fellow at the Institute for the Humanities. Annual fellowship valued at up to $5000, subject to budgetary approval.

Graduate student assistant

  • Check back for updates. 
     

Undergraduate student interns

The UMIH student internship program started in 2020. The internship has two spots available for Faculty of Arts undergraduate students. The program’s focus is to foster students' connection to the UMIH research community both on and off campus, support their research and writing and train them in an array of transferrable skills.

The 2025-2026 Undergraduate Student Interns are Patrick Fermin (History) and Indiana Humniski (ETFM).

Current interns

Patrick Fermin
UIMH Undergraduate Student Intern
History

Patrick is a fourth-year student hoping to pursue an honours degree in History, with a keen interest in modern history regarding gender, race, and sexuality. Apart from school, Patrick has a deep love for films, fine arts, literature and music, as well as creative writing and making short films. You can also usually find him on the dancefloor or napping with his beautiful cat.

Indiana Humniski
UMIH Undergraduate Student Intern
English, Theatre, Film & Media

Indiana Humniski (she/her) is a fifth-year student pursuing her bachelor's degree in English Literature in the Honours program with a keen academic interest in creative writing, the Victorian period, personal relationships represented in craft, and the nebulous network of modern media interlinked with classic literature. When she is not keeping up with her semester's sprawling booklists, Indiana enjoys looking for creative focaccia recipes on Pinterest, searching for the best iced chai around, and ceaselessly creating niche Spotify playlists surrounding her favourite fictional narratives (to the chagrin of all those nearest and dearest to her). 

Community

  • The Arts of Conversation Series

    This series is intended to showcase new research by scholars from across the humanities and other related fields, from outstanding doctoral students to senior professors. The aim of the series is to strengthen intellectual connections across disciplines as well as to foster a lively research community and culture.

    Listen to past conversations

Community Projects

hUManities blog

Annual reports

The director of the institute reports annually to the Dean of Arts, the Vice-President (Academic) and Provost, and the Vice-President (Research).

Annual reports are available in an accessible format upon request. Please contact umih@umanitoba.ca or 204-474-9599.

Donations

UMIH gratefully accepts donations from individuals, corporations and other organizations which help support its vision, goals and objectives. Donors will receive a receipt for income tax purposes.

Complete the form at the link below. In the "Direct my gift to" field, choose "Enter a fund name". In the "Enter a fund name" field, type "University of Manitoba Institute for the Humanities-general".

Donate to the UMIH (general)

Complete the form at the link below. In the "Direct my gift to" field, choose "Enter a fund name". In the "Enter a fund name" field, type "University of Manitoba Institute for the Humanities-graduate fellowship".

Donate to the UMIH Graduate Fellowship

For more information on making a donation to UMIH, please contact donor.relations@umanitoba.ca.

Contact us

Institute for the Humanities
407 Tier Building
173 Dafoe Rd W
University of Manitoba (Fort Garry campus)
Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2

umih@umanitoba.ca
204-474-9599