Faculty of Arts Undergraduate Research Award Opportunities
For 2023, there are 30 advertised opportunities for eligible undergraduate students to work with researchers in the Faculty of Arts.
Note: The advertised opportunities are not an exhaustive or exclusive list. Professors do not need to be listed in order to be eligible to supervise students for the purposes of this award. You may interview any eligible professor who is considering supervising a research assistant. They must be full-time UM faculty, not adjunct professors or instructors.
Application deadline is February 13, 2023 - 4:30 PM CST
2023 Research Opportunities
Anthropology
Ben Collins
Supervisor: Ben Collins
Contact Information: Benjamin.Collins@umanitoba.ca
Research Interests:
Ostrich eggshell beads are important symbolic and social objects and are present in the archaeological and historic records across Africa and Asia from ~50,000 years ago onward. This project contributes to understanding the role of ostrich eggshell beads in the past through developing a database that describes the location, timing and use of ostrich eggshell in the archaeological record. The student will collaborate on building the database from the literature and interpreting the nature of ostrich eggshell use in the past with respect to major environmental, social and cultural changes.
Haskel Greenfield
Supervisor: Haskel Greenfield
Contact Information: Haskel.Greenfield@umanitoba.ca
Research Interests:
- Development of Bronze Age urban societies in the Near East.
- ArcGIS analysis of archaeological excavation from Europe, Near East or Africa.
- Making an archaeological film on European, African, and/or Near Eastern archaeological excavations.
- Art, theatre and social protest in Greenwich Village – a biography of an artist.
- Origins of metallurgy – an archaeological approach.
- Zooarchaeology – animal bones in archaeology.
- Early domestic herd managements and provisioning of urban societies – zoology, proteomics and isotopes in archaeology.
- Virtual reconstruction and reality of early urban settlements.
Lara Rosenoff Gauvin
Supervisor: Lara Rosenoff Gauvin
Contact Information: Lara.RosenoffGauvin@umanitoba.ca
Research Interests:
My current work concerns nurturing a collaborative repatriation process in the Department of Anthropology. I am particularly interested in addressing settler colonial violence as manifest in academic institutions, and in fostering community-driven work that creates and allows for processes that centers Indigenous self-determination respect, responsibility and reciprocity. Participating in the Respectful Repatriation Ceremony at UM, the research involves potential archival, historical or artistic forms of engagement.
Classics
Michael Sampson
Supervisor: Michael Sampson
Contact Information: Michael.Sampson@umanitoba.ca
Research Interests:
I am a scholar of ancient Greek literature with two major active projects. The first is a study of literary culture in an Egyptian village, undertaken via an examination of its papyrus fragments, uncovered via archaeological excavation. The second is an ongoing, international collaboration to archive those papyrus texts digitally, in TEI/EpiDoc XML, at the papyri.info portal. I am especially eager to supervise a student with expertise in XML/XSLT, which will enable new approaches to the corpus to be explored.
Economics
Ian Hudson
Supervisor: Ian Hudson
Contact Information: Ian.Hudson@umanitoba.ca
Research Interests:
Determinants of Interprovincial Variation in Social Welfare Indicators: Research has shown that there is considerable variation in provincial social welfare policy and outcomes. Our research will incorporate Power Resources Theory to investigate the factors that account for these differences.
Jonathan Jenner
Supervisor: Jonathan Jenner
Contact Information: Jonathan.Donald.Jenner@umanitoba.ca
Research Interests:
- The political economy of colonial capitalism.
- African economic history.
- Extramaket labour coercion in capitalism.
English, Theatre, Film & Media
Michelle Faubert
Supervisor: Michelle Faubert
Contact Information: Michelle.Faubert@umanitoba.ca
Research Interests:
Romantic-Era Literature and Culture; History Of Feminism; History Of Medicine, Especially Psychology; Literary Doctors From The Romantic Period; Slavery And Abolition; Romanticism And Suicide.
Hee-Jung Serenity Joo
Supervisor: Hee-Jung Serenity Joo
Contact Information: Hee-JungSerenity.Joo@umanitoba.ca
Research Interests:
Science fiction by writers of colour; abolition; critical race theory; queer theory.
Erin Keating
Supervisor: Erin Keating
Contact Information: Erin.Keating@umanitoba.ca
Research Interests:
British Restoration theatre and fiction; early modern celebrity and fan cultures; book history; affect, queer and gender theory; contemporary fantasy (fiction, television and film).
Dana Medoro
Supervisor: Dana Medoro
Contact Information: Dana.Medoro@umanitoba.ca
Research Interests:
Literature, feminism, gender, animals, history of medicine, nineteenth century U.S.
Judith Owens
Supervisor: Judith Owens
Contact Information: Judith.Owens@umanitoba.ca
Research Interests:
My current research focusses on the healing arts in early-modern (Renaissance) literature and culture in England. In the first phase of this research, I will be collecting information on medicaments and treatments as well as on the affective labour of tending to the sick. Some of this information is in printed texts, but a lot of it is available only in manuscript. At some point, I will travel to libraries in the US and the UK that have extensive collections related to medicine in the 16th and 17th centuries. As a first step, next spring and summer, I will be compiling a bibliography of printed and manuscript sources as well as transcribing manuscript sources that I already have. A student research assistant would help with this work. I will also be revising for eventual publication an article on an aspect of the healing arts in Edmund Spenser’s Faerie Queene. A student research assistant would help with collecting secondary sources.
German and Slavic Studies
Stephan Jaeger
Supervisor: Stephan Jaeger
Contact Information: Stephan.Jaeger@umanitoba.ca
Research Interests:
Dr. Jaeger’s research analyzes the representation of war and genocide, particularly the two world wars and the Holocaust in German, European and North-American public memory in museums, literature, film and historiography. His current research is particularly interested in the narration/storytelling and representation of the Holocaust, refugees, war, genocide and other atrocities, in perspectives of perpetration, collaboration, implication and victimhood in physical and virtual exhibitions, and how these museum exhibitions create experiences and empathy for potential and real visitors. He is also working on a book collection entitled Museums, Narratives, and Critical Histories: Narrating the Past for Present and Future. Student research could relate among others to current online exhibition strategies and/or the analysis of online reactions/reviews to specific museums, monuments and exhibitions, as well as support in analyzing physical exhibition spaces and observing visitors' behaviour in museum space. Areas of research: German and European Studies, War and Holocaust Studies, Representation of Atrocities in transhistorical contexts, Museum and Memory Studies.
History
Greg Bak
Supervisor: Greg Bak
Contact Information: Greg.Bak@umanitoba.ca
Research Interests:
1. Archives, Decolonization and Reconciliation: Canadian archives have been a primary structure in support of settler colonialism, providing the legal and cultural foundations for what the TRC called cultural genocide. The TRC’s Calls to Action included calls specifically directed at archives. This project examines what the Canadian archival community is doing to advance decolonization and reconciliation, by responding to the TRC’s Calls or otherwise.
2. Digital History and Digital Archives in Manitoba: This project seeks to identify and examine archival records that document digital histories in Manitoba.
Tina Chen
Supervisor: Tina Chen
Contact Information: Tina.Chen@umanitoba.ca
Research Interests:
Histories of race, anti-racism and anti-oppression; visual cultures and creative engagement in anti-colonial solidarity movements; modern Chinese history; equity, diversity, and inclusion in sport; socialist and feminist theories and practice.
Indigenous Studies
Peter Kulchyski
Supervisor: Peter Kulchyski
Contact Information: Peter.Kulchyski@umanitoba.ca
Research Interests:
Hydro affected Indigenous communities; critical theory; Indigenous rights.
Labour Studies
Julia Smith
Supervisor: Julia Smith
Contact Information: Julia.Smith@umanitoba.ca
Research Interests:
I'm researching feminist labour activism in Canada between 1940 and 1990. This project involves locating and examining archival documents related to labour and feminist movements in Manitoba during this period.
Linguistics
Nicole Rosen
Supervisor: Nicole Rosen
Contact Information: Nicole.Rosen@umanitoba.ca
Research Interests:
Sociolinguistics, language variation and change, language revitalization, language documentation, Canadian English and French, Heritage languages, language interactions.
Political Studies
Andrea Charron
Supervisor: Andrea Charron
Contact Information: Andrea.Charron@umanitoba.ca
Research Interests:
NORAD, Arctic security, Canadian sanctions.
Tami Jacoby
Supervisor: Tami Jacoby
Contact Information: Tami.Jacoby@umanitoba.ca
Research Interests:
Middle East Politics; Arab-Israeli Conflict; Gender and Violence; Identity Politics; Terrorism.
Kiera Ladner
Supervisor: Kiera Ladner
Contact Information: Kiera.Ladner@umanitoba.ca
Research Interests:
As a Canada Research Chair I am involved in a number of large research projects all of which involve Indigenous peoples. The first project involves the ongoing constitutional debates in Australia and New Zealand. The second involves the development of an archive of legal cases and community initiatives related to the UNDRIP. The third involves a project on digital (data) sovereignties focussing on MMIWG. The fourth and final project explores the idea of an Indigenous Voice in settler-states (possibly through guaranteed parliamentary representation or a 3rd chamber) and will examine models from around the globe looking at institutional design, constitutional/societal fit and its perceived functionality. Please note that there will always be other projects that come up - given that I work on real world politics with communities and other researchers! For instance, over the last three years I have been involved in a HUGE COVID study in Canada, USA and Mexico, responded to the MMIGW Inquiry, explored the ‘death of reconciliation’, organized a workshop on regendering governance at the UN, worked on treaties and supervised a Post-Doc & undergraduate students on research exploring Indigineity in contexts such as the Middle East.
Psychology
Danielle Gaucher
Supervisor: Danielle Gaucher
Contact Information: Danielle.Gaucher@umanitoba.ca
Research Interests:
Social justice; EDI; Social Change.
Tammy Ivanco
Supervisor: Tammy Ivanco
Contact Information: Tammy Ivanco@umanitoba.ca
Research Interests:
Brain plasticity, learning, memory, stress, developmental disorders, concussion, stroke and behaviour in rodents.
Sunmee Kim
Supervisor: Sunmee Kim
Contact Information: Sunmee.Kim@umanitoba.ca
Research Interests:
Longitudinal Design, Prediction Modeling, Longitudinal Data Analysis Methods, Cognitive Aging and Related Psychosocial and physiological Factors.
Leslie Roos
Supervisor: Leslie Roos
Contact Information: Leslie.Roos@umanitoba.ca
Research Interests:
I lead clinical research in 3 broad areas: (1) Intervention science: the role of family mental health for child development; (2) Equity-focused care: the promotion of initiatives driven by the leadership of trainees advancing community wellness through self-determination, with current projects relevant to Indigenous & Newcomer family mental health; (3) Technology-enhanced interventions: advancements in eHealth and wearable tech for family mental health.
Religion
Justin Lewis
Supervisor: Justin Lewis
Contact Information: JustinJaron.Lewis@umanitoba.ca
Research Interests:
Atheism, Judaism and Hinduism, Sexuality and religion, Stories of holy people.
Heidi Marx
Supervisor: Heidi Marx
Contact Information: Heidi.Marx-Wolf@umanitoba.ca
Research Interests:
Ancient Medicine; Ancient Science and Cosmolog; Ancient Botany and Ecology.
Sociology and Criminology
Sonia Bookman
Supervisor: Sonia Bookman
Contact Information: Sonia.Bookman@umanitoba.ca
Research Interests:
Cosmopolitanism, consumption, brands and branding, urban culture, media and Canadian film.
Laura Funk
Supervisor: Laura Funk
Contact Information: Laura.Funk@umanitoba.ca
Research Interests:
Social and policy aspects of aging, death/dying and care work; qualitative and interpretive methodologies.
Lori Wilkinson
Supervisor: Lori Wilkinson
Contact Information: Lori.Wilkinson@umanitoba.ca
Research Interests:
I am currently conducting research on several projects related to refugee resettlement and integration in Canada. Project 1 is the analysis of data we collected in winter 2021 regarding the arrival of over 28,000 Afghan refugees to Canada. Our data will assist refugee settlement organizations in determining the unmet needs of newly arrived refugees to Canada. Project 2 is the continuation of our CIHR study of the socioeconomic and mental health outcomes of immigrants and refugees in Canada, USA and Mexico. This project involves data analysis and report writing with results shared with various international organizations as they recover from the pandemic related restrictions. Students in my team will gain experience in data analysis, report writing, presentations, work with multidisciplinary teams and work with government and non-government organizations.
Andrew Woolford
Supervisor: Andrew Woolford
Contact Information: Andrew.Woolford@umanitoba.ca
Research Interests:
1. "Transformative Visions of Restorative Justice." The practice of restorative justice is largely tied to the formal criminal justice system and the state. Recent anti-racist and anti-colonial activism presents an opportunity to think restorative justice anew. This is especially so in Manitoba, which has a Restorative Justice Act, but spends only 13% of its corrections budget on community corrections and a much smaller portion of RJ-related activity. The project partners with the Restorative Justice Association of Manitoba (RJAM) to explore gaps in RJ delivery and potentials for increased successful transformative, community-based practice. RA tasks include literature review, interview preparation and analysis of RJ programs.
2. “Symbiogenetic Destruction: Genocide, Human Groups, and the Natural World” is a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada-funded project. By “symbiogenetic destruction” we refer to how a group’s relationships to the natural world are damaged through genocidal processes. This project explores how human groups form their identities in relationship with the natural world and how these identities suffer when these relationships are affected by genocide. Case studies include Rwanda, Cambodia, Armenia and Canada. RA tasks include literature review, Survivor testimony analysis, bibliography construction and internet-based research.
