October 2010

Archives

Oct 25

Beyond Homophobia: We Need to Make it Better

Kris Wells, University of Alberta
Guest Contributor

Within the past several weeks, seven young men in the United States and two young women in Canada have tragically committed suicide due to homophobic bullying, harassment, and societal prejudice. Research indicates that suicide is the number one cause of death amongst gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth in North America. However, it is not the number one cause of death for heterosexual youth. What explains this difference?

Important risk factors for adolescent suicide include experiences of substance abuse, feelings of hopelessness, sexual abuse, a history of family dysfunction, and the recent...

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Oct 21

"Be partners in using statistics for your decision"

Ryan Saxby Hill 
Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences.

It likely won't come as a surprise for you to learn that many of our members here at the Federation love statistics. This love finally has a musical outlet. World Statistics Day - an annual event recognizing the positive role played by official statistics in making the world a better place - has an official theme song. Those of you still looking for that Stats Anthem for 2010 (or perhaps your wedding song?) are in luck. The line "be partners in using statistics for your decision" is sure to be running through your head. The MP3 is below, but if you'd like to download a copy to play on your iPod (or get the lyrics) you can find it online here. Thanks to...

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Oct 19

Ronald Wright reminds us that history can help us prevent the “Progress Trap”

Photo courtesy of wikimedia

Ryan Saxby Hill
Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences

“Humans understand each other by watching behaviour through time” - Ronald Wright

I was lucky enough to attend the International Conference on Liberal Arts last month at St. Thomas University. The event was a great opportunity to connect with our members and find out what we can do to help ensure a viable future for humanities research and teaching. One of the highlights of the three-day event was the Friday keynote from Richard Wright, a great thinker on the state of our...

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Oct 15

Queering In/Equality: LGBT and Two-Spirited Youth ‘It Gets Better’

Malinda S. Smith, Vice-President, Equity

"The increase in lesbian, gay and bisexual characters on primetime television not only reflects the shift in … culture toward greater awareness and understanding of our community but also a new industry standard that a growing number of creators and networks are adopting.”

This is, at least, the hope of Jarrett Barrios, president of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). Yet there is a disjuncture between visual and virtual equality and the everyday lived experiences of many LGBT and...

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Oct 6

Discover East Coast Charm at Congress 2011

Ryan Saxby Hill Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences

A team from the Federation made the short trek from Ottawa to Fredericton last week for the annual Congress planning meeting. This trip gave us a chance not only to get information out to our over 150 Program Chairs and Local Arrangements Coordinators for 2011, but we also got a taste for the maritime hospitality that Fredericton is famous for. Being an east-coaster myself, I'm a bit biased, but I can say with certainty that the team at UNB and STU and the Fredericton community are ready to put on quite a show next May. This will be the biggest event...

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Oct 1

How do we talk about the Liberal Arts?

Ryan Saxby Hill
Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences

Several hundred researchers, educators and students gathered at St. Thomas University from Sept. 30 to Oct. 1-2 to discuss the future of the liberal arts. For St. Thomas, celebrating its centennial year, this conversation on the future of the liberal arts is literally a conversation about the future of St. Thomas University itself. St. Thomas carries a strong reputation in liberal arts education - especially at the undergraduate level.

According to the University's Vice President Academic, St. Thomas carries this commitment to the liberal arts throughout their programming. In designing even applied programming in both journalism and criminology, the school ensured that the programs were rooted in Bachelor of Arts programs. Students get BA degrees in journalism or criminology, rather than Bachelors of Journalism and Bachelors of Criminology.

The...

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