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SIG Awards 2018-19: Faculty-Student Research Collaboration

Huron faculty members sit around a table in the library, discussing research during FASS Day 2018.

The Centre for Undergraduate Learning (CURL) at Huron University College is thrilled to announce funding awarded to four faculty members to support initiatives for faculty-student research collaboration during the 2018-19 academic year. This funding comes from a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Institutional Grant awarded to Huron earlier this spring.

“The projects supported by this funding further the mission of CURL to offer transformative learning experiences to Huron students,” says Dr. Christine Tsang, CURL Faculty Director. “They create space for faculty members and students to explore possibilities for research collaboration. It is exciting to see these conversations continue to evolve at Huron.”

Dr. Andrea King (French Studies) will use this funding to support the research involved in writing her novel, Vessel, exploring international surrogacy and adoption. According to Dr. King, “The novel asks what it means to be human when certain bodies are in dangerously high demand and protections are few. It also examines universal themes of power, love, and belonging.” Student researchers on the project will engage in information collection and management using digital research tools and will support analysis through ongoing reflection.

In her project, Dr. Irene Cheung (Psychology) will explore the social outcomes of everyday moral dilemmas. Her research examines individual decisions made to address everyday moral problems and how these individuals are perceived—including whether they should be punished or forgiven—based on the types of choices that they make. Dr. Cheung envisions her project “providing students with an immersive research experience and the opportunity to make a substantial contribution to the project and shape the research questions and design.”

The final award goes to Dr. Scott Schofield (English) and Dr. Nina Reid-Maroney (History) on behalf of the Phantoms of the Past project. This interdisciplinary, trans-Atlantic research collaboration brings together faculty and undergraduate research partners to explore histories, texts and images of slavery and antislavery in the 18th and 19th centuries. SSHRC “Exchange” funding will contribute to a research conference as part of this project, which will be held at Huron in Spring 2019.

Each project offers students a way to transfer the communication and analysis skills learned in the classroom to a workplace setting. “Research Assistantships, whether independent or in partnership with faculty members, are an important part of the internship opportunities we offer liberal arts students at Huron,” explains Britney Podolinsky, Coordinator of Careers and Internships.

Further opportunities available to Huron students through CURL include Student Research Fellowships, Travel Bursaries, and the Fall Exhibition and Spring Conference. Information is available at huronresearch.ca/curl, on Twitter @HuronResearch, or by emailing curl@uwo.ca.