Five interdisciplinary research projects addressing societal issues have been selected for funding through the new Emerging Schools Interdisciplinary Research Projects program.
Marking the recent launch of the School of Critical and Creative Humanities (SCCH) and the School of Social, Political and Historical Research (SSPHR), the initiative was led by Dean Tcheuyap and developed Ana Ferrer, Associate Dean, Research, with generous funding support from Waterloo’s Vice-President Research and International. The program also encourages the projects’ further development through supporting applications for external funding.
“New partnerships in interdisciplinary research take time to develop,” said Dr. Ferrer. “These grants will support initial collaborative research that integrates knowledge from two or more disciplines to address complex research questions that cannot be adequately addressed by a single approach.”
This initiative strengthens the new schools’ research activity and creates opportunities for faculty and graduate students to engage in transformative research that pushes traditional disciplinary boundaries. Congratulations to the teams!
About the five projects
Contested Expertise: Medical Advocacy in Polarized Publics
Smita Misra-Latty, Communication Studies, SCCH; Heather Love, English, SCCH; Jennifer Liu, Anthropology, SSPHR
This project examines how Canadian healthcare workers engage in public advocacy on contentious issues such as Indigenous health, migrant healthcare, racism, and humanitarian crises. It explores how physicians and other health professionals build credibility and public trust while navigating tensions between professional objectivity and political engagement. Using discourse analysis, rhetoric, health communication, and medical anthropology, the team will analyze advocacy materials, public statements, media appearances, and social media campaigns to develop a new interdisciplinary framework for understanding medical credibility in polarized contexts.
The Politics of Naming: Place Names in Southwest Ontario
Grit Liebscher, German, SCCH; Andrew McMurry, English, SCCH; Susan Roy, History, SSPHR
This project investigates the historical, linguistic, and political significance of place names in the Grand River watershed and Southwest Ontario. It will look at how Indigenous naming systems were displaced by colonial naming practices and examine current efforts to restore Indigenous place names. Combining history, linguistics, Indigenous studies, semiotic landscape analysis, and GIS mapping, the team will trace changes in place names over time and analyze what those names reveal about colonialism, identity, memory, and belonging.
Wampum as Living Archive: Interdisciplinary Material Knowledge and Rematriation
Talena Atfield, History, SSPHR; Logan MacDonald, Fine Arts, SCCH; and collaborators
This Indigenous-led project will study Haudenosaunee wampum belts as living systems of governance, diplomacy, memory, and law rather than museum artifacts. Colonial archives and collections have fragmented both the material and cultural meanings of wampum. The researchers will combine archival research, material and visual analysis, artistic practice, and engagement with knowledge keepers, to develop ethical approaches to rematriation and Indigenous knowledge regeneration.
Freebirth and the Limits of Reproductive Autonomy
Alana Cattapan, Political Science, SSPHR; Katy Fulfer, Philosophy, SSPHR; Jennifer Liu, Anthropology, SSPHR
This project will explore the growing phenomenon of out-of-system births in Ontario. Focusing on unregulated birth workers, it will look at how they balance commitments to reproductive autonomy with concerns about safety, legality, and healthcare access. Through interviews and policy analysis, the researchers will examine ethical, legal, and regulatory challenges surrounding unregulated birth work and identify possible directions for policy reform.
Sites of Enslavement, Sites of Re(PAIR): Toward an Integrated Methodology for Diasporic Research
Christopher Taylor, History, SSPHR; Jasmin Habib, Political Science, SSPHR; Naila Keleta-Mae, Theatre and Performance, SCCH; and team
The project proposes a new interdisciplinary methodology for studying Black diasporic communities by bringing historical memory and contemporary cultural practice together. Using archival research, ethnography, political theory, autoethnography, and performance studies, the team will examine Black settlement sites, Underground Railroad locations, and contemporary cultural institutions in Ontario and Nova Scotia. The longer-term goal is to build a global research program connecting Canada with West Africa, the Caribbean, South America, the U.S. South, and the UK.