News

A doctoral degree is the ultimate culmination of hard work and dedication. From countless hours attending seminars and conducting research, to TA'ing courses and preparing a dissertation, our PhD students have shown grit and determination from the outset. While the pandemic may have impacted the way research and courses were conducted, it cannot take away from the monumental accomplishment of completing a doctoral degree.

The Faculty of Arts is very pleased to launch a new postdoctoral program that is made possible by the generous support of the Lupina Foundation — a Canadian charitable organization committed to research and innovation in health and societal issues.

The Government of Canada has just announced the newest group of Canada Research Chairs (CRC), including two from Waterloo’s Faculty of Arts. Alana Cattapan, a professor in Political Science, is a tier two CRC in The Politics of Reproduction. Logan MacDonald, a professor in Fine Arts, is a tier two CRC in Indigenous Art. Congratulations to both outstanding scholars on their distinguished career achievement!

How will the disruptions of 2020 affect children, their development and schooling? Professors Janice Aurini (Sociology and Legal Studies), Dillon Browne (Psychology) and Kristina Llewellyn (Social Development Studies) joined this online community lecture moderated by Sheila Ager, Dean of Arts, to explore social and developmental consequences and how we can avoid exacerbating the effects of the global pandemic. Watch the full event.

On March 6, 2020, Arts hosted its Three Minute Thesis (3MT) faculty-level heat and advanced Psychology PhD candidate Martin Turpin (first place winner and People's Choice winner) and Psychology master's student Sarena (second place winner) to the university-wide finals. While that university-wide final is now being held virtually, this doesn't mean our Arts graduate student competitors don't need your support. 

She is the type of student who is not easily forgotten, wrote her nominator. The positive impact that new graduate Kiera McMaster leaves on her peers and wider community was recently recognized when she won the Faculty of Arts Award for Excellence in Service.

In our work and interactions, we need to be conscious of and proactively challenge white privilege and colonial structures. We need to continuously strive to create an equal, fair and welcoming learning environment for everyone.

Since the COVID-19 lockdown, the University of Waterloo has released a steady stream of media advisories with Waterloo experts on all aspects of the pandemic -- and many of these feature experts in the Faculty of Arts. Last week included a Q and A with Joel Blit on re-starting the economy, and this week includes a Q and A with Mikal Skuterud on labour data, CERB, and jobs.

As Italy plans to slowly ease the country’s seven-week lockdown, Arts alum Esmeralda da Conceicaoshares her experiences of living in the northern city of Bologna before and during the pandemic. "I would like Canadians reading this story to feel solidarity by uniting as a community." 

Graduate students from English, Fine Arts, History, Philosophy, Psychology, Theological Studies and Sociology convened Friday, March 6th for the annual Arts Three Minute Thesis (3MT) heat. Audience members learned about the engaging and illuminating graduate research happening in the Faculty of Arts firsthand from many of our impressive graduate students.