Questions of Democracy: Exploring Possibilities for Transdisciplinary Work
Sept 21, 2023 @ University of Calgary, 8:30 – 4:00
Members of the University of Calgary’s ‘Quality in Canada’s Built Environment’ Partnership Grant research team were recently invited to play key roles in dialogue concerning Transdisciplinary Research. On September 21, 2023, scholars from diverse faculties gathered for a fascinating and productive day of conversations and presentations, under the umbrella title “Questions of Democracy: Exploring Possibilities for Transdisciplinary Work” at the University of Calgary.
Dr. Matt Patterson, SSHRC PG scholar and sociologist from the Faculty of Arts, served as chair of the beginning session entitled ‘Co-Creating Communities Democratically’. Dr. Brian R. Sinclair, SSHRC PG Site Leader, was invited by the Vice-President of Research to deliver an opening talk on the “Quality in Canada’s Built Environment’ initiative. Later in the session, Dr. Patterson delivered a stimulating talk that included his research on North American Chinatowns. Also actively participating in the day of interactions and explorations was PhD student Nooshin Esmaeili, a SSHRC PG YYC researcher and lead for Canada’s students working on the SSHRC PG project.
Other sessions in the day, of relevance to our SSHRC PG, included ‘Imagining Democracy: Film and Literature’, ‘Diversity and Common Purpose in Democracy’, and ‘Democratic Futures’. The University of Calgary’s Institute for Humanities (CIH), a key driver in our move towards a greater embrace of transdisciplinary thinking & researching, defines transdisciplinary work as: “Scholarship built around problems, opportunities, and possibilities, not professions. People from multiple backgrounds working together on challenges. Transdisciplinary scholarship focuses on building knowledge between, across, and beyond traditional disciplines. In a complex time of ever-increasing specialization, it tackles the big questions of our day that do not fit into one department or one faculty but require important contributions from those units and beyond. It’s a way to create knowledge and to generate solutions.” Clearly, the resonance is high between the University of Calgary’s emphasis on the potency of transdisciplinarity and our SSHRC PG project tackling ‘Quality in Canada’s Built Environment’.
Our research team was strongly encouraged to apply for new Connector Grants, funding designed to promote initiatives that enable UCalgary teams to explore questions, challenges, and opportunities that demand a transdisciplinary approach. Calgary SSHRC PG members attending the day of transdisciplinary explorations and exchange were inspired and encouraged by the ensuing discourse and by future opportunities.
The full program of this conference is available for Download and viewing below :
To learn more about the research site led by the University of Calgary, click here.
