Faculty of Arts, University of Alberta

We're pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Crystal Gail Fraser as Indigenous Advisor to the Dean, effective August 15, 2026, for a two-year term.

Dr. Fraser will serve as a liaison between the Faculty and the Associate Dean (Indigenous Engagement) in the College of Social Sciences and Humanities, guiding the Dean of Arts on matters of significance to Indigenous students, staff and faculty across campus. As the chair of the Arts Indigenous Council, she will also lead a team that maintains responsibilities and commitments towards respectful relations between the Faculty of Arts and the Indigenous community.

Dr. Fraser is a historian and Indigenous studies scholar whose work centres on Indigenous histories, oral history, governance, and community-driven research in the Canadian North. A citizen of the Gwich’in Nation, she is an associate professor in the Department of History, Classics, and Religion and the Faculty of Native Studies. Her work is grounded in relationship-building, reciprocity, and accountability to Indigenous communities, and she has contributed to Indigenous initiatives and reconciliation work at the University of Alberta and nationally.

We are deeply grateful to outgoing Associate Dean (Indigenous Relations) Tanya Harnett for her leadership in the position since 2023.

Join us for StageLab 2026, a chance to explore works-in-progress and faculty research showcasing the creative activity of Drama department faculty.

StageLab 2026
August 20, 21 & 22, 2026
7:30 p.m.
Second Playing Space, Timms Centre for the Arts

Featuring:
• Staged Reading of "Impromptu of Vegreville" | Donia Mounsef
• FAERY DUST | Kathleen Weiss
• "Snow White"* by Elfriede Jelinek | Piet Defraeye

Free to attend.

Find the complete schedule and expanded show information at:
https://www.ualberta.ca/en/drama/on-stage/stage-lab.html

*"Snow White" is possible with the additional support from the Wirth Institute for Austrian and Central European Studies

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Xiaoting Li and Dr. Weimin Mou to their new roles on Dean's Executive Council for the Faculty of Arts!

As of July 1, Dr. Li has taken on the new position of Vice Dean (International), providing strategic leadership for the faculty's international engagement portfolio. The Vice Dean (International) is responsible for defining and advancing the faculty's international vision, building and sustaining high-value international partnerships, and overseeing the full suite of international education initiatives, including transnational education (TNE) programs, articulation programs, summer programs, and student and faculty mobility.

Joining her in this portfolio, Dr. Mou takes over the position of Associate Dean (International Programs) for a two-year term. He will work alongside Dr. Li to provide strategic leadership and support for international education programs in the faculty.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/4pHKnhk

With Homer's epic work the Odyssey currently making headlines due to Christopher Nolan's blockbuster movie adaptation released this month, Dr. Kelly MacFarlane from the Department of History, Classics, and Religion reflects on the story's enduring popularity.

"Certainly, it tells an exciting story, but it is also an examination of the human condition: What does it mean to be human? What is family? What is home? And, ultimately, who am I?"

Read her full piece from The Quad here: https://bit.ly/4pNrmdd

Today we’re celebrating the Arts researchers who have secured Insight Grants as part of the SSHRC funding announcement earlier this week.

These grants support research excellence in the social sciences and humanities for both emerging and established scholars.

Congratulations to the following Insight Grant recipients!

Ingo Brigandt, Department of Philosophy
Courtneay Hopper, UofA Anthropology
Sarah Nickel, Department of History, Classics, and Religion
Howard Nye, Department of Philosophy
Ashantha Ranasinghe, Department of Economics
Terri Tomsky, Department of English and Film Studies
Rob Losey, UofA Anthropology

Read more about their research: https://bit.ly/4vLYWl8.

Following yesterday's announcement of nearly $8 million in new SSHRC funding across the university, we're proud to put a spotlight on the recipients from Arts!

Congratulations to the following Insight Development Grant recipients:

Blair Attard-Frost, Department of Political Science
Wendy Hoglund, Department of Psychology
Sylvia Ijeoma Madueke, Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies
Xiaoyun Wang, Department of East Asian Studies
Yao Zheng, Department of Psychology
Jiatong Zhong, Department of Economics

And congratulations to Partnership Engage Grant recipient Paulina Johnson from the Department of Sociology!

Swipe through the graphics to see each recipient and find the full project details here: https://bit.ly/4b2EdlQ.

Check back tomorrow when we'll feature our Insight Grant recipients.

University of Alberta Political Science
Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies
University of Alberta Department of East Asian Studies

Congratulations to our colleagues who have been awarded SSHRC funding! Researchers across the faculty have been awarded a Partnership Engage Grant, seven Insight Grants and five Insight Development Grants.

Learn more:

U of A researchers receive nearly $8 million in new funding from SSHRC University of Alberta researchers will seek new insights into culture and language, education, artificial intelligence, climate adaptation and more, thanks to nearly $8 million in new grants from the Social Sciences and Research Council of Canada.

Congratulations to history professor Dr. Frank Sysyn on this incredible honour!

CIUS is proud to congratulate Dr. Frank E. Sysyn on receiving the 2026 ASEEES Distinguished Contributions Award, presented by the Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES). The award recognizes outstanding lifetime contributions to the advancement of the field.

Dr. Sysyn is Professor of History at the University of Alberta and Director of the Peter Jacyk Centre for Ukrainian Historical Research at CIUS. For decades, he has been one of the leading scholars of Ukrainian history, shaping the development of Ukrainian studies through his pioneering research, teaching, mentorship, and institution-building.

His scholarship on early modern Ukraine, the Cossack era, and Ukrainian historiography has had a lasting impact on generations of researchers. He has also played a central role in major international scholarly initiatives, including serving as Editor-in-Chief of the Hrushevsky Translation Project, which is making Mykhailo Hrushevsky's monumental 𝘏𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘜𝘬𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦-𝘙𝘶𝘴' accessible to English-speaking audiences.

We warmly congratulate Frank on this well-deserved recognition and thank him for his extraordinary dedication to advancing Ukrainian historical scholarship and strengthening Ukrainian studies worldwide.

Read the full ASEEES announcement: aseees.org/news/2026-aseees-distinguished-contributions-award-announced/

Photo credit: Steven Brese