The University of Victoria is showcasing the research work of Humanities students and faculty on the “diversity of humanity,” starting Monday.
This is the third year for Humanities Literacy Week, but this year, what would normally be a series of events at venues across town is offered through web conferencing on Zoom because of the pandemic.
“We are opening our doors to reach out and create a bridge between the community and academia,” said Alexandra D’Arcy, associate dean of research in the Faculty of Humanities.
Three events are planned.
The first, Power and Resistance: Six Histories in Six Objects, asks a panel of six scholars to share a story of an object in their lives. The objects relate to the past, present and to Indigenous peoples and people of colour.
“Presenters each have five minutes to tell an object’s story,” said D’Arcy. “They all touch on rich themes that anchor us as humans — of culture, urbanization, dispossession, gender or colonialism. The objects can be private or public, but they all tell a story of the past reflected in the present.”
The second event is an Un-essay Competition hosted in collaboration with the Moose Hide Campaign, a grassroots movement of Indigenous and non-Indigenous men and boys working to end violence toward women and children. The challenge is for students to present their research through any creative form of expression that is not a written essay.
“Humanity is complicated and nuanced. In this competition, we want the students to show how humanity can bind both the beauty of life and its challenges into something meaningful.”
The final event is Humanities Reads: A Fireside Chat with Robyn Maynard. Maynard is a Black author, activist and educator who wrote Policing Black Lives: State Violence in Canada from Slavery to the Present. She will discuss issues of systemic racism, state-sanctioned violence and social injustice with Annalee Lepp, dean of the Faculty of Humanities at the university, and Dr. Moustapha Fall, the moderator of the event. The audience will have an opportunity to ask questions in the last half-hour of the event.
“We’re not gauging the success of this event by the number of people attending but by engaging the broadest audience possible,” D’Arcy said. “Our measure of success is if people learn something of value from the interaction, be it reflective or unsettled.”
All events are free to join but registration is required. Power and Resistance: Six Histories in Six Objects runs 7 to 8:15 p.m. on Feb. 8. The Un-essay Competition runs 6:30 to 7:45 p.m. on Feb. 10, and Humanities Reads is 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 12. Sign language interpretation (American Sign Language) is available by advance request.
For more information, go to hcmc.uvic.ca/humanitiesweek.
