Congratuations to Anthropology’s Dr. Shaylih Muehlmann and Dr. Mark Turin who have been awarded SSHRC Insight Grants, and Postgraduate Fellow Courtneay Hopper who has received an Insight Development Grant.
Insight Grants
Insight Grants support research excellence in the social sciences and humanities. Stable support for long-term research initiatives is central to advancing knowledge. It enables scholars to address complex issues about individuals and societies, and to further our collective understanding.
Dr. Shaylih Muehlmann
Research: Narco-Animalia: Human-Animal relations in Mexico’s Narco-Culture
This research explores the complex and often overlooked relationships between humans and animals within the context of Mexico’s narco-culture. By examining how animals are integrated into the lives, narratives, and economies shaped by the drug trade, this project seeks to offer new insights into the cultural significance and ethical dimensions of human-animal interactions in a region profoundly impacted by narco-trafficking.
“Receiving this Insight Grant is an incredible opportunity to investigate more deeply how human-animal relations unfold in environments shaped by conflict and illicit economies. I hope this research will contribute to broader conversations about the roles animals play in human societies, particularly in settings of socio-political tension.”
Dr. Mark Turin
(Co-applicant: Dr. Christine E. Schreyer, Collaborators: Collaborators: Dr. Aynur Kadir, Dr. David R. Gaertner, Gerald K. Lawson, Dr. John R. Wagner)
Research: Implementing relational lexicography in four Indigenous language dictionaries
Info: For under-resourced, Indigenous communities, dictionaries also contain crucial historical, cultural, territorial, and dialectal information. When languages become endangered, dictionaries become primary tools for their reclamation. This research project expands on the theoretical findings of our earlier work funded by an Insight Development Grant that developed the framework of ‘Relational Lexicography.’ We seek to finalize dictionary projects in four Indigenous communities through a decolonial and critical approach. Upon completion, this project will have made theoretical and practical contributions to the fields of Indigenous language reclamation as well as to lexicography, linguistics, and anthropology through at least 8 peer-reviewed, open-access articles, an edited volume on Indigenous lexicography, 10 conferences papers, and, most significantly, 4 dictionaries of languages that are endangered. We commit to research contributions that advance a decolonial approach to collaborative language work and which showcase the innovation and creativity of Indigenous-University partnerships.
Insight Development Grants
Insight Development Grants support research in its initial stages. The grants enable the development of new research questions, as well as experimentation with new methods, theoretical approaches and/or ideas. Funding is provided for short-term research development projects of up to two years that are proposed by individuals or teams.
Courtneay Hopper, Postdoctoral Fellow
(Co-applicant: Dr. Camilla Speller, Collaborators: Louisa Hutten and Dr. Emma Loftus)
Research: Disentangling the diets of early South African food producers through biomolecules preserved in ancient pottery
Info: The project seeks to understand how archaeological herders and farmers in South Africa responded to environmental change, migration, and socio-economic shifts in the past. Similar forces now threaten the future of modern low-intensity herding and farming. This research will contribute to the broader debates on climate-resilient landscape and human resilience while empowering low-intensity food producers to use traditional solutions to solve current problems.
A total of over 40 projects led by UBC Arts researchers were awarded funding through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)’s 2024 Insight Grants and Insight Development Grants competition. Learn more about all the awardees at the link.
