Blogue

Reconciling multiculturalism

Christine McKenna, student blogger at Congress 2015

Canada is often viewed as a diverse, welcoming nation comprised of immigrants from around the world, a reputation built on the embracing of “multiculturalism” as an approach to immigration and citizenship. Emerging as a policy framework in 1971, the concept of multiculturalism in Canada has since shifted and evolved, and many now wonder about the term’s relevance to our society, both today and in the future. In a panel presented by the Canadian Sociological Association, scholars gathered to discuss what multiculturalism is, where it came from, and what it implies in a contemporary context. 

“The future of multiculturalism: sociological perspectives” was...

Catégorie
Étiquettes

En lire plus »

When big data meets the soul of culture: innovation for the future

Victoria Hawkins, student blogger at Congress 2015

The digital age is rapidly changing how scholars produce, share, analyze and preserve ideas. At Monday’s interdisciplinary symposium at Congress 2015, the changing nature of scholarly research with technology was the topic of discussion.

One of the event’s hot topics was the preservation of the past, facilitated by Fabien Lengellé, Corporate Secretary of Library and Archives Canada (LAC). Lengellé outlined the recent digital projects undertaken by the LAC in efforts to relate to the Digital Humanities domain. Lengellé’s presentation sparked some lively questioning about the choice of which archival materials to digitize and the difficulty of prioritizing certain records. In response, Lengellé said that...

Catégorie
Étiquettes

En lire plus »

Technological Unemployment and the Future of Work

Ashley Stewart, student blogger at Congress 2015

What world can we imagine in 20, 30, even 50 years in the future? How rapid will technology advance and how do we develop policy to match the speed of development? How many times will my job description change? What do we do when machine intelligence surpasses human intelligence? These are just a few of the many questions that I have after the "Technological Unemployment and Future of Work" interdisciplinary symposium at Congress 2015.

I sat down for the symposium intrigued about the topic, but didn’t fathom the scope of what I would learn. It is both fascinating and terrifying the scenarios presented about what technology could possibly bring to society and what that means for our...

Catégorie
Étiquettes

En lire plus »

Seeing the whole: innovation in learning

Ashley Stewart, student blogger at Congress 2015

Innovation in learning was the topic of His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada’s Big Thinking lecture at Congress 2015. Focusing on improving the way we learn by drawing on all areas of research, His Excellency called on his audience to embrace different perspectives and work together across disciplinary boundaries.

In this era of complex research problems, multi-disciplinary research should be common, if not the norm. Sharing ideas across disciplines will help us appreciate the multifaceted nature of any given problem. Living in a time of rapid change and a communication revolution, we are learning new ways of thinking that used to be unimaginable. Building on...

Catégorie
Étiquettes

En lire plus »

Plaidoyer pour les sciences sociales et les humanités

Gabriel Arruda, étudiant-blogueur au Congrès 2015

Les enjeux du 21e siècle sont nombreux et complexes. Mondialisation, changements climatiques et terrorisme ne sont que quelques exemples des défis que devront affronter les sociétés au courant des prochaines décennies. C’est pour cette raison que ces sujets sont aujourd’hui étudiés et analysés par les sciences sociales et les humanités. Après tout, ces disciplines s’intéressent à comprendre l’expérience humaine dans toute sa complexité.

L’ironie contemporaine soulevée par Stephen Toope, Président de la Fédération des sciences humaines, est que si les sciences sociales sont désormais capables d’offrir des solutions à ces...

Catégorie
Étiquettes

En lire plus »

Pages