Faculty of Arts

The Faculty of Arts at UBC brings together the best of quantitative research, humanistic inquiry, and artistic expression to advance a better world. Graduate students in the Faculty of Arts create and disseminate knowledge in the Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Creative and Performing Arts through teaching, research, professional practice, artistic production, and performance.

Arts has more than 25 academic departments, institutes, and schools as well as professional programs, more than 15 interdisciplinary programs, a gallery, a museum, theatres, concert venues, and a performing arts centre. Truly unique in its scope, the Faculty of Arts is a dynamic and thriving community of outstanding scholars – both faculty and students. 

Here, our students explore cutting-edge ideas that deepen our understanding of humanity in an age of scientific and technological discovery. Whether Arts scholars work with local communities, or tackle issues such as climate change, world music, or international development, their research has a deep impact on the local and international stage.

The disciplinary and multi-disciplinary approaches in our classrooms, labs, and cultural venues inspire students to apply their knowledge both to and beyond their specialization. Using innovation and collaborative learning, our graduate students create rich pathways to knowledge and real connections to global thought leaders.

 

Research Facilities

UBC Library has extensive collections, especially in Arts, and houses Canada’s greatest Asian language library. Arts graduate programs enjoy the use of state-of-the-art laboratories, the world-renowned Museum of Anthropology and the Belkin Contemporary Art Gallery (admission is free for our graduate students). World-class performance spaces include theatres, concert venues and a performing arts centre. 

Since 2001, the Belkin Art Gallery has trained young curators at the graduate level in the Critical and Curatorial Studies program in the Department of Art History, Visual Art and Theory. The Master of Arts program addresses the growing need for curators and critics who have theoretical knowledge and practical experience in analyzing institutions, preparing displays and communicating about contemporary art.

The MOA Centre for Cultural Research (CCR) undertakes research on world arts and cultures, and supports research activities and collaborative partnerships through a number of spaces, including research rooms for collections-based research, an Ethnology Lab, a Conservation Lab, an Oral History and Language Lab supporting audio recording and digitization, a library, an archive, and a Community Lounge for groups engaged in research activities. The CCR includes virtual services supporting collections-based research through the MOA CAT Collections Online site that provides access to the Museum’s collection of approximately 40,000 objects and 80,000 object images, and the Reciprocal Research Network (RRN) that brings together 430,000 object records and associated images from 19 institutions.
 

Research Highlights

The Faculty of Arts at UBC is internationally renowned for research in the social sciences, humanities, professional schools, and creative and performing arts.

As a research-intensive faculty, Arts is a leader in the creation and advancement of knowledge and understanding. Scholars in the Faculty of Arts form cross-disciplinary partnerships, engage in knowledge exchange, and apply their research locally and globally.

Arts faculty members have won Guggenheim Fellowships, Humboldt Fellowships, and major disciplinary awards. We have had 81 faculty members elected to the Royal Society of Canada, and several others win Killam Prizes, Killam Research Fellowships, Emmy Awards, and Order of Canada awards. In addition, Arts faculty members have won countless book prizes, national disciplinary awards, and international disciplinary awards. 

External funding also signifies the research success of our faculty. In the 2020-2021 fiscal year, the Faculty of Arts received $34.6 million through over 900 research projects. Of seven UBC SSHRC Partnership Grants awarded to-date, six are located in Arts, with a combined investment of $15 million over the term of the grants.

Since the 2011 introduction of the SSHRC Insight Grants and SSHRC Insight Development Grants programs, our faculty’s success rate has remained highly stable, and is consistently higher than the national success rate.

Graduate Degree Programs

Research Supervisors in Faculty

or browse the list of faculty members in various academic units. You may click each unit to view faculty members appointed in that unit. View the full faculty member directory for more search and filter options.
Name Academic Unit(s) Research Interests
Aydede, Murat Department of Philosophy Philosophy; Philosophy of Mind
Baada, Jemima Department of Geography intersections of gender, climate change, migration, health and development equity
Babel, Molly Department of Linguistics Linguistics; Phonetics; Recognition of Speech; Perception and Representation; Acoustics; Dialects; acoustics of speech production; phonetic variation; speech perception; spoken word recognition
Bablitz, Leanne Department of Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Studies Roman history, Roman law, Roman courtrooms, , Roman social history and law, Roman topography, Roman legal procedure
Badir, Patricia Department of English Language and Literatures English language; Canadian Modernism; Early Modern Drama; Early Modern Literature and Religion; Medieval Drama; Shakespeare; Shakespeare in Canada
Baier, Gerald Department of Political Science Canadian politics, federalism, constitutional law, courts, federal-provincial relations, Constitution, federalism and public law in Canada
Bailey, C. D. Alison Department of Asian Studies pre-modern literature; fiction and literary criticism
Bain, Kimberly Department of English Language and Literatures History, theory, and philosophy of the African diaspora; Race, gender, environmental and medical racism; Anthropocene; Black arts and letters
Baines, Donna School of Social Work Social work; Age-Friendly Cities; decent work and good care for older people in residential and home care; impact of neoliberalism on Indigenous social work education; impact of neoliberalism on non-Indigenous social work education
Baines, Erin School of Public Policy and Global Affairs transitional justice; the politics of humanitarianism and forced displacement; and, the study of gender and armed conflict, with a regional focus on northern Uganda
Baker, Donald Leslie Department of Asian Studies Humanities and the arts; Korean History; Confucian Philosophy; Religion in Korea; science in pre-modern Korea; Kwangju Uprising of 1980
Ballarin, Roberta Department of Philosophy Philosophical logic, nature and sources of necessity
Barnes, Trevor Department of Geography Vancouver
Barnett, Kristen Department of Anthropology intersection of Indigenous and western science; research and data sovereignty; Indigenous feminisms; decolonizing; reframing archaeology
Baron, Andrew Department of Psychology cognitive development, infancy, childhood, adolescence, racism, race, stereotypes, cooperation, bias, innateness, science education, multiculturalism, gender, ethnicity, neuromarketing, attitudes, preferences, psychology
Bartha, Paul Department of Philosophy Philosophy of sciences and technologies; Environmental philosophy; philosophy of science; Philosophy of Probability; Confirmation; Decision Theory
Baum, Bruce Department of Political Science Political Culture, Society and Ideology; critical social theory; feminist theory; critical hermeneutics; issues of cross-cultural interpretation; American political thought and cultural politics; political theories of Mill and Marx; philosophy of political inquiry; liberal and democratic theory
Baylis, Patrick Vancouver School of Economics Economics; Climate Changes and Impacts; Economic Planning of Energy; climate change economics; energy economics; environmental economics
Beasley-Murray, Jon Department of French, Hispanic & Italian Studies Latin American studies, social and political theory
Beatty, John Henry Department of Philosophy Socio-political dimensions of genetics and evolutionary biology
Beauchesne, Kim Department of French, Hispanic & Italian Studies Colonialism; Latin America; Trans-Pacific Studies; Globalization
Beaudry, Paul Vancouver School of Economics National and International macroeconomic issues, Business cycles, inflation, financial markets, the macro-economic effects of technological change and globalization, and the determinants of aggregate employment and wages
Bedke, Matthew Department of Philosophy Philosophy; Philosophy, History and Comparative Studies; Foundations of Ethics; Social Organization and Political Systems; Ethics and Fundamental Issues of Law and Justice; epistemology; ethics; metaethics; philosophy of law; political philosophy
Belcourt, Billy-Ray School of Creative Writing Fiction; Nonfiction; Poetry
Berdahl, Jennifer Department of Sociology Ostracism, Harassment and Bullying, Gender and Diversity in Organizations, Power and Status in Groups, Harassment, Work-Family Interface

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Recent Publications

This is an incomplete sample of recent publications in chronological order by UBC faculty members with a primary appointment in the Faculty of Arts.

 

Publication: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
UBC Author(s): Mark Schaller (Psychology / Faculty of Arts)
Volume: 121
Publication Date: 13 August 2024

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Publication: PLOS Global Public Health
UBC Author(s): Veena Sriram (School of Public Policy / Faculty of Arts)
Volume: 4
Publication Date: 12 August 2024

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Publication: International Journal of Behavioral Medicine
UBC Author(s): Eric Kim (Psychology / Faculty of Arts)
ISSN: 10705503
Volume: 31
Page Range: 503-515
Publication Date: August 2024

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Publication: Trends in Ecology and Evolution
UBC Author(s): Jennifer Williams (Geography / Faculty of Arts)
ISSN: 01695347
Volume: 39
Page Range: 716-725
Publication Date: August 2024

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Publication: Cognitive Processing
UBC Author(s): Alan Forbes Kingstone (Psychology / Faculty of Arts)
ISSN: 16124782
Volume: 25
Page Range: 513-519
Publication Date: August 2024

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Publication: Journal of Social and Personal Relationships
UBC Author(s): Samantha Dawson (Psychology / Faculty of Arts)
ISSN: 02654075
Volume: 41
Page Range: 2070-2094
Publication Date: August 2024

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Publication: Sociological Methods and Research
UBC Author(s): Qiang Fu (Sociology / Faculty of Arts)
ISSN: 00491241
Volume: 53
Page Range: 1319-1349
Publication Date: August 2024

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Publication: Cognition
UBC Author(s): Alan Forbes Kingstone (Psychology / Faculty of Arts)
ISSN: 00100277
Volume: 249
Publication Date: August 2024

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Publication: Earth System Governance
UBC Author(s): Peter Dauvergne (Political Science / Faculty of Arts)
Volume: 21
Publication Date: August 2024

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Publication: Geomorphology
UBC Author(s): Marwan Hassan (Geography / Faculty of Arts)
ISSN: 0169555X
Volume: 458
Publication Date: 1 August 2024

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Publication: Personality and Individual Differences
UBC Author(s): Anita DeLongis (Psychology / Faculty of Arts), Nancy Sin (Psychology / Faculty of Arts)
ISSN: 01918869
Volume: 226
Publication Date: August 2024

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Publication: First Language
UBC Author(s): Carla Hudson Kam (Linguistics / Faculty of Arts)
ISSN: 01427237
Volume: 44
Page Range: 327-344
Publication Date: August 2024

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Publication: Demography
UBC Author(s): Amin Ghaziani (Sociology / Faculty of Arts)
Volume: 61
Page Range: 995-1009
Publication Date: 1 August 2024

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Publication: Documenting Socialism: East German Documentary Cinema
UBC Author(s): Kyle Frackman (Central, Eastern & Northern European Studies / Faculty of Arts)
Page Range: 307-326
Publication Date: 1 August 2024

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Publication: Work and Occupations
UBC Author(s): Sylvia Fuller (Sociology / Faculty of Arts)
ISSN: 07308884
Volume: 51
Page Range: 325-361
Publication Date: August 2024

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Publication: Population Research and Policy Review
UBC Author(s): Kathryn McConnell (Sociology / Faculty of Arts)
ISSN: 01675923
Volume: 43
Publication Date: August 2024

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Publication: Journal of Archaeological Science
UBC Author(s): Camilla Speller (Anthropology / Faculty of Arts)
ISSN: 03054403
Volume: 168
Publication Date: August 2024

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Publication: Journal of Community Psychology
UBC Author(s): Eric Kim (Psychology / Faculty of Arts)
ISSN: 00904392
Volume: 52
Page Range: 774-791
Publication Date: August 2024

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Publication: Collabra: Psychology
UBC Author(s): Mark Schaller (Psychology / Faculty of Arts)
Volume: 10
Publication Date: 8 July 2024

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Publication: Research in Social Movements, Conflicts and Change
UBC Author(s): Catherine Corrigall-Brown (Sociology / Faculty of Arts)
ISSN: 0163786X
Volume: 48
Page Range: 179-202
Publication Date: 4 July 2024

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Publication: Review of Economics and Statistics
UBC Author(s): Samuel Norris (Economics / Faculty of Arts)
ISSN: 00346535
Volume: 106
Page Range: 956-973
Publication Date: July 2024

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Publication: Social and Personality Psychology Compass
UBC Author(s): Azim Shariff (Psychology / Faculty of Arts)
Volume: 18
Publication Date: July 2024

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Publication: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
UBC Author(s): Elisha Klonsky (Psychology / Faculty of Arts)
ISSN: 16617827
Volume: 21
Publication Date: July 2024

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Publication: International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology
UBC Author(s): Samantha Dawson (Psychology / Faculty of Arts)
ISSN: 16972600
Volume: 24
Publication Date: 1 July 2024

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Publication: JAMA network open
UBC Author(s): Noah Silverberg (Psychology / Faculty of Arts)
Volume: 7
Page Range: e2424076
Publication Date: 1 July 2024

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Recent Thesis Submissions

Doctoral Citations

A doctoral citation summarizes the nature of the independent research, provides a high-level overview of the study, states the significance of the work and says who will benefit from the findings in clear, non-specialized language, so that members of a lay audience will understand it.
Year Citation Program
2024 Dr. Whetung's research argues that practicing Nishnaabeg place-based relationships in everyday life contributes to building alternative worlds that both respond to violence, and actively create a new world in which violence is unimaginable. Doctor of Philosophy in Geography (PhD)
2024 Dr. Yip's thesis examined how our human tendency to mind-wander impacts our negative moods, and how this tendency helps to explain the clinical challenges of depression and ruminative thinking. Her insights show how regulating our emotions may impact our awareness, intention, and control over our thoughts. Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)
2024 Dr. Shamei demonstrated that humans employ posture within the vocal tract when speaking, and that the control of posture is similar across gross and fine motor skills. These findings help to unify our understanding of human motor control across different domains. Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics (PhD)
2024 Dr. Triponez investigated the archival preservation of independent music production by interviewing music creators. He found that social and technological disruption, evolving creative practices, and the abundance of archival material pose preservation problems that result in an ongoing loss of documentary cultural heritage. Doctor of Philosophy in Library, Archival and Information Studies (PhD)
2024 Dr. Heltzel finds that people typically like political allies who engage constructively with opponents. And yet, US Senators' social media posts get more likes and shares when they dismiss opponents because active extremists prefer such content. For this and other reasons, people incorrectly expect backlash for engaging with opponents. Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)
2024 Dr. Mellema studied Modern Art specializing in Marxist feminism. Her dissertation provides an account of how artists index socially reproductive labour, the daily labour needed to sustain human beings and social communities. Her dissertation provides a corrective to art historical accounts that have ignored gendered labour and working people. Doctor of Philosophy in Art History (PhD)
2024 Dr. Dowd built on more than a decade of field experience in the Himalaya to create an ethnographic portrait of the Tibetan language and its role in Buddhist transmission. He argues transmission represents the culmination of silence, speech and writing, where these three modes of language converge to transmit the Buddha's teachings. Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology (PhD)
2024 Dr. Tilton examines feminist critiques of "traditional" epistemology, which is individualistic and assumes that epistemic standards are neutral. She links feminist critiques of traditional epistemology to a creeping anxiety that is undermining feminist epistemology's political possibilities, urging a return to more traditional notions of objectivity. Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy (PhD)
2024 Dr. Kuang studied the political economy of global 5G governance. Her dissertation, "A Mosaic of Mundane Innovations," shows how a new open and decentralized form of global governance took shape in the 5G technology regime. Her work foregrounds new possibilities for latecomer economies to participate in the making of the international economic order. Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science (PhD)
2024 Dr. Winter-Billington showed that wind-blown snow and rainwater contribute to the accuracy of predictions of the melting of glaciers that are covered in the rock debris from landslides. This research contributes to improved accuracy of forecasts and projections of the retreat of glaciers and regional hydrological impacts due to increased air temperature. Doctor of Philosophy in Geography (PhD)

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