Arts Speaker Series 2019/2020
Join us and learn about the interesting research our faculty are doing. There are a wide range of topics, so we are sure that at least one of them will pique your interest. Hope to see you there!
Monday, September 16, 2019
12:00 - 1:30pm
Necessity Is the Mother of Invention: Creativity and the Creative Process - Spruce Atrium
KPU President Dr. Alan Davis
Wednesday, October 2, 2019
11am - 12pm
Climate Change and Culture: From the Milpa Maya to the Tren Maya in Southern Mexico - Cedar Boardroom 2110
Dr. Julia Murphy, Anthropology
Indigenous communities in rural Mexico are dealing with changes in rainfall and weather patterns that undermine their livelihoods and food traditions. During research visits to Calakmul between 2015 and 2018, Dr. Murphy saw tourism development promoted as an economic alternative. What happens in Maya communities as the forests of Calakmul are transformed from a source of sustenance to a tourist spectacle?
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
1 - 2pm
Post-Secondary Student Films as an Artistic and Embodied Inquiry of Place - Cedar Boardroom 2110
Dr. Adrienne Boulton, Educational Studies
Dr. Boulton will discuss ongoing research that examines domestic and international students’ filmmaking around the concept of 'home' as an artistic, sensory-engaged place making practice. This session will explore student films and interviews to understand how participants constructed meaning through filmmaking and how this worked to create community within the classroom.
Wednesday, November 6, 2019
1 - 2pm
Fire Season: Changing Depictions of Western Canadian Landscape - Spruce Atrium
Liz Toohey-Wiese, Fine Arts
Looking at the history of depictions of Western Canadian landscape, produced by artists, tourism boards, and marketing departments, this presentation considers how economy and landscape have long been tied together in British Columbia. With the dramatic changes of climate change, and the prolonged forest fire season happening each year, this research considers changing how the history of forest fire prevention, with its accompanying posters and mascots such as “Smokey the Bear” came into being, and how artists are attempting to process these changes through their art practices. This presentation will appeal to a wide audience with cross-disciplinary research, engaging imagery, and relates to the everyday reality of living in B.C. as our climate shifts each year.
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
1 - 2pm
Spotlight Child Welfare: Evaluating a Journalism Collaborative Focused on Children in Foster Care - Spruce Atrium
Tracy Sherlock, Journalism; Alyssa Laube, KPU Journalism and Communications student, Editor of The Runner; Aleisha Langman, KPU Journalism and Communications student; Amei-lee Laboucan, KPU Journalism and Communications graduate
A group of journalists, funded by the Vancouver Foundation, wrote about child welfare for a year. Three student research assistants helped KPU Journalism Instructor Tracy Sherlock evaluate the project. Find out what they learned.
Monday, December 2, 2019
1 - 2pm
Gotta Love KD? Kraft Dinner's Literary Lives - Spruce Atrium
Dr. Shelley Boyd, Interim Associate Dean, Faculty of Arts, and Brigitte Leblanc, B.A. 2019
Everybody knows Canadians love Kraft Dinner. But what do Canadian writers think about this meal? Come and test your knowledge of this famous dish while exploring its many literary lives.
Wednesday, January 15, 2020
1 - 2pm
Debating "Political Correctness" in Academia: From PC Language in the Classroom to Publication of Fake "Grievance" Papers - Spruce Atrium
Dr. Arleigh Reichl, Psychology, and Dr. Wayne Podrouzek, Psychology
With the increased emphasis on the voices of marginalized groups and inclusion comes growing concern that more traditional perspectives and academic freedom are being threatened. This debate will address some of the issues around ‘politically correct’ culture in academia, including PC language in the classroom and the publication of fake ‘grievance studies’ papers in academic journals. In the current social-political climate, these are issues that concern all students, educators, administrators, and researchers.
Wednesday, February 12, 2020
1 - 2pm
Seeing Sound, Hearing Story - Cedar Conference Centre (1205A)
Dr. Daniel Tones, Music
"Seeing Sound, Hearing Story" explores the narrative imagery connecting "Cloud over Water" by Canadian composer Owen Underhill to Patterson Ewan's painting of the same name. It demonstrates how creative disciplines, such as music and visual art, are complementary and can be bridged in compelling ways. Daniel Tones, one of Canada’s foremost percussionists, performs selections from Underhill's work, and reveals his perspective on the music’s informed realization.
Wednesday, March 11, 2020
1pm - 2pm
Creative by Nature: When Art and Science Collide - Cedar Conference Centre (1205A)
Lee Beavington, Amazon Field School & IDEA
Amazon ants that invented farming. Bacteria grown as art. Microscopic cells blown up into giant sculptures by a KPU student. These and more fascinating examples will ignite a sense of wonder and explore what is possible when art, science and nature collaborate.
Wednesday, March 25, 2020
1pm - 2pm
[Postponed] Vancouver to the Mexican Bajio: Sensing Cities, Sensing Space - Spruce Atrium
Elizabeth Barnes, Fine Arts
Join Elizabeth Barnes for a discussion on the investigation into urban space through interdisciplinary research and creative practice, as informed by readings in topics as varied as history, evolutionary biology, and anthropology, and through personal observation. The weaving together of these influences within the defined structure of the experience of the city allows for a broad range of interpretations, available to a specialist and academic audience, as well as to a non-specialist audience and the general public.