Researcher sparks new conversations about machine learning and robotics

Teresa Heffernan

Saint Mary’s University professor Teresa Heffernan is shining a new light on robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) by exploring how the field looks to – and is shaped by – fiction.

As part of her recent work through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Heffernan’s research investigates popular ideas about the future of AI and the relationship between machine learning and language-based humanities. Although interested in the world of science from an early age, Heffernan became intrigued with AI in 2010 when she began reading about the promises of AI and noticed a common theme.

“I was looking around at different scientific journals and articles, and people kept referencing fiction like it was prophetic – as if the fiction was going to come true,” says Heffernan, a professor in the department of English Language and Literature at SMU. “And if you know anything about fiction, that’s the whole point: it doesn’t come true; fiction has lots to say about the world, but it needs to be interpreted.”

Her curiosity led her to visit some of the top robotics labs in Japan and the United States. Through her discussions with leaders and specialists in the field, she began to question some of the assumptions about AI and to consider its impact on culture and humanity.

“When you’re working in the field, you hear people talk about technology becoming more ‘human’ or more intelligent,” she says. “What they’re talking about are increases in storage, data, computing speed, and more sophisticated algorithms. It actually has little to do with human intelligence.’’

Despite the increasing hype about machine learning, Heffernan is trying to reframe the conversation about AI and robotics, looking instead at its social and environmental impacts.

For instance, she points to research from the Water Resources Center at Texas Tech University that asserts a typical data centre uses about 3 to 5 million gallons of water a day – the same amount of water as a city of around 50,000 people. Heffernan says this industry also produces e-waste and carbon emissions.

“Data often is called the new oil because it’s so lucrative, but it really mimics the resource-intensive and climate-altering infrastructure of older technology like automobiles,” she says. “These complications are easily glossed over in the hype about human-like machines.”

This fall, Heffernan will travel to Germany where she’ll be furthering her research at the Käte Hamburger Centre for Apocalyptic and Post-Apocalyptic Studies at Heidelberg University.

While there, she says she will continue her work sparking new conversations about the future of AI – and how it can be used responsibly and sustainably.

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• For more information on Dr. Teresa Heffernan’s research, visit socialrobotfutures.com.

• Learn more about the department of English Language and Literature.

SMU creative writing contest winners announced

The English Language and Literature department is pleased to announce the winners of this year’s creative writing contests. The Writing Contest Committee shares a few thoughts on each of the winning entries.

The Joyce Marshall Hsia Memorial Poetry Prize:

First prize
Julien Sheppard BA’21, current MA History student, Patrick Power Fellow in Applied History 

We were moved by the narrative energy and particularity in these poems, and by the exactness of the perceptions of natural detail (the shimmer of gaspereau). One believes in the human voices, the characters one encounters: “When did you stop asking / about Margaret?” Some of the poems drew us in with their chilling images, their calculated ambiguities; others by immersing us in a conjured matrix of human and creaturely relationship. 

Second prize
Patrick Inkpen, BA student, English major

We liked the range of themes, forms and tones in this submission, and the way this poet marries poetic convention to original perception. There’s a compelling oddness about many of these poems, despite their traditional formal structures. 

Third prize

Melisa Kaya, BA student, English major, Creative Writing minor

We admire this poet’s attention to detail, to the metapoeic resonances that are possible on the page. The locutions are unexpected and vivid: "I crawled from my mother’s hollow like a squirrel of a willow ...." The concrete poem which begins the submission felt fresh and true: a new perception wrested from language, given linguistic form. 

The Margó Takacs Marshall Memorial Prize For Excellence In Short Story Writing

First prize – “Gone for Good”
By Melisa Kaya, English major 

A metanarrative characterized by an uncompromising wildness, an unwillingness to resolve; it seemed to us the most interesting of the submissions, though we sometimes struggled to follow the narrative thread. Still, we have decided to honour it with the first prize, to recognize its ambition and its distinctness, vis-à-vis the other submissions.

Second prize – "Where Do We Go?"
By Alex Baker, MA Philosophy student

A grisly existential tale, which surprised us with a new take on a familiar genre-fiction scenario. The sentences are compellingly constructed and the characters and settings are deftly evoked.

Third prize – "Soliloquy of Something"
By Theodore Moss III, BSc student 

A story that gradually brings us into sympathy with what initially seems a one-note narrator: the story moves from simplicity to complexity in a way that is compelling. What begins as a simple story about teenaged love and rejection becomes a complex story about friendship and meaning.

The annual poetry and short fiction contests are open to any student currently enrolled at Saint Mary’s University. Next year’s deadline for submissions will be in March 2023. Some of the previous winners have gone on to become nationally celebrated writers, such as Sue Goyette, Jenny Haysom, Jill MacLean and Danny Jacobs.

Dr. Benita Bunjun honoured for teaching excellence and educational leadership

Dr. Benita Bunjun

Dr. Benita Bunjun’s innovative teaching methods resonate deeply with her students and colleagues at Saint Mary’s University, inside the classroom and out in the community.

Her teaching philosophy, in a nutshell: “I am invested in envisioning programs, curricula and resources that promote alternative and diverse perspectives and knowledge systems which have predominantly been omitted, silenced and excluded from academic spaces of learning.”

Dr. Bunjun’s important efforts were honoured May 20 during Spring Convocation week, as she received two of the university’s top awards for faculty members: 

• the Father William A. Stewart, S.J. Medal for Excellence in Teaching

• the Dr. Geraldine Thomas Educational Leadership Award

“It means a lot to me to be recognized for the way that I teach, and also the ways that I’m trying to shift the culture of teaching. Delivering information and knowledge while also transforming spaces of learning with a kind of care built within pedagogy. That’s really important for me,” says Bunjun, whose teaching practice is rooted in intersectionality, interdisciplinarity and social justice.

“During my time as Dr. Bunjun’s student, she acted as not only a professor, but as a true mentor. It is largely due to her encouragement, support and engagement that I was able to finish my degree with honours and continue with my education. I have continuously witnessed Dr. Bunjun show similar care and engagement with other students, all while remaining respectful of individual differences and learning styles.””

— - Tia DeGiobbi BA’17

She is an associate professor in the Department of Social Justice and Community Studies (SJCS), and in the Women and Gender Studies program. Since joining Saint Mary’s in 2016, she has prioritized collaborative teaching and curriculum development with community educators and SMU colleagues, particularly in the realm of anti-colonial feminist knowledges.

Recent examples of this are two new courses offered this past year: Indigenous Settler Relations, which she co-taught and developed with Michelle Paul, a Mi’kmaw Water Protector and educator; and Indigenous Relations and Knowledges, also coordinated with Paul and co-taught with Prof. Raymond Sewell and Indigenous community educators Diane Obed, Aaron Prosper and Toni Goree. Her Community Organizing course is another pivotal undergraduate experience. Students learn to work together on advocacy for causes they care about, in real-world settings with community relationships Bunjun has built over time.

Dr. Bunjun with Fisson Tibbo (at left) and Jenn Waugh (at right), student coordinators of the 5th annual Critical Indigenous, Race and Feminist Studies Conference at Saint Mary’s.

Dr. Bunjun with students Fisson Tibbo (at left) and Fernanda Matos (at right), who were emcees at the 5th annual Critical Indigenous, Race and Feminist Studies Conference at Saint Mary’s.

Beverlee MacLellan BA’20 was one of the first students to graduate with the Social Justice and Community Studies major. In nominating Bunjun for the Father Stewart Award, MacLellan recalled being profoundly inspired from the very first class. Ten others, including former students, teaching assistants, mentees and faculty members, supported the nomination, praising Bunjun for creating an inclusive environment where students build critical thinking skills and self-confidence.

“Her office has become a safe space for anyone who finds themselves marginalized for race, nationality, sexuality, gender, class and/or disability, where she offers attentive listening and an abundance of snacks,” said MacLellan. “Her self-awareness makes her humble enough to listen to and accept experiences beyond her own, which is an important trait in the humanities, as it can improve perspective and scholarship.”  

Soon after arriving at Saint Mary’s, Bunjun created the Racialized Students Academic Network (RSAN), a crucial point of ongoing connection for both students and alumni. She and RSAN organize the annual Critical Indigenous, Race and Feminist Studies Student Conference (CIRFS). Now in its fifth year, the event has culminated in the book Academic Well-Being of Racialized Students (Fernwood Publishing, 2021), edited by Bunjun and featuring essays and poems by students, faculty and alumni. Plans are in the works for a second edition.    

“Everything I’m trying to be and do at Saint Mary’s is a building block,” Bunjun says. “This is the only conference like this in the Maritimes. The amount of labour to support that journey for students is tremendous, but not only is it an engagement with professional development but also of building strong transnational kinship relations amongst the students.”

“Her office has become a safe space for anyone who finds themselves marginalized for race, nationality, sexuality, gender, class and/or disability, where she offers attentive listening and an abundance of snacks. Her self-awareness makes her humble enough to listen to and accept experiences beyond her own, which is an important trait in the humanities, as it can improve perspective and scholarship.”

— Beverlee MacLellan BA’20

For many students who attend CIRFS, it’s their first time presenting academic research, so Bunjun offers advance workshops on how to write an abstract, and how to present at a conference. This year, she supported the Tenancy Rights of International Students (TRIS) Project coordinators to present at the conference. Bunjun also coordinates TRIS with SJCS students Lena MacKay and Nadian Looby, by working with international students at a number of local universities to promote their scholarship, rights, well-being and self-advocacy.

“During my time as Dr. Bunjun’s student, she acted as not only a professor, but as a true mentor,” Tia DeGiobbi BA’17 said in supporting the teaching award nomination. “It is largely due to her encouragement, support and engagement that I was able to finish my degree with honours and continue with my education. I have continuously witnessed Dr. Bunjun show similar care and engagement with other students, all while remaining respectful of individual differences and learning styles.”

In 2020, Bunjun also received the Saint Mary’s University Student Association Award for Overall Excellence in the Field of Education.  

For her Dr. Geraldine Thomas Educational Leadership Award, her nominators included RSAN and faculty members from four different academic departments. They recognized her tireless work as a mentor to students, teaching assistants and fellow faculty members, and for educating colleagues throughout the university in relation to her critical thinking on Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (EDIA) by advocating for the decentralization and implementation of EDIA in all aspects of the university.

As an innovative educator, Bunjun co-created the SJCS department and much of its curriculum. Her leadership “has been crucial to building our impressive student major and minor numbers only a few years into our department’s existence,” noted her colleague Dr. Val Marie Johnson.

Bunjun’s own research examines organizational and institutional power relations, with a focus on colonial encounters within academic spaces. She starts a sabbatical leave in September, and has a typically busy summer lined up working with students on directed study projects.

In expressing gratitude for the awards, Bunjun thanks her nominators, her own mentors, and her colleagues “who stand by my vision as a teacher, and who have demonstrated so much solidarity and care as faculty on our campus.” As a faculty member who has worked in five post-secondary institutions, she continues “to urge universities to be brave and make informed, relevant decisions to promote well-being in our institutions.”

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Learn more about the Social Justice and Community Studies program.

Inspiring words from Arts Valedictorians: “We all have a place in this university”

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Baden Mercer

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Weam Ibrahim

Baden Mercer and Weam Ibrahim have unique messages to share as valedictorians for the Faculty of Arts graduation ceremonies on Friday. Their speeches do have some common threads, though: gratitude for faith, family and the supportive environment at Saint Mary’s University.

Baden Mercer

“Religion for me has always been a personal area of study but not something I imagined I would study academically,” says Mercer, who started out as a political science major. After taking a few courses with the Department for the Study of Religion, he was intrigued and opted to do a double major.

“In today’s world, it’s definitely interesting to see how religion intersects with political systems, and to explore those tensions,” says Mercer, who grew up in Dartmouth and is an active member of the Anglican Church of Canada.

Last year, Mercer received the Harry and Lily Rutte Award for Spirituality in the Workplace, for a paper he wrote on the military chaplaincy. Winning the award motivated him to continue his research, so he’s returning to Saint Mary’s this fall to pursue a Master of Arts in Theology and Religious Studies. For his master’s thesis, he’ll expand his research to a national scale and explore how chaplains address contradictions between faith in the military and violence out in the field.

During his time at Saint Mary’s, Mercer has also been a passionate advocate for students with disabilities, as a student on the autism spectrum. “The Fred Smithers Centre of Support for Students with Disabilities has been a phenomenal support for me,” he says. The centre plays an integral role in helping students succeed in their academic goals, with services ranging from career counselling to ASL interpretation and providing a quiet place to write final exams.

The university’s smaller class sizes also provide a supportive atmosphere for students with disabilities, he adds: “Here, the professors get to know you, and take an active interest in how you’re doing. For new students coming in, if you’re ever having difficulty, there is always someone here to talk to at Saint Mary’s, whether it’s a classmate, faculty member, advisor, counsellor and so on.”

He’s the second generation in his family to graduate from Saint Mary’s—his father Dwayne studied engineering here 20 years ago.

Weam Ibrahim

Born in Libya, Weam Ibrahim was eight years old when her family moved to Canada so her father could pursue his PhD in Halifax. Soon she will have a Bachelor of Arts, and this fall she will begin work on a master’s degree in curriculum studies at Mount Saint Vincent University, in the Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) program.

“It takes a village for someone to graduate university,” says Ibrahim, explaining she couldn’t have made it this far without the support and encouragement of her parents, her three younger brothers, and relatives back home.

“I can’t wait to hug my mom immediately after the ceremony and thank her for everything that she has done for me throughout my degree, then call my dad and brothers in Qatar. Then I am looking forward to making a memorable video call to my entire family in Libya, as they are all planning to gather together and watch the ceremony online.”

In her speech, she will share a thought-provoking quote from the Quran, which translates to “Perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you, and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you; God knows and you don’t know.”

The lesson behind this passage is to try your best to welcome opportunities, no matter how they may appear in the beginning. Even something like learning to navigate the pandemic, she says. “Let these experiences serve as a reminder that we are able to overcome any difficulty that comes our way, wherever we may be.”

An honours BA with an English major and a minor in international development studies has turned out to be “the biggest blessing in disguise,” she says, though she didn’t realize that when she first embarked on her studies.

“I have always enjoyed the sense of community and acceptance during my time at Saint Mary’s,” Ibrahim adds. “As a visible minority, being accepted and appreciated everywhere I went on the SMU campus has played an enormous role in my university experience. It goes without saying that SMU manages to make everyone from all different backgrounds, faiths and races feel like we all have a place in this university.”

Q&A with FGSR Valedictorian Charlene Boyce

Charlene Boyce

Charlene Boyce (BA'92, MA'22) is a writer and creative professional who has worked in communications, community engagement and graphic design. She actively seeks work that aligns with her values, whether that be in higher education, non-profit systems change or environmental work. Her path has been circuitous and scenic, and she wouldn't change a step.

Her journey as a mature student began in MBA courses, but she realized that her interests lay in the nexus of history, culture and identity. She began her Master of Arts in Atlantic Canada Studies in 2019, completing her oral-history-based thesis during the pandemic while working full time. Through interviews with former employees, musicians and patrons, she explored the history of the Misty Moon Showbar and the implications that history holds for Halifax’s cultural identity.

In 2021, her short story Flour and Fire won first place in a Reedsy challenge and she has recently had a poem shortlisted by the Writer's Federation of Nova Scotia.

Preferred Name: Charlene M. Boyce

Hometown: Truro (born in New Glasgow)

Graduation Date: May 19, 2022

Previous Degrees: BA'92 (SMU), DiplGD’94 (NSCC)

Thesis title: Music, Money, Memory and Cultural Identity: An Oral History of the Misty Moon Show Bar

Thesis description: The Misty Moon Show Bar was an iconic nightclub in Halifax that was open 1969-1994 and lives on in infamy, tied to a cultural identity of Halifax as a violent city of many bars. Interviews were undertaken with 13 narrators who worked at, were patrons of, or were musicians who played at the club, in order to establish an oral history and dig into the validity of this association. A thematic analysis establishes the community was linked through music, monetary benefits and shared experience. The report exposes the connections and care at the core of the collective identity, while looking at the ways that the Misty Moon is still collectively
commemorated.

Why did this type of research appeal to you? 

In 1988 when I came to SMU, I quickly discovered the downtown bar scene and I have remained intrigued by the interweaving of personal identity and cultural identity, reflected in some of the discourse around different interpretations of Halifax history and city’s identity. 

Why did you choose Saint Mary’s University for your graduate work? I was working here when the idea began to crystallize and I was familiar with some of the excellent history work undertaken here in the Atlantic Canada Studies program. I think talking with Raymond Sewell about his experience was a clinching factor for me. 

Any other successes you’d like to share, or difficulties you were able to overcome? During the drafting of this thesis, at home in the dark days of the pandemic, I honed and perfected my Productive Procrastination techniques. I’ve written more than 20 short stories during this time, one of which won a competition; I have also written poems, and undertook my first 3-Day Novel challenge, producing a 60,000 word manuscript in three days. I feel like this experience has really unlocked my long-harboured writing ambitions. 

Future plans? Keep writing, keep finding work that aligns with my values and keep learning. 

Advice to students? By all means, let fear keep you from doing things like jumping out of perfectly good airplanes, but never let fear keep you quiet when you need to speak, and don't let fear hold you back from taking exciting chances, like stepping into a new career or moving across the country. The growth you will achieve is worth the risk.*

*If you are already a skydiver, kudos to you! Someday, maybe I will... but probably not!

Multiple degrees enhance the family business for mother and daughter

Elora (standing) and Olwyn Gehue

Simultaneous studies in Arts and Commerce added up to the perfect combination for Elora Gehue of Halifax—and for her mother, Olwyn Terris-Gehue. The pair were seated side by side during their graduation ceremony this week at Saint Mary’s University.

“I’m not really sure how she felt about it when we first started to attend classes together but it definitely got better,” Terris-Gehue recalls with a chuckle.

“It’s been a great experience, honestly,” says Gehue, herself a mother of two young sons. “I think it made us closer too, being able to learn and grow with each other.”

The mother and daughter, ages 58 and 27, share an appreciation for the interdisciplinary learning options at Saint Mary’s. They took quite a few classes together, and are graduating with an unusual combination of credentials:

• Both receive Bachelor of Arts degrees with majors in Religious Studies, plus a minor in Indigenous Studies for Gehue.

• Both receive Bachelor of Commerce degrees; Terris-Gehue’s is a general business degree, while Gehue majored in Human Resource Management and minored in Psychology.

• Both receive Certificates in Atlantic Canada Studies.

• Gehue also receives a Certificate in Human Resource Management.

Academic curiosity and the entrepreneurial spirit run deep in the Gehue family. The variety of programs complement each other as well as the family businesses, which include Lotus Business Solutions, Gehue’s business consulting firm; Ataj, a construction company with her father; and the family’s first retail outlet, Crystal Moon Wellness Boutique, which opened last fall just off Spring Garden Road. A pet supply store and an inclusive clothing shop are in the planning stages, and Gehue also starts a new job soon as Indigenous Student Advisor at Dalhousie University.

“We graduated together once before, in 2017,” notes Terris-Gehue, who was the last person to receive a Bachelor of Education degree from Saint Mary’s that year. Her daughter’s first BA included a major in International Development Studies and minors in English and Sociology. The IDS program sparked Gehue’s interest in equity, diversity and inclusion, which led to her focus on human resources. 

“Realizing the issues that I have as somebody who isn’t visibly diverse, it can be very complicated to navigate,” says Gehue, whose father is from Sipekne’katik. “So for me, venturing into HR is a way to help promote changes within corporate structures, because it can be very tough. Diversity is not just skin deep, it’s a lot of things.”   

During her first degree, Gehue was a member of the Alumni Council and served as president of the Indigenous Student Society. She coordinated the first Mawio’mi on campus, and volunteered on a committee that helped to implement some of the recommendations from the President’s task force on Indigenous students.

Her parents always encouraged her to be open and curious about exploring her culture as well as different paths of spirituality, and studying religion at Saint Mary’s opened up many areas of questioning and critical thinking. Traditional healing is a big focus in the family store, with smudge kits, gemstones, books, dreamcatchers, beadwork and art by local Indigenous and Celtic artists, and much more. The shop also has pop-ups in other locations, and was a popular fixture at the Evergreen Market on the waterfront in the winter.

The mother and daughter encourage new students to be adventurous in choosing their courses, and to reach out to their advisors, career counsellors and other campus supports. If a program isn’t clicking, you don’t have to get stuck on a single path, they agree.

“The wide range of courses at Saint Mary’s is wonderful. You’ve got wiggle room to try things, room to explore different options,” says Terris-Gehue.

They also appreciate the comfort of a smaller university. Terris-Gehue had jitters at first about coming back to school as a mature student but she quickly felt accepted and appreciated. Other students and even a few professors began calling her “Mom”, and she made friends with the mothers of international students, from Thailand to the Caribbean.

The Gehue family connection continues at Saint Mary’s in September, when Terris-Gehue’s 18-year-old son Dakota (and Gehue’s brother) arrives to begin his studies at the Sobey School of Business.

“He says to me, ‘So are you coming back, Mom, and taking some more courses so you can graduate with me too?’ I don’t think so, but who knows?”

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Plan a degree unique to your interests with the undergraduate program advisors available in Saint Mary’s Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Science and the Sobey School of Business.

Dr. Alexander MacLeod Launches Short Story Collection, "Animal Person"

Francesca Ekwuyasi and Dr. Alexander MacLeod

Dr. Alexander MacLeod reads from "Animal Person"

Book signing

Alexander MacLeod’s long-anticipated new collection of short stories, Animal Person, is finally unleashed and out in the world. The national launch on April 6 was a celebration complete with Cape Breton musicians, drawing several hundred fans and friends to the Halifax Central Library.

Canadian cover

U.S. cover

“The last time I published a book, we didn’t have this library, that’s how long it’s been,” said Dr. MacLeod, drawing laughs and applause from the crowd. The landmark library’s construction began in 2012, and MacLeod started building these stories back in 2010, soon after his first book Light Lifting was released to wide acclaim.

The musicians were Wendy MacIsaac and Troy MacGillivray, playing fiddle and piano while MacLeod signed books. The event’s co-host was author Francesca Ekwuyasi MA’16, a Saint Mary’s University graduate whose debut novel Honey Butter Pig Bread is earning international praise. She relished the opportunity to pick MacLeod’s brain on behalf of the audience, diving in with perhaps the hardest question first: “Why do you write?”

“I write because I think I’m trying to make sense of experience,” MacLeod replied. “Sometimes my experience, sometimes our experience. And I believe that experience is resolutely resistant to language. It doesn’t want to become a story. I’m fascinated by how much work it takes to process experience and turn it into something interesting … I’m trying to pin it down as best I can.”

Language doesn’t settle easily on animals either, he added: “In this book, there are times when people are contemplating animals and wondering what the animal thinks of them. That animal is not using human language but that animal is definitely having thoughts.” 

The short story genre allows him to focus on the intensity of the situations found in his imagination, and to shed light on them from various points of view.

“I think I may have the first really deep dive on piano recitals and pet rabbits (and) motel rooms with serial killers,” he said of the varied collection of eight stories, published in Canada by McClelland & Stewart.

He mesmerized the room with readings from two of them, selected to show how the book travels great distances in space and time. “Everything Underneath” follows two sisters snorkeling at the beach on the last day of summer, in scenes recognizable to people from Dartmouth to Inverness County and beyond.

California is the setting for his “weirdest” story, which gets inside the mind of a man with a fetish for connecting with the contents of strangers’ suitcases. “What exactly do you think you’re looking at?” was inspired by two photographs taken in the mid-1970s by the late U.S. artist Henry Wessel Jr. The story resulted from an invitation to be part of Henry Wessel: A Dark Thread, a 2019 exhibition at La Maison Européen de la Photographie in Paris. Another photo of Wessel’s is featured on the cover of the U.S. version of Animal Person.

“The book is very much interested in intimacy and connections, and not necessarily the typical ones,” said MacLeod.

Some of the stories are like cats on their second or third lives after appearing in previous anthologies, and it’s good to have them all herded together in this one collection. Anchoring the book’s front end is “Lagomorph,” honoured with a 2019 O. Henry Prize and the 2021 Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia Masterworks Arts Award, which MacLeod won with Andrew Steeves of Gaspereau Press for their handbound letterpress collaboration.

“The Closing Date” originally appeared in the Sex and Death anthology (Faber & Faber and House of Anansi Press, 2016). “Once Removed” was featured in a recent issue of The New Yorker magazine, and “The Dead Want” was first published in iLit Modern Morsels: Selections of Canadian Poetry and Fiction (McGraw Hill Ryerson, 2012).

Dr. Alexander MacLeod teaches in the Department of English Language and Literature at Saint Mary’s, and also the Atlantic Canada Studies program. 

The Power of Poetry in Women and Gender Studies Research

Angela Bowden and Claire Yurkovich (standing)

 The process of writing poetry may have healing benefits for trauma, especially when the writing happens in a communal setting. That’s what student Claire Yurkovich is hoping to find out through her graduate research at Saint Mary’s University.

“There is something so special about creating in a shared space, and this became very central to my research in poetic healing,” says Yurkovich, who is in the final stretch of her Master of Arts degree program in Women and Gender Studies (WGST).

In February, she facilitated a series of four 90-minute community workshops to explore poetry’s therapeutic benefits as a tool for processing trauma related to sexual violence. Some participants had no prior experience writing poetry, so the first session introduced poetic vocabulary, forms and other writing devices. The next two sessions focused on writing, with a variety of prompts. In the final session, the budding poets shared their creations with the group.

“Writing poetry allows for a processing of your own emotions around difficult topics, but it also creates the potential for other individuals to read and resonate with your words, and space for shared experiences to emerge,” she says.

Poetry is also a central element of Angela Bowden’s graduate work in Women and Gender Studies here at Saint Mary’s. Born and raised in New Glasgow, she is an accomplished author, speaker and activist whose writing draws upon her lived experiences as an African Nova Scotian woman and mother of three sons. She aims to ignite conversations around social justice, systemic racism’s perseverance, and the connections between historical trauma and current inequalities, while also honouring ancestors and inspiring young people.  

Bowden’s first poetry collection, Unspoken Truth – Unmuted and Unfiltered, was published in 2021 by Pottersfield Press, and she’s now working on a children’s book for Black girls. She was recently celebrated in a feature story on the website Amplify East, which aims to “change the voice of Atlantic Canada one woman at a time.”  

“Poetry, much like music, provides a platform for difficult topics to be expressed and received without direct argument or confrontation,” says Bowden. “Poetry is able to take us beyond the cerebral understanding and into a place I like to refer to as ‘innerstanding’; a place where you are touched so profoundly that you are motivated to change. It can result when poetry moves through difficult topics unapologetically in a truth telling that forces a reconciliation and calls for change on behalf of the recipient.”

While writing UnSpoken Truth, she realized that many of her poems were grounded in women and gender issues. Her son was attending Saint Mary’s, and Bowden ended up meeting with Dr. Michele Byers to learn more about the WGST graduate program.

“I learned that it is critical to the understanding, ‘innerstanding’ and healing of Black women and our society to be a part of the larger conversations that are taking place in academia about us and around us; intersectionality and various feminist theories not only apply to us but are us. I am learning, teaching and sharing knowledge,” she says.

Mavis Mainu

Mavis Mainu of Ghana was living in Germany when her best friend recommended Saint Mary’s for graduate studies. With her interdisciplinary interests in climate change, migration and gender issues, she felt the WGST program was the perfect fit for her research, and would build on her first master’s degree in Development Studies and Governance from the University of Duisburg-Essen. She lives in Berlin, so the main challenge was juggling a busy work schedule with Halifax classes that sometimes went past midnight with the time zone differences.

Mainu works at Climate Analytics, a non-profit climate science and policy institute where her current role is administrative and operational in nature. Her goal is to shift into a content role that focuses gender and adaptation, climate research and analysis, so she can contribute to the much-needed academic literature in the intersection of these issues.

“Before I undertook this degree, I was working on a lot of projects for women and girls but did not have the academic background to complement the practical skills or experience,” says Mainu. “This program is empowering and preparing me to work in areas that I am passionate about.”

Mainu is a co-founder of the Oak Foundation, an NGO that nurtures young women in education and entrepreneurship in Ghana, and is also a Climate Reality Leader, a Queens Young Leader, Associate Fellow of the Royal Commonwealth Society, and a One Young World Ambassador.

Learn more about the Graduate Program in Women and Gender Studies at Saint Mary’s, and the undergraduate Minor in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies. 

Uncovering new twists in the legal history of marriage and divorce in England

Humans have been falling in and out of love—and marriage—for many centuries. While the legalities of separation and divorce continue evolving today, it’s intriguing to look back and see how ordinary folks managed their breakups in England 300 to 500 years ago.  

“The subject is so large and I keep finding new things,” says Dr. Tim Stretton, a Saint Mary’s University professor whose work focuses on legal and social history, and women’s legal rights.  

While researching Marriage, Separation, and Divorce in England, 1500-1700 (Oxford University Press, 2022), he and co-author Dr. K. J. Kesselring of Dalhousie University found a treasure trove of surprising cases in secular court archives and private litigation records. 

Other historians have relied heavily on records from the church courts, which held the monopoly on marriage and separation in England during this time period. In the wake of the 16th century Reformation, England was the only Protestant jurisdiction that didn’t introduce full divorces allowing remarriage—an option that only became widely available after the passing of the Divorce Act in 1857. In theory, unhappy spouses’ only hope was a church court separation.  

“The single biggest surprise was finding private separation agreements,” says Stretton. “Hundreds of couples in miserable marriages should have gone to the church to get a separation. But that was expensive and shameful, potentially, and church officials often told them to get back together, which in the case of domestic violence was horrific.” 

With the help of lawyers trained in secular law, parting couples quietly made their own arrangements to resolve property matters, safety concerns and other differences. These private separations could be difficult to enforce but for exes who remained cordial, they seem to have provided peace of mind. These private agreements also helped spur the rise of alimony in the 17th century, another unexpected finding detailed in two chapters.  

This is Stretton’s second book with Kesselring. They co-edited Married Women and the Law: Coverture in England and the Common Law World (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2013) following a conference at Saint Mary’s. Coverture—the term for married women’s rights under English common law—restricted a wife’s ability to control real estate, own movable property, enter into contracts or participate in litigation without the cooperation of her husband.  

A significant number of women in broken marriages defied these limitations in filing lawsuits against their husbands, the new book confirms, illustrating this with case studies and rich biographical detail found in the litigation records.  

“It’s hard to do this work and be sensitive to the memories of these people but at the same time, some aspects of the stories need to be told,” says Stretton. “The fierce independence of the women involved is what struck us throughout, often in surprising ways.”  

More new books from Saint Mary’s History professors:  

• The Town of Vichy and the Politics of Identity: Stigma, Victimhood and Decline (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022); by Dr. Kirrily Freeman, Professor of History  

• Empire and Emancipation: Scottish and Irish Catholics at the Atlantic Fringe, 1780–1850 (University of Toronto Press, 2022); by Dr. S. Karly Kehoe, Canada Research Chair in Atlantic Canada Communities 

Irish President Honours Bridget Brownlow for Peace Education Impact

Bridget Brownlow

Micheál Martin, Taoiseach (Prime Minister) also attended the ceremony.

President Michael D. Higgins with Bridget Brownlow.

Bridget Brownlow met Ireland’s President Michael D. Higgins for the first time this week, as the recipient of one of his highest honours. She was the only Canadian among 11 people who received his 2021 Presidential Distinguished Service Award for the Irish Abroad.

Brownlow was the sole winner in the award’s “Peace, Reconciliation & Development” category, in recognition of her work with the Northern Ireland / North of Ireland Peace Education and Conflict Resolution Program. The ceremony took place December 2 at Áras an Uachtaráin, the President’s official residence in Dublin. Other Irish dignitaries present were Micheál Martin, Taoiseach (Prime Minister) and Simon Coveney, T.D., Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence.

“I was so grateful to represent Saint Mary’s and Canada,” says Brownlow, who is President of Peaceful Schools International, Saint Mary’s Conflict Resolution Advisor and a part-time faculty member. “Many strategic connections were solidified as a result of meeting these senior government officials, which will further support our programs in Ireland and elsewhere going forward.”

Mr. Coveney called the award recipients “some of the finest members of our global family, our diaspora,” in an October 22 announcement. “In the ever-changing world we live in, this remarkable group of individuals have been a constant beacon for Ireland and the values we hold dear.” 

Now in its 18th year, the Peace Education Program is a partnership between Saint Mary’s and Peaceful Schools International. SMU students help to facilitate peace education and conflict resolution workshops with children in elementary schools overseas, and here in Nova Scotia. The program has grown to include conflict management and peace education training, and has established partnerships with colleagues at Yale University and Queen’s University, Belfast.

Brownlow heads to Belfast next to facilitate in-person training with members of the Orange Order, Loyalist and Republican youth, the Irish Republican Socialist Party, Sinn Fein and a cross-community workshop with teachers and parents. Throughout the pandemic, she has continued to offer weekly training sessions overseas virtually.

“The long-term strategy is to continue building on the existing capacity for managing conflict and promoting peace education, which are essential features of the peace process. The fundamental principle of Peaceful Schools International is to ’teach peace’ at the youngest age possible, although it remains possible at any age,” she says.

Planning is underway for the program’s next trip to Northern Ireland, scheduled for late April 2022. For updates, follow Peaceful Schools International on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, and SMU’s Peace Education / Conflict Resolution Society on Instagram and Twitter.   

Ryan Francis Returns for Two-Year Indigenous Research Fellowship at Saint Mary’s

Ryan Francis

A familiar face to the Saint Mary's University community is back to continue working on projects that foster the potential of sport and recreation to bring people together for intercultural understanding.

Ryan Francis, the university’s first Indigenous Visiting Fellow, recently returned for a two-year fellowship with the Faculty of Arts and the Centre for the Study of Sport and Health (CSSH). His first fellowship was  a four-month term from January to April 2020, coinciding with the onset of the global pandemic.

“A lot of our plans and programs involved people gathering and coming together, so it was very challenging to do that,” says Francis. “We highlighted in the previous fellowship that there is a lot of work that can be done. With a longer runway, we’ll be able to implement a lot more of those meaningful opportunities for the university community.” 

Part of the fellowship includes working with Saint Mary’s and organizers of the North American Indigenous Games, postponed in 2020 but now scheduled to take place July 15-23, 2023 in several locations in Kjipuktuk (Halifax) and Millbrook First Nation. NAIG 2023 will include competitions in 16 sports, bringing together 3,000 local volunteers with more than 5,000 athletes, coaches and team staff from 756 Indigenous Nations.

“SMU’s commitment to being a part of the Games, through facility use and accommodations, is really significant,” says Francis. “It will be really neat to think about how we can play a role, and factor in how to support the participants coming to campus, and make this environment feel especially welcoming to them.”

One idea already in development is the creation of “Brave Spaces” – spaces on campus where athletes and attendees can gather to share and learn more about each other’s cultures, since the Indigenous athletes will be attending from across Turtle Island.

During his first fellowship in 2020, Ryan was also a key player in the university’s inaugural Red Tape Game, working with Athletics and Recreation and the men’s Huskies hockey team. The growing movement across Canada and the U.S. aims to promote inclusion in ice hockey. The initiative was started and inspired by Logan Prosper of Whycocomagh First Nation – now an Arts student at Saint Mary’s – and his father Phillip, to create awareness of racism in hockey and encourage players to take responsibility for combatting racism. SMU’s second Red Tape Game is in the planning stages for this winter. Francis and Dr. Cheryl MacDonald, Associate Director of Outreach for the CSSH, hope to build on the idea and expand it to other teams.

“Ryan has been such a wonderful contributor to the Centre,” says Dr. MacDonald, noting he has provided guest lectures in the Health, Wellness and Sport in Society program, and participated in the international Hockey Conference hosted by the Centre.

“The Centre’s mandate is very much to facilitate and disseminate research on sport and health,” she adds. “We’re also committed to community outreach and interdisciplinary approaches. I think what we are creating here is meaningful opportunities to combine research and education with community.”

The fellowship builds on Saint Mary’s ongoing initiatives to engage with Indigenous communities, strengthen intercultural research and curriculum, and respond to the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action.

Francis grew up in Cole Harbour and is a member of Acadia First Nation. He is currently the Manager of Provincial Outreach & Coordination for the Nova Scotia Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage, in its Communities, Sport, and Recreation Division. He has a Master of Physical Education degree from Memorial University, and majored in sport management for his Bachelor of Science degree at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. Follow him on Twitter at @RyanFrancis58.     

Pet Photos: A Key to Successful Online Dating for Men According to New Study

Dr. Maryanne Fisher

They say a picture is worth a thousand words and in the case of a new research study from Saint Mary’s University, the right picture may be worth a lifetime of love.  The research shows that women see men who care for pets and children as good potential long-term partners, says evolutionary psychologist Dr. Maryanne Fisher.  

The recent study, published in the journal Evolutionary Psychological Science by Saint Mary’s University's Mackenzie Zinck, Dr. Laura Weir, and Dr. Fisher, shows that men who care for dependents are perceived as high-quality mates, displaying the ability to invest in a long-term mate. This investment may be exhibited through financial and social status, and the ability to care for a mate and any resulting children. 

Online dating profiles were used to test the prediction, and as expected, men seeking long-term mates displayed dependents — primarily dogs and children— more than men seeking short-term mates, but both men and women seeking long-term mates displayed dependents similarly. Men, though, showed more dogs while women showed more children.  

“The inclusion of dependents represents a way for daters to advertise that they can, and are willing to, invest in a living being,” said Dr. Fisher.  “Men’s photos are really telling. Those interested in short-term relationships showed their body, their fancy trucks, the big fish they caught in the summer. Meanwhile, those seeking a relationship posted photos with their dogs and children. Whether or not women show the same difference remains to be seen. There weren’t many women dating online in the summer of 2020 openly advertising that they were seeking short-term relationships only.” 

Dr. Maryanne Fisher, a researcher and professor of Psychology at Saint Mary’s, is an expert on the evolutionary foundations of human interpersonal relationships. Her primary research areas include the evolutionary foundations of human interpersonal relationships and women's mating strategies and indicators of female physical attractiveness. 

Dr. Fisher recently discussed the study in an article she wrote for the Conversation.