Press Release
Tuesday, December 20, 2022
Four Université de Moncton Projects Receive SSHRC Insight and Insight Development Grants
The Université de Moncton is proud to announce that four research projects have received funding of just over $410,000 from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) as part of the 2022 Insight and Insight Development Grants competition.
Professors Charles Gaucher and François Renaud will receive funding over five years, respectively $255,800 and $60,514. For Professor Laurence Arrighi, an amount of $48,536 is granted and $45,731 is allocated to Professor Philippe Volpé's project.
The four research projects are:
Study on Social Inclusion and Community Belonging of Bengkala Koloks
“The proposed research program focuses on the social inclusion of deaf people (koloks) and their sense of belonging to the community in Bengkala, a unique village located in the mountains of northern Bali, Indonesia. This village, known among locals as the Deaf Village (Desa Kolok), has attracted the attention of researchers for some thirty years now, as it has a high number of deaf people (about 2.2% of the population) and has developed unique forms of social inclusion for deaf people, including the creation of an indigenous signed language mastered by nearly half of the hearing population, Kata Kolok, and the creation of a bilingual program (Indonesian-Kata Kolok) in a village elementary school.
The benefits of this type of research go beyond the village of Bengkala, as the dissemination of the inclusion mechanisms adopted by this community represents an alternative to the medicosocial models of understanding disability that could equip deaf communities in many other countries, including Canada, in their struggles for the recognition of signed languages, languages whose inclusive potential is often questioned by the collective support systems.
This project represents a unique opportunity for Jessica Breau and me to develop knowledge in a field of research that has been close to our hearts for several years. Reflecting on the logics of social inclusion in Bengkala will allow us to take advantage of community knowledge that could help value signed languages as a means of communication that promotes the social participation of deaf people.”
- Charles Gaucher, professor at the School of Social Work
From Song to Dialogue: Listening-Reading, Critique and Rewriting of Homer by Plato
“This research in ancient philosophy proposes to examine with fresh eyes the roots of the conflict between philosophy and poetry (understood as literature), through the study of the relationship of Plato (428-348 B.C.), considered by many to be the most influential philosopher of Western culture, to his great predecessor, the emblematic poet Homer (8th c. B.C.), reputed to be "the educator of Greece." Greek youth could recite (i.e., sing, perform) Homer by heart. Homer was like the latest rock star today, and Homeric recitation contests were ubiquitous. Plato banished Homeric poetry and educational design from his ideal city, but he also borrowed much from Homer, including modes of persuasion, which could make his own philosophy more attractive and accessible. I seek to explain Plato's relationship to Homer by examining for the first time all references to Homer in the Platonic canon from a wide range of perspectives, ancient and modern.”
- François Renaud, professor in the Department of Philosophy
The Podcast as a New Glottopolitical Tool in a Minority Language Context
“The objective of this research is to investigate from a sociolinguistic point of view a form of media broadcasting potentially available to everyone - the podcast - in Acadie, New Brunswick. In this context, where francophones are facing a double minorization (in relation to English, but also in relation to more legitimate forms of French, often embodied by traditional media), the research aims to understand how the podcast can offer a form of linguistic-media emancipation through the empowerment of one's language, not only “in” French, but “in my" French (a linguistic safe space, in short). I also seek to show that the podcast offers sociolinguistic research new ecological data (i.e., in situ and unsolicited by the researcher) potentially influenced by the functionalities offered by the digital environment. To my knowledge, podcasting in its various dimensions is an uncharted territory for research in Acadie as this medium is called upon to play a prominent role in the lives of individuals and communities. The research is conducted in the form of a netnography, which is a relatively new method that also allows us to test its heuristic potential for sociolinguistics."
- Laurence Arrighi, professor of linguistics in the Department of French Studies
International Solidarity Movements and Social Change in Acadie, 1945-2000
“Beyond the study of cultural and linguistic relations that link Acadie to Western European societies, the project aims to analyze how the ideas, networks and experiences acquired by Acadians in the context of solidarity movements with African and Latin American countries have nourished organizations, movements and initiatives in Acadie. How did the Third World experience of an activist like Huberte Gautreau nourish her feminist commitment against violence against women in New Brunswick? What impact did exchange trips have on youth activism in Acadie? How did the missionary endeavours of the Acadie congregation contribute to building relationships between the small Acadian society and the Third World? Among many others, these are some of the questions we aspire to answer with this project.”
- Philippe Volpé, professor of history in the humanities sector of the Edmundston campus
The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council is the federal granting agency that promotes and supports research and research training in the social sciences and humanities.
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