As the largest student society at Dal, the Dalhousie Arts and Social Sciences Society doesn’t do much on a small scale, including hosting the annual Dalhousie Arts and Social Sciences Undergraduate Conference. The event is open to students from any Canadian university (and from any discipline), and showcases the research and work of arts students from Dal and King’s.
This fifth year of the conference started in the McInnes Room on March 6 with a welcoming reception dinner that allowed participants to network with fellow students and faculty members.
“The conference is a great way to connect students,” says organizer Allie Graham. “It’s an opportunity to meet new friends, mix and match different areas of study, and stimulate conversation within the faculty.”
The current VP (Academic) of DASSS, Allie has been involved in the society since her first year at pilipiliÂţ». Since transferring to Kings to pursue a major in journalism, she has remained actively engaged in DASSS where she spreads her passion for student unity and inter-professionalism between academic programs.
The first evening of the conference concluded with a keynote address by associate professor (Philosophy and Gender and Women’s Studies) Dr. Letitia Meynell on “Imagining Gender: Sex Difference Research in Evolutionary Psychology.” Dr. Meynell’s captivating presentation was an ideal lecture to set the fervent tone for the following day of the conference.
Uniting disciplines
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This year’s event cultivated the voices of several student papers on an array of topics in the field of arts and social sciences. It pilipiliÂţ»fully managed to bring together the broad network of students and programs represented within the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS). Likewise, Saturday’s six panel sessions showcased the diversity of disciplines and breadth of research in FASS:
- Working for Pay, Paying for [School] Work (Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray, dean of FASS)
- Hovering and Covering: Parenting For a New Age (Dr. Robin Oakley, Sociology & Anthropology)
- Terror and Resistance: Examining the Modern Effects of Colonization (Dr. Krista Kesselring, History)
- Love As An Epistemic Faculty (Dr. Warren Heiti, Philosophy)
- Two Worlds: Impacts of Cultural and Economic Hegemony (Dr. Julia Wright, English)
- Her Body: Patriarchal Impositions on Female Sexuality (Dr. Jacqueline Gahagan, Health Promotion)
“The conference showcases the variety within FASS, which is sometimes seen as widely general,” says Angela Hou, an International Development Studies representative on DASSS and conference committee member. “The conference is about building a community within the program.”
In the whirlwind of organization and execution of the two-day conference, coordinator Allie Graham admits that organizing the conference was slightly overwhelming at times, but was pleased with the result. Though she’ll be passing the spearheading torch onto a new DASSS member next year she’s still eager to work with Dalhousie’s student advocacy community.