Jordan Coble graduated with a B.A. in Cultural Studies. He was initially drawn to UBCO’s FCCS after spending some time outside of school. In an interview, he noted: “I needed a change of lifestyle but I was born and raised in the Central Okanagan, I take pride in my community and did not want to stray too far, so UBCO was a natural fit.” Jordan was accepted to UBCO through the Aboriginal Access Program as an English Major, but soon switched to Cultural Studies.

His decision to major in this program was grounded in who he was and how he wanted to engage with his community: “[being] a First Nations person I was naturally drawn to Indigenous Studies courses but I also yearned for more. It wasn’t until my first Cultural Studies course that I figured out how I could balance my interdisciplinary way of thinking.” This FCCS program provided a productive and positive space that encouraged independent critical thought and fostered an inspiring learning atmosphere. Jordan believed that the “combination of the subject matter, the openness of the professors and how easy they were to get along with, as well as the ability to incorporate what I was studying to where I wanted to go afterwards, professionally speaking, had me hooked from that point on.” Cultural Studies provided Jordan with a new method for analyzing the world around him. He has “never listened to music, watched television or movies, appreciated cultural diversity, or viewed my surroundings the same ever since [his] experience in Cultural Studies.”

Jordan in front of the WFN Sncəwips Heritage Museum.

These skills helped prepare Jordan for his current position as Curatorial and Heritage Researcher at the Sncəwips Heritage Museum in Westbank, BC. Jordan believes that the diversity of courses provided by UBCO’s FCCS allowed him to widely and accurately understand the various plights that many in our society face on a daily basis. Additionally, the interdisciplinary nature of Cultural Studies allowed him to bring diverse perspectives and skills into his new position at the museum as he deals with the sweeping range of cultural, social and political issues so crucial to the Westbank First Nations and the community as a whole. Jordan believes that social activism and change require an active critical eye and a willingness to stand for causes that individuals believe are vital.  He thinks ignoring important issues, or turning away from them, “is exactly the problem. My FCCS degree provided me with the tools to step forward, not just for my community but for all communities.” Jordan represents one of many success stories for students of UBC Okanagan’s FCCS. In closing, Jordan admitted: “It was because of my experience at UBCO that I acknowledged my responsibility to my community, which essentially established my identity. This is the greatest gift I received.”

Jordan canoeing with friends.

This story was written by Brandon Taylor, English major in FCCS. Brandon is a Research Assistant in FCCS, contacting alumni to find out about their experiences here at UBCO.

Photo by Andrew Barton

What: Pipeline Art Event
When: Friday, January 9, 7 p.m.
Where: Black Box Theatre, 1435 Water St, Kelowna
Cost: Free

On Friday, January 9, 2015 at 7 PM the Black Box Theatre in Kelowna BC, the three winning videos of the People on the Pipeline Contest will be shown, along with conversations with the filmmakers, and displays of pipeline-related art. The event will provide updates on pipeline activity in BC and across the country.

Jaalen Edenshaw and Gwaai (Hluugiitgaa) Edenshaw of Haida Gwaii and their collaborator, Dr. Ken Raj Leslie of Waterloo, won the People on the Pipeline $1000 first prize for their video “Haida Raid 2.1.” The judge, filmmaker Helen Haig-Brown, says of “Haida Raid” that it is a “great innovative low-fi animation with a strong song, strong message, and very creative use of different props from Lego to carved puppets.”

Tomas Borsa, a Vancouver-based journalist, photographer, and multimedia artist, and
Jean Philippe Marquis, a Vancouver-based journalist, photographer, and ethnographic film-maker, won the People’s Choice award for their film “Line In The Sand.” Ten year old Kelowna resident Rio Mendoza Angle won the Best Children’s Video for “Rio’s People on the Pipeline” and Mae Glerum from Kelowna and Kate and Tess Lindstrom from Terrace BC won Best Teen’s Video for “Tubing.”

The People on the Pipeline Contest is a project of The Eco Art Incubator, a research initiative out of the University of British Columbia Okanagan. Filmmaker Denise Kenney directed, starred in, and produced a “mock-fomercial” to launch the contest for the best short video expressing thoughts and opinions about the Northern Gateway pipeline after the public hearings across province, overwhelmingly opposed to the construction, led to the federal approval of the National Energy Board’s recommendation.

The winning films, along with Pipeline installation art by middle school students, and a presentation of Pipeline Art in BC will be shown at the Black Box Theatre, 1435 Water St, Kelowna on Friday, January 9th at 7 PM . This will be a great evening of film screenings and talks about pipeline issues in BC. The event will be free of charge and everyone is welcome.

Details about the project can be seen on the website http://www.peopleonthepipeline.com/. To show these films at events or festivals, contact the contest organizers, Nancy Holmes (nancy.holmes@ubc.ca) or Denise Kenney (denise.kenney@ubc.ca) or call 250-807-9369.

Lara Haworth

Lara Haworth was an international student from the United Kingdom and she graduated with her M.F.A specializing in Performance. She was initially drawn to UBC Okanagan’s FCCS because of the university’s highly respected international standing. She was also intrigued by the location, since the city of Kelowna was much smaller than what she was accustomed to, cities such as New York City and London. In fact, one of her first memorable experiences on campus was at UBC Okanagan’s Library: “I remember standing at the library checkout desk on one of my first days and glancing out the window and being overwhelmed by the unrelenting expanse of flat-topped mountains. I couldn’t see any lights, any houses: only trees.” The culture shock, however, was short-lived: “pretty soon I couldn’t imagine not being able to cross-country ski on the weekends, or walk a trail at lunchtime on campus, or know deeply, and appreciate, the work of the brilliant people around me.”

Lara made significant use of campus resources, working as a Teaching Assistant and also a Research Assistant during her time at UBCO. At one point, she co-directed a show with Professor Denise Kenney and the Theatre 280/480 students. Lara enthusiastically noted that this project was “one of the best and most fulfilling pieces of work I’ve ever made!” In addition to that venture, Lara also helped conduct the unusual performance intervention “Woodhaven Customs and Border Patrol” in Kelowna. Lara admits, “It was very moving how important Woodhaven was to people, and this revealed something about the status of ‘nature’ in a Canadian identity . . . The media attention the show received also made me see that Kelownians, and British Columbians, aren’t afraid to think about things that aren’t always totally obvious.”

New National Parks project,

Lara’s experience with UBCO’s FCCS helped develop her skills as a professional artist and gave her the ability to discuss her craft in a substantive and productive manner. She added that “[having] a vocabulary to talk about my own practice is totally vital.” Lara, since graduating from UBCO, has gone on to initiate many fascinating art pieces across the world. These include “New National Parks” in Chemnitz, Germany, and “The Library Project” in Yokohama, Japan.

The Library Project, Yokohama, Japan

Lara Haworth represents one of many success stories for students of UBC Okanagan’s FCCS. Lara concluded: “I would say that UBCO provides a world-class education in a small, supportive context . . . It’s also a place to experiment. I worked with some of the most extraordinary faculty there, who taught me more than they perhaps know. I’ll always be so grateful for that.”

This story was written by Brandon Taylor, English major in FCCS. Brandon is a Research Assistant in FCCS, contacting alumni to find out about their experiences here at UBCO.

The Digital Humanities is an emerging field that brings computational and humanities methods together, with a methodological commitment to thinking through making. In a classroom context, that means that students are not just consumers of digital scholarly resources, but producers too.

Computer technology and digital tools provide the ability to analyze, visualize, map and encode text. The result is rich and diverse content collections that can be both studied and mined by researchers. In addition to close reading a text, attending to the meaning of a specific passage, students can use distant reading or the visualization of patterns in a text or in a group of texts to develop or answer new research questions. “Digital tools and computer literacy open a whole new world for learning, disseminating and teaching,” says Crompton “adding code to text, to, for example, insert footnotes, not only requires research, design and technological skill, but also provides students with a way to contribute to the creation of knowledge.”

Constance Crompton with student at the launch

Explaining the Christmas Carol project, Crompton says, “the DIHU301 students collaborated on both the research and production of The Christmas Carol digital edition. The edition is intended for use by a first- or second-year undergraduate class that has been given specific essay topics. DIHU301 students had to design with the first- or second-year undergraduate students in mind, submitting a rationale for each design choice that explained just how the text and the code in the individual parts of the edition would be of use to students who had to answer the essay questions. By no means an easy task, the edition is a testament not only to the DIHU301 students critical, creative, and research skills, but also to their hard work and willingness to problem solve.” The Digital Edition of The Christmas Carol launch was kindly hosted by the library.

A Christmas Carol digital editions launch

In this case the cultural reception is what people thought of the book and its illustrations when it was published in 1843 as well as what they thought about it in first half of the 20thC, which we can work out from the way it was adapted in the film and audio files that are part of the edition.

Shed in his Sunshine Coast office

Shed Simas graduated with his B.F.A. in 2012 and was an International Student and Visual Arts major from Brazil. He was initially drawn to UBC Okanagan’s FCCS because he was looking for an institution that would cover a wide range of academic topics to broaden his skill set as a visual artist.

In an interview, he stated that “[what] attracted me to UBCO specifically was a combination of UBC’s great reputation . . . the Okanagan setting, and the smaller, more contained campus.” One of UBC Okanagan’s key welcoming programs, Jump Start, played an integral role in Shed’s integration into campus life. Living on campus also proved to be immensely fortunate because Shed enjoyed the “convenience of being able to walk to the Fine Arts building and use it any time of day or night.”

Shed also made an impact on the local community while working with Nancy Holmes and Lori Mairs on the Woodhaven Eco Art Project. Shed mentioned that he enjoyed having the “opportunity to work in the natural wonder of Woodhaven Regional Park, practice [his] design skills quite extensively and be surrounded by eco art from artists of so many backgrounds.”

Shed working on a cover design

Shed used his experiences at UBC Okanagan’s FCCS to eventually acquire a position at Harbour Publishing on BC’s beautiful Sunshine Coast. Shed noted, “[the] whole concept of FCCS fits very well with publishing, an industry that perfectly brings creative and critical together.” He also added, “I think it was precisely the well-rounded nature of my background that convinced [Harbour Publishing] to hire me.” Some of his responsibilities include cover design and type setting books to be published.

The unique combination of creative and critical studies that our faculty pursues has provided a series of marketable skills that Shed skillfully demonstrated to the fine people at Harbour Publishing, one of the most influential publishing houses in British Columbia. Additionally, Shed is working on building Onça Publishing, which “is an attempt to bring literary speculative fiction (science fiction, fantasy, etc.) more attention, and also to celebrate the print object.” Their first intended publication, being funded by an IndieGoGo campaign, will be a limited edition version of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Book covers designed by Shed

Shed Simas represents one of many success stories for students of UBC Okanagan’s FCCS. In closing, Shed concluded: “It was a wonderful journey, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

This story was written by Brandon Taylor, English major in FCCS. Brandon is a Research Assistant in FCCS, contacting alumni to find out about their experiences here at UBCO.

Jessica Bonney posing in her studio with her chapbook, Genisis.

Jessica Bonney, a Creative Writing Major in Creative Studies, was awarded $2,500 from the FCCS Undergraduate Student Research Award fund for a research creation project exploring small press and fine press publishing through the creation of a poetry chapbook.

With this award from FCCS, Jessica worked with Briar Craig in the print studio learning to use a letter press. With the letter press, Jessica created a chapbook called Genesis, a collection of 12 poems that explore change and the human experience, using fish as a metaphor for the complexity and fecundity of life, abundance, and coming of age. The project was an exercise in creating a book that was cohesive in its visual elements as well as the text within it.

Genesis cover image

“It was an absolute pleasure to work with Briar Craig this summer. He is a very generous teacher and an incredibly talented print maker.” Says Jessica, “likewise, it goes almost without saying, that it was a pleasure to have Nancy Holmes as my supervisor for this project. I am so lucky to have such talented teachers, who have supported and mentored me.”

She explored and researched typefaces, handmade paper, paper selection, book binding, print making, and screenprinting, creating poetic content and editing her own work. She also learned to create a lively and engaging blog which explores how a creative writing student standing at a publishing crossroads in this era can find creative and time-honoured ways to make a book.

inside pages of the chapbook

“The process helped to teach me how to take a thought or idea or image, and explore that thing from many different angles, “ notes Jessica, “and even now I feel like I only just scratched the surface. Fish symbolize fertility and abundance, birth and rebirth. The journey of exploring this metaphor, translated more into an exploration of myself and the season of my life that I am in. As a collection of poems, I was surprised at how things came together. I feel, now that the book is complete and printed, that it was really an exploration of what it means to come into adulthood. The process helped to teach me how to take a thought or idea or image, and explore that thing from many different angles and even now I feel like I only just scratched the surface.”

The Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies Undergraduate Research Awards provide undergraduate students support to engage in research and creation activities over the summer months. The award is meant to encourage undergraduate students who are enrolled in a major in FCCS B.A. or B.F.A. programs (English, Cultural Studies, Art History and Visual Culture, French, Spanish, Creative Writing, Visual Arts and Interdisciplinary Performance, or Combined Majors) to pursue innovative and original research under the supervision of one or more FCCS faculty members.

What: Art on the Line Gala and Fundraiser
When: Saturday, February 7, 6 p.m.
Where: Fipke Centre, UBC Okanagan, 3333 University Way, Kelowna, BC
Cost: $190.00 per auction ticket (admits 2 people) $10.00 per entrance ticket (admits 1 person)

UBC Okanagan’s Department of Creative Studies, and the Visual Arts Course Union is excited to present its 13th annual “Art on the Line” Fundraiser & Gala this coming Saturday, February 7th, 2015. This popular annual event brings together the local arts community to celebrate the work of our students, faculty, alumni, as well as artists practicing in the community in the spirit of raising funds.

The event is limited to 100 auction tickets to be sold at $190.00 each. One ticket admits two people and entitles the holder to an exciting evening of live entertainment, good food, and of course, great art. Auction ticket holders are guaranteed one piece of artwork! Auction tickets are drawn based on a random lottery system to which ticket holders then make their selection based on the art that is remaining. This always makes for an exciting and suspenseful evening! Tickets may be reserved through event coordinator Connor Charlesworth via email at AOTL2015@hotmail.com or phone at 250-718-8761.

In addition to the regular draw, there will also be a raffle for select items that are sure to impress; $5 buys you a chance to win an original piece of art! As well, look for exciting mini-art sales throughout the night, delivered in vintage style…!

Sheri-D Wilson, an acclaimed spoken word poet and performer, will be our special guest MC propelling, prompting and piggy-backing you through the draw (metaphorically speaking), which will begin at 7:30 sharp in the Fipke lecture theatre.

Doors will open at 6:00pm for ticket holders to view the artwork, make their wishlist, and enjoy live music, refreshments and h’ordeuvres. Complimentary tissues will be provided to those that don’t get their first picks.

The funds raised from this event are distributed amongst the Visual Arts Course Union to financially aid with events such as the 4th year graduate exhibition, visiting artists, and trips. 10% of the proceeds raised from Art on the Line will go to the Cool Arts Society which is dedicated to providing fine arts opportunities for adults with developmental disabilities living in the Central Okanagan.

For more information, please contact Art on the Line coordinator Connor Charlesworth at AOTL2015@hotmail.com.

Jane Ash Poitras. Mixed Media, “Potato Peeling 101 to Ethnobotany 101”

What: Alternowledge discussion series
When: Friday, December 5, 7 p.m.
Where: Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art, 421 Cawston Ave., Kelowna
Cost: Free 

The last Alterknowledge event for this term, entitled Indigenous Pedagogies and Knowledges in the Public School System, will be held on Friday, Dec. 5th at the Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art.

Public schools in BC are increasingly offering students the opportunity to explore Indigenous knowledges and perspectives. This is reflected in recent developments such as the English First Peoples curriculum, which explores Indigenous worldviews through literature. More than the integration of Indigenous content, these education initiatives are also about valuing Indigenous approaches to teaching and learning. What is Indigenous pedagogy, and how is it incorporated into the public school classroom?

Diane Campeau will initiate this discussion about the relevance of Indigenous pedagogy for the education of all children and youth, bringing to the discussion her experience working with schools in BC and in communities of the Algonquin Nation in Quebec.

Recognizing knowledge as a form of power, and acknowledging how structures of power shape what constitutes knowledge, AlterKnowledge provides a venue for so-called “alternative” knowledge to be shared and valued and for dominant systems of “knowledge” to be altered.

The AlterKnowledge Discussion Series is organized by FCCS faculty members, Allison Hargreaves and David Jefferess.

Information about future discussions can be found on our web page, www.ubc.ca/okanagan/fccs/news-events/ongoing/alterknowledge.html

A small group of invited participants from both the UBC Vancouver and Okanagan campuses along with the  University of Seville, Spain will get together on Monday, November 24th for an international dialogue.

This transcultural dialogue on engaging diversity across cultures, disciplines, and professions, will include a small number of university students, researchers, student development specialists, and community members from diverse fields. In addition to exchanging ideas amongst participants at each site and between the two sites, we want to share insights between our Canadian and Spanish campuses about what we imagine we are doing when we collaborate with people across cultural and disciplinary boundaries, diverse models for describing and conceptualizing these encounters past and present, and implications for other kinds of diverse communities, such as rapidly diversifying global cities.

This roundtable will bring together three diverse groups of invitees at two leading public, research-intensive universities: UBC (Vancouver and Okanagan campuses) and the University of Seville, Spain and will engage students, staff, researchers, and community members in a transcultural, interdisciplinary, international dialogue between three campus roundtables on two continents.

This extraordinary dialogue will consist of three segments during the morning: a facilitated dialogue (in English) at UBC; an interactive videoconference dialogue between the Canadian and Spanish roundtables (with simultaneous translation, as needed); and a concluding segment (in English), which will include brainstorming for next steps in sustaining the conversation. An agenda and brief background reading (1-2 pages) will be provided to all registered participants ahead of time.

There is no charge for participating, however space is limited, and you must register in advance.

Okanagan Campus: 9:00-11:00 am
CCS 322 (FCCS Boardroom)
To register: francisco.pena@ubc.ca 

Vancouver Campus: 8:30-11:00 am
Pharmaceutical Sciences Building, Room 3340, 2405 Wesbrook Mall
To register: community.learning@ubc.ca

This research-grounded, transcultural diversity and innovation dialogue is being coordinated by several UBC units and units at University of Seville in Spain.