Meet our former Public Humanities Fellows

Faezeh Izadi

PhD Candidate
Department of Classics and Religion

Faezeh was awarded a placement with the Calgary Catholic Immigration Society for the project “Representation and Cultural Safety”. 

At CCIS, Faezeh was engaged in three key projects. She collaborated with various teams to create educational resources and train ambassadors for the HPV Self-Sampling Project, to advocate for cancer prevention within specific immigrant communities. She contributed to the development of the Newcomer Research Library (NRL), an accessible digital repository of research on immigrants and refugees in Alberta, by reviewing and curating content on relevant topics and participating in user testing of the NRL. She also assisted in implementing the Cultural Thinking Framework for CCIS partner organizations, serving as both a researcher and content creator. These projects collectively enabled her to leverage her strengths in research, analytical thinking, content development, and teaching to advance CCIS's objectives of fostering cultural safety, improving healthcare access, and upholding research ethics among newcomers and ethnocultural groups in Calgary.

Sanaz Safari

PhD Candidate
Department of Classics and Religion

Sanaz was awarded a placement with Fort Calgary for the placement opportunity “Creative Experience, Exhibition & Program Research & Development”. 

Sanaz was awarded a placement with The Confluence Historic Site & Parkland.  She is working on the project, “Voices of the Ancestors: Indigenous Radio Revitalization Project”, transforming an old radio station located within the museum into a functional recording studio. This project is dedicated to capturing and sharing the oral histories of elder Indigenous people from the Treaty 7 territory, including members of the Blackfoot Nations, Îyarhe-Nakoda Nations, Tsuut’ina Nation, and the Métis Nation of Alberta. The project represents a meaningful step towards preserving cultural heritage, promoting intercultural dialogue, and honoring the enduring legacy of the Indigenous communities connected to The Confluence Historic Site & Parkland. Sanaz’s research expertise allowed her to explore the history of oral storytelling in Canada, deepening the project’s historical context and aiding in the development of a new history panel for the studio. Her proficiency in writing grant applications also contributed to sustained financial support for the initiative. 

Jessica Tannenbaum

PhD Candidate
Department of History

Jessica was awarded a placement with Alzheimer Calgary for the placement opportunity “Enhancing the Capacity to Adapt”. 

Alzheimer Calgary was looking for a Public Humanities Fellow to support the ongoing work to adopt policy to meet the demands of an expanding, culturally diverse population of persons living with dementia. 17,000 people are living with dementia in the Calgary area, and this number will double in the coming decade. Adding to this, caregivers and people living with a diagnosis are suffering the ongoing effects of isolation and decreased services and respite programs. Jessica worked with Alzheimer Calgary to develop better outreach strategies to extend services to underserved communities. The project involved skills in knowledge translation and intercultural communication as well as some understanding of the effects of dementia and the demands on the caregivers. 

Siranat Thamtrachai

PhD Candidate
Department of Philosophy 

Siranat was awarded a placement with the Esker Foundation for the placement opportunity “Youth Engagement and Decolonizing Gallery Spaces”. 

Esker Foundation sought a Public Humanities Fellow to continue ongoing work on the topic of decolonizing gallery/museum spaces. Siranat was responsible for reviewing research on, and enacting decolonizing methodologies that de-center the Eurocentric view, challenge white supremacy, and value alternative narratives. In this role, Siranat developed the "Assemblage, Personal History, & Creativity: Turning Found Objects into Artwork" workshop, which invited participants aged 15 and older to explore the artistic potential of repurposing discarded items. Attendees learned about the concept of assemblage, gaining insight into how everyday objects can be transformed into meaningful art. The workshop included a presentation on the significance of ideas in art and how they can be creatively expressed through found materials. Participants then had the opportunity to create their own unique artworks, drawing inspiration from personal history and memory. 

Comfort Kwarteng

PhD Student
Department of Political Science

Comfort will be working with the Alzheimer Society of Calgary on the project "Enhancing the Capacity to Adapt".

The Alzheimer Society of Calgary was looking for a Public Humanities Fellow to support the ongoing work to adapt capacity and adopt policy to meet the demands of an expanding, culturally diverse population of persons living with dementia. They are seeking ways to better connect with individuals from populations that have been historically underserved by ASC, which include cultural minority groups, the LGBTQ2S+ community, persons living in rural areas surrounding Calgary, and people living with developmental differences. Another area is to expand on is in reducing stigma around a dementia diagnosis, and building inclusive communities that enhance quality of life as the disease progresses.

Xenia Reloba de la Cruz

PhD Student
Department of Communication, Media and Film

Xenia will work on "Public Programs and Engagement, Temporary Exhibition Development" with Fort Calgary.

Fort Calgary was looking for a Public Humanities Fellow to help them broaden the stories they share about this layered site. Specifically, the fellow will research, develop, and execute a new temporary exhibition that embraces the theme of crime and criminality. They will collaborate with the Programs/Content Team and Collections to create this exhibition. They will also take part in other related tasks at the museum to gain valuable insights into visitor experience and public programming.

Sara Salavati

PhD Student
Department of Psychology

Sara will be working with the Calgary Catholic Immigration Society on the project "Representation and Cultural Safety".

CCIS was looking for a Public Humanities Fellow to contribute to their work around cultural safety, cultural thinking, research ethics, and data equity. Currently CCIS is working on a Newcomer Research Library that is an accessible digital library of research on immigrants and refugees in Alberta. The library provides insight into topics and themes that researchers and community organizations highlight most frequently, while also highlighting gaps in Academic literature. CCIS also works very closely with the University of Calgary with the intent of advocating for, and placing emphasis on, ethical principles for research on newcomer populations.

Nella Darbouze-Bonyeme

PhD Candidate in Transcultural Studies
School of Languages, Linguistics, Literatures and Cultures

Nella Darbouze-Bonyeme will be working on "Public Programs and Engagement, Tour Development" with Fort Calgary.

Fort Calgary was looking for a public humanities fellow to help them broaden the stories they share about a site that has played a central role in both the long and more recent histories of this region. The site is rooted in place-stories and memory practices of the Blackfoot Nations, Îyarhe-Nakoda Nations, Tsuut’ina Nation, and the Métis Nation of Alberta, Region 3. Specifically, the fellow will research, develop, and execute a new outdoor tour that embraces the theme of public programs for 2022, “The People.” They will collaborate with the Content Team to create and deliver this tour, and will take part in any offshoot projects that might arise from this tour.

Originally from Montreal, Nella completed a B.A. at McGill University and a M.Sc. at Université de Montréal in Psychology before delving into Literary Studies with a M.A. in Comparative Literatures & Cultures at the University of Bristol (UK). She is now completing a PhD in Transcultural Studies, with a focus on the Black Atlantic and global nineteenth-century literatures. Her research investigates the conception of systemic racial oppression in nineteenth-century tales of black and mixed-race avengers. Nella has been a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II scholarship and the Alberta Excellence Award. She is currently a Frances Spratt Graduate Student Fellow at the Calgary Institute of Humanities.

Anastasiia Gushchina

PhD Candidate in Communication and Media Studies
Department of Communication, Media and Film

Anastasiia Gushchina will be working with the Calgary Catholic Immigration Society on a project entitled "Representation and Cultural Responsiveness project".

CCIS was looking for a public humanities fellow to contribute to the framework of their Cultural Responsiveness work and advocacy for research ethics.  Specifically, the fellow will be looking into how cultural safety can be represented in the physical space with the ultimate goal to reduce unnecessary burdens on the system and to produce equitable access, outcomes, and opportunities for culturally diverse populations.

Anastasiia is an international doctoral student who is passionate about film. She received both her BA and MA in Film Studies from Saint Petersburg State University in Russia. Her academic journey led her to focus on theoretical and practical implications of the use of various representational strategies in visual media and the ways these media portray vulnerable social groups. Her PhD research examines a connection between production practices of independent animated documentaries and the topics the films address. She has presented her research at numerous international conferences dedicated to issues of media representation. She is also serving as a Graduate Representative Council and a Labour Relations Committee Steward for her department advocating for the needs of her peers.

Karina Hincapié

PhD Student in Spanish
School of Languages, Linguistics, Literatures and Cultures

Karina Hincapié will be working with Esker Foundation for the project "Youth Engagement and Decolonizing Gallery Space".

Esker Foundation is a privately funded contemporary art gallery located in Calgary, Canada. As a leader in the Calgary arts community, Esker Foundation connects the public to contemporary art through relevant, accessible, and educational exhibitions, programs, and publications. The Public Humanities Fellow will continue ongoing research on the topic of decolonizing gallery/museum spaces. The fellow will be responsible for reviewing, assessing models for, research on, and/or enacting decolonizing methodologies that de-center the Eurocentric view, challenge white supremacy, and value alternative narratives. The approach to this project is open, and may include emergent research, and/or public engagement activities (with youth, adults and/or children), or other alternative approaches. 

Born in Caracas from Colombian parents, Karina completed her BA at Universidad Central de Venezuela. Following her undergraduate studies, she was granted an Erasmus Mundus Master Scholarship to pursue a joint MA degree in Cultural Narratives from Universidad de Santiago de Compostela (Spain), Adam Mickiewicz University (Poland) and Université de Perpignan (France), from which she graduated with honours. Currently, she is a Spanish PhD candidate at the University of Calgary. Her research focuses on interactions of adolescents in recent Latin American films using the Affect Theories and as a mechanism of reflection around vulnerability and belonging, with special interest in female agency and racialized identities.

Monica Di Rosa

PhD Candidate in Greek and Roman Studies
Department of Classics and Religion
Monica Di Rosa will be will be working with the Centre for Sexuality on a project entitled "Bringing 50 Years of the Centre for Sexuality to Life".

Centre for Sexuality is a nationally recognized, community-based organization delivering programs and services that address sexual health issues in a comprehensive way. They have been leading the way in the areas of sexuality, healthy relationships, human rights, gender identity, sexual orientation, equality and consent for more than 48 years in the Calgary community. The Centre for Sexuality was looking for a public humanities fellow to bring their archives to life. Monica assessed the Centre’s archives and produced a history and time-line to be used in support of the organization’s fiftieth anniversary celebrations in 2022.  Further, she identified potential stories and personalities that exemplified the Centre’s role in the feminist and LGBTQ2S+ movements over its history.

Monica’s studies have long had her evaluating and interpreting primary historical sources and she also has extensive archival research experience, including a Diploma in Archival Science, Latin Palaeography and Diplomatics from the State Archive of Bologna. Her doctoral dissertation focuses on her interest in understanding social relationships and multiculturalism in the city of Rome during from the first to the fifth centuries CE, but she also has experience working in modern archives. In 2014 she held an internship at the Biblioteca Italiana delle Donne, a library created by a feminist collective and which holds major collections of material dedicated to feminist movements and gender studies.

Kaitlyn Purcell

PhD Student in English and Creative Writing
Department of English
Kaitlyn Purcell will be working with the Esker Foundation on a project entitled "Youth Engagement and Decolonizing Gallery Space".

Esker Foundation is a privately funded contemporary art gallery located in Calgary, which connects the public to contemporary art through relevant, accessible, and educational exhibitions, programs, and publications. The gallery reflects on current developments in local, regional, and international culture; creates opportunities for public dialogue; and supports the production of ground-breaking new work, ideas, and research. Esker Foundation was looking for a Public Humanities Fellow to assist in the development of a new youth initiative. Kaitlyn was responsible for reviewing and assessing models for, and research on, youth engagement activities as a means of decolonizing gallery/museum space. She was also responsible for reviewing and assessing additional decolonizing methodologies that de-centered the Eurocentric view, challenged white supremacy, and valued alternative narratives, mapping it onto decolonization work by youth in the gallery.

Kaitlyn is Denesuline and a member of Smith's Landing First Nation (Treaty 8 territory). She is also a member of the Writing Revolution in Place creative research collective based in Treaty 6 territory. She is the recipient of numerous writing awards, including the Metatron Prize for her debut poetic novella ʔbédayine (Spirit). Her doctoral research centers storywork methodology and rhetorics of the medicine wheel to create an ethical space for creative praxis as healing. Her work meditates on recovery, ecology, and intergenerational survivance. It will be presented through multi-modal creative productions such as creative writing, visual, digital, and installation arts. 

Rebecca Geleyn

PhD Candidate in English and Creative Writing
Department of English
Rebecca Geleyn will be working with the Calgary Catholic Immigration Society on a project entitled "Representation of Cultural Safety in Physical Space".

Calgary Catholic Immigration Society (CCIS) is a non-profit organization that offers settlement and integration support and services to all immigrants and refugees in Calgary and Southern Alberta. The largest immigrant serving agency in the Prairies, CCIS, combined with their volunteer collective, is represented in almost every cultural, faith based, and linguistic background observed in the changing makeup of Calgary. CCIS was looking for a public humanities fellow to contribute to the framework of a Cultural Responsiveness Audit. Rebecca looked into how cultural safety can be represented in the physical space, which is important for all community serving agencies and should be integrated into the overall approach of service delivery. Cultural Safety “is an outcome that is based on respectful engagement which recognizes and strives to address power imbalances inherent in the health and social services system. It results in an environment free of racism and discrimination where people feel safe receiving health care.” (Government of NWT 2016: 9)

Rebecca held a graduate assistant role (since 2018) with The Insurgent Architects’ House for Creative Writing (TIA House), which has fueled her passion for issues related to antiracism and social justice. She has also published numerous poems and book reviews in literary journals across Canada and has served in board and editorial roles with literary and academic publications, including ARIEL, a journal specializing in postcolonial and human rights scholarship. Place and the environment are an important part of Rebecca’s scholarly research, and she defended her creative dissertation, a novel, alongside a critical analysis of this work in 2021.