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Vanier Social Science Fest wraps up Friday
The Gazette
Thursday, October 23, 2008
The Gazette
Students at Vanier College are spending time this week discussing various topics from the social sciences and how they are pertinent in today’s world.
The annual Social Sciences Festival, which was launched in 2001, has become a forum where students learn about the ways that social sciences can be applied to real world issues.
Festival events began Monday and will wrap up tomorrow, with speakers from many different fields exploring issues of immediate concern and sharing research techniques and results.
This year’s theme is Humans and our World.
The goal, according to Vanier communications officer Marguerite Corriveau, is to illustrate what people trained in social science can accomplish and how social science can be put into action.
“We exist within a complex world that continually challenges us to adapt to new environmental and social realities,” said Corriveau.
Therefore, she said, the festival this year is aiming to get students to think critically about a variety of issues arising out of human interactions. Students will explore topics as diverse as the development of aboriginal territories, conflicts in Darfur, fair trade coffee, stress, racism and love.
The speakers include Sophia Rabliauskas, whose work to protect her home community of Poplar River First Nation has earned her the 2007 Goldman Environmental Prize and the Order of Manitoba award in 2008; Jonathan Pedneault, a student activist who now gives seminars in schools to raise awareness about genocide; and Vanier humanities teacher and filmmaker Michael Mackenzie, who will discuss his just-released film, Adam’s Wall, which addresses the romance between a Jewish boy and a Lebanese girl and the strain their families and the conflict in the Middle East put on their relationship.
For the full schedule of events, go to www.vaniercollege.qc.ca/events/socscifest08/