About the Faculty of Arts
Mount Royal University's Faculty of Arts houses the following departments: Economics, Justice, and Policy Studies; English, Languages, and Cultures; Humanities; Interior Design; Psychology; General Education; and Sociology and Anthropology. Counseling also reports to the Faculty of Arts. The Faculty of Arts offers degrees in Anthropology, Criminal Justice, English, History, Interior Design, Policy Studies, Psychology, and Sociology, and offers courses to the 15,000 students enrolled at Mount Royal University. In addition, the Faculty of Arts offers 26 minors over a diverse range of disciplines. Arts faculty have received national and international recognition for their teaching and research, hold Tri-Council grants, publish books, and disseminate research in top-ranked academic journals.
About the Role
During our first meeting, the board recognized three key needs to advance the project that present meaningful research opportunities for students. First, we need to review existing fat liberation activism and archives in Canada for the archive to focus its proposed holdings. A student worker will review existing materials showcasing fat activism online, in the news, and on social media and then prepare a report laying out the scope of fat activism in Canada. A second student will create and reach out to a list of activist groups whose mandates intersect with the Fat Liberation Archive. Fat Liberation is an intersectional project, reaching across gender, ability, sexuality, and more. Both students will build a bibliography of scholarship engaging fat activism in Canada and the US. Both students will develop a presentation to share with the board of the Fat Liberation Archive. The students will develop several transversal skills by: honing their skills as online archivists, practicing data management, evaluating scholarship, sharpening their writing skills, and presenting their findings. The Fat Liberation Archive will gain knowledge of the Canadian activist landscape and scholarly literature and map connections with groups cross-nationally.
This role is for a current MRU Student (any year, any program).This job is associated with the Faculty of Arts, Humanities Department.
About the Project
Project Title: An Intersectional Review of Fat Liberation Activism and Scholarship in Canada.
Project Description: In November 2024 a group of Albertan activists and faculty from MRU met to imagine a Fat Liberation Archive. The idea comes from Haley Pukanski of Weight Inclusive Alberta, an organization that maintains a list of non-fatphobic healthcare providers in Calgary. I met Haley at the first Fat Market YYC, which demonstrated the power of gathering fat people, fat activists, and art depicting fat people in one place. We intend to create a digital and physical archive to celebrate and memorialize the activism for fat justice in Alberta. We have secured Peter Houston’s support to build and house an archive here at MRU. The Fat Liberation Archive will thrive alongside the recently opened Aveline-Vazquez LGBTQ+ Library Archive Collection, making MRU a hub of activist archival holdings.
Qualifications
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Current Mount Royal University student (any year, any program)
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Keen interest in fat liberation activism
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Excellent organization and time management skills
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Excellent written and oral communication skills
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Experience with online research and/or database entry is not required but would be an asset.
Closing Date: until suitable candidate is found.
To apply please send cover letter and resume to lgassongardner@mtroyal.ca Resumes will be reviewed beginning April 14, 2025 and will continue until the position is filled.
All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadian citizens, permanent residents and others currently eligible to work in Canada will be given priority.� Recent Mount Royal graduates who are foreign nationals may be eligible to work on campus.� Please refer to the Citizenship and Immigration Canada website under Post-Graduation Employment at�http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/study/index.asp.