Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Research

The Faculty or Arts and Social Science (FASS) has 11 departments, the Fountain School of Performing Arts, five interdisciplinary programs, and five research centers. The Faculty spans research across the social sciences, humanities, languages, and performing arts. Several common principles ground the research conducted by scholars in FASS, including: a commitment to addressing issues with local, national and global impact; critical policy analysis; a focus on ethics and social justice; and, building contextual and cross-cultural understanding.

The Faculty Research Office is overseen and operated by the Associate Dean (Research), working in conjunction with the Dean and the FASS Research Development Committee.

Strategic Areas of Research

The faculty has four strategic areas of research: Critical Health and Technology; Culture and Identity; Ethics and Social Justice; and Governance, Security and Global Affairs.

The Research Office

The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Research Office facilitates research in humanities, social sciences and performing arts at Dalhousie University, and publicizes the results and benefits of that research. The Office facilitates research by:

  • compiling and disseminating information on funding opportunities
  • assisting with the preparation and editing of grant applications, administering internal funding support for newly appointed faculty, and providing advice on aids to scholarly publication and research dissemination
  • fostering cross-disciplinary, cross-faculty and inter-institutional research linkages, and identifying areas of research strength in the Faculty
  • working with Dalhousie Research Services to develop the university's research capacity and to monitor the effectiveness of research policies
  • responding to changes in the external or internal culture affecting arts and social sciences research
  • presenting the research concerns of Faculty members to the senior administration, and to external agencies, granting councils and government

The FASS Research Office also works to raise the institutional and external profile of research, including:

  • coordinating and publicizing an annual MacKay Lecture Series
  • organizing periodic exhibitions or displays of the results of scholarly research and creative work by faculty members
  • enhancing public awareness of the cultural, social and economic contributions made by arts and social sciences research