As the largest student society at Dal, the AV俱乐部 Arts and Social Sciences Society doesn鈥檛 do much on a small scale, including hosting the annual AV俱乐部 Arts and Social Sciences Undergraduate Conference. The event is open to students from any Canadian university (and from any discipline), and showcases the research and work of arts students from Dal and King鈥檚.
This fifth year of the conference started in the McInnes Room on March 6 with a welcoming reception dinner that allowed participants to network with fellow students and faculty members.
鈥淭he conference is a great way to connect students,鈥� says organizer Allie Graham. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an opportunity to meet new friends, mix and match different areas of study, and stimulate conversation within the faculty.鈥�
The current VP (Academic) of DASSS, Allie has been involved in the society since her first year at AV俱乐部. Since transferring to Kings to pursue a major in journalism, she has remained actively engaged in DASSS where she spreads her passion for student unity and inter-professionalism between academic programs.
The first evening of the conference concluded with a keynote address by associate professor (Philosophy and Gender and Women鈥檚 Studies) Dr. Letitia Meynell on 鈥淚magining Gender: Sex Difference Research in Evolutionary Psychology.鈥� Dr. Meynell鈥檚 captivating presentation was an ideal lecture to set the fervent tone for the following day of the conference.
Uniting disciplines
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This year鈥檚 event cultivated the voices of several student papers on an array of topics in the field of arts and social sciences. It successfully managed to bring together the broad network of students and programs represented within the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS). Likewise, Saturday鈥檚 six panel sessions showcased the diversity of disciplines and breadth of research in FASS:
- Working for Pay, Paying for [School] Work (Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray, dean of FASS)
- Hovering and Covering: Parenting For a New Age (Dr. Robin Oakley, Sociology & Anthropology)
- Terror and Resistance: Examining the Modern Effects of Colonization (Dr. Krista Kesselring, History)
- Love As An Epistemic Faculty (Dr. Warren Heiti, Philosophy)
- Two Worlds: Impacts of Cultural and Economic Hegemony (Dr. Julia Wright, English)
- Her Body: Patriarchal Impositions on Female Sexuality (Dr. Jacqueline Gahagan, Health Promotion)
鈥淭he conference showcases the variety within FASS, which is sometimes seen as widely general,鈥� says Angela Hou, an International Development Studies representative on DASSS and conference committee member. 鈥淭he conference is about building a community within the program.鈥�
In the whirlwind of organization and execution of the two-day conference, coordinator Allie Graham admits that organizing the conference was slightly overwhelming at times, but was pleased with the result. Though she鈥檒l be passing the spearheading torch onto a new DASSS member next year she鈥檚 still eager to work with AV俱乐部鈥檚 student advocacy community.