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Hello! News Projects

Hello!

Creative Humanities is a platform for applied research and innovation at Sheridan College. In 2016, the Creative Humanities was founded by Dr. Brandon McFarlane with the ambition of inspiring new approaches grounded in creative inquiry and critical innovation. We imagine optimistic futures for the humanities and higher education, and engage in the struggle work necessary to manifest those utopian visions in our everyday lives.

This website features our projects, celebrates the accomplishments of student researchers, and invites community members to reach out to explore opportunities for collaboration.

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Publication Alert

Remaking Critical Theory: A Creative Humanities Process and Intervention

University of Toronto Quaterly 92.2 (May 2023): 147-181.

Brandon McFarlane, Alexander Hollenberg, Hyein Lee, & Marco Cibola

https://doi.org/10.3138/utq.92.2.03

A linocut portrait of bell hooks

Student SRCA Award: Innovation in Research 2022

Congratulations Robyn Miller, Téa Smith, Shelby Forma, Daisy Sheps, Elisar Haydar, Samuel Phippen!

They received Sheridan College's Innovation in Research Award for their outstanding contributions to Children's Book Jam. They piloted a new co-creation process to prototype an illustrated book called A Glitch in the Garden.

You can download a copy at SOURCE.

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Publication Alert

Applying Critical Creativity to Navigate the Tensions Between Business and Art in the Creative City.

Creative Industries in Canada. Eds. Miranda Campbell & Cheryl Thompson. Toronto: Canadian Scholars P, 2022. 231-249.

Brandon McFarlane

a book called 'Creative Industries in Canada'

Student SRCA Award: Pushing Interdisciplinary Boundaries 2021

Congratulations Wilson Chan, Melodie Downey, Martin Gallagher, Elisar Haydar, Robyn Miller, Daisy Sheps, Alex Siklos.

They received Sheridan College's Pushing Interdisciplinary Boundaries Award for their outstanding contributions to Remaking Critical Theory. They applied a new creative process to make critical theory zines.

You can download Catching Criticality: A Zine About Critical Theory, Criticali-Zine, and Iteration on Interpretation: A Choose Your Own Adventure Zine at Sheridan's SOURCE

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Student SRCA Award: Creative Activities 2021

Congratulations Faizal Eidoo, Jacquelyn Ferguson, Sarah Whang!

They received Sheridan College's Creative Activities research award for making Creative Humanities 2016-2021, a coffee table book. It celebrates the impact we brought to communities and the amazing creativity of our research assistants.

You can download a copy at SOURCE

The words'The Creative Humanities Ethos' beside a floral, abstract illustration.

Publication Alert

Special Issue: Creative Humanities

University of Toronto Quaterly 91.1 (Winter 2022)

https://www.utpjournals.press/toc/utq/91/1

The words'The Creative Humanities Ethos' beside a floral, abstract illustration.

Projects

Canadian Literary Censorship Project 2022-23

We’re trying to discover and document the extent of banned and challenged books in Canada. Insofar as literary works communicate the values, aspirations, and anxieties of a society, the censorship of those texts might be taken as a bellwether for the overall health of that society, a measure of its citizens’ willingness to engage in unorthodox ideas or even their complicity in inequitable systems of power.

Data from the American Library Association show that literary censorship disproportionately targets authors and audiences of systemically marginalized groups: people of colour and those who identify within the LGBTQ2S community are, historically, much more likely to have their literary works censored. In Canada, however, there is currently no comprehensive, systematic, or readily-searchable compilation of censored literary works. Led by Prof. Alexander Hollenberg (Principal Investigator) with support from Dr. Brandon McFarlane (Co-investigator), and Dr. Owen Percy (Co-Investigator), we seek to remedy this knowledge gap.

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Children's Book Jam 2021-22

A partnership between the School of Humanities and Creativity & School of Visual and Creative Arts which pilots a new model for the creation of illustrated children’s books that explore themes of social justice. Breaking from current industry practices, the publisher, author, and illustrator collaborate throughout the creative and publishing process.

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Sheridan: Everybody's Got a Story 2021-22

Inspired by the Covid-19 lockdown and the desire to foster a sense of community, this project asks Sheridan community members open-ended, emotion-driven questions to get to the heart of their stories. The narratives will be published in an online, interactive map which shows how people from around the world converge at Sheridan College to explore their creativity. Once campus reopens, the stories may also be shared in an installation at the Creative Campus Galleries.

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Remaking Critical Theory 2020-21

A partnership between the School of Humanities and Creativity & the School of Visual and Creative Arts that synthesized innovation management and artistic practices to help undergraduates better understand critical theory, and apply insights to solve challenges pertaining to equity, diversity, and inclusivity in their industries.

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Mobilizing Social Innnovation to Train the Next Generation of Theatre Entrepreneurs 2018-21

Partnered with the Toronto Fringe Festival to enhance and expand its Theatre Entrepreneurs’ Networking and Training (TENT) program. Researched and formalized curriculum to provide year-to-year efficiencies and enhance rigor. Applied Creative Problem Solving to eliminate factors that were preventing equity-seeking communities from participating in TENT programming and recommended models for long-term fiscal sustainability.

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Breaking Through Barriers to Gender Equity in Canadian Film 2018-19

Synthesized existing research to identify key obstacles to gender equity in the North American film and television sector. Three undergraduate researchers facilitated CPS sessions with Breakthroughs Film Festival’s Board of Directors to create the organization’s first strategic plan which reimagined the not-for-profit’s mandate from the perspective of intersectional feminism.

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