The British Academy and the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research award seed funding to support UK-Canada collaborative research

The British Academy and the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) have awarded funding to five new humanities and social sciences research projects examining issues related to ‘security’ to help strengthen ties between researchers based in the UK and Canada.

Funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and CIFAR, the awards follow a Knowledge Frontiers Symposium held by the British Academy and the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research in December 2020. The symposium brought together early-career researchers from a broad range of disciplines within the humanities and social sciences, to explore the issue of ‘security’.

The grants serve to highlight the importance of collaborative engagement between disciplines, between nations and between communities of research, practice and policy.

Professor Simon Goldhill, Foreign Secretary and Vice-President of the British Academy, commented:

“The British Academy is delighted to strengthen its ties with the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research. At a time when many researchers feel extraordinarily isolated, these grants will help to forge new and hopefully long-lasting international connections. They will also help to foster research talent in the UK and Canada to examine experiences of security, and how security can be and has been conceptualised, represented, lived and addressed.”

The 2021 award-holders are:

• Researching the felt and lived experiences of in/security: a methodological exchange – Dr Katharine Low, The Royal Central School of Speech & Drama, University of London, Dr Daniela Lai, Royal Holloway, University of London Dr Zalfa Feghali, University of Leicester, Dr Hilary Evans Cameron, Ryerson University, Dr Mara Oliva, University of Reading, Dr Dan Horner, Ryerson University and Dr Susanne Hofmann, London School of Economics and Political Science.
• De-obfuscating state security surveillance capabilities in Canada and the UK – Dr Evan Light, York University (Canada), Dr Tarek Younis, Middlesex University Dr Gülden Özcan, University of Lethbridge and Dr Jeffrey Whyte, University of Manchester.
• Security and racial capitalism – Dr Gülden Özcan, University of Lethbridge, Dr Tarek Younis, Middlesex University, Nisha Nath, Athabasca University, Evan Light, York University (Canada) and Colin Grey, Queens University.
• The vulnerability studies network – Dr Zalfa Feghali, University of Leicester, Dr Hilary Evans Cameron, Ryerson University, Dr Charlotta Salmi, Queen Mary University of London, Dr Katharine Low, The Royal Central School of Speech & Drama, University of London, Dr Daniela Lai, Royal Holloway, University of London, Dr Mara Oliva, University of Reading and Dr Susanne Hofmann, London School of Economics and Political Science.
• Security, truth and the crisis of democracy – Dr Jeffrey White, University of Manchester, Dr Holly Ann Garnett, Royal Military College of Canada and Natalie Jester, University of Gloucestershire.