WG I: Aviation, Entertainment and Culture

Short description: This research explores the intersection between aviation, media and culture. Among other areas of interest, research focuses on inflight entertainment, and the socio-cultural, economic and technological impact of media and culture on aviation. Through the various research activities, sector-based research will be conducted and the output will include both traditional and non-traditional academic publications. Check out some publications under this research.

Members: Dr. Olusola John and Dr. Taiwo Afolabi

WG II: Cultural Appropriation and Pedagogy in Higher Education

Short description: This research explores the following questions: How might asymmetric power relations be at play in both students’ and teachers’ anxieties around cultural appropriation? What role might contemporary identity politics within and beyond university contexts play in shaping such fears, such as the politicization of identity along left vs. right-wing groupings? How is cultural appropriation related to wokeness in higher education? How might social media and other venues for identity construction mediate these fears? How can we distinguish ethically-sound forms of cultural sharing, respect and appreciation, and how might such distinctions help to address both fears around cultural appropriation, and the deleterious impact that cultural appropriation exerts on victimized communities? How might epistemologies of ignorance and contemporary forms of activism impact these fears?

Members: Dr. Taiwo Afolabi and Dr. Marthinus Conradie

WG III: Policing, Race, Media, and Performance

Short description: This research group investigates the connections between policing, race, media and performance. Specifically, it aims to fill knowledge gaps and explore experiences and perceptions of policing among radicalized communities. Projects will understand and critically evaluate the theoretical and methodological perspectives employed within the interdisciplinary field of race, media and the justice system. Through the use of creative practices and empirical inquiry, research will document and analyze experiences first in Saskatchewan and later in Canada and beyond.

Leads: Dr. Taiwo Afolabi, Dr. Aziz Douai,

Members: Gabriel Friday, Victory Uchenna-Akpos and Gbenga Adedeji