New event recognizes early career excellence in Faculty of Arts research

Postdoctoral scholars in the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Arts recently took the spotlight at a new showcase event, demonstrating the breadth of their research across a wide range of fields.

The researchers were featured at the first Arts Postdoc Research Showcase on Jan. 30, which featured postdocs from the departments of Anthropology and Archaeology, History, Sociology, and Psychology who are affiliated with UCalgary’s Institutes for Transdisciplinary Scholarship and Graduate College.

“Although their time with us is relatively brief, postdocs bring tremendous vitality and expertise to the University of Calgary, where they build research relationships that will serve them in their future careers,” says Dr. Amelia Kiddle, PhD, associate dean (Research and Academic Communities). “Because postdocs are able to focus on advancing research, the impact of their work can be appreciated quite quickly, so we wanted to start highlighting their contributions to the research ecosystem at UCalgary.”

The event, held at the Hunter Hub for Entrepreneurial Thinking's Collision Space, saw each scholar deliver a 10‑minute presentation, sharing emerging work and offering insight into their experiences as early career researchers. 

Shining a light on research

Dr. Sara Salavati, Msc'20, PhD'24, a postdoctoral associate in the Department of Psychology, shared her research on evaluating and culturally adapting teen dating violence prevention and gender-transformative programming for adolescents. 

“Building healthy relationship skills is a critical component of teen dating violence prevention—but it is not enough,” said Salavati. “Our community-based research pairs skill-building with efforts to challenge restrictive gender norms that contribute to unhealthy relationships.”

While Salavati’s work centres on healthy relationships and teen dating violence prevention, other presentations explored equally urgent questions in health and well‑being. One such contribution came from Dr. Hsin-Hsiu Essential Yeh, PhD, who shared findings from her doctoral research exploring how palliative-care providers in Alberta deliver culturally appropriate care to Chinese immigrants across four care settings: acute-care hospitals, long-term care facilities, palliative home-care teams and hospices.

Drawing on in-depth interviews with health-care professionals, Yeh's study highlights the relational and interpretive dimensions of culturally responsive practice. Yeh highlighted the insight of a registered nurse from a palliative home-care team, who described culturally appropriate palliative care as an ongoing effort to “understand stories, where they come from, and how I fit into that story.” 

This perspective shows how important it is for care providers to reflect on their own role, understand people’s stories and build real relationships when supporting someone at the end of life. 

Yeh is a postdoctoral associate in the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, where her postdoctoral project focuses on understanding and advocating for the psycho-socio-spiritual needs of Chinese Canadian patients living with life-threatening illnesses and their family caregivers. 

Presenters at the Arts Postdoc Research Showcase

The Arts Postdoc Research Showcase offered a look at the breadth of emerging work within the UCalgary research ecosystem. The following is the full list of presenters and their research.

• Dr. Omid Asayesh, PhD'24, postdoctoral associate, Department of Sociology
  Reorienting Migration Theories: A Call for Attention to the In-Between Spaces
• Dr. Anna Bettini, PhD, postdoctoral research associate, Department of History
  Farming the Sun: A Comparative Study of Agrivoltaics in Tuscany and Alberta’s Rural Landscapes
• Dr. Gizem Keskin, PhD, postdoctoral associate, Department of Psychology
  A Multimethod Lens on Developmental Cascades in Child Mental Health
• Dr. Sara Salavati, PhD, postdoctoral associate, Department of Psychology
  From Research to Practice: Healthy Relationships and Teen Dating Violence Prevention through Community Partnership
• Dr. Hsin-Hsiu Essential Yeh, PhD, postdoctoral associate, Department of Anthropology and Archaeology
  Delivering Culturally Appropriate Palliative Care for Chinese Immigrants: Insights from Alberta Palliative Care Providers