Why study Power, Conflict, and Ideas at UBC Okanagan?
The dynamics of power, conflict, and ideas in today’s world are complex and in constant flux. Access to economic opportunity, employment, security, and civil rights protections is not equally available to all members of society.
The ability to understand the causes and consequences of these inequalities requires a solid foundation in historical knowledge and contextualised understandings of social and political dynamics.
Students will study the dynamics of political environments, learn how to use archives and historical data, study social theory and theoretical approaches, learn how to apply ethical frameworks, and develop critical analytical skills. In pursuing this field of study, students will be able to pursue rigorous graduate study that culminates in an in-depth individual research project.
The interdisciplinary nature of the program, drawing from multiple faculties and departments, allows for a range of teaching and research opportunities in different departments.
The interdisciplinary master’s degree in power, conflict, and ideas gives graduate students access to the expertise of diverse, nationally and internationally recognized researchers from a variety of faculties and disciplines in a coherent, thematic framework.
Graduates of the program will come away with a nuanced understanding of:
Power, social change, and the history of ideas
Governance, participation, and policymaking
Historical context and framework
Inequality, conflict, and social justice
Program milestones
Establishing a faculty supervisory committee
Completing coursework
Preparing, presenting, and defending a thesis research proposal
Completing thesis research and writing, and defending the work
Coursework requirements
18 credits of coursework are required, including:
Proseminar in Interdisciplinary Studies (IGS 524)
Two theme seminars (six credits) from IGS 589, IGS 590, or IGS 591
Three credits from IGS 592 or another methods course approved by the supervisory committee
Six credits of additional coursework, selected in consultation with the student’s supervisor
The PhD degree is centred on conducting original, cutting-edge research in areas related to governance, social change, policymaking, inequality, and conflict. Graduates of the PhD program are prepared for careers requiring advanced independent research and teaching in academia, government, and industry.
Program milestones
Establishing a faculty supervisory committee
Selecting and completing coursework
Preparing, presenting, and defending a dissertation research proposal
Passing an oral candidacy exam
Completing dissertation research and writing, and defending the work
Coursework requirements
12 credits are required for the PhD degree, including:
Proseminar in Interdisciplinary Studies (IGS 524)
History Theory and Method (IGS 592)
Six credits of coursework selected from the following: IGS_O 589, IGS_O 590, IGS_O 591
Research and Supervisors
Research Areas
Graduate students can pursue these and other faculty research and teaching interests:
Criminology, law, and legal systems
Social movements and political consciousness
Gender, social reproduction, and sexuality
Inequality, economic systems, and social policy
Critical race theory, intersectionality
Ideology, religion, and identity in conflict
Post-humanism, interspecies, and critical animal studies
Research Interests: African Literature, The New African Diaspora, Postcolonial Studies, Black Studies, Migration Studies, Memory Studies, Melancholy Studies
Courses & Teaching: ENG 153: Readings in Narrative; ENG 291: African Literary Canon; ENG 391: Afropolitan Literature; ENG 491/CULT 490: Black Intellectual Traditions; ENG 522: Literature and Memory
Research Interests: The globalization of the "Justice for Janitors" campaigns; global unions; Eddie Melo: What were you? The Neoliberal University; whiteness; the Canadian Hinterland.
Courses & Teaching: Globalization and labour; urban sociology; sociology of tourism; race and racism; qualitative methods; urban studies.
Research Interests: Transnational modernism; First World War poetry, 20th-century British and Irish literature; modernism and transatlantic modernism; peace and war studies; aesthetics.
Courses & Teaching: Teaching areas: English, Modernist literature, Twentieth-Century British and Irish literature, and World Literature.
Recent graduate and undergraduate courses taught: IGS 590 Power and Ideas; WRLD 330 War in Literature; WRLD 331 “Best” International Feature Films; WRLD 332 Nobel Prize Literature; WRLD 360 Power and Literature (also upcoming in the fall of 2022).
Lawrence D. Berg | Professor | Community Engagement, Social Change, Equity, Geography, Power, Conflict and Ideas | lawrence.berg@ubc.ca | 250.807.9392 | ART 368D
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: Critical studies of neoliberalism; geographies of academic knowledge production; place and the politics of identity; postcoloniality; white supremacy.
Courses & Teaching: GEOG128 Introduction to Human Geography; GEOG359 Culture, Space and Politics; GEOG 474 Qualitative Research Methods; GEOG 480 Advanced Seminar in Critical Geography; IGS - Society, Space and Identity; IGS; Professional Development Seminar; IGS - Knowledge Production in the Social Sciences; IGS – Urban Theory.
Research Interests: Race and empire; crime and punishment; socio-legal studies; religion and secularity; urban geographies; social and cultural theory.
Courses & Teaching: SOCI 209: Foundations of Sociological Thought (Term 1); SOCI 496D: True Crime Sociology (Term 1); SOCI 377: Contemporary Sociological Theory (Term 2); SOCI 496N: Sociology of Religion (Term 2)
Research Interests: History of medicine, science, & technology; history of reproduction and the life sciences; gender and women's studies; history of the body; material culture & medical technologies; medical science and race in the French Atlantic world.
Courses & Teaching: HIST 118: History of Science, Medicine, and Technology From Antiquity, HIST 218: Science and Empire, HIST 308: The Scientific Revolution, HIST 310A: Reproduction & Motherhood (1700–present), HIST 373: History of Race, Gender, & Science in the Atlantic World, HIST 374: History of Science and the Enlightenment, HIST 375: History of Pandemics, HIST 460A: History of Reproductive Technologies, HIST 475A: History of the Body (1500–1900), HIST 495A: History of the Body—Medicine, Religion, Law (1500–1900), HIST 492/IGS 592: History, Theory, & Method. Undergraduate Honours, Graduate Student Supervision: I supervise undergraduate/graduate/postdoctoral research.
Jodey Castricano, PhD | Associate Dean, Research and Graduate Studies | Digital Arts and Humanities, English and Cultural Studies, Power, Conflict and Ideas, Sustainability (IGS) | jodey.castricano@ubc.ca | 250.807.9196 | CCS 323E
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: 19th-century studies, including gothic studies and psychoanalysis (Freud/Jung); critical animal studies; ecofeminism; critical and literary theory, film and media studies; feminist and queer theory; ethics; social activism.
Courses & Teaching: English; Cultural Studies
John (Song Pae) Cho | Assistant Professor | Anthropology, Global Studies, Power, Conflict and Ideas | john.cho@ubc.ca | 250.807.8908 | LM4 623
Jonathan Cinnamon | Associate Professor | Digital Arts and Humanities, Geography, Global Studies, Power, Conflict and Ideas | jonathan.cinnamon@ubc.ca | 250.807.8014 | ART 264
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: digital geographies; data studies; GIS and society; science and technology studies; urban studies; surveillance; digital and visual methods; alternative urbanism.
David Geary | Associate Professor | Anthropology, Community Engagement, Social Change, Equity, Global Studies, Power, Conflict and Ideas | david.geary@ubc.ca | 250.807.8165 | LM4 631
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: Buddhism; South Asia; geopolitics of heritage; space and place; pilgrimage; diaspora; transnational religious movements and networks; mobilities and critical tourism theory
Courses & Teaching: Introduction to Cultural Anthropology; Tourism, Desire and Difference; Anthropology of Religion; India in Motion: Ethnographic Perspectives; Ethnographic Research Methods; Debating Globalization; Tourism and the Senses
John Graham | Professor | Community Engagement, Social Change, Equity, Power, Conflict and Ideas, Social Work, Sustainability (IGS) | john.graham@ubc.ca | 250-807-8738
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: social policy, diversity and social work, spirituality and social work, multicultural social work, and employee well being/ subjective well being (happiness), homelessness prevention research
Courses & Teaching: social policy, international social work, homelessness, research.
Jennifer Gustar, PhD | Associate Professor | Cultural Studies, English, English and Cultural Studies, Power, Conflict and Ideas | jennifer.gustar@ubc.ca | 250.807.9384 | CCS 338
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: Contemporary Women’s Writing; Contemporary British Literature; Black and Minority Ethnic women’s writing (UK); women’s writing from South Asia and the diaspora. Feminist and postcolonial approaches to literature.
Courses & Teaching: ENGL 221: Foundations: Literature in Historical Context II. British Literature 19th century to the Present; English 355: Neo-Victorian Fiction; English 383: Contemporary British Literature; English 532C/480A: South Asian Women’s Fiction: History, Memory, Trauma; ENGL 525/462: Writing as Resistance: Postcolonial Women’s Fiction in the UK.
Thomas Heilke | Professor | Global Studies, Political Science, Power, Conflict and Ideas | thomas.heilke@ubc.ca | 250.807.8539 | ART 239
Research Interests: Political philosophy and theory; classical political thought; modern political thought; political theology; religion and politics; political ideologies; international relations in political philosophy.
Courses & Teaching: Political philosophy; history of political thought; religion and politics; international relations in political philosophy.
Courses & Teaching: Africa (commodities, cities, imperialism and decolonization); Southern and South Africa; British and Portuguese colonialism; political history; women's history; contemporary world history.
Heather Latimer | Assistant Professor | Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies, Power, Conflict and Ideas | heather.latimer@ubc.ca | 250.807.8153 | ART 254
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: Feminist theories and epistemologies; sexuality studies; science and technology studies; cultural studies; literature and film; reproduction and pregnancy; reproductive technologies and politics; reproductive governance and abortion.
Courses & Teaching: Politics of Reproduction; Critical Sexuality Studies; Feminist Epistemologies; Gender and Popular Culture; Gender, Race, Sexuality and Power.
Research Interests: 16th-century poetry and prose; early modern women’s writing; early modern drama; women’s literature; 16th and 17th-century literature; spiritual autobiography; speculative fiction; feminist and queer theory.
Courses & Teaching: English, composition and literary genre, popular literature (J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy, Arthur Conan Doyle’s ‘Sherlock Holmes’ narratives, women’s science fiction, and contemporary myth,
Fiona McDonald | Assistant Professor | Anthropology, Community Engagement, Social Change, Equity, Digital Arts and Humanities, Global Studies, Power, Conflict and Ideas | fiona.mcdonald@ubc.ca | 250.807.8127 | ASC 266
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: Visual anthropology; anthropology of art; sensory ethnography; material culture; curatorial studies; museum studies; textiles; oral history; contemporary Indigenous art; informal science learning and the environment; anthropocene; water rights; open access and digital publishing; North America & Aotearoa New Zealand.
Courses & Teaching: Visual & media anthropology; arts-based ethnography; anthropology of art; fieldwork methodologies; cultural anthropology; ethnography.
Laura A. Meek | Assistant Professor | Anthropology, Community Engagement, Social Change, Equity, Global Studies, Power, Conflict and Ideas | laura.meek@ubc.ca | ART 274B
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: Pharmaceuticals and Counterfeit Drugs; Antimicrobial Resistance; Medical and Cultural Anthropology; Critical Global Health; Sensoriums, Embodiment, and the Anthropology of the Body; Feminist, Anti-racist, and Decolonial Science and Technology Studies; Leprosy and Disease Elimination; Critical Disability Studies; Ontological Politics; Dreams; Witchcraft; Tanzania; East Africa; Indian Ocean Worlds; Hong Kong; Fugitivity; Black Studies; African/a Studies; Postcolonial and Anticolonial Theory.
Courses & Teaching: I teach courses on cultural and medical anthropology; African & Africana studies; global health; embodiment and the anthropology of the body; feminist, anti-racist, and decolonial science and technology studies; global studies; and post/anticolonial theory.
• ANTH 100: Introduction to Cultural Anthropology;
• ANTH 227: Introduction to Medical Anthropology;
• ANTH 330: Psychological Distress, Mental Health, and Well-being;
• ANTH 354: Imagining Africa Otherwise;
• ANTH 400: History of Anthropology;
• ANTH 429: Global Health and International Development;
• IGS 559B: Directed Studies in Social Science Research;
• IGS 593: Decolonizing the ‘Global’: Contemporary Ethnography and Post/Anticolonial Theory.
Research Interests: Islam in Asia; The Persianate World; Historiography; Narrative Theory; Migration; Tribalism; Ethnic Identity; Empire and State Formation and Nationalism.
Courses & Teaching: HIST 160 – Introduction to Asian History; HIST 396 – History of South Asia; HIST 495 – Special Topics: History of Afghanistan
Ilya Parkins | Associate Department Head, Professor | Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies, Power, Conflict and Ideas | ilya.parkins@ubc.ca | 250.807.9625 | ART 258
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: Feminist theories, especially epistemologies; history and theory of fashion; theories of modernity and early twentieth-century cultural formations; femininities; Periodical media’
Courses & Teaching: Gender, Race, Sexuality and Power I: An Introduction; Women and Popular Culture; Critical Foundations: Feminism and Difference; Perspectives on Gendered Bodies; Feminist Research Methodologies; Gender, Dress and Fashion: Histories and Theories; Femininities
Tim Paulson | Assistant Professor | History, Power, Conflict and Ideas, Sustainability (IGS) | tim.paulson@ubc.ca | 250.807.8588 | ART 245
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: Canadian history; environmental history; economic history; history of capitalism.
Courses & Teaching: Environmental history; Canadian history; North American history; world history.
Francisco Peña, PhD | Professor | Digital Arts and Humanities, Languages and World Literatures, Power, Conflict and Ideas, World Literatures | francisco.pena@ubc.ca | 250.807.8044 | CCS 163
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: Literary Studies, Biblical Studies, Religious Studies, and History of Ideas; literary study of the Bible; influence of the Bible in Medieval and Early Modern Spanish literature; Jewish/Christian relations in Medieval Iberia.
Courses & Teaching: Wold Literature; Spanish Culture and Literature; Ancient and Medieval Mythology, Biblical Literature, and Judeo-Spanish and Converso studies.
Research Interests: Philosophy of Perception; Philosophy of Cognitive Science; Philosophy of Technology; Epistemology; Aesthetics.
Courses & Teaching: Philosophy of Technology
Margaret Reeves, PhD | Associate Professor | English, English and Cultural Studies, Power, Conflict and Ideas | Margaret.Reeves@ubc.ca | 250.807.9639 | OM2 Building, 1161 Alumni Avenue
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: Early modern women’s writing; children’s literary cultures (early modern to contemporary); early modern childhood and youth; Milton and early modern political theory; satiric fiction; women’s literature; Medieval and Renaissance studies; 16th and 17th-century literature; history of the novel; auto/biographical discourse; speculative fiction; feminist and queer theory.
Courses & Teaching: ENGL 151: Critical Studies in Literature; ENGL 212: Studies in Children’s Literature; ENGL 349A: Early Modern Women’s Writing; ENGL 349B: The Poetry and Politics of John Milton; ENGL 349C: Race and Gender in 17th-Century Literature and Culture; ENGL 423A/521E: Gender, Narrative, and Political Thought in 17th-Century English Culture; ENGL 521/416: Feminist Forerunners: Early Modern Women’s Literature and Contemporary Theory; ENGL 522/497: Politics of Innocence: Myths of Innocence, Identity, and the Impossibility of Children’s Fiction
Rallye Shen | Assistant Professor | Economics, Global Studies, Power, Conflict and Ideas | rallye.shen@ubc.ca | 250.807.8158 | ART 272
Research Interests: Urban economics, economic history
Courses & Teaching: Econometrics; Data and Statistics
Research Interests: Canadian Charter Rights and Public Policy, Federalism, Constitutional Theory, Theories of Constitutional Interpretation, Judicial Politics, Comparative Constitutional Law, and Democratic Theory.
Courses & Teaching: Canadian Charter Politics, Federalism, Comparative Constitutional Law, Democratic Theory.
Research Interests: Gender, Health and Sport, Qualitative Methods, Self and Identity, Symbolic Interaction, Deviance and Social Problems, Social Media.
Courses & Teaching: Sociology of gender, sociology of sport, introduction to sociology, qualitative methods.
Emily Snyder | Associate Professor | Indigenous Knowledges, Power, Conflict and Ideas, Sociology | emily.snyder@ubc.ca | ART 315
Research Interests: Socio-legal studies; social inequalities; gender, sexuality, and law; HIV criminalization; Indigenous laws and legal issues; connections between health and law.
Courses & Teaching: Fundamentals of Sociological Research; Sexuality, Law, and Society; Social Inequality; Feminist Theory
Research Interests: Maternal and Child Health; Breastfeeding; Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative; Maternal and Childhood Vaccine Uptake; Influenza Vaccine
John Wagner | Professor | Anthropology, Community Engagement, Social Change, Equity, Power, Conflict and Ideas, Sustainability (IGS) | john.wagner@ubc.ca | 250.807.9318 | ART 262
Research Interests: Environmental anthropology; political ecology; water governance; food security and food sovereignty, local ecological knowledge, conservation and development, language documentation, Okanagan Valley, Columbia River Basin and the Columbia River Treaty, Papua New Guinea.
Courses & Teaching: ANTH 245 Culture and Environment; ANTH 401 Contemporary Theory in Anthropology; ANTH 345 Living in the Anthropocene; ANTH 445 Political Ecology; IGS 586 Community Engagement, Social Change, and Equity.
Shawn Wilson | Associate Professor | Community Engagement, Social Change, Equity, Indigenous Knowledges, Indigenous Studies, Power, Conflict and Ideas | shawn.wilson@ubc.ca | 250.807.8015 | LM4 629
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: Indigenist Methodologies; Social-Emotional Wellbeing; Culture and Health
Helen Yanacopulos | Professor | Global Studies, Political Science, Power, Conflict and Ideas | helen.yanacopulos@ubc.ca | 250.807.8267 | Landmark 4, 6th floor, Rm 621, 1628 Dickson Avenue V1Y 9X1
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: International Development; civil society and NGOs; strategy and transnational networks; political communication; international norms; anti-slavery; conflict and development, Human Rights.
Courses & Teaching: International Development; Governance and Public Policy, International Relations; Conflict, Global Studies, Global Citizenship.
Mike Zajko | Associate Professor | Power, Conflict and Ideas, Sociology | mike.zajko@ubc.ca | 250.807.9896 | ART 308
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: Governance; internet policy; security; social media.
The Power, Conflict, and Ideas theme currently includes students at the M.A. and Ph.D. levels. View our list of students and alumni profiles for you to discover more about them and their research.
Connect with your peers
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Theses and Dissertations
Find all UBC Okanagan student publications on the University’s digital repository for research and teaching materials. EXPLORE STUDENT PUBLICATIONS
Careers and Outcomes
Graduates will be prepared for further academic research and teaching, as well as possible roles in government, the private sector, and not-for-profit organizations. Coursework in this theme concentrates on preparation in historical and sociological inquiry, archival research, and policy analysis. Graduates undertake advanced study of the primary means of effecting change in society, via institutions, culture, and social movements.
Graduate student stipends are funded through a combination of internal and external funding awards, Teaching Assistantships, and Research Assistantships.
Although funding and stipend amounts are not guaranteed, UBC’s Okanagan campus has a number of assistantships available for qualified students. Talk to your potential supervisor about funding opportunities.
Students are expected whenever possible to apply for relevant scholarships and fellowships.
GRADUATE ENTRANCE AWARD
The Irving K. Barber Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences offers a $15,000 merit-based entrance scholarship to three exceptional individuals entering their first year of thesis-based graduate studies under a supervisor from the Irving K. Barber Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, or an Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies program with a supervisor who is a member of the Irving K. Barber Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences.
All applicants to Irving K. Barber Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences graduate programs who have submitted an application by January 31 will be automatically considered for the award. No additional application is required. Successful applicants will be notified by March 15.
Assistantships
Teaching Assistantships (TA)
Paid TA positions allow graduate students to develop skills in teaching, supervision, facilitation, and student assessment. Teaching assistants may lead seminars, help teach undergraduate courses, or assist in student evaluations and marking. Teaching assistants are mentored by their supervisor and via the Centre for Teaching and Learning.
Research Assistantships (RA)
As paid research assistants, graduate students assist their supervisor or other researchers in conducting high-level research, which often contributes to the student’s thesis. RAs are typically funded by the supervisor’s external grants, contracts, and sometimes, other sources of funding.
SCHOLARSHIPS
UBC Awards
The College of Graduate Studies administers merit-based graduate awards at the Okanagan campus. The College manages a number of award competitions each year and administers payment of all internal awards and selected external awards.
External Awards
All prospective graduate students (Domestic and International) should explore and apply for external awards and fellowships, including awards offered by Canada’s three research councils: CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC.
Graduate scholarships and awards may also be available from foundations, private companies or foreign governments (check with your country’s education authority).
Admission and Applying
Applicants are encouraged to contact potential supervisors before starting their application. Admission to the program requires the support of a faculty supervisor, as well as meeting program-specific criteria for admission requirements.
Admission Requirements
A complete application package will contain:
Online application and application fee
Official transcripts for all post-secondary institutions attended
Statement of Intent
Writing sample (An example of your scholarly writing, such as a term paper or a substantial scholarly paper, is recommended but not required)
English language test (for non-native speakers of English) – the IGS program requires a minimum IELTS 7.0 overall score
CV or resumé
Two reference forms or letters
How to Apply
Applying takes time. Students are advised to start the application process two months in advance of the application deadline.
For full consideration, students should submit all application materials by the following deadlines:
Intake
Application Deadline
Domestic applicants
September
January 15
International applicants
September
January 15
In some circumstances, at the request of a theme coordinator, the Dean or Dean designate in CoGS may approve an off-cycle admission for a student who would be significantly disadvantaged by having to begin their studies in September.
Inquire
Dr. Jessica Stites Mor
PCI Theme Coordinator
250.807.9655 pci.ubco@ubc.ca
At UBC Okanagan, you gain all the benefits of attending a globally ranked, top 5%
university while studying in a close-knit learning community. 50% of graduates,
from all across the globe, choose to stay in the region.
A diverse natural region with sandy beaches, beautiful farms, vineyards,
orchards and
snow-capped mountains, the
Okanagan is an inspirational landscape perfect for those seeking leisure or
outdoor
adventure.
UBC's Okanagan campus borders the dynamic city of Kelowna, a hub of economic
development with a population of
more than 150,000 people— the fourth fastest-growing population in
Canada.
