Graduate Defence - Claire Ahn

Graduate Defence – Claire Ahn

Claire Ahn, PhD in Language and Literacy Education

The Iconic Polar Bear: Visual Rhetoric in Environmental Documentaries
Supervisor(s): Dr. Teresa Dobson, Dr. Kedrick James
Thursday, May 17, 2018 | 9:00 AM | Graduate Student Centre, 6371 Crescent Road, Room 203

Claire Ahn will have her dissertation defence at 9:00 AM on Thursday, May 17, 2018 in Room 203 of the Graduate Student Centre (6371 Crescent Road).

All are welcome to attend.

Date:	Thursday, May 17
Time:	9:00 AM
Location:	Graduate Student Centre (6371 Crescent Road), Room 203

Committee Members:
Dr. Teresa Dobson (LLED)
Dr. Kedrick James (LLED)
Dr. Carl Leggo (LLED)

University Examiners:
External examiner: Dr. James Nahachewsky (University of Victoria)
University examiners: Dr. Margaret Early (LLED) and Dr. Michael Marker (EDST)

Title:

“The Iconic Polar Bear: Visual Rhetoric in Environmental Documentaries”

Abstract:

Environmental issues are a growing, global concern. UNESCO (1997) notes the significant role media has in appealing to audiences to act in sustainable ways. Cox (2013) specifically remarks upon the powerful role images play in how viewers can perceive the environment. As we contemplate how best to engage people in reflecting on what it means to live in a sustainable fashion, it is important that we consider the merits of particular rhetorical modes in environmental communication and how those approaches may engender concern or hopelessness, engagement or disengagement. One form of environmental communication that relies heavily on images, and that is growing in popularity, is documentary film.

My study examines visual rhetorical modes in environmental documentaries and the types of impact they have on viewers. This study first identifies some dominant visual rhetorical modes through an extensive literature review and discussion of a variety of environmental documentary films. The resulting taxonomy of dominant visual rhetorical modes include: apocalyptic, jeremiad, hopeful, environmental nostalgia, sublime, and environmental melodrama. To explore how viewers react to visual rhetoric, eleven research participants were asked to view a sixty-minute compilation of video clips from various environmental documentaries that employed, to varying degrees, each of the dominant visual rhetorical modes. Using video annotation software, participants were asked to comment at points they felt to be particular striking or evocative. Follow-up interviews were conducted for clarification of participants’ annotations. The data collected and analyzed from participants’ annotations and transcribed interviews revealed that viewers were disengaged with messages of ecological doom. The most powerful rhetorical effect was observed when participants drew personal connections to content of particular video clips, which raised their awareness about certain environmental issues.

New Appointment: Dr. Mona Gleason, Head, Educational Studies

By domansky

April 20, 2018

Dean Blye Frank is pleased to announce that the Provost has accepted the Advisory Committee’s recommendation and approved that Dr. Mona Gleason be appointed as the new Department Head, Educational Studies, effective September 1, 2018. Dr. Gleason has accepted this three-year term appointment.

Dr. Gleason is a Professor in EDST and a leading historian in children and childhood in Canada. Her scholarly work addresses the history of education with a special interest in children, families, and social inequalities in 19th and 20th century North America. Throughout her successful academic career, Dr. Gleason has also gained extensive leadership experience by serving in many administrative/service roles in the University and in the scholarly community including as EDST Deputy Head, EDST Graduate Advisor, Faculty Personnel Committee member, and President Elect of the Society for the History of Children and Youth, just to name a few.

The Faculty is grateful to Dr. Ali Abdi for his leadership of the Department during the past four years. Thank you as well to the members of the Advisory Committee for their service, commitment and excellent work in the search for the next Head of EDST.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Gleason on her new appointment!

Weekly Learning Technology Drop-ins

By eric lee

April 27, 2018

Are you looking for extra help with Canvas? Educational Technology Support (ETS) hosts weekly one hour drop ins for learning technology support. An ETS staff member will be available in the ETS office (Scarfe 1008) from 12:00 pm – 1:00 p. m. every Tuesday to help you with any of our supported learning technologies. No appointment is required for our weekly drop ins and you are welcome to come anytime during the one hour drop in.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact ETS by phone at 604-822-6333 or by email at ets.educ@ubc.ca.

Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond Appointed Director of the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre

By domansky

April 27, 2018

UBC is pleased to announce that Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond has been appointed as the inaugural Director of the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre and as a professor with the Peter A. Allard School of Law.

Ms. Turpel-Lafond, or Aki-kwe, is recognized internationally for her pioneering work as British Columbia’s first Representative for Children and Youth. As a lawyer and provincial judge, Ms.Turpel-Lafond has also been involved in projects relating to improving supports for Indigenous peoples, especially in addressing the unique circumstances and needs of children and youth involved in the justice system.

Ms. Turpel-Lafond is Cree and Scottish with kinship ties in First Nations in both Saskatchewan and Manitoba. During her decade of advocacy for children and youth, she worked with First Nations and Métis families and communities across BC. She has deep connections with Elders, individuals and community leaders working to address the legacy of residential schools for children and youth today by reforming child welfare, language revitalization and criminal justice innovation.

As Director of the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre, Ms. Turpel-Lafond will ensure that the centre provides residential school survivors access to the records gathered by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC).

The Director of the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre will report to the Provost and Vice-President, Academic. Please join us in welcoming Ms. Turpel-Lafond to this important role.

2018 R.W.B. Jackson Award

By domansky

Dr. Stephanie Anderson (PhD ’17) has just received the 2018 R.W.B. Jackson Award for the best article in the Canadian Journal of Education. Dr. Anderson’s article, based on her doctoral dissertation, was published in Volume 40 Issue 1, and is entitled “The Stories Nations Tell: Sites of Pedagogy, Historical Consciousness, and National Narratives” (Research supervisor Dr. Penney Clark).

Guest Editorial: Aga Khan Academies

By domansky

Aga Khan Academies Newsletter

By: Meredith Fenton
April 2018

Meredith Fenton, Director of the International Baccalaureate Program for the UBC Faculty of Education, wrote a guest editorial for the Aga Khan Academies (AKA) newsletter about the UBC Education partnership with the Aga Khan Academy (AKA) in Mombasa, Kenya, and in particular, the Teacher Preparation Programme (TPP).

“Our team of adjunct faculty look forward to working collaboratively with six new AKA teacher interns and their school mentors over the course of the next 18 months.”

Link to full text.

Story via UBC News.

Seniors stick with fitness routines when they work out together

By Ayla Collins

UBC News

By: Erik Rolfsen
April 27, 2018

A UBC kinesiology study has found that older adults are more likely to stick with a group exercise program if they can do it with people their own age. The study recruited 627 adults, averaging 72 years in age, for 12-week exercise classes at YMCA locations in Metro Vancouver.

“This study points to the importance of age-targeting, but perhaps not gender-targeting, when developing these programs,” says kinesiology professor Dr. Mark Beauchamp, the study’s lead author.

These findings could have a big impact for better health in the elderly.

This story has also appeared in The Star Vancouver, The Hindustan Times, Business Standard, Science Daily and CTV News.

Link to full text.

Story via UBC News.

Struggling Hands-on Educational Farm Program Connects Seniors and Youth in Vancouver

By domansky

The Star Vancouver

By: Melanie Green
April 25, 2018

The Star Vancouver did a thorough write up of the benefits that the UBC Intergenerational Landed Learning Project (ILLP) brings to its community.

The initiative offers authentic outside-of-the-classroom learning opportunities for children, as they work side by side with a diverse group of people of many ages who have spent their lives learning from the land.

The ILLP is an award-winning teaching, learning, and research initiative that unites collaborative teams of elders, younger adults, and school children in learning with and caring for the Earth. Participants grow, tend, cook, and share food at UBC Farm and explore the connections among human and non-human communities, places, and local environments.

Link to full text.

Story via UBC News.

Desperate for French teachers, Vancouver comes to Toronto to recruit

By domansky

CBC Toronto

By: Talia Ricci
April 20, 2018

CBC Toronto quoted Dr. Wendy Carr, Associate Dean of teacher education at UBC, for an article about the need for French teachers in BC.

In 2017 Carr said that a Canada-wide shortage of French teachers was becoming “more and more pressing.”

The story also appeared on Yahoo.

Link to full text.

Story via UBC News.

Teenagers should walk, run a mile every day to help protect against depression

By domansky

Sun U.K.

By: Nick McDermott
April 18, 2018

The Sun U.K. featured a UBC study that found a lack of exercise could be behind increasing rates of mental illness among young people.

Dr. Mark Beauchamp, a UBC kinesiology professor and study author, said 15 to 19-year-olds are particularly vulnerable because of the social and academic pressure they face.

Link to full text.

Story via UBC News.