FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Trent University Social Sciences and Humanities Researchers awarded $396,520

MAY 1, 2003

Trent University is the recipient of $396,520 in research funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).

A total of six Trent researchers have been selected by SSHRC, a federal agency that promotes and supports university-based research and training in the sciences and humanities. They are:

• Professor Laura Summerfeldt from the Psychology department was awarded $52,710 for her examination of incompleteness, a personality substrate of decision-making, often related to obsessive-compulsive behaviour and symptoms.
• Anthropology Professor John Topic will receive $153,590 for his research into oracular origins, in particular the Catequil and sacred architecture in Northern Peru.
• Professor Anne Meneley, also from the Anthropology department was awarded $37,163 to explore the cultural economy of capitalism, especially through the production, circulation and consumption of extra virgin olive oil.
• Professor Derek Hall, from the Political Studies department, was awarded $60,325 for his research into property, social relations and the regional political economy of Eastern Asia.
• Modern Languages and Literature Professor Sylvie Berard will receive $53,166 for her work on subjects and territories in feminist Quebecois literature.
• Professor Joan Sangster, Chair of the Canadian Studies department was awarded $39,066 for her study of the transformation of work through women workers, organizing strategies and the law in Post World War II.

In announcing the funding, deputy prime minister and minister of finance, John Manley said, "This funding will allow researchers in Ontario to explore new ideas that will help us develop a better understanding of the most pressing regional, national and global issues."

Dr. Chris Metcalfe, Dean of Research and Graduate Studies congratulated the successful Trent researchers. "Social science and humanities research is essential to our understanding of the world around us," he said, "and the work of these and other researchers at Trent University contribute in a fundamental way to the knowledge base of our community and society as a whole."

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For more information, please contact
Cathy Smith, Research and Graduate Studies, at 748-1011 ext. 1496.