About this issue

Spring 2016: the human expression issue

Editor's note

One of the pleasures from my student days in arts & science was the unexpected crossover of knowledge between classes—miniature epiphanies connecting parts of the world that once seemed unrelated. A course in world religions gave me an edge in understanding global politics. The demand for precision in the sciences honed my arguments in English class. The ideas of the ancient Greek philosophers could be heard echoing through every hallway of human thought I studied.

If you’ve read Arts&Science magazine before, you’ll find this issue is a bit different. Our focus this time is on a single theme and the many approaches that can be taken toward it. We picked one of the most basic themes there is—human expression—but through its lens, we see fascinating questions being asked and answered all around us.

What if a computer could interpret human emotion? What shaped the voice of a three-time Governor General’s Award-winning author? How do fear and desire influence our beliefs?

Our 21 departments are connected by more than just tunnels and walkways, and we as alumni are connected, too. I hope the common thread running through this issue leads to a few more miniature epiphanies for our readers.


Contributors

Dawn Dumont

Dawn Dumont (BA’95) is a Plains Cree and Métis comedian and writer from Saskatchewan. Since starting her comedy career in Toronto, she has been making people laugh at clubs across North America, including the New York Comedy Club and Improv. She was the co-host of APTN’s Fish Out of Water and currently lives in Saskatoon with her partner and baby son who can drag a coffee table across the floor but refuses to hold his own bottle.

Braden Hursh

Braden Hursh (BA’16) will graduate with his English Honours degree this spring. He has been working with the arts & science communications office as an intern for his final semester of university. Braden continues to work as a farmer and bartender as he looks for opportunities with his new degree.

Shannon Kirk

Shannon Kirk (BA’11) graduated from the College of Arts & Science with a BA Honours in art history. After moving east to complete a bachelor of journalism in Halifax, she darted west to Vancouver Island, where she is a freelance writer and web content producer, as well as an avid beach-stroller.

Chris Kuzma

Chris Kuzma (BA’04) is a cartoonist, illustrator and artist living in Toronto. He graduated from the University of Saskatchewan and the Ontario College of Art and Design. He currently teaches illustration and comics at OCADU. You can see more of his work at chriskuzma.com.

Christopher Putnam

Christopher Putnam (BA’07) worked as a reporter in Saskatchewan weekly newspapers, as a researcher in crime television and as an online writer before joining the College of Arts & Science as a communications officer. He completed bachelor’s degrees in English at the U of S and in journalism at the University of King’s College in Halifax.

Betsy Rosenwald

Betsy Rosenwald is an artist, designer and writer who relocated to Saskatoon from New York City in 1999. Prior to joining the College of Arts & Science as a communications officer in 2007, she coordinated communications at the Mendel Art Gallery and was art editor for the literary magazine Grain. She earned a BA from Beloit College in Wisconsin and an MFA from Brooklyn College.

Kirk Sibbald

Kirk Sibbald completed a BA (‘04) in English at the U of S before receiving an MA in journalism at the University of Western Ontario. After working as editor of the Lloydminster Source newspaper, he returned to Saskatoon in 2008 and worked for eight years in the College of Arts & Science.

Paul Thagard

Paul Thagard (BA’71) is a renowned Canadian philosopher and cognitive scientist with advanced degrees from Cambridge University, the University of Toronto and the University of Michigan. A professor of philosophy at the University of Waterloo, his many books include The Brain and the Meaning of Life and The Cognitive Science of Science.  He is one of the College of Arts & Science 2016 alumni of influence.

Arts&Science is published for alumni, faculty, students and staff of the College of Arts & Science by the communications office of the College of Arts & Science, University of Saskatchewan.

Editor
Christopher Putnam

Associate editor
Betsy Rosenwald

Contributors
Dawn Dumont, Braden Hursh, Shannon Kirk, Chris Kuzma, Christopher Putnam, Betsy Rosenwald, Kirk Sibbald, Paul Thagard

Principal photography
David Stobbe, Stobbe Photography

Cover illustrator
Chris Kuzma

Editorial assistance
Kris Foster, Elizabeth Philips

Advertising & subscriptions
Blessing Madenga
(306) 966-2097

Director of college planning
Andrea Wasylow-Ducasse

Produced by
Communications Office
College of Arts & Science, University of Saskatchewan
512 Arts Building, 9 Campus Drive
Saskatoon SK S7N 5A5

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The views expressed in Arts&Science do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the College of Arts & Science or the editorial staff.

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