Jon Beasley-Murray receives OER Excellence and Impact Award 2026
Congratulations to Jon Beasley-Murray, Associate Professor of Spanish, for receiving the Open Education Resources (OER) Excellence and Impact Award. This award celebrates the remarkable contributions of UBC faculty members who enrich the academic experience and empower students to thrive in a new age of teaching and learning through Open Education. “Dr. Beasley-Murray has consistently advanced […]
Irem Ayan receives IASC funding to explore the role of translation and interpreting in decolonizing Arctic research
Congratulations to Dr. Irem Ayan, Assistant Professor of French, for receiving funding from the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) for Cross-Cutting and Working Groups—specifically for a research project titled The role of languages, translation and interpreting in decolonizing Arctic research. About the research project: Our proposal is for a transdisciplinary research project aiming to make […]
Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance: celebrating Caribbean Spanish
How did Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance challenge language hierarchies? Dr. Arturo Victoriano-Martinez, Assistant Professor of Spanish at UBC’s Department of French, Hispanic and Italian Studies (FHIS), explains. When Bad Bunny stepped onto the Super Bowl stage, it wasn’t just a performance—it was a moment that echoed far beyond the stadium, bridging classroom learning and […]
Faculty Research Award Winners 2025
UBC’s Faculty Research Awards recognize the research excellence and scholarly achievements of faculty from across all disciplines, ranging from the applied sciences and medicine to the social sciences and humanities. Award recipients are selected by UBC’s Faculty Research Awards Committee and include early career researchers through to established members of faculty. Congratulations to the following […]
10 Courses, 1 Goal: How FHIS is building a sustainable hybrid language learning model
By Luisa Canuto, Brianne Orr-Álvarez, and Jennifer Nagtegaal A two-year collaborative project in the Department of French, Hispanic and Italian Studies (FHIS) has reimagined how students learn French, Italian, and Spanish, creating a sustainable hybrid model now shaping the future of language instruction at UBC. Today’s students are masters of multitasking—juggling part-time jobs, extracurricular activities, […]
Isabella Huberman receives SSHRC Grant to explore Indigenous re-storying of hydro power in Quebec
Congratulations to Dr. Isabella Huberman, Assistant Professor of French, for receiving a SSHRC Insight Development Grant for her research project titled Powerlines: Re-storying Hydro Power in Quebec Through Indigenous Narrative Arts. About the research project: This project explores how Indigenous narrative arts are “re-storying” hydro development in Quebec, where water is intertwined with the nation-building […]
Gaoheng Zhang receives SSHRC Grant to explore cultural debates between China, Western Europe, and East Africa
Congratulations to Dr. Gaoheng Zhang, Associate Professor of Italian, for receiving a SSHRC Insight Grant for his research project titled Scrambles for East Africa: Media and Cultural Debates between China, Western Europe, and East Africa. Below is an autoethnographic account from Dr. Gaoheng Zhang’s most recent research trip to Kenya. The House of Columns (Figure […]
Marie-Eve Bouchard receives SSHRC Grant to explore English-origin verbs in Quebec French
Congratulations to Dr. Marie-Eve Bouchard, Assistant Professor of French, for receiving a SSHRC Insight Development Grant for her research project titled The use of English-origin verbs in Quebec French. About the research project: In this research project, I examine the use of English-origin verbs in Quebec French. These lexical borrowings are usually integrated grammatically into […]
Gaoheng Zhang publishes two monographs in one month on Italy-China cultural exchanges
We are excited to share that Dr. Gaoheng Zhang, Associate Professor of Italian Studies, has published two new monographs this October 2025—each exploring cultural exchanges between Italy and China from a unique angle: Italian Dumplings and Chinese Pizzas: Transcultural Food Mobilities Publisher: Fordham University Press Why might it feel surprising to link “Chinese” with pizzas […]
Cultural Immersion Through Dance and Art with UBC Spanish
What happens when culture comes alive through embodied movement? Students in UBC’s Spanish program experience Hispanic cultures through dance, music, and art—not only in the classroom, but across Vancouver’s vibrant community. This feature brings together video stories from students and dance instructors—illustrating how dance brings cultural history to life—with a written reflection by Dr. Kim […]