Our most newly minted HUMA grads, Dr. Alia Wazzan and Dr. Maya Karanouh, were spotted yesterday at Brock’s Spring convocation ceremony! Congratulations to you both — wishing you both all the best for the future.
Photo taken from @brockhumanities
Articles by author: mmacaulay
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Student Successes: Congratulations to Ece Çizmeci!
Congratulations to HUMA student Ece Çizmeci, whose research was just published in the journal Transpositions. You can find the article here: “Expanding Cinema: Becoming-Other with Post-Anthropocentric Ethics of Affect.”
Ece has also been selected to take part in the 2026 Lake Shift Writing Retreat at Queen’s University, which means that she will be spending part of July at the Queen’s University Biology Station (QUBS), Canada’s largest inland field station!
Congratulations, Ece!
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Congratulations, Dr. Alia Wazzan!
On March 24, Alia Wazzan successfully defended her thesis, Netflix Feminist Euphoria: Gendered Orientalism and the Age of Platform Imperialism in the Middle East.
Congratulations to Dr. Wazzan!
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Liao Zixuan wins Jack M. Miller Excellence in Research Award, Dr. Marilyn J. Rose Graduate Studies Fund
Congratulations to HUMA PhD student Liao Zixuan, who has been awarded both the Jack M. Miller Excellence in Research Award and the Marilyn J. Rose Graduate Studies Fund!
The Jack M. Miller Excellence in Research Award is a scholarship is made annually to one full-time Master and one full-time Doctoral graduate student in each of the six academic faculties. The Marilyn J. Rose Graduate Studies Fund is an award made annually to a full-time entering or continuing graduate student at Brock University studying in the Faculty of Humanities.
You can see for yourself some of the output of Liao’s work by visiting the 2026 Juried Exhibition, which will feature two of Liao’s paintings (see above). The Juried Exhibition runs from January 27 to February 21 at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts in St. Catharines, Ontario.
Congratulations, Liao!
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Congratulations to Dr. Maya Karanouh for a successful defence!
On December 16, Maya Karanouh successfully defended her thesis, Wicked Problems of Generative AI: Navigating Ethical Concerns and SMEs Early Adoption Challenges.
Congratulations to Dr. Maya Karanouh! We wish you all the best in your future endeavours!
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Three HUMA PhD students featured in the HRI Fall Term Symposium
Congratulations to HUMA PhD students Philip Akoje, Long Vu, and John Heckman, who delivered “Lightning Talks” about their research at the Fall Term Symposium hosted by the Humanities Research Institute. The Symposium was held on Monday, Dec. 8th, and featured Brock graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and faculty members. Each participant was tasked with the challenge of presenting their research project in just 5 minutes!
Philip Akoje delivering his Lightning Talk, “Gendered Frames of Emotion and Affect in Igala Ritual Masks”
Long Vu presenting his research project, “Gifted Subjects: A Political Ontology of the Vietnamese Socialist Citizen”
Long Vu (right) and John Heckman (left); John’s Lightning Talk was on “Constructing Conflict: Creators, Audiences, and Digital War Visuals”
Well done, Philip, Long, and John!
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Alia Wazzan wins 2025-2026 Vice President, Research Award and the 2025-2026 Robert G. Rawle Graduate Bursary
The HUMA program is proud to announce that PhD student Alia Wazzan has been awarded both the 2025-2026 Vice President of Research Award and the 2025-2026 Robert G. Rawle Graduate Bursary.
Both awards are given annually to graduate students at Brock University, with the Vice President of Research Award given to a full-time international graduate student at Brock University who demonstrates outstanding academic merit.
Congratulations, Alia!
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Congratulations to Dr. Mugan!
Dr. Christine Daigle with Dr. Camila Mugan
Earlier this month, graduate Dr. Camila Mugan crossed the stage to formally accept her doctoral degree. Her supervisor, Dr. Christine Daigle, was there to share in this special moment with Camila and her family.
Congratulations, Camila!
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Artwork by Laur Pilon acquired by McMichael Museum, featured in ELLE Canada
Mine the catatonic backdrop, 2025, oil on canvas over panel, 91 x 122 cm
We are proud to announce that a painting by PhD student Laur Pilon (titled Mine the catatonic backdrop) has been added to the collection housed by the McMichael Canadian Art Collection.
Laur is also featured in a new issue of ELLE Canada, which spotlights Canadian artists who are “capturing our imaginations with diverse forms of painting that push the medium toward new conceptual heights.”
Congratulations, Laur!
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Congratulations to Dr. Miroslav Zovko for a successful defence!
On September 5, Miroslav Zovko successfully defended his thesis titled The Figures of Crisis: Reflections of the 2008 Financial Crisis as Ideological Discourse of Capitalism.
Congratulations to Dr. Miroslav Zovko!
