Arts students spotlight diverse research at URO Showcase
On September 29, 2025, 11 Arts students took part in the Undergraduate Research Opportunities (URO) Showcase in the Sears Atrium. Over the summer, students worked on research projects. Some of the topics included digital health care, analysis of the impact of knowledge about Indigenous People, the concept of a person, and more. Students worked directly with a faculty member and attended workshops hosted by TMU Libraries and the Office of the Vice-President, Research & Innovation (OVPRI). The URO Showcase is the final event of the summer URO program. In this two-part series, we explore the research that Arts students conducted over the summer program.
The URO showcase brings together researchers and students who engage in lively discussions during a poster session, sharing innovative ideas and findings at an academic conference.
While research opportunities are scarce for undergraduates, the URO Showcase not only highlighted the breadth and depth of research happening within the Faculty of Arts but also celebrated the dedication and growth of its undergraduate researchers. This program allows undergraduate students to have paid summer employment while building their research skills and working closely with a professor supervisor. With the support of faculty mentors and campus partners, these students are leaving the program with enhanced skills, valuable experience, and a deeper understanding of the impact of research. Their work stands as a testament to the value of investing in undergraduate research.
Argo Basembe - Worlds Apart or Two Sides of the Same Border? A Cross-National Analysis of the Impact of Knowledge About Indigenous People on Support and Prejudice Toward Indigenous People
Supervisor: Dr. Iloradanon Efimoff
"This experience was by far the highlight of my undergraduate years. I'm truly grateful for how it inspired me to pursue further research. I’m currently doing a thesis for my program, and I don’t know if I would have decided to do that if I hadn’t had this experience ."
Anti-Indigenous prejudice is prevalent in Canada and the US, yet it has received little attention in psychological research. In fact, in an article that reviewed 418 studies on reducing prejudice, only one focused on anti-Indigenous attitudes. Recent studies suggest that increasing people’s understanding of historical and ongoing injustices, or their critical historical knowledge—such as learning about the residential school system and systemic discrimination—can help reduce prejudice.
Argo, a fourth-year psychology student, examined how knowledge of settler-colonialism, tribal sovereignty, and Indigenous inequality impacts attitudes toward Indigenous peoples among White Canadians and Americans. Findings suggest that increased knowledge of these topics leads to greater support for Indigenous peoples, emphasizing the importance of learning about Indigenous peoples in contemporary contexts. These results could guide future research on incorporating Critical Historical Knowledge in schools to help reduce anti-Indigenous prejudice, particularly information about how colonization and systemic oppression have shaped current inequalities. The study suggests that teaching this history, particularly to non-Indigenous students, can play a key role in reducing prejudice and building support for meaningful change.
Akili Bernard - Austin Clarke, The Survivors of the Crossing, and the St. Nicholas Slave Village
Supervisor: Dr. Darcy Ballantyne
“When you visit Barbados and enjoy your time there, it's important to reflect on how you got there, the land you’re walking on, whose bones are in that ground. There's a lot of missing history about post-emancipation Barbados, which is why we turn to authors like Austin Clarke, who, through his fictional novels, brings to life stories of resistance and survival of black life in the Caribbean.”
Akili’s project aims to rewrite the St. Nicholas Abbey Plantation Tour Guide brochure from a more historically accurate perspective using historical records, economic research, and personal accounts from plantation labourers to accurately account for the lives of the enslaved. The project highlights survival tactics such as the creation of “slave villages” for cultural practices, shifting the focus from the celebration of the colonial “big house” to historical truth. The brochure also details the owners’ estimated compensation after emancipation, emphasizing the wealth generated by enslaved Black labour. The revised St. Nicholas Slave Village brochure will serve as both an educational tool and a memorial to those erased by the Abbey’s colonial narrative, restoring the humanity and history of the enslaved to the story of Barbados.
Charles Liu - A Feminist Critique of the Fragmented Subject
Supervisor: Dr. Jeta Mulaj
“This experience has allowed me to develop valuable, practical research skills that would be beneficial to highlight on my resume as a prospective PhD student. As a psychology major, a big part of the work involves reading and analyzing material, which was essentially my main task over the summer.”
Feminists have long argued against sexist beliefs that do not acknowledge women's thoughts and experiences. Some feminists also ask whether women have a different way of seeing and understanding the world compared to men. Fourth-year philosophy student Charles studies contemporary feminist ideas and has found two main approaches. The first is called posthumanist feminism, which questions the idea that people have a fixed, unchanging identity. It says this idea is a myth that supports male-centred thinking. Instead, our sense of self is always changing and shaped by the world around us.
The second approach is Marxist feminism, which connects the oppression of women to the rise of capitalism and how work is divided by gender. Unlike posthumanism, it sees the fragmented sense of self as something caused by capitalism, not something natural. Charles compares these two views and looks at what each does well and where they might fall short.
Danielle Castelhano - Gender, Toxic Masculinity and Perceptions of Stranger Sexual Harassment
Supervisor: Dr. Caroline Erentzen
“Through URO, I had the opportunity to work in my lab over the summer and interact with other students, including Master's and PhD candidates. It has truly given me a greater sense of purpose. Conducting this research has highlighted how much TMU values and supports this important work, especially when many other institutions may not offer the same level of funding.”
Danielle, a fifth-year psychology student, researches how gender and beliefs about toxic masculinity affect views of sexual harassment by a stranger. Participants read scenarios where a man approached a woman who either stayed passive, spoke up, or was assaulted. Women who spoke up were judged more harshly—unless they were assaulted. Men were more likely to excuse the man’s behaviour, but this was linked to their beliefs, not just their gender. The study shows that toxic masculinity and harassment myths strongly influence how people judge these situations. Danielle’s inspiration for this work came from volunteering with the Sexual Assault Survivor Support Line at TMU’s Centre for Safer Sex and Sexual Violence, which exposed her to many victim accounts.
Giovanni Lammirato - The Concept of a Person
Supervisor: Dr. David Hunter
“The research I did not only provided me with summer employment but also allowed me to dive deeper into a branch of philosophy that I’m interested in. Having previously taken courses with Dr. David Hunter, I wanted to read the books we didn’t cover in class. This led me to write a paper on more advanced concepts, and also addressed a gap in my knowledge.”
Fourth-year philosophy student, Giovanni’s project looks at how humans are aware of both the world around them and their own inner experiences – like feeling pain, being tickled, or imagining something. He explores this by using ideas from philosopher John McDowell’s book Mind and World, and compares them with the views of Wilfrid Sellars and P.F. Strawson, who focused on how people think about themselves using “I” statements. Giovanni agrees with most of McDowell’s theory but points out some gaps. To fix these, he suggests that it’s possible to feel pain without knowing it, or to believe you’re in pain even if you’re not. This idea brings McDowell’s theory closer to Sellars’ view and makes it more consistent.
This change also helps explain the difference between humans and animals. Humans can think about themselves in a personal way, like saying “I feel pain,” while animals, even though they can feel pain, don’t have this kind of self-awareness. In other words, animals can have real experiences of pain, but they don’t think about those experiences the way humans do.