News from the social sciences and humanities

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March 23, 2012

Milena Stanoeva Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences

The Record wrote about Congress earlier this week. In particular, the article discusses the trail festival, which will be held on May 25 as a way of celebrating Kitchener-Waterloo’s trails and welcoming congress-goers with live music, crafts, tours and talks. Times Higher Education featured an article on the rise of the number of contract instructors in American universities and what it means about academics’ job security. While administrators claim that hiring contract instructors is a cost-saving measure and gives them a more flexible labour-force, scholars argue that tenure protects academic freedom. Online PhD is a great resource for PhD and postdoctoral students. It includes tips on academic and non-academic careers, professional skills, research funding and more.  The website also discusses current issues of interest to PhD students. This week, Margin Notes discussed the blurring of the lines between universities and colleges in Canada. Colleges are increasingly getting more involved in research and changing their status to university-colleges or full universities. The Daily Gleaner reported that Fredericton’s tourism industry received a healthy boost from Congress 2011, which was hosted by the University of New Brunswick and St. Thomas University. With 6,000 people attending Congress over an eight-day period, Congress was the largest event to ever be held in Fredericton.