Indigenous food sovereignty in Canada. Rural mapping of Alberta. The challenges of translating classic children’s literature. The research that happens at the U of A is incredibly diverse, and a lot of it is initiated and undertaken by undergraduate students.
The university community can learn about the research of 216 students at the annual Festival of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (FURCA) event from March 9–13, 2020. Christopher Chan, one of the festival’s many student volunteers, says that FURCA is an experiential learning opportunity where students are able to present their research and communicate the value of what they’re doing with a non-specialist audience — a skill that’s valuable throughout one’s academic and professional careers. “For some students, this is the first opportunity they’ve had to put themselves out there and present their work,” Chan says. “The URI provides workshops for the presenters so they have an idea of what to expect. Presenting and making posters isn’t always intuitive, so we help prepare them.”
The Undergraduate Research Initiative (URI) has facilitated a research symposium every year since 2013. Its current iteration, FURCA, has expanded from a poster exhibit to include oral presentations and a creative works exhibit. As a multidisciplinary student — Chan is pursuing a major in Biological Sciences and a minor in History — he sees the value in offering various opportunities to students. “Poster sessions don’t necessarily work for every discipline, they’re not the best way to communicate all types of work,” Chan says. “So we’re more inclusive and truly interdisciplinary now.”
Chan has volunteered with URI since 2015, and enjoys the process of helping students share their important work with a broader audience. “I do research myself and have presented at conferences, but I find it rewarding to be on the other side and help facilitate a conference,” Chan says. “The URI has created a really supportive culture.”
Read on to learn about just one of the many presentations at FURCA 2020!
I love road maps: their design elements, their stylistic quirks, their visual language. There are about 200 sitting in my basement, and I pick up another armful every time I visit the Reuse Centre on Argyll. A rich story of time and place runs through each one. But I also have a data plan, so I’m not too proud to admit that I never use the things anymore unless I drive somewhere too remote for cell service (which, to be fair, happens pretty often).
Yes, this is an embarrassing confession for someone who has put about 1,000 evening and weekend hours (and counting) into crafting my own printed map. Anachronistic? Road navigation might be better off digital, but when it comes to geographic understanding, the need for solutions beyond multiscale phone apps is more pressing than ever.
Myself, I’ve always liked travelling locally, which gave me a fairly simple idea a couple years ago: could you systematically visit every county in Alberta? Our system of rural government is more complicated than you’d expect, but after a few false starts and many split hairs, I crossed the finish line with Improvement District 24 (Wood Buffalo National Park) this reading week. Here are some of the questions I asked along the way, none of which Google was very helpful in answering:
Where does Treaty 6 become Treaty 7? Why do we map ghost towns, but not Hutterite colonies? Where did the province’s 1,781 grain elevators stand? What’s the difference between a fire tower and a radio tower? How much of Edmonton used to be the Papaschase reserve? Where do township roads stop? Where’s the flattest place you can go?
The final answer is Alex McPhee’s Province of Alberta, which measures 3’6” by 5’8” at 1:750,000 scale. It took home Best in Design (Student) at the North American Cartographic Information Society’s 2019 meeting in Tacoma, but the University of Alberta is where it really belongs. Come have a look as it hangs in Rutherford for the next few weeks. I don’t like the positivist view of maps as a window into objective truth, but I hope to provide a perspective that’s clear, unique, and inspiring.
As an undergraduate whose university career has often been shaped by friction between personal interests and course curricula, it’s wonderful that so many resources on campus are friendly to singular passion projects. FURCA and the URI are both well worth investigating for anyone cooking up something that they feel isn’t being done by anyone else. My final recommendation is to go check out the criminally under-trafficked William C. Wonders Map Library, fourth floor Cameron, whose staffers have been an invaluable resource to this project. Be sure to look for anything I missed — I’d love to hear about it, honest.
About Alex
Alex McPhee is soon to be the holder of a BS. in Geophysics. When not planning his illegal entry into Improvement District №349, he fills his time with embroidery and maintaining Wikipedia articles for fun.