(Ottawa, April 19, 2018)—Today, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada announced the finalists of its 2018 Storytellers challenge.

SSHRC’s annual contest challenges postsecondary students from across the country to tell the story—in three minutes or 300 words—of how SSHRC-funded research is making a difference in the lives of Canadians. The top entries this year address a range of important issues, including children’s health, education, gender identity, immigration and integration. The stories highlight how knowledge about the social sciences and humanities helps Canadians understand and improve the world.

"In communicating their research stories, our talented finalists have masterfully informed us about key issues that impact our society. In doing so, they have effectively demonstrated the value of social sciences and humanities research, offering critical insights into modern social, cultural, economic and wellness issues that Canadians value,” said SSHRC President Ted Hewitt. “Congratulations to SSHRC’s 25 Finalists!”

The Top 25 Storytellers represent 15 postsecondary institutions across Canada. The finalists were selected from among nearly 200 entries by 18 expert judges from Canada and abroad. Each finalist receives a cash prize of $3,000 and the opportunity to compete in the Storytellers Showcase. This year’s Showcase will be held at the 2018 Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, taking place May 26 to June 1 at the University of Regina.

On Thursdays starting April 19, SSHRC will feature finalists from among the Top 25 on its website and on social media. SSHRC will also post a list of honourable mentions on its YouTube channel. Follow SSHRC’s Twitter feed and #SSHRCStorytellers to find out more about the campaign in the lead-up to the Storytellers Showcase.

This year’s Top 25 finalists are as follows (works are available in the language in which they were submitted):

Name	Institution	Title
Aly Bailey	Brock University	Reshaping the Mind, Not the Body: A Positive Body Image Program
Patricia Bérubé	Université de Montréal	Vers une médiation plus inclusive : la couleur au bout des doigts
Meagan Black	The University of British Columbia	Because One is an L and the Other Isn’t: “Learning Disabled” as Lived Social and Emotional Reality
Evan Bowness	The University of British Columbia	Urban Agrarianism in Florianópolis, Brazil
Meaghen Buckley	Concordia University	Articulations of the Body: Speaking from the Senses in Improvisation
Agnieszka Chalas	Queen’s University	Painting a Portrait of Evaluation in Art Museums
Claire Champigny	York University	Academic Outcomes in Pediatric Stroke
Candace Couse	Brock University	Picturing Illness: Reparative Possibilities in Autobiographical Art Practice
Adam Ellis	University of Toronto	Reconceptualizing Urban Warfare in Canada: Exploring the Relationship between Trauma, Post-Traumatic Stress, and Violence among Combat Soldiers and ‘Street Soldiers’
Mackenzie (Mack) Enns	Western University	Game Scoring: Software Programming and/as Aleatoric Composition
Mei Lan Fang	Simon Fraser University	Mapping Relocation Experiences: An Exploration of Older Peoples’ Place-Based Histories Through an Intersectionality Lens
Maryam Golafshani	Western University	Why Family Photographs Matter: Hon Lu’s Story and the Family Camera Network
Shannon Herrick	McGill University	Physical Activity Considerations for LGBTQ+ Adults
Eunjeong Eugena Kwon	Western University	Examining the Role of Food Literacy in Shaping Immigrant Integration Experiences in Canada
Christine Labrie	University of Ottawa	Les mères, les normes sociales et le don d'enfant au Québec (1960-1979)
Michelle MacQueen	Carleton University	Critical Constructions of Canadianness: The Tragically Hip and Representations of Canadian Identity
John (Jay) Marquis-Manicom	Concordia University	On Antifascist Anthropology and the Ethnography of the Alt-Right
Michiko Maruyama	University of Alberta	Changing the World One Toy at a Time
Michelle Ogrodnik	McMaster University	Can Exercise Breaks Boost Student Learning?
Jeremy (Jay) Olson	McGill University	Influencing the Feeling of Control Using Suggestion and Magic
Svjetlana Oppen	University of Windsor	Going Back to Yugoslavia: Composite Identities of Nation and Self
Eric Powell	Concordia University	Hearing Motion in the Moment: New Approaches to Sound-Based Mapping
Harprit Singh	McGill University	Children's Voices in Medical Assistance in Dying for Minors in Canada
Galen Watts	Queen’s University	The Spirit of Millennials: Community and Citizenship in Canadian Life
Yolanda Weima	York University	Responses to Recurrent Refuge and Return: Burundian Refugees in Tanzania