Overview

Morris Wolfe (1938-2021) was a prominent cultural nationalist Canadian writer whose thoughts about media were published in regular columns Saturday Night and The Globe and Mail, and in book form in Jolts: The TV Wasteland and the Canadian Oasis (1965). Wolfe advocated for and wrote about Canadian media in A Saturday Night Scrapbook (1973), Signing On: The Birth of Radio in Canada (1982), and a 3-record compilation, Fifty Years of Radio (1986). He was a frequent guest on programs such as As it Happens, Morningside, and Canada AM, and in 1981 undertook a series of retrospective interviews with all living Massey lecturers for Ideas.

Recipient of numerous Ontario Arts Council and Canada Council grants, a National Magazine Award (1979), and a Canadian Association of Journalists award for investigative journalism (1994), Wolfe was a voracious reader, editor of collections of Canadian writing, and frequent reviewer who counted among his many influences Jacques Ellul, and Neil Postman. Wolfe was for 30 years a part-time teacher of film history at OCA (now known as OCAD) and a supporter and friend to generations of students. Through Grubstreet books and volunteer work with Toronto's marginalized communities, he helped many tell their own stones. His writing earned a message of universal respect: for women, children, the mentally ill, the economically challenged, the immigrant. Above all, as a lover of words and ideas, he was deeply concerned that media were becoming superficial and addictive, and that social media were affecting our ability as a society to pay attention to complex and important ideas.

Value and Duration

• Up to one award of $800 (Subject to change)

Eligibility

• Registered Active in a Master’s or Doctoral program;
• Student must be studying the influence of media on society
• Academic excellence;
• Domestic or International student
• Demonstrate financial need

Deadlines

• January 3

How to Apply

Students must complete the Award Submission Portal with the following information:

• The applicant's statement section should outline how the student's research is aligned with the scope of the award, and;
• Upload required materials, merged into one PDF file: official or unofficial transcripts. A copy of grades from the student account is acceptable. Must include the last two years or all years of graduate studies.

Also separately,

• Complete online Student Financial Profile;

Support

• If you require further assistance, please contact our Scholarship & Awards Coordinator or Research Officer by visiting our FGS Staff Directory.