York University researchers are leading on a wide range of projects funded through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Connection Grants, advancing collaborations that bring academic research into engagement with communities, artists, policymakers and practitioners in Canada and beyond.
York researchers will pursue 10 projects that reflect the University’s strength in interdisciplinary, community-engaged research across the humanities and social sciences – including legal and social systems, youth well-being, economic futures and more.
“These SSHRC Connection Grants highlight York University’s commitment to research that is both rigorous and deeply connected to communities, partners, and collaborators across Canada and beyond,” says Amir Asif, vice-president research and innovation at York. “They celebrate the diverse ways our scholars are engaging across disciplines to address complex social, cultural, and global challenges, and to build meaningful, lasting connections between academia and society.”
Connection Grants support events, workshops and outreach activities that often lay the groundwork for longer-term research projects and enable scholarly exchanges by building bridges between academic and non-academic partners, as well as collaboration between the public, private and not-for-profit sectors.
These projects are part of the November 2025 competition and received funding for one year.
Converging and Conflicting Buddhist Legal Frames: Secular Governances and Buddhist Transgressions, led by Alicia Turner (associate professor, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS)) with co-applicant Benjamin Berger (professor, Osgoode Hall Law School), received $24,619.
PROJECT IMPACT: Coming together to establish a priority agenda for knowledge mobilization initiatives for the well-being of Canadian children and youth, led by Rebecca Bassett-Gunter (professor, Faculty of Health) and co-led by a team of York researchers including Heather Prime, Jennifer Connolly, Jennine Rawana, Jessica Fraser-Thomas, Karl Erickson, Madison Aitken, Melody Wiseheart and Thanujeni (Jeni) Pathman, received $24,948.
The Relational Turn: Looking Back, Thinking Ahead, led by Ruth Buchanan (professor, Osgoode Hall Law School) and co-led by Annie Bunting (professor, LA&PS) and the University of Toronto, received $20,096.
Waste-work: race, caste, and labour in the new global politics of disposability, led by Shubhra Gururani (associate professor, LA&PS), received $23,503.
Monstrous Intimacies at 15, led by Tiana Reid (assistant professor, LA&PS), received $24,055.
Colère et Espoir autour de la Palestine : Perspectives d'artistes et de chercheur.es en sciences sociales, co-led by Nadia Hasan (assistant professor, LA&PS) with partners from Université Laval and Université du Québec à Montréal, received $24,997.
Respite, Care, and Ethics for Cultural Workers: A Traveling Symposium, led by OCAD University and co-led by Casey Mecija (associate professor, LA&PS), received $49,996.
De l'économie politique postcapitaliste à l'utopie — Rencontre entre recherche en sciences sociales et pratiques artistiques, led by Saint Paul University and co-led by Audrey Laurin-Lamothe (associate professor, LA&PS) and partners from Lund University, Université Laval, and Université du Québec en Outaouais, received $23,646.
Lusophone Studies Association Meeting, “Voices and Visions: Lusophone Communities in the Global Landscape,” led by the University of British Columbia and co-led by Robert Kenedy (associate professor, LA&PS), received $24,375.
Tó: Tewatia'tarò:rok Taetewatia'takéhnha', led by the University of Toronto and co-led by Jeremy Green (assistant professor, LA&PS), received $50,000.