SFU Global Humanities

Guiding global discourse in challenging times

In an age of rising misinformation, credible analysis matters. @sfuhumanities.bsky.social's James Horncastle is helping shape public understanding of complex geopolitical events through his 45 published articles in @ca.theconversation.com, regular media commentary and interdisciplinary research.

Join us on Nov 5th @ 6PM for our Annual Professor Chinmoy Banerjee Memorial Lecture in Anti-Racism by Pragna Patel, the co-founder and co-director of Project Resist, an organization focused on work with marginalized and vulnerable women and girls throughout the UK.

Details: ow.ly/MsMG50X7qe9

Rare ‘medieval’ artifacts found in B.C. thrift store donated to SFU for study Rare artifacts dating back potentially thousands of years have been found in a British Columbia thrift store and donated to Simon Fraser University for study.

SNF Centre Director, Dr. Sabrina Higgins, is in the news with an amazing artifact find found in a BC Thrift store!

Learn more!
www.sfu.ca/sfunews/stor...

vancouversun.com/news/extraor...

Join us on Oct 7 (Indigenous Survivance, Traditional Knowledge, and the Arts) and Nov 4 (How Another World Might Be Possible) for the first two sessions of our J. S. Woodsworth Chair's hybrid webinar series on “Radical Hope in Feverish Times”! RSVP required for Zoom.

Learn more: ow.ly/Pg5f50X2pKg

Course Review: The wonders of classical mythology By: Julia Nijjar, SFU Student It’s often difficult to decide which classes to take for an upcoming semester. I constantly find myself lost in an entanglement of thoughts as I weigh the pros and con…

Thank you to Julia Nijjar for this amazing review of HUM 102W in @sfu.ca's The Peak:

". . . I sincerely hope other students at SFU can take a meaningful course that will alter the way they think. My only regret is that I hadn’t taken HUM 102 sooner."

Read more: ow.ly/2w8O50WZzo8

Palestinian state recognition SFU professor, James Horncastle addresses Palestinian state recognition on CTV Your Morning Vancouver.

@jhorncastle.bsky.social, McWhinney Professor in International Relations, speaks to @ctvyourmorning.bsky.social about Canada's, UK's, and Australia's Palestinian state recognition. @sfufass.bsky.social

Watch now: ow.ly/xpFE50X1CZe

Join us on October 5th at SFU Surrey Campus for a free film screening of "Farming the Revolution," which is followed by a Q&A with director Nishtha Jain! Sussanne Skidmore, President of the @bcfed.bsky.social will make the concluding remarks after the Q&A session.

Learn more: ow.ly/Un8z50WZO03

What NATO could learn from Ukraine as it navigates Russian threats to European security Throughout its war with Russia, Ukraine is providing lessons to the West on what’s required to win a modern-day war. Will European and other states heed those lessons?

McWhinney Prof in International Relations @jhorncastle.bsky.social (w/ Royal Danish Defence College's Samuel Zilincik) on "how Ukraine’s struggle over the last three years has yielded valuable lessons for Europe’s defence." @sfufass.bsky.social @ca.theconversation.com

Read now: ow.ly/RzKc50WYoAW

It was a pleasure to meet and chat with future Global Humanities students at this year's @sfufass.bsky.social
Department Fair! Thank you to everyone who stopped by our booth to learn more about the department and Humanities Student Union—we are excited for you to join us!

How Israel’s attack on Qatar erodes peace — and American influence — in the Middle East Israel’s strike on Qatar undermines diplomacy, casts doubt on U.S. security guarantees and entrenches a state of permanent war in the Middle East.

Faculty member @sasofos.bsky.social's new @ca.theconversation.com article on Israel's attack on Qatar and how it affects international relations. @sfufass.bsky.social

Read now: ow.ly/BjPh50WUV0V

Evan Freeman, Hellenic Canadian Congress of BC Chair in Hellenic Studies, publishes new journal article on the relationship between Florovsky's neo-patristic synthesis and Ouspensky's icon theology. @sfufass.bsky.social

Read now: ow.ly/seep50WOgXc

Syria as a Battleground: How Israel and Turkey Are Shaping a Fragmented Middle East - Middle East Centre As Israel and Turkey entrench themselves further in Syria’s geography and political future, the question is not whether Syria will be whole again, but whether the Middle East can avoid becoming a regi...

Global Humanities' Assistant Professor @sasofos.bsky.social on how Israel and Turkey "are pursuing a vision of Syria as a weak, fragmented state": ow.ly/9F0C50WN5LQ

@lsemiddleeast.bsky.social @sfufass.bsky.social

McWhinney Professor in International Relation @jhorncastle.bsky.social speaks to 880 CHED's @ShayeGanam Podcast about how Trump’s separate meetings with Putin and Zelenskyy have advanced Russian interests. Timestamp: 0:52:03–1:00:48. @sfufass.bsky.social

Listen now: ow.ly/hXPn50WJaQj

Canada West-Political ...

@jhorncastle.bsky.social on Fairchild TV's Canada West-Political Segment to talk about Trump’s involvement in foreign conflicts despite his campaign to do otherwise and Carney’s response amidst Canada-US trade negotiations. @sfufass.bsky.social

Watch now: www.fairchildtv.com/en/news.php?...

Top left to right: Marianne Ignace and Mark Pickup. Bottom left to right: Vaibhav Saria and Yushu Zhu. TEXT: 2025 FASS Research Excellence Awards

Honouring innovation, impact, and dedication: Congratulations to our FASS Research Excellence Award recipients in the humanities & social sciences!

Learn more about our winners: www.sfu.ca/fass/news/2025/08/research-excellence-award.html

French translation now out: theconversation.com/reunions-sep...

How Trump’s separate meetings with Putin and Zelenskyy have advanced Russian interests Given Donald Trump’s unwillingness to make firm commitments at the meetings with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders, Russia has come out on top.

@jhorncastle.bsky.social , Global Humanities' McWhinney Professor in International Relations, on Trump's separate meetings with Putin and Zelenskyy and now his "balanced approach" have mostly benefited Russia.

@ca.theconversation.com
@sfufass.bsky.social

Read now: ow.ly/9xfO50WItlk

Jason Brown, our Lecturer in Religious Studies, on contemplative and somatic approaches to healing: ow.ly/xs3I50WAqM6

@sfufass.bsky.social

political segment 07292025 Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

@jhorncastle.bsky.social, McWhinney Professor in International Relations, talks to Fairchild TV about the Battle River by-election (timestamp: 1:04–2:09): ow.ly/yy1i50WAesZ

@sfufass.bsky.social

James Horncastle is an assistant professor and Edward and Emily McWhinney professor in international relations at Simon Fraser University Podcast Episode · Shaye Ganam · 2025-07-31 · 10m

McWhinney Professor in International Relations @jhorncastle.bsky.social returns to 880 CHED's @ShayeGanam Podcast to discuss the Russia-Ukraine war after Russia launched waves of missile and drone attacks on Kyiv.

@sfufass.bsky.social

Listen now: ow.ly/zVVk50WyMi8

Israel’s attack on Syria: Protecting the Druze minority or a regional power play? Israel’s strikes in Syria, framed as protecting the Druze, reflect a strategy to fragment the Syrian state and secure Israel’s role as the dominant regional power.

Israel’s aggressive revisionism seeks to violently reshape the Middle East.
This is my second piece in The Conversation on its escalating strikes in Syria, its claim to protect the Druze, and the broader fallout in the Middle East.
🔗 theconversation.com/israels-atta...

Summer has brought both hope and questions for Ukraine amid Donald Trump’s posturing Ukraine is managing to survive what could be Russia’s last chance at decisive victory if Donald Trump is serious about his ceasefire threats to the Russian regime.

@jhorncastle.bsky.social, McWhinney Professor in International Relations, on Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine amid Trump's recent threats: ow.ly/Oqy050Wx4Sa

@ca.theconversation.com @sfufass.bsky.social

Fall 2025 enrollment has begun! From the heart of human existence to the socio-cultural context of myths, we offer courses under a number of different designations. Explore the richness of the humanities by taking a course this fall! @sfufass.bsky.social

See course outlines: ow.ly/cUTP50Wl8Ur

How Israeli and U.S. strikes against Iran were facilitated by the Russia-Ukraine war The U.S. government may argue that supporting Ukraine is not in American interests, but Ukraine’s ongoing fight against Russia is actually assisting Americans elsewhere — most notably, in Iran.

McWhinney Professor in International Relations @jhorncastle.bsky.social on how the Russia-Ukraine war affected Iran's air defences, leaving it vulnerable to the Israeli and U.S. strikes. @ca.theconversation.com @sfufass.bsky.social

Read now: ow.ly/e6cX50Wh25i

Seeking advantages abroad: Ukrainian SOF in Africa Ukrainian Special Operation Forces (SOF) have been active in Africa since the start of the current phase of the Russia-Ukraine War. In perhaps the most notable instance, Ukrainian SOF supported Tua...

McWhinney Professor in International Relations @jhorncastle.bsky.social's new journal article on how Ukraine's Special Operation Forces in Africa represents part of its efforts to defeat Russia. @tandfresearch.bsky.social @sfufass.bsky.social

Read now: ow.ly/fioz50Wk0Tl

Warfare in the Mountains to Wage War in the City: The Cypriot War of Independence and Lessons for Contemporary Counterinsurgency and Counterterrorism The Cypriot War of Independence is a critical case study for contemporary counterinsurgency (COIN) and counterterrorism (CT) studies. Given COIN and CT’s ongoing significance, policymakers and practit...

McWhinney Professor in International Relations @jhorncastle.bsky.social on the Cypriot War Of Independence and how it can be a study in counterinsurgency and counterterrorism measures. @sfufass.bsky.social

Read now: ow.ly/XFQ650WbZZp

Join us on July 26, from 2:30–4:30PM, for a private screening of “I Am Gitxsan,” followed by a discussion with Director Hossein Martin Fazeli! Event is open to @sfu.ca's students/faculty, associates of the Institute for the Humanities, and those who self-identify as Indigenous. @sfufass.bsky.social

Why Israel and the U.S. are sure to encounter the limits of air power in Iran The U.S. military could certainly make an impact in any air campaign against Iran. But it will want to avoid another Iraq-like quagmire.

McWhinney Professor in International Relations @jhorncastle.bsky.social on the Israel-Iran conflict and Israel's calls for the United States' support.

@ca.theconversation.com
@sfufass.bsky.social

Read now: ow.ly/InUf50WczRe

How Israel’s domestic crises and Netanyahu’s aim to project power are reshaping the Middle East Israel’s military actions —in Gaza, Syria, Lebanon and now Iran — reflect the melding of Benjamin Netanyahu’s domestic political survival and his revisionist aims to reshape the regional order.

Today on TheConversation Canada my two cents on the convergence of a domestic political crisis & a profound strategic shift as Israel evolves into a more unchecked aggressive actor in a fragmented international order
@sfuhumanities.bsky.social @sfufass.bsky.social theconversation.com/how-israels-...

@sfu.ca students Diego Barrios-Stewart, Citlalli Gonzalez, and Nick Parker along with alumni Sarah Grenier and Madison Poole visiting the site of Stobi in North Macedonia alongside @sabrinahiggins.bsky.social. They are currently working on the excavations at Golemo Gradiste. @sfufass.bsky.social