Professor receives SSHRC grant for Democratic Socialism project
August 7, 2020
Dr. John Grant, Associate Professor of Politics and International Relations, has been awarded a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Insight Grant in the amount of $45,190 between April 2020 and March 2023 for his research project on “Democratic Socialism in Imagination and Practice.”
Dr. Grant says the aim of his research project is to articulate and evaluate the philosophy and the institutional possibilities of democratic socialism in the 21st Century.
“Until very recently, democratic socialism had disappeared from the political landscape in most Western countries. That landscape has changed significantly in the past decade. In places like the United States, United Kingdom and Spain, democratic socialism is being revived by the unexpected national emergence of political figures such as Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Jeremy Corbyn, along with many more local representatives,” Dr. Grant explains.
Dr. Grant intends to write a series of articles on topics such as democratic socialism’s unique understanding of political liberty and the good life; its institutional possibilities with specific emphasis on institutions of collective representation and reconciliation with Indigenous peoples; and how democratic socialism’s political project can address existing social pathologies such as racism and xenophobia along with deep inequalities of power and wealth. He will also serve as editor for a collection of essays by established and emerging scholars about the renewed promise and practical realities of socialism.
This SSHRC funding will allow Dr. Grant to train undergraduate and graduate research assistants and to present their work at national and international conferences for the next three years.
For more information on SSHRC Insight Grants, please visit https://www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca/funding-financement/programs-programmes/insight_grants-subventions_savoir-eng.aspx.
For more information on King’s Department of Politics and International Relations, please visit https://www.kings.uwo.ca/academics/politics-international-relations/.