THUNDER BAY — The federal government has renewed Lakehead University's Max Haiven for a four-year term as Canada Research Chair in Radical Imagination.
"My work is dedicated to helping us recognize that our society is the product of our collective imagination," Haiven says. "If we can imagine it into being, we can imagine alternatives. We desperately need alternatives that help us move towards better horizons of social and ecological justice."
He's an associate professor in English and co-director of the Lakehead's ReImagining Value Action Lab, also known as RiVAL.
According to a university news release, Haiven is continuing to do innovative research into the power of the imagination to shape society, the economy and politics with a focus on opportunities and challenges posed by new media and communications technologies.
He's currently working on a variety of independent and collaborative research ventures.
As an example, the university cited his exploration of the global history, politics, economics, and cultures of palm oil, saying this will advance "an innovative theory of race and capitalism in the form of a short book, a podcast, an exhibition and other multimedia."
In another project, Haiven is investigating how diverse Indigenous activists across North America are challenging "the way human and non-human life is (de)valued in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic [and] generating new and radical ideas of how to be human on a troubled planet."
LU's vice-president/Research and Innovation, Andrew Dean, said one of the pillars of Lakehead's strategic plan is social accountability.
"Dr. Haiven's work is rooted in the media, communication and literature of social justice," he said. "We are really excited to see the outcomes of his research."
