Over the past academic year, professors and students within the Faculty of Arts have been sharing their research expertise and talents beyond the classroom.
From translating works of fiction, to curating art exhibits to presenting at TED Talks, our vibrant and diverse Arts community showcased its work and knowledge through various media and formats.
As we conclude another year, here is a list of some projects, appearances and news to explore and discover.
*Submit news of your work for the next beyond the classroom recap.
Mary Hunter, Department of Art History and Communication Studies: Tissot, Women and Time at the Art Gallery of Ontario
From December 2024 until June 29, 2025, you can pay a visit to the Art Gallery of Ontario to see “Tissot, Women and Time”, an exhibit curated by Mary Hunter, Associate Professor, Department of Art History and Communication Studies. The exhibit explores the ways in which French artist James Tissot represented modern women and envisioned their relationships to time during the last decades of the 19th century.
Alexander Manshel, Department of English: Article in The New Yorker
In late April 2025, Professor Alexander Manshel published "How the Great Gatsby Took Over High School" in the New Yorker magazine, marking the 100th anniversary of the publication of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel, The Great Gatsby. Drawn from his current book project about the history of high school English, the article considers how Fitzgerald’s novel went from what he called a ‘flop’ to one of the most read books in American literature.
Ann-Marie MacDonald, 2024 Richler Writer-in-Residence: "Creativity as a joyous rage" on McGill Delve
On April 16,2025, the 2024 Richler Writer-in-Residence, Ann-Marie MacDonald, was a guest on the Desautels Faculty of Management's podcast Delve, reflecting on the creativity and the inspiration for her multidisciplinary work in fiction, broadcasting and theatre. Tackling questions such as, how do we ensure we are creative even when we hit a slump, MacDonald shares how her creative journey began with a joyous rage, and a fear of failure.
McGill Arts news interviewed Ann-Marie MacDonald back in October 2024 as she began her residency within McGill's Department of English.
Barry Eidlin, Department of Sociology: Guest on Jacobin Radio podcast "The Cause of Labor"
On March 14, 2025, Professor of Sociology, Barry Eidlin, joined labour activist and teacher Eric Blanc on an episode of Jacobin Radio podcast to discuss Blanc's new book We Are the Union: How Worker-to-Worker Organizing is Revitalizing Labor and Winning Big. Based on Blanc's research and on-the-ground organizing experience, the book lays out what is driving the organizing upsurge and how it provides a model for reversing labour's fortunes. McGill Arts news interviewed Professor Eidlin back in November 2023. He is also the recipient of the 2024 Changemaker Prize, awarded through the President's Prize for Engagement Through Media, which recognized his media contributions on labour movements and news.
Alain Farah, Département des littératures de la langue française, de traduction et de création: Collaboration with Kent Nagano
On December 10 and 11, 2024, Professor Alain Farah collaborated with conductor Kent Nagano on Cent soleils, a 20-minute oratorio based on the Nativity, composed by Matthew Ricketts, with a libretto authored by Farah. The story of the Nativity evokes a “Québecois sensibility” and was just as much inspired by the 2024 April total solar eclipse as by Farah’s own Catholic background. Read more about Cent Soleils (link in French only).
Jessica Coon, Department of Linguistics: “Lessons from Linguistics for the Future of AI” at TED AI - San Francisco
In October 2024, Professor Jessica Coon presented a talk at TED AI in San Francisco, drawing on her experience working as a linguistic consultant on the creation of the alien language in the film “Arrival.” In her talk, Coon explores what unites all human languages and why preserving linguistic diversity is essential to understanding our past and future.
Watch Professor Coon's talk on the TED website.
RadioEcozoic Podcast by Leadership for the Ecozoic, Department of Anthroplogy
A new podcast series launched in Fall 2024 by Leadership for Ecozoic (L4E), a transdisciplinary research group of PhD candidates from McGill University and the University of Vermont, aims to answer how we can transform the global ecological crisis into a future where humans can thrive together with the community of life on our shared planet. Radio Ecozoic features ecological economists, environmental anthropologists, legal scholars and community stakeholders in discussions on restoring Earth’s support systems through social justice principles. Listen to the podcast’s latest episodes.
Debra Thompson, Political Science: Player Education Session with Toronto Argonauts
In July 2024, Professor Debra Thompson lead a player education session, shedding light on racial biases for the players of the Toronto Argonauts, part of "Pull Together", an initiative that celebrates different cultures and amplifies social justice messages. Professor Thompson is a leading scholar of comparative politics of race and a Canada Research Chair in Racial Inequality in Democratic Societies (Tier 2). View an excerpt of her talk on the Toronto Argonauts YouTube channel.
Michelle Hartman and Caline Nasrallah (MA), Institute of Islamic Studies: Translators for 2024 novel A Long Walk from Gaza
The lives of women in Gaza are highlighted in the novel A Long Walk from Gaza by Asmaa Alatawna, co-translated by McGill alumna Caline Nasrallah and Professor Michelle Hartman, from the Institute of Islamic Studies. Published by Interlink Publishing in 2024, Professor Hartman describes the novel as written in the long tradition of Palestinian women writers who use the Arabic language creatively to expose and challenge the occupation and patriarchy together. In January 2025, Professor Hartman presented her translation and academic work at several talks in Cairo, Egypt.
Professor Hartman has translated many books from Arabic to English, such as Summer with the Enemy by Shahla Ujayli, and, with Faculty of Arts colleague, Professor Malek Abisaab from the Department of History and Classical Studies, What the War Left Behind: Women’s Stories of Resistance and Struggle in Lebanon published by Syracuse University Press in May 2024.