J. S. Woodsworth Chair in the Humanities

James Shaver Woodsworth (1874–1942) was a clergyman, social reformer, member of parliament, and founder of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation in 1932, and a remarkable Canadian. Early in his career, he broke with the conventional role of clergy and devoted himself to action in the world around issues of social justice, peace, and equality. His legacy continues today not only in the form of public entitlements and benefits such as the CPP and EI, but more importantly, in Canadian political traditions based on equity, social obligation, and civic responsibility.

"J. S. Woodsworth" (1938) by Yousuf Karsh.

Social reform

About the endowment

Mandate

The holder of the Woodsworth Chair or Resident Scholar combines teaching and research with active engagement on issues concerning the wider community at local, national, and international levels by:

  • Supporting educational and community-development efforts by individuals and groups within communities.
  • Offering undergraduate courses that centre on social justice, community development, and civic responsibility.
  • Funding the J. S. Woodsworth Chair position in the Department of Global Humanities.
  • Initiating in-depth and long-term research into social and cultural issues that are of central concern to the Woodsworth Program.
  • Building strong ties with the community through scheduled series of symposiums, workshops, and conferences funded by the Endowment.
  • Directly addressing the place of a humanistic, liberal arts education in the 21st century university and in the 21st century world of work.

Established in 1984, the purpose of the J. S. Woodsworth Endowment is to provide for a full-time teaching, research, and community engagement position in the formerly-named Department of Humanities and when feasible, fund other positions and community activities in order to recognize the contributions of J. S. Woodsworth to Canada. The Woodsworth legacy is tied not to specific projects or themes, but rather to moral courage, social sympathies, passion for truth, and intellectual pioneering in the pursuit of social progress, education, and empowerment. 

Chair-holders and Resident Scholars

Current J. S. Woodsworth Chair (2024–Present)

Adrian Ivakhiv was the Professor of Environmental Thought and Culture (2003–2024) at the University of Vermont, where he co-led EcoCultureLab, a collaboratory for ecology, arts, and the future. His books include Shadowing the Anthropocene: Eco-Realism for Turbulent Times (2018), Ecologies of the Moving Image: Cinema, Affect, Nature (2013), Claiming Sacred Ground: Pilgrims and Politics at Glastonbury and Sedona (2001), and the co-edited Routledge Handbook of Ecomedia Studies (2023). He co-edits Media+Environment journal and in 2022–23, was a Fulbright Scholar (Germany/Ukraine) and Cinepoetics Fellow at Freie Universität Berlin. He began his tenure as the J. S. Woodworth Chair of the Humanities at Simon Fraser University in June 2024.

Past J. S. Woodsworth Chairs

The holder of the Woodsworth Chair works with the Director of the Institute for the Humanities and other faculty to further public understanding of the mandate.

Past J. S. Woodsworth Resident Scholars

Sponsored by the Department of Global Humanities and the Institute for the Humanities and funded by the J.S. Woodsworth Endowment, the Resident Scholar is selected for a one- or two-year term of residence.