Political Science at UWindsor

Political Science professor awarded SSHRC funding for research on #Idlenomore movement

Dr. Emmanuelle RichezDr. Emmanuelle Richez, assistant professor in the Department of Political Science, has been awarded an Insight Development Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Reseach Council of Canada (SSHRC) for more than $62,000 for a project titled The #Idlenomore Factor: Characterizing Twitter's Effect on Canadian Aboriginal Civic Engagement.

Dr. Richez, along with co-investigator Dr. Vincent Raynauld, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at Emerson College in Boston, will examine how minorities use social media for political mobilization, potentially affecting policy development and identity building, focusing especially on the presence of the Idle No More movement in the Twitterverse. This movement, led by Aboriginal Peoples across Canada, emerged in December 2012 in reaction to policy proposals contained in omnibus Bill C-45.

The project outlines ways in which Aboriginal Peoples in Canada and internationally can mobilize effectively to achieve political goals.

Dr. Richez and Dr. Raynauld's SSHRC funding extends for two years.