Spotlight

Most of today's university undergraduates were born in the 2000s. Like every generation before them, their formative years are being influenced by a distinct set of social conditions, significant events, opportunities, and challenges. What's it like to be a student today? What do Gen Z want from university? And how are universities helping them prepare for their (and our) futures?

Humanities

Humanities

Protesters holding signs in front of San Francisco city hall

Why do sexual assault perpetrators escape consequences while accusers face backlash?

Bison standing on grass

Canada is wasting scarce resources conserving species that are not endangered elsewhere.

Five students sitting at a table next to wall with mural

Canadian higher education is deeply dependent on international student tuition.

Words written on two hands held in the air at protest

One underappreciated impact of global heating is its influence on language itself.

AI image of woman wearing VR goggles with images swirling around head

A first-of-its-kind study that links aversion to AI art with speciesism and anthropocentrism.

Two students in a class building

UBC’s School of Architecture + Landscape Architecture (SALA) co-leads exhibit highlighting

Recent events have marked a powerful inflection point in Canadian journalism.

Six women on graduation stage in university regalia

Nsyilxcn Language Fluency students embraced the opportunity of a lifetime.

Robot reading book in front of chalkboard

Rather than fearing AI, some UBC professors integrating it into their courses.

Wide-angle shot of the main exhibit space at the Chinatown Storytelling Centre

A new space in Vancouver’s Chinatown is enabling inclusive — and transformative — storytelling.

A UBC student waters a garden outside the Museum of Vancouver on a sunny day

How UBC ACRE is centering the voices, experiences, and expertise of Asian Canadian communities.

Speaker Dr. Azim Shariff stands on stage before audience in front of a TED sign

People attach moral value to hard work — Dr. Azim Shariff calls it “effort moralization.”

Hogwarts Legacy game displayed on smartphone beside game controller

Online debates arose about anti-Semitic imagery and content in this Harry Potter game.

Silhouettes of two men with toddler in front of sunrise

The emerging image of North American gay dads as white, affluent men is inaccurate.

Woman in hat and coat turned sideways smiles on steps in black-and-white photo

Winnifred Eaton was the first Asian and first woman to head a Hollywood script department.

Children sitting on floor in classroom, with some holding their hands up

This study points out that previous research only considered the education of fathers.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with King Charles

As long as our colonial tie is retained, Canada’s head of state cannot be a Canadian.

The back of a human and a hologram of a robot, with both staring at a screen with projected text

A UBC psychology professor finds out the hard way.

Illustration of a purple magnifying glass against a purple book

A new study by a UBC prof examines the power of language history for language learners.

a collage showing a can of tomato sauce being poured over a landscape on Mars

Two food security experts explore how the first Mars colonists might feed themselves.

Black girl browsing through books on shelves

Two professors discuss how language impacts the development of stereotypes.

African women in shawls carrying empty containers queue up in desert

Poverty and inequality have resulted in unequal access to the Earth’s bounty.

Human left hand beside a robotic right hand

AI–generated text will soon be indistinguishable from that written by a person.

Reporters holding microphones and recorders near person speaking

A new group of vital contributors are shaping what journalism could and should do.

Women in red robes and white bonnets pray on steps in The Handmaid's Tale

Writers have explored how abortion becomes entangled with how we shape the future.

A photograph of Vancouver taken from a helicopter above the Stanley Park area. It shows West Georgia Street, with False Creek and Science World at the end, and East Vancouver in the background.

There may be no such thing, but Vancouver has shown the world an admirable model.

Illustration of people enjoying a public park, with a city in the background

Communities are shaping their public spaces into social places.

An illustration of cities enclosed in bubbles

UBC researchers are helping us imagine a city where people feel more connected.

A woman sits looking out of a window at trees

Trees and green spaces are an antidote for the stressors of modern life.

Photo of Sonja Thoma sitting on the beach.

Linguist Sonja Thoma is supporting the revitalization of Indigenous languages.