S.P.A. (Sean) Desjardins, Dr PhD

Sean Desjardins is a settler anthropological archaeologist at the Arctic Centre and Groningen Institute of Archaeology in the Faculty of Arts.  He is interested in long-term human/non-human animal relationships among Inuit and Pre-Inuit peoples in Inuit Nunangat (the traditional Inuit territories of what is now Canada).  Through his current project (TRACES, 2024-29; funded by a European Research Council Starting Grant), he examines the long history of subsistence harvesting (hunting) practices in the Foxe Basin region of central Nunavut, Inuit Nunangat, as well as the divergence of traditional Inuit knowledge (Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit; ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᖃᐅᔨᒪᔭᑐᖃᖏᑦ) and Western-Scientific understandings of environmental health.  In addition to more than a decade of field studies in Inuit Nunangat, he has worked in Alaska, Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland), Canada’s Northwest Territories, Svalbard, the southeastern US and central China.

Previously a member of the Faculty of Arts Young Arts Network (YARN) inaugural cohort (2017-20), Sean was drawn to the YAG’s unique, university-wide mandate to advocate for early-career researchers.  As a scholar whose work is fundamentally inter- and multi-disciplinary, he also values the group’s commitment to facilitating dialogue on practical issues, as well as research collaboration, across RUG faculties and disciplines.  His current focus is on promoting accessibility and inclusion as the Chair of the YAG’s Diversity and Inclusion Working Group.