Research & Ideas

Digitally illustrated collage of musical instruments, mobile phone screens and miniature sized musicians playing guitars. A hand is reaching through a mobile phone screen to press a key on the keyboard.

Tuning into Tomorrow

AI can help musicians compose and create new sounds. Is it just another music-making tool – or something else?

Suman Roy, wearing a hooded sweatshirt with the words

Hunger Pains

Food bank use in Toronto is soaring. Can a U of T Scarborough lab help?

Illustration of a gamer's desk, depicting a video game console, monitor, two controllers, an open notebook, and a video game character wielding a sword coming out of the console, next to a stoppered potion bottle with red liquid

Game Time

Most of today’s students play video games. Why not study them, too?

Collage of parts of the face of people from different races and a small, seated figure with a bent head coloured in black

Blurring the Blue Line

Student Rachel Bromberg and alum Asante Haughton are helping to create a response service for mental health crisis calls in Toronto that relies less on police

Abstract illustration showing a red-coloured body and face, with small black and white pieces flowing from inside body out of the mouth, and the U.S. Capitol Building dangling on puppet strings from one hand

The Extremism Machine

Online disinformation poses a danger to society. Researchers at U of T’s Citizen Lab are tracking it – and trying to figure out how to stop it

Back profile of a police person as they face blazing fire in the background

Eliminating Excessive Force

U of T Mississauga professor Judith Andersen’s training techniques improve police performance in tense situations. The challenge: getting police to use them

A collage containing an illustration of Sir John A. Macdonald with

Whose Stories Do We Tell?

The Dictionary of Canadian Biography aims to record noteworthy lives from “all points of view.” Six decades into its mission, what that means is still up for debate

Outdoor shot of Kipling Acres building and grounds

Strange Bedfellows

A growing number of city-dwellers live in condos – and now high schools, theatres and daycares are taking up residence there, too, creating benefits for everyone

A father with a suitcase holding an umbrella over himself and his son, both of them looking at a residential building

Home Truths

Toronto’s housing crunch affects many residents, but newcomers with few resources are especially vulnerable

Three children playing in a playground next to a building with a white picket fence with an entrance shaped like a hand

The Freedom to Learn

Toronto schools aim to provide a safe space for children, regardless of citizenship status. But there are flaws that need to be addressed

U of T Scarborough English professor Karina Vernon outside on a sunny day

A Lost Literature

Prof. Karina Vernon shares the untold stories of Black people on the Canadian Prairies

The Oxford English Dictionary in Robarts Library at the University of Toronto, June 19, 2019. Photo by Nick Iwanyshyn

The Great Canadian Word Hunt

Canadian meanings of “soaker” and “bush party” don’t exist in the Oxford English Dictionary. A U of T linguistics prof is aiming to change that

Priced Out of the Housing Market

Owning a home is becoming a fantasy for all but the wealthiest families. Better urban planning is part of the solution. Adjusting our expectations may be another

Photo of four cards, the top three facing up showing the Jack, Queen and King of hearts with definitions for

All In on Gutenberg

Students in Prof. Paolo Granata’s book and media studies class learn print culture terms while playing poker

Photo of lost of different kinds of candy, representing a profusion of consumer choice.

Why We Sometimes Make Bad Decisions

Economists have long known that consumers can make confounding choices when presented with too much selection. But they’ve never agreed on why. Enter neuroscience

Illustrations of astronaut Chris Hadfield and singer Celine Dion.

A Distinctive Look?

English-Canadians are pretty good at identifying French-Canadian faces but the reverse isn’t true

Protesters at an alt-right rally in Berkeley, California

Antifa

An anti-fascist movement that started in 1930s Europe is making headlines again

Outdoor headshot of Maureen Judge

The Struggle Is Real

Filmmaker Maureen Judge’s latest project captures stories of millennials venturing out on their own

Photo of Prof. Suzanne Stewart standing indoors beside a railing.

A Refuge from the Streets

Having spent time homeless herself, Prof. Suzanne Stewart envisions a new kind of shelter – one that truly understands and cares for Indigenous women

Closeup photo of Ryan DeCaire

Lost Words

Dozens of Indigenous languages in Canada are in danger of disappearing. What will it take to save them?

Illustration of an eye (left), a closed hand (middle), a megaphone (right)

Woke

The term emerges from African-American vernacular as a call to action, says U of T prof Cassandra Lord