The objective of this research project is to document how various fields of knowledge approach the theme of “house and home” by using as a foundation works of literature, which often touch on a range of fields and their associated disciplines. In Winter 2026, we gave a seminar (FRA6752) on how house and home are treated in poetry (Paul-Marie Lapointe, Yves Bonnefoy, Paul Claudel, Joséphine Bacon, Jules Laforgue and Walt Whitman). This partial, preliminary corpus may serve as a springboard for AHL 3900. The goal is for each student to read a work of literature within the scope of this project. If necessary, this work will be chosen collaboratively with the student based on how it addresses the theme of “house and home” and the opportunities it affords to explore different fields of knowledge. Strictly speaking, this literary analysis falls outside the realm of epistemological criticism—which generally involves studying scientific knowledge using a literary work as a catalyst—since the chosen topic of “house and home” isn’t associated with a particular field. The approach will rather be purely thematic based on the initial objective of exploring the heuristic potential of literature. The phenomenological nature of the theme positions literature itself as capable of furthering knowledge outside of the conventional sciences. For example, Gaston Bachelard’s four foundational works (La psychanalyse du feu, 1938; L’eau et les rêves, 1941; L’air et les songes, 1943; La Terre et les rêveries du repos, 1948) aimed from the outset to contribute to an epistemic framework of scientific knowledge he had comprehensively explored. These essays have often been associated with psychoanalysis, a field that aligns and integrates well with literature. More fundamentally, the theme highlights the epistemic goal of literature: to facilitate the exploration of all domains of human knowledge.
We have identified at least 19 sciences and fields of knowledge that could be associated with the theme of house and home: economics, military science, law, architecture, ethics, political science, medicine, theology, Indigenous studies, aesthetics, sociology, lexicology, ecology, biology, geography, education, urbanism, literature, and cosmology. Students will be asked to choose two sciences from this list and create a ten-title bibliography (books or articles; 5 articles per science) upon which the final reading list will be built (equivalent to 5 books, plus the work of literature to round out the corpus). Students must submit a summary (max. 1 page) of each read title, then write an analysis of the work of literature in connection with their chosen sciences. The analysis will take the form of a scientific journal article—approximately 12–16 pages, including footnotes and bibliography. Three group meetings will be held each month to discuss research and problems. As this project is connected with another pending grant-funded project, the goal is for the students to continue this work as contracted researchers.
In terms of skill development, participants will first build interdisciplinary skills, such as adaptability and the ability to draw connections between a field they are familiar with—in this case, literature—and fields less known or unknown to them. Second, the project will facilitate literary analysis training: participants will produce a scientific work of literary analysis (or equivalent) with all the research, preparation, discussion and writing that entails. Third, autonomy will be emphasized. Given the wide array of applicable fields, each participant will select a unique niche for their project. For example, a study combining economics with law would be substantively different than a study combining economics with ecology. The opportunities to pursue a unique lens are endless. The general idea is to emphasize skills that enable participants to strike a strong balance between accessing support for their research and exercising free will.