Frequently Asked Questions

  1. Why “FishPeoplePlace”?

    In 2015, Dr. Harrison started her PhD in Lillehammer, Norway. In the early months of her work, she wrote in a field journal, “Feeling excited to get out to the fish places to talk to the fish people!” Since then, the idea of learning, working, and sharing in the places where fish and people meet has been at the root of all her research and - more broadly - disciplinary interests as a human ecologist. In 2020, Hannah started using FishPeoplePlace as a social media handle as a way to mobilize research knowledge and help explain what her work was about to people who might only connect via online mediums. When she joined the faculty at Dalhousie in 2022, the way to name and share the purpose of a learning community (‘lab') all in one swoop seemed a no-brainer. Thus, the FishPeoplePlace lab community was born.

  2. If this is a lab, where is the equipment? (Aka what is a lab?)

    The word ‘lab’ is short for laboratory, which can conjure images of microscopes, pipettes, and perhaps a white lab coat. While we still use the word ‘lab’ to help define our transdisciplinary community of students, researchers, and community partners, we are not a traditional ‘wet’ lab like you might imagine a biologist or chemist to use. Our lab is a student-centered intellectual and - sometimes - personal space that we iteratively share, care for, and grow to support our research and life interests. We meet in many types of spaces - offices, river banks, on road trips, or in virtual space - but the central tenant of our meetings is to bring ourselves and our positive regard for people, place, and non-human living things (particularly fish!) together. While Dr. Harrison may steer the lab from year to year as the student and partner communities change over time, the work we do and spirit we have is made up of whoever is in our current lab. Thus, while some of our values remain the same, how, when, and why we work will change over time in reflection of student interests.

  3. What kind of research do you do?

    Each person enters the lab community to pursue their own relationships and research interests, which they can study through whatever methods are most appropriate to the project. That said, the FPP lab is best positioned to support projects that have a significant human dimensions component and take an interdisciplinary, human ecology approach. Put another way, our projects look at how humans relate to their environment (and, by extension, to each other) in ways that are reflective of work toward reconciliation, decolonialization of natural resources, and respect and service to the communities within and with whom we work. Dr. Harrison is a qualitative methods specialist and emphasizes knowledge mobilization in her work, thus she is best situated to advise students whose work engages those methodological approaches.

  4. My organization might be interested in partnering with the FPP Lab - what should we do?

    We are honored by partnerships with Indigenous organizations or Nations, government agencies, NGOs, and community groups (and everyone in between). If you have a research question or idea that you’d like to discuss, please email Hannah Harrison directly using the information on the contact page.

  5. I want to do a Masters or PhD - what’s the best way to apply or show my interest?

    We love hearing from potential students whose interests, experience (life or professional), and/or values align with what we do. Dr. Harrison is open to supervising Master of Marine Management (MMM) non-thesis students (and occasionally MREM students) and PhD students in the IDPhD program. She is also open to serving on graduate committees for students whose projects align with her expertise and current research program, and to whose learning and growth she can make a meaningful contribution. Dr. Harrison does supervise undergraduate honors student on a case-by-case basis.

    MMM students must be enrolled in the MMM program and have research interests that fit the FPP lab as an internship placement.

    Prospective PhD students should reach out to Dr. Harrison early in the development of their ideas as the IDPhD admissions process can take up to 1 year.

    In all cases, please read the Current Opportunities - Student FAQ page before emailing!