Brandon University is celebrating the success of Dr. Dominique Hétu, Associate Professor in the Department of Francophone Studies and Languages, who has been awarded funding as part of a major, five-year Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Insight Grant.
The project, "L'âge du milieu : une réinvention féministe et littéraire de la midlife crisis' au 21e siècle", received $342,182 in funding and runs from 2025 to 2030. Led by Principal Investigator Dr. Maïté Snauwaert (University of Alberta), the research team also includes Dr. Catherine Mavrikakis (Université de Montréal), Alex Noël (Université de Montréal), and Dr. Ania Wroblewski (University of Guelph).
The research aims to reframe the notion of midlife, moving away from its cultural cliché as a period of decline or crisis, and instead highlighting it as an age of transformation, creativity, and lucidity. By examining a bilingual corpus of contemporary literature, with particular attention to women's writing, the project challenges men-centered narratives of decline and restores dignity to midlife as a crucial stage in the human life course.
"Midlife has too often been dismissed as a crisis marked by loss or dissatisfaction," said Dr. Hétu. "Through a feminist lens, this project restores the dignity of this life stage, showing how rupture, change, and vulnerability can also be catalysts for creativity, empathy, and new forms of meaning. Literature provides us with a powerful space to reimagine the stories we tell about our lives."
Dr. Gregory Kennedy, Dean of Arts at Brandon University, praised the research for its interdisciplinary and transformative potential.
"This project exemplifies the power of the humanities to expand our understanding of human experience," Dr. Kennedy said. "Dr. Hétu's work highlights the importance of literary and feminist scholarship in helping us rethink dominant cultural narratives, as well as the power in working collaboratively in diverse research teams."
Dr. Bernadette Ardelli, Vice-President (Research and Graduate Studies) at Brandon University, celebrated the achievement as another example of the university's growing research excellence.
"We are incredibly proud of Dr. Hétu and the national recognition this SSHRC Insight Grant brings to her and to Brandon University," said Dr. Ardelli. "This project demonstrates how our researchers are contributing vital new perspectives that resonate far beyond academia, enriching both scholarship and society."
The five-year research project will explore how midlife can be understood as a decisive and creative turning point in personal and collective histories, especially at a moment where global uncertainties, from environmental crises to pandemics, make rethinking life stages more urgent than ever.
