Bold scholarship with global reach has earned 91ɫ's Christina Sharpe one of Canada's most prestigious academic honours.
A professor at the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, Sharpe has been named a Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Fellowship recipient, recognizing the impact of her award-winning scholarship in Black studies and the humanities.
The Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Fellowship recognizes accomplished individuals in academia, public service and other sectors whose work addresses major social and public issues.
“I am honoured to have been selected and grateful to have been nominated,” says Sharpe of the award, which provides recipients with financial and institutional resources over three years to pursue research and public engagement.
Sharpe’s work aligns closely with the program's mandate through initiatives that bring scholarly inquiry into dialogue with broader communities. Among them is The Alchemy Lecture, an annual, multi-voiced public event she leads that invites scholars and artists from across disciplines to collaboratively explore pressing social and political questions. Another is the BLACK: Lab, a collaborative research and creative space she developed and co-directs at 91ɫ that fosters interdisciplinary scholarship in Black studies, art and critical inquiry.
“The fellowship, along with the support of the University and our many sponsors, will allow the work of The Alchemy Lecture and BLACK: Lab to continue without worry,” says Sharpe. “I most look forward to working with fellows, scholars, graduate students, artists and partners on learning together through creative collaboration.”
These initiatives build on Sharpe’s extensive record of scholarship, which has had wide influence on the establishment and growth of Black studies and the humanities. A Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Black Studies, her work spans literature, film, theory and the visual and performing arts, with a focus on the Black diaspora.
Sharpe’s contributions to scholarly and cultural conversations in Canada and internationally have received significant distinctions in recent years. In 2025, she was named a recipient of the Killam Prize, which acknowledges career-long contributions to scholarship in Canada. In 2024, she was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, which recognizes individuals who push the boundaries of knowledge and creativity.
These honours followed a notable year in 2023, when her book Ordinary Notes received the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction and the Hodler Prize. It was also was shortlisted for major international awards, including the National Book Award for Nonfiction and the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction. The book was named among the year’s notable nonfiction titles by several publications.
Through the fellowship, Sharpe will continue to shape critical conversations in Black studies and beyond.