Philosophy student Amy Ward launches podcast as part of summer research project

Amy Ward spent her summer talking about two topics some shy away from: religion and philosophy. Through a unique independent research project, the fourth-year philosophy student helped share perceptions and philosophical concepts on campus and beyond.

Ward interviewed 17 local religious leaders for her project, covering several Christian denominations in the region about their sources of conviction. She then turned these conversations into the three-part podcast, Convinced.

“Philosophy can be hard for people to get into,” says Ward, who is from Stellarton, NS. “I wanted my summer research to be something that I could share with anybody, including people who don’t do a lot of philosophy. I decided to create a podcast so that I could easily share my project and so that listeners could hear directly from participants about their personal experiences and decisions.”

Launched in September, Convinced has already seen over 200 downloads.

Philosophy professor Dr. Robbie Moser was Ward’s advisor for the research project, which was funded by Mount Allison’s Independent Student Research Grant program.

“Amy’s interviews draw out some engaging stories from local Christian leaders about their vocation and sources of conviction,” says Moser. “In her podcast she presents these stories as broader patterns of reason-giving, discussing philosophical concepts from thinkers such as Thomas Kuhn, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and William James. It was very rewarding to talk with Amy as she developed her ideas over the summer. Her podcast is very thought-provoking, well-written, and well-produced.”

Along with the interviews and editing for Convinced, Ward composed and produced all the music featured in the episodes.

“I’ve always been interested in music and am taking a music composition course at Mount A this year,” she says. “I have been writing music for a few years now for fun and primarily play guitar, piano, and sing. It was fun to be able to use my musical skills for my summer project.”

Ward is part of a female folk trio called Violet Wilde and involved in the Conduct Becoming project this year, a long-time tradition at Mount Allison that sees students record and produce an original album in support of cancer research. She’s president of the student philosophy society, a member of the Ultimate Frisbee team, and involved in ATLIS, the Mount Allison-founded Atlantic International Studies Organization.

For her summer research project, Ward also worked with Rev. John Perkin, Mount Allison’s University Chaplain and adjunct professor in religious studies.

“Amy’s project shares some personal and interesting stories and experiences from local Christian leaders,” says Rev. Perkin. “I enjoyed working with her on the project development and am pleased to see and listen to the end result through her podcast.”

Now in her fourth year, Ward says the experience of doing academic research in the summer was a beneficial one.

“Doing research on my own taught me a lot about philosophy in general and gave me a better understanding of the discipline,” she says. “I find I am more actively engaged in my courses after having done this project.”