LA&PS Professor Caroline Shenaz Hossein recognized as 2020 CIES Emerging Scholar

Caroline Shenaz Hossein, from the Department of Social Science
Caroline Shenaz Hossein, from the Department of Social Science

A distinguished group of review panelists from the Comparative International Education Society (CIES) has recently recognized Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS) Professor Caroline Shenaz Hossein as one of four 2020 CIES – African Diaspora Special Interest Group Emerging Scholars.

Across its expansive network, CIES contributes to interdisciplinary understanding of education and scholarship through promoting international research and disseminating cross-cultural studies. With more than 3,000 members from over 110 countries, the CIES circulates impactful work on educational issues from broad and interrelated social, political and economic contexts.

Caroline Hossein
Caroline Shenaz Hossein

Hossein, an associate professor in the LA&PS Department of Business and Society, earned the special CIES accolade for her extraordinary research contributions across the African diaspora, which offers a valuable perspective that demonstrates innovative thinking in collective economics.

For several years, Hossein has studied the business lives of the African diaspora by investigating the relationships illustrated within the community through the organization of cooperatives, mutual aid groups, small businesses, and social enterprises in the Caribbean, Canada and the United States. Her work as founder of the Diverse Solidarity Economies (DiSE) Collective has furthered these research efforts, with the organization dedicating itself to diversifying political economy and examining the ways in which racialized people have utilized economic solidarity to overcome issues such as systemic exclusion.

Hossein has also written and edited numerous books exploring the connections between race and social economics, including The Black Social Economy: Exploring community-based diverse markets, and Politicized Microfinance: Money, power and violence in the Black Americas, the winner of the 2018 Du Bois Distinguished Book Award and the 2019 Suraj Mal and Shyama Devi Argawal Book Prize. In addition to her CIES Emerging Scholar Award, Hossein’s research on the African diaspora has garnered support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, which is funding a three-year project titled “African Origins in the Social Economy.”

“I am humbled that my emerging body of work on solidarity economics has meaning for the African diaspora, who are often neglected in development issues,” Hossein said. “This award recognizes the value of cooperative and collective institutions led by Black people who live in the Americas. It also means that my work now has a new home at the CIES among supportive colleagues working on issues that better the lives of the Black diaspora everywhere.”

YCAR faculty associates publish new edited collection

FEATURED image Book Launch

A new book exploring the mobilities of capital and labour in the contemporary global economy, with a focus on Asia, is the product of a collaborative workshop held in 2017 at York University.

Preet S. Aulakh, from the Schulich School of Business, and Philip F. Kelly, from the Department of Geography, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, published a new edited collection Mobilities of Labour and Capital in Asia, published by Cambridge University Press.

The book is the product of a joint York Centre for Asian Research (YCAR)-Schulich workshop, “Asian Connections: Linking Mobilities of Capital and Labour in Theory and Practice” that took place in 2017.

Using an analytical framework around three dimensions related to the forms, institutions and spatialities of mobility, the chapters use a variety of sub-national, national and transnational sites within and beyond Asia to examine the interrelationships between mobilities of capital and labour at multiple levels of analyses.

The book includes an introduction by the editors and a chapter on Philippine property development by YCAR Graduate Associate Kenneth Cardenas (Geography).

York U prof. develops simulation model to help families understand how to ‘flatten the curve’

Photo by Magda Ehlers from Pexels
Photo by Magda Ehlers from Pexels

COVID-19 continues to spread globally and the phrase flatten the curve has now entered our every-day language. To help people better understand the expression, a simple model was developed to depict the rate of infection. Health officials say that flattening the curve will lead to fewer infections and ease the burden on the health care system.

Ali Asgary
Ali Asgary

As nations and governments use this model to encourage interventions like social and physical distancing, isolation and basic hygiene, York Professor Ali Asgary from the Disaster & Emergency Management (School of Administrative Studies) and the Advanced Disaster, Emergency & Rapid Response Simulation (ADERSIM) has developed an agent-based simulation to help people understand how the virus spreads within a family unit and how they can work to flatten the curve at home and within their communities.

Test the “Flattening the Curve at Family Level” simulation here.

“I developed this as an interactive educational tool. It uses the same concept of the national models, but it is designed specifically for families. By running different scenarios, it can help people to visualize what flattening the curve looks like with or without interventions,” said Asgary.

If someone in your family unit gets the virus,  Asgary notes that there are two probable outcomes. Either everyone becomes infected in a short period of time, and there is limited capacity at home to look after each other, or with physical distancing, self isolation and extra hygiene measures you can stagger the infection among family members. This would mean that there is always someone to care or help others.

The same logic transfers over to the strain that would affect health care systems if there are no interventions nationally. “Hopefully, it builds some understanding, and serves as a good analogy for how we should all be trying to flatten the national curve,” said Asgary.

The simulation is available to the public, along with other interactive visuals surrounding the pandemic, through ADERSIM. According to Asgary, academics in disaster and emergency management have a role to play by helping to enhance understanding of the situation and disseminating research that can assist with prevention and mitigation measures.

“It’s always good to look into new methods that help to change our perspective. ADERSIM has developed the capacity to create simulations like these for the direct benefit of society. While most simulations and modelling are looking at regional, national, or global levels, this simulation is focusing on the family level which should help people to recognize the role they have to play,” said Asgary.

Watch the video below to see a demonstration on how the simulation works.

ProFile: Richard Leblanc, professor and graduate program director

ProFile featured image
ProFile Featured

Consistent with its name, the new series ProFile will feature faculty and staff at York University. Included in this short Q-and-A style profile are details about working life at York, followed by a few fun and quirky questions.

ProFile: Richard Leblanc

Position at York U and department/faculty: Professor of governance, law and ethics, and graduate program director, Master of Financial Accountability (MFAc) Program, School of Administrative Studies, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, York University.

Richard LeBlanc
Richard Leblanc

How long have you been with York University, and what is your role? I have been with York university since 2004. Currently, I oversee a large graduate program and I am developing an executive program in health care governance in partnership with the Ontario Hospital Association.

Describe a typical work day at York for you? At least half of my work days are working on my new book, which is coming out in April 2020: The Handbook of Board Governance. My previous book sold over 7,000 copies. The new book has 61 chapters and 80 contributing authors, from all over the world.

The rest of my day is the MFAc program, teaching, and new program development. My graduate program assistant has a very high email tolerance. In a busy day, I can send 75 emails addressing global student recruitment and overseeing about 40 instructors.

I frequently am asked to comment in the media on breaking news stories that have a governance angle, and I enjoy this too. It gets the York University brand out there!

I am also asked to give speeches and present my work whenever I can.

What do you enjoy most about working at York University? The faculty, the staff and, of course, the students. We have an absolutely great president, Rhonda Lenton, and a fantastic dean, JJ McMurtry.

Leadership is everything for any organization and sets the tone. President Lenton originally hired me after I received my PhD focused on governance.

There is very high collegiality at York. It is a dynamic, inclusive, exciting place to be. We have some of the most talented faculty, staff and students in all of Canada, if not globally.

The students are best in class. Global, entrepreneurial, eager to learn and an absolute joy to teach.

Where is your favourite place on campus and why? I will tell you where it used to be – that is the large classroom of what is now the nursing building. I fondly refer to it as “the pit.” This is where I first taught my very first class – some 250 students! – and developed my love for teaching. I get excited every time I pass by that building. (Flashbacks, I guess!)

Describe York University using one word: Innovative. Our mission is “the way must be tried.” This mission really transcends everything at York. It is embedded in our culture. If there is a way to do something, and you are creative and passionate, at the end of the day, if your idea is good, there will be a way to make it happen. The way must be tried, or in Latin, “Tentanda via.”

And now for a little fun…

What is the most used app on your phone? LinkedIn. During my last sabbatical, I started to post everything I read in a LinkedIn group I started. And now there are almost 30,000 followers.

What’s the most interesting thing you’ve read or seen this week? I am worried about COVID-19. The good news is that we have very effective leaders, not just political, but at York University. York University’s response and communication have been best-in-class. We also have some of the best health care leaders and health care system anywhere in the world. Canada also has a community ethic and collective spirit of the greater good. We have a strong social and safety system also. We have “significant fire power,” as the prime minister stated.

Where is the most interesting place you’ve lived? Sudbury, Ontario, where I was born. Everyone knows everybody in Sudbury and they all look out for each other. I grew up playing hockey in open air rinks. Those were the days! My cousins also own Toppers Pizza.

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? A teacher. Always. My father was a teacher, and the kitchen table discussions were all about teaching. So I sort of grew up with it. I could not think of anything else I would rather do. I absolutely love my job!

What’s the farthest place (from York) you’ve travelled to? Moscow, Russia, when I was asked to teach governance to corporate directors in the former Soviet Union. I still remember the first question: “Why would anyone want to put anyone who is independent on the board of directors?” I have a chapter on Russian corporate governance in my new book.

If you’d like to be featured in ProFile, download the form here and send it back to yfile@yorku.ca with the subject line “ProFile candidate.” Please include a high-res photo in your response.

ProFile: Lisa Sandlos, contract faculty member and PhD candidate

ProFile featured image
ProFile Featured

Consistent with its name, the new series ProFile will feature faculty and staff at York University. Included in this short Q-and-A style profile are details about working life at York, followed by a few fun and quirky questions.

ProFile: Lisa Sandlos

Positions at York U and department/faculty: Contract faculty in the School of Kinesiology and Health Science (Faculty of Health) and Department of Dance (School of Arts, Media, Performance and Design); PhD candidate, (and formerly a teaching assistant) in the School of Gender, Feminist and Women’s Studies (Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies).

Lisa Sandlos
Lisa Sandlos

How long have you been with York University, and what is your role? I’ve been here 20 years, since my first teaching contract, and I have worked on my PhD intermittently since 2009.

Describe a typical work day at York for you? This past year, the classes I have been teaching took place in Tait McKenzie. My first class starts at 8:30 a.m. so I open up the studio by at least 8:15 a.m. and I chat with my students while getting set up. I teach Pilates, Laban movement analysis and dance so I switch between actively demonstrating movement and exercises to observing the students moving, to explaining movement theories and concepts while writing and illustrating my points on the white board.

I have a three-hour window between my morning and afternoon teaching blocks, so I often make my way to the Scott Library to write or study – I have just submitted my PhD dissertation called “Shimmy, Shake, or Shudder?: A Feminist Ethnographic Analysis of Sexualization and Hypersexualization in Competitive Dance” and I am preparing to defend on April 14.

I like being involved in three different departments (Kinesiology; Gender, Feminist and Women’s Studies; Dance) because I get some exercise walking around campus. It also gives me the opportunity to compare the subcultures of different departments while absorbing the “vibe” of York U as a whole. Of course, since the move from on-campus classes to online formats due to Covid-19, I miss seeing my students and colleagues in person but we are staying in touch and completing the work we started in the studio through Moodle.

What do you enjoy most about working at York University? I love the diversity at York U – cultural diversity, but also diversity of perspective, and of academic fields.

Where is your favourite place on campus and why? I love sitting on the hill overlooking Stong Pond. It is peaceful and in the spring, the blossoms on the trees are spectacular.

Describe York University using one word: Expansive.

And now for a little fun…

What is something about you that may surprise other people? For several years now, I have been working with Syrian refugee families who are newcomers to my home community of Erin, ON. I take the families on outings to teach them about Canadian life –  for example, sugaring off in March so they understand the significance of maple syrup production, to the farmer’s market in summer where they can see vendors selling products made from cultural traditions all over the world, to the Erin Fall Fair (it’s awesome! – everyone should come) to learn about agriculture, and skating and tobogganing in winter. I also love the opportunity to learn about Syrian culture, including cooking and the importance they place on gathering with family and friends.

What is one thing you couldn’t live without? (Excluding people) My garden! I have added to it every year since moving to the country and it’s my happy place. I love how a couple of hours of working in the dirt can yield such beautiful and tangible results.

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? A professional dancer… and then I was. I was very determined.

What is something you always have in your fridge? Ground flax seeds. I grind the seeds in a coffee grinder once a week and sprinkle them on yogurt every morning for the Omega-3 essential fatty acids.

If you could have dinner with one person, dead or alive, who would that person be and why? Simone de Beauvoir. She was a feminist trailblazer and she defied conventional expectations of women in her time. She was an expansive thinker who outlined the larger social-political-economic implications of patriarchy, sexism and misogyny in her book, The Second Sex, but she also addressed the personal implications of unequal power structures for the lives of individual women in all walks of life. If she were still alive and we could have dinner together, I’d like to get her take on the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements in particular.

If you’d like to be featured in ProFile, download the form here and send it back to yfile@yorku.ca with the subject line “ProFile candidate.” Please include a high-res photo in your response.

Passings: Theodore Olson

passings

Former faculty member Theodore “Ted” Olson died at the age of 88 on Feb. 21.

Ordained as a minister in 1955, Olson served the First Baptist Church in Wisconsin as assistant minister, and later as minister of the Bethlehem Presbyterian Church in the state of New York.

REV. THEODORE OLSON Ph.D. Obituary
Ted Olson

He later joined the faculty of York University as a professor of social sciences, and during that time published a book titled Millennialism, Utopianism, and Progress (University of Toronto Press, 1982), in addition to numerous articles.

He also served, for a time, as Chair of the University’s Academic Policy and Planning Committee (APPC) and was a visiting professor at Central Philippine University and adviser to the Central Philippine University Alumni Association.

His dedication to his faith was shown through his membership with the Richmond Hill Presbyterian Church and Oak Ridges Presbytery.

He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Lydia, and children: Johanna (Michael), Margrit Ann (Scott) and Ernst (Carrie). He was grandfather to Kate, William and Stephanie, brother to Terry (Joyce).

CANCELLED: Valerie Steeves to deliver Alexander F. Chamberlain Lecture, March 17

An image of a man's hands holding a card that says "Join us!"

A talk on the intersection of big data and childhood will be the focus of the 2020 Alexander F. Chamberlain Lecture on March 17, when the Children, Childhood and Youth Program (CCY) at York University presents guest speaker Valerie Steeves.

Valerie Steeves

Steeves, a full professor in the Department of Criminology, Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Ottawa, will deliver her talk “Talking Toys: How Smart Technology Reshapes Childhood.” Focusing on Hello Barbie, a Barbie doll that is connected to the Internet and collects children’s data and uses it to “talk back” to them, Steeves argues that through the Hello Barbie doll, play is restructured and children are inserted into the marketplace.

She will also talk about the implications of this for children’s rights, privacy and the increasing prevalence of big data in everyday life.

Steeves’ work in technology and privacy as it relates to children and childhood will be of great interest for CCY students and faculty, as well as other members of the Department of Humanities. The talk will also be of great interest to other members of the York community, particularly in Gender and Women’s Studies, Communication Studies, the Institute for Research on Digital Learning (IRDL) and fine arts, as well as those studying criminology, science and technology studies, and the Cyber Security Program.

The lecture begins at 11:30 a.m. and will be held in Vari Lecture Theatre B.

About Valerie Steeves

Steeves is a full professor in the Department of Criminology at the University of Ottawa. Her main area of research focuses on the impact of new technologies on human rights. As the lead researcher for MediaSmart’s Young Canadians in a Wired World research project, she has been tracking young people’s use of new media since 1999. She also co-leads the eQuality Project (with Jane Bailey), a partnership of researchers, educators, advocates, civil society groups and policymakers who are interested in examining the impact of online commercial profiling on children’s identities and social relationships. Steeves has appeared as an expert witness before a number of Parliamentary Committees regarding privacy legislation, and has worked with a number of government departments to develop privacy education curriculum and materials. Her beb-based educational game Sense and NonSense won the first annual Excellence in Race Relations Education award from the Canadian Race Relations Foundation in 1998, and her game Privacy Playground was awarded the Bronze Medal at the 2006 Summit Creative Awards Competition, an international competition involving thousands of entries from 26 countries.

Connections 2020 proves to be inspiring for both students and alumni

For students in York University’s School of Administrative Studies, March 5 was a night of inspiration and career growth thanks to the alumni from their program. For the second consecutive year, the Connections speed mentoring and networking event was hosted by the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS) Development Team, bringing alumni and students together for career conversations.

More than 100 undergraduate students from the Commerce and Disaster and Emergency Management programs had the opportunity to be mentored by alumni in their desired field of work.

Third-year finance student Nancy Dam called the event inspiring. “The fact that the rounds were designed in such a way that I actually met alumni from my program in finance was amazing,” said Dam. “Each mentor I met had a very different career path after graduation, and I was so inspired by their stories and how they built their careers up.”

Students and alumni mentors gather for the mentoring session

Before the networking rounds, students received on-site coaching on networking etiquette from Sean Mullin, a post-secondary recruiter with the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario. It gave them the opportunity to reflect on the purpose of networking and how to make the best use of their time.

More than 30 guest alumni mentors were in attendance, including presidents, CEOs, directors and entrepreneurs. Each brought a breadth of experience and knowledge from areas including accounting, disaster and emergency management, finance, marketing, human resources, management and others. While the mentors were truly the stars, LA&PS Dean J.J. McMurtry made sure to remind alumni of the potential in the room.

“I encourage you to take stock of the young professionals in front of you, said McMurtry. “Perhaps you are meeting some future employees tonight.”

Mentor Melanie Boska with event volunteers Dina Saleh and Angela Thapar
Mentor Melanie Boska with event volunteers Dina Saleh and Angela Thapar

The alumni voiced praise for the event as well. Jay Fischbach, chief operating officer at the Exchange Bank of Canada, believes he owed it to the University and to the students to give back. “I didn’t have this opportunity when I was an undergrad here, and if the students want to hear from me, I’m happy to be here,” said Fischbach.

John Riches, superintendent of professional standards at the Region of Durham Paramedic Services, said, “I was blessed to have mentors in my formative years and when I thanked them, they said ‘pay it forward.’ So, this is my turn to do the same, and I hope in 20 years these students will be here mentoring the next generation of talent.”

The event was made possible due to the efforts by lead sponsor the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario, patron sponsor the CFA Society Toronto, volunteers and LA&PS.

POSTPONED: Workshop brings together scholars to discuss authoritarian drive in Turkey

Turkey’s Financialized Capitalism
Turkey’s Financialized Capitalism

A one-day workshop that brings together Turkish scholars to engage in a critical and in-depth discussion on the current authoritarian drive in Turkey will take place March 19 at York University’s Keele Campus.

Pinar Bedirhanoglu

Presented by the Global Labour Research Centre (GLRC) and the Department of Politics, “Contested Reproduction of Turkey’s Financialized Capitalism: State and Society in Crisis” will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Ross Building South 674. It is organized by Pinar Bedirhanoğlu, visiting professor in the Department of Politics, and associate professor in the Department of International Relations at Middle East Technical University with Luann Good Gingrich, director, Global Labour Research Centre, York University.

The workshop will problematize the following issues:

  • the constitutive role of financialization in authoritarian state transformation;
  • state policies that weaken the power of labour vis-á-vis capital; and
  • the enhancement of the coercive capacity of state and capital for social control.

Besides identifying the Turkey-specific determinants of authoritarianism, the workshop aims to situate the Turkish experience within its global context, and thus contribute to relevant debates in comparative politics.

The program includes:

Welcome and introductions – 9 to 9:30 a.m.

Politics of Labour – 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.
Chair and discussant: Angela Joya, adjunct research professor, Carleton University

  • Formation of the “classes of labour” in Turkey under neoliberalism and changing forms of rural class struggle – Coşku Çelik, postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Politics and Department of Social Science, York University
  • Syrian refugees as surplus population in Turkish labour market: Racialization, segmentation and exploitation – Canan Şahin, PhD candidate, Queens University
  • Social reproduction in crisis: Limits to reproducing labour power in neoliberalizing Turkey – Hilal Kara, PhD candidate, Queens University

State Transformation through Financialization – 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.
Chair and discussant: Barış Karaağaç, lecturer, Trent University

  • Responses to the 2018-19 economic crisis in AKP’s Turkey: Policy space and discipline by state-sponsored credit – Ali Rıza Güngen, Distance Fellow, Carnegie Mellon University
  • Financialization, debt, state and health care – İpek Eren-Vural, research associate, Dalhousie University; adjunct professor, Simon Fraser University
  • Financialisation, household indebtedness, and state crisis in Turkey – Pınar Bedirhanoğlu, visiting professor, Department of Politics, York University; associate professor, Department of International Relations, METU

Politics of Coercion – 3 to 5 p.m.
Chair and discussant: Ömer Özcan, visiting professor, Department of Anthropology,York University

  • “The law of the city?”: Social war, urban warfare, and dispossession on the margin – Çağlar Dölek, contract instructor, Carleton University
  • Policing the crisis in Turkey: The case of feminicides – Funda Hülagü, research associate, Philipps University of Marburg (via Skype)
  • Turkey’s authoritarian surveillance regime – Özgün Topak, assistant professor, Department of Social Science, York University

For more information visit the GLRC event page or the Facebook event page.

Those interested can register at http://tiny.cc/glrcturkey. All are welcome.

The event is supported by York University’s Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, the Vice-President Research & Innovation and the Department of Politics.

Distinguished panelists debate, discuss limitations on freedom of speech at universities

A panel of highly distinguished speakers came together on March 4 to discuss and debate the question of whether there should be limits to freedom of speech at universities.

Co-sponsored by the Office of the Head of McLaughlin College and the York Collegium for Practical Ethics, the panel included: Professor Lorna Marsden, president emerita, York University (1997-2007); Professor Emeritus Saeed Rahnema, an award-winning teacher and the founding director of York’s School of Public Policy and Administration; and Justice Lorne Sossin, Ontario Superior Court of Justice, and formerly, the dean of Osgoode Hall Law School and the Chair of the Freedom of Speech Working Group at York University.

The panel was chaired by University Professor Emeritus Ian Greene.

Collectively, this distinguished panel of speakers brought with them a wealth of knowledge and experience on the issue of freedom of speech, particularly, at York University.

Lorne Sossin
Lorne Sossin

Sossin explained the question came to the fore again 2018, when the Ontario Government issued a news release calling on universities and colleges to introduce free speech policies by Jan. 1, 2019, stating that universities and colleges not complying with this free speech policy requirement could be subject to a reduction in their operating grant funding.

York University already had policies that support freedom of speech, so it was a case of summarizing existing policies. The Canadian Criminal Code, Sossin noted, has provisions against the incitement to hatred that is likely to lead to a breach of the peace. In addition, there is the York University Act and University Senate policies. The resulting document summarizing York’s policy on free speech, he stated, was the consequence of an extensive public consultation process. The policy was  approved by the University’s Senate and Board of Governors on Dec. 14, 2018.

York University’s “Statement of Policy on Free Speech” defines the freedom of speech as “the right to seek, receive, share and impart information and ideas of all kinds, in a variety of forms, including orally, in writing, in print, and in the form of art or music, or through any other media of one’s choice.” Quoting the Task Force on Student Life, Learning & Community (2009), the policy states “the University has an unwavering commitment to fundamental values of free expression, free inquiry, and respect for genuine diversity of thought and opinion.”

It also states that students are responsible for upholding an atmosphere of civility, diversity, equity and respect in their interactions, and should strive to make the campus a safe place.

Sossin also referenced a recent Alberta Court of Appeal judgement that ruled that freedom of speech is protected by Section 2(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. However, there are conflicting judgments by the provincial courts of appeal and the question of Charter protection will ultimately have to be decided by the Supreme Court of Canada.

Lorna Marsden

Marsden said that universities have changed dramatically from 19th century, when students lived in residence on campus and were able to socialize during their studies. She noted the degree of mutual understanding and tolerance of opposing views and opinions among students is very different today.

Most university students are commuters who spend limited time on the campus, she said, and have limited face-to-face interaction with other students unlike themselves. This is highly relevant because being able to see someone’s expressions, body language and reactions during a conversation is meaningful.

She pointed out that freedom of speech in this technological age is mediated through social media and electronic devices and virtual realities. Given the diversity of our modern society, where cultural and identity issues prevail, this complicates the practice of free speech, making it more difficult to learn more understanding and tolerance in daily life.

Saeed Rahnema

Rahnema focused on the international context and stated that we live in a rapidly changing and deteriorating world with wars, regional conflicts, authoritarianism, financial crises, a widening gap between rich and poor, and refugee crises. This has led to a growing sense of insecurity, helplessness, despair and anger, which has in turn led to the rise of right-wing populisms, neo-fascisms and the growth of religious fundamentalisms. He suggested that as hugely important and divisive issues of racism, sexism, homophobia, abortion rights or global warming might be, the more intense disagreements in most North American universities, including York, center around the Israeli-Palestinian conflicts and the religious fundamentalisms.

When he taught the course “War and Peace in the Middle East,” he said he dealt with many conflicts and confrontations in and outside of the class. Yet, the most controversial topics were discussed, and students were encouraged to openly challenge one another, with the belief that some of the animosity was due to misinformation and lack of knowledge. Nonetheless, with the deterioration of the situation in the region, student clubs on both sides, and their communities, took hardened positions and reacted rapidly and frequently to ongoing daily events occurring in the Middle East.

Rahnema concluded that we should all fight against all regressive and reactionary efforts by violators of human rights and cherish and use our freedom of expression responsibly to combat the political and religious and business forces that want to limit freedom of expression.

Ian Greene

Universities, he said, can neither end the conflicts in the region, nor can they have access to the inner workings of the communities, the media, and the influence they have over students. The only thing that universities are capable of is promoting critical thinking, facilitating open forums for discussions, educating and challenging obscurantist views, and encouraging doubting and questioning.

Following the presentations, Greene moderated a lively discussion on a broad set of concerns and comments ranging from why the Government of Ontario chose to pursue the issue of free speech on university and college campuses, to whether the issue centered on concerns of personal safety, vulnerability, and dignity to questions of the importance and necessity of leadership within the higher education institutional setting on the inviolability of freedom of speech, as it functions within the law.