Craig Davidson talks about writing as a passion and an obsession
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On Oct. 22, the 2019-20 Canadian Writers in Person Lecture Series presented author Craig Davidson reading from his recent book, The Saturday Night Ghost Club. York University Teaching Assistant Dana Patrascu-Kingsley sent the following report to YFile.
Author Craig Davidson came to the Canadian Writers in Person reading series Oct. 22 to talk about his recent book, The Saturday Night Ghost Club. This novel is a finalist for the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize, described by Penguin Random House as a “short, infectious, and bittersweet coming-of-age story in the vein of Stranger Things and Stand by Me about a group of misfit kids who spend an unforgettable summer investigating local ghost stories and urban legends.”
Davidson spoke about growing up and reading works by Stephen King and other horror writers, who inspired him to venture into horror territory as well. “Our aesthetics are cobbled together from all of the things we’ve seen and read. I always loved horror movies and literature,” he said.
With this book, he examines how the brain finds ways of coping with trauma, sometimes through displacement on ghosts and other worlds. He told audiences at York University that in his writing he wants to investigate emotions and situations as deeply and profoundly as he can.
The author talked about finding inspiration in details from his own life, and he advised aspiring writers to build on those things they know, and then also accept that doubt and failure are part of the writing process. “One of the most difficult things is maintaining that sense of why I got into writing. Other things leak in… I have to remind myself that I am writing because it is an obsession and a passion. My work is best when I do that,” Davidson said.
On Nov. 5, Kagiso Lesego Molope will be at York University to talk about her book, Such a Lonely, Lovely Road.
The Canadian Writers in Person Lecture Series readings are free and open to any member of the public. For more information, contact Professor Leslie Sanders at leslie@yorku.ca or Professor Gail Vanstone at gailv@yorku.ca. All readings are held Tuesdays from 7 to 9 pm in 206 Accolade West Building, Keele campus.
Urbanization article sums up existing thought, poses vital questions
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Urban studies is not what it used to be. Today, it encompasses the planetary condition, considers the state of humanity, intersects with issues such as mass migration and global warming, and poses some pretty tough questions about our future – arguably, some of the most pressing and timely in the early 21st century.
Linda Peake
In a new article, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies Professor Linda Peake, director of the City Institute at York University, unpacks some critical debates in urbanization and summarizes existing thought, with the help of co-authors from York University, the University of Toronto and Memorial University.
The article, titled “Placing planetary urbanization in other fields of vision” and published in Society and Space (2018), is theoretical but accessible with an underlying sense of urgency. It, along with an impressive record of publication, reinforces Peake’s thought leadership in this key academic area.
This research was funded by the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).
Peake’s co-authors were York PhD students Darren Patrick and Gokboru Tanyildiz; the City Institute’s postdoctoral visitor, Professor Roza Tchoukaleyska (now at Memorial University); and University of Toronto (U of T) professors Rajyashree Reddy and Sue Ruddick.
Today’s urban studies is situated on a planetary level that’s broad and enriched
Urban studies is an interdisciplinary field that encompasses the social sciences and humanities, intersecting with many areas of academic study, including environmental studies, geography, history, Indigenous studies, literature, political economy, political science, sociology, urban planning and women’s studies. It delves into topics such as the climate emergency, inequality, immigration and forced displacement.
Not surprisingly, for some academics the urban now encompasses a generalized planetary condition that considers humanity’s possible futures. This new scope is very broad and, as a result, it raises new theoretical and political questions.
Here is a sample of some of the questions posed in Peake’s article, many admittedly open or unanswered:
How do we best conceptualize the global urban condition and its implications for social change?
How does planetary urbanization contribute to our understanding of radical social movements such as #BlackLivesMatter and Indigenous resurgences like Idle No More?
Who is included in a vision of the urban subject-citizen?
How does migration factor into planetary urbanization?
What are the political implications for urban change, with anxiety as the dominant effect in the early 21st century?
Peake is the right person to be fielding these mammoth questions. She is a feminist geographer with research foci in urbanization and gendered urban insecurities. In addition to her long-standing interest in urban-based research on women, she also engages in work on whiteness and feminist methodologies and, more recently, on questions of mental health and the academy.
This article asks: How does planetary urbanization contribute to our understanding of radical social movements, such as #BlackLivesMatter?
Article unpacks how the field has evolved, looks at potential to transform conditions
Peake and her co-authors open the article by discussing the politics of knowledge production and providing an overview of how their joint thinking has evolved over the past few years, often referring to The Urban Revolution by Henri Lefebvre (1970) for context. This book is generally believed to be the first substantive critique of urban society.
In this way, the article is a very well-done literature review – that is, a scholarly paper that presents the findings of current knowledge as well as theoretical and methodological contributions of a particular topic.
Peake also discusses the pioneering work that has been done at York. From 2014 to 2016, she and her co-authors organized a series of workshops and collective discussions between urban scholars at the City Institute and U of T’s Department of Geography, which proved to be game-changing. The formation of the aptly named Planetary Urbanization Reading Group led the academics to successfully apply for SSHRC funding to formalize their reading efforts into a workshop.
“Together, we engaged critique that moved beyond the urban. Participants brought queer and feminist perspectives and theory to the table, applied anti-racist and anti-imperialist lenses, positioned themselves in both the global south and north, and spoke from both early and well-established stages of their research careers,” Peake explains. “We sought to create a political space where many scholars could engage in productive discussion,” she adds.
This field of study looks at rising inequality between urban areas and increasingly virulent forms of exploitation and oppression
Here, the intention was not to establish consensus or unity, or to minimize differences and disagreements. Rather, this group sought to create a space for collective work with the potential to transform the conditions in which they were all operating vis-à-vis the university.
Different fields of vision
Peake and her co-authors also discuss dominant approaches to the study of the urban – Marxist, feminist, postcolonial – all of which seek to study rising inequality between urban areas and increasingly virulent forms of exploitation and oppression.
They focus on a feminist engagement with planetary urbanization that expands on Lefebvre’s insights to argue that the intensification and extension of the urbanization process is now planetary, with the future of human life itself being fought out in and across the urban.
This article will be of interest to many: academics in disciplines ranging from sociology and economics to geography and urban studies; urban planners; and government stakeholders at all three levels – municipal, provincial and federal.
To learn more about Research & Innovation at York, follow us at @YUResearch; watch our new animated video, which profiles current research strengths and areas of opportunity such as artificial intelligence and Indigenous futurities; and see the snapshot infographic for a glimpse of the year’s successes.
By Megan Mueller, senior manager, research communications, Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation, York University, muellerm@yorku.ca
York University students shine at Chinese Bridge competition and student MC contest
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York University students enrolled in Chinese studies continue to make an impression at the Chinese Bridge, a high-profile international Chinese language proficiency competition for university students.
This year, students Christopher Kelayna, Vera Kornilovsky and Amra Mujithaba placed first, second and third, respectively. Kornilovsky tied for second place and Mujithaba was one of three students to come in third place. It is unprecedented for students from one university to win the top three prizes in this competition.
From left: Alice Bo Dong, Christopher Kaleyna, Tasnuva Fameema, Amra Mujithaba, Vera Kornilovsky, Xiaoning Shi, Professor Jia Ma
Students competing were asked to deliver a self-written speech in Mandarin Chinese, and to give a performance of their choice in Mandarin Chinese.
In previous years, awards to York University students have been given to: You Jin (Jenny) Seo, who placed third in 2018; Lily McDermott, who placed second in 2014; Luc Pokorn, who was the American Continental Champion in 2013; and Stephanie Allport, who placed third and was selected to participate in the finals in Hunan, China, in 2011.
“Congratulations to York University students on their remarkable achievement in Chinese language competitions,” said Professor Jessica Tsui-yan Li, co-ordinator of the Chinese section. “Thanks to a great team of Chinese language instructors, including Karen Xiaoning Shi, Gang Pan, Alice Bo Dong, Shuying Tsau, Professor Jia Ma and Professor Xueqing Xu, who spent countless hours in making students engaged and successful in their studies. The Chinese section strives to provide profound training in Chinese language for students to participate in a variety of fields and professions in relation to Chinese communities locally and globally.”
The Chinese section at York University provides experiential education opportunities to students for deeper learning and personal and professional development. Another recent competition gave students Yawen Chen, Vera Kornilovsky, Qianyi Sheng and Si Yu the opportunity to be further engaged in the Chinese community in Toronto. The students participated in a student MC contest and were among the top 10 contestants selected by Xinflix Media to become anchors for its new bilingual program “On the road to studying abroad.” Beginning in November, these students will be interning at a news station and will report on issues regarding international student life in both English and Mandarin.
“The Chinese section offers a vigorous, cutting-edge program of Chinese studies in Chinese language, literature and culture,” said Li. “Advanced Chinese language proficiency plays a key role in the engagement of students in both local and global dialogues. An effective learning of Chinese language, however, requires the study of Chinese literature and culture. At the core of Chinese civilization is its rich heritage of poetry, essays, short stories, drama, novels and films, which embodies Chinese philosophy, sensibility and culture from the ancient time to the present. The Chinese section provides students with relevant and integrated programming and qualifications to nurture student success for graduates of York University.”
Vaughan Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua headlines York University’s 2019 Vico Lecture
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The Vico Lecture, presented by the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies at York University, will return this November with guest speaker Maurizio Bevilacqua, mayor of Vaughan, Ont., who will deliver a special talk titled “Amore in the City: A purpose-driven approach to public life.”
Vaughan Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua
All are invited to attend the keynote address on Thursday, Nov. 7. The event will take place at 7 p.m. in York University’s Sandra Faire & Ivan Fecan Theatre, located in the Accolade East Building on the Keele Campus. A reception will follow. Organizers request that those interested in attending RSVP, as space is limited.
Bevilacqua is an established public servant with more than 30 years of political experience. Born in Sulmona, Italy, he moved to Canada at the age of 10. As the years went by, he discovered his passion for public service – and became the first Italian-Canadian to serve as president of York University’s student council. Later, at the age of 28, he became the youngest member of Parliament elected in 1988.
Over his long career in politics, Bevilacqua has occupied several prominent positions at the federal level, including minister of state for finance, minister of state for science, research, and development, and Chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance.
He has served as Vaughan’s member of Parliament for 22 consecutive years, and was elected mayor of Vaughan in 2010, earning the title in a record-setting victory, with the most votes ever received by a political candidate in Vaughan. His career in office has earned him several awards, including the Premio Italiani nel Mondo, which the Italian government presents to individuals who have served as outstanding role models.
Organizers of this year’s Vico Lecture are honoured to have such an esteemed speaker. The event, named after 18th-century Italian philosopher Giambattista Vico – and dedicated to the memory of the late Fred Zorzi – offers inspiring presentations from today’s distinguished leaders. Past speakers include Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne, Michael Ignatieff, Dr. R.J. Cusimano and many others.
“The Italian-Canadian community has always shown support to our Faculty, and its contributions to society are undeniable,” said LA&PS Interim Dean J.J. McMurtry. “Mayor Bevilacqua exemplifies both of these traits, as a York alum and experienced public servant who leads by example every day.”
Students, staff, faculty and members of the public are encouraged to attend this special event.
School of Public Policy & Administration breakfast focuses on public service transformation
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This year’s Ontario Public Service (OPS) Breakfast, hosted by York University’s School of Public Policy & Administration earlier this month in downtown Toronto, focused on the Ford government’s recent large-scale reorganization of the OPS and the challenges and opportunities it presented.
The early morning breakfast event typically draws a large gathering of students and alumni who are eager to kick-start the academic year with stimulating discussion about a current public policy or administration issue. This year’s topic: the new Ontario government that has captured news headlines with its major changes in mandates, priorities and organization.
Undergraduate students from the School of Public Policy & Administration with Deputy Minister Janet Menard (second from left)
Janet Menard, deputy minister of children, community and social services, and deputy minister responsible for women’s issues, accepted the school’s invitation to serve as the keynote speaker at the event. She provided an insider’s perspective on how the public service manages such transformations.
Menard has previously served as deputy minister of community and social services and deputy minister responsible for poverty reduction. She has more than 30 years of experience in the field of human services in the Peel and Halton regions and in the city of Toronto.
Attendees at the 2019 Ontario Public Service Breakfast hosted by the School of Public Policy & Administration
Through the lens of experience and leadership, Menard highlighted the responsibilities of the non-partisan public service to fulfil the mandate of any elected government; to provide advice on options and feasibility; to build trust between the government, public service employees and the public at large; and to apply the principles of accountability and efficiency. She also emphasized the importance of communication and consultation in this work. Her key, and inspiring, message to students and those already working in the public service was that it is the times of turbulence and major challenges that produce good public servants rather than periods of calm and stability.
The Oct. 1 event concluded with a lively Q-and-A session moderated by Professor Dagmar Soennecken, graduate program director of York’s Master of Public Policy, Administration & Law program, followed by networking.
International conference will celebrate the careers of professors Thomas and Elizabeth Cohen
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A three-day international conference, Making Stories in the Early Modern World, will take place at York University and the Centre for Reformation & Renaissance Studies (CRRS) at Victoria College from Nov. 1 to 3. This event will celebrate the careers of Elizabeth (Libby) Cohen and Thomas (Tom) Cohen, two distinguished historians of Renaissance Italy and professors in the departments of History and Humanities in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS) at York University.
Libby Cohen
Over 40 years, the Cohens have played a crucial role in shaping the field of early modern history by focusing on the stories of ordinary and non-elite individuals; on women, gender and the marginalized; and on oral culture, ritual and community. The Cohens’ collective work has resulted in seven books and more than 50 articles and book chapters. They have been honoured with numerous international prizes and awards, including the prestigious American Historical Association Marraro Prize for the best book in Italian history, while in 2018 they jointly held the Robert Lehman Distinguished Visiting Professor position at Villa I Tatti, the Harvard University Centre for Italian Renaissance Studies.
The Cohens’ contributions to York University and its students are equally impressive. They have served on countless committees and advisory boards at the departmental, faculty and university levels. Additionally, they have mentored a small army of graduate students: 21 master’s students and 10 PhD students in the departments of History, Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies.
Tom Cohen
They have focused on the importance of stories in every aspect of their innovative research and pedagogy, inspring a generation of scholars. Making Stories in the Early Modern World brings together senior and junior scholars to explore local and global developments in storytelling, narrativity, constructions of identity, community and alterity across geographies, cultures and faiths. More than 60 international speakers will gather at York University and the CRRS. The truly interdisciplinary group is comprised of historians, literary scholars, historians of art, material culture and of music, and historians of religion. Keynote addresses will be given by noted scholars Natalie Zemon Davis (University of Toronto), Laurie Nussdorfer (Wesleyan University), Edward Muir (Northwestern University) and Leslie Peirce (New York University).
Together, presenters and attendees will explore how early modern people from diverse backgrounds and parts of the world employed narratives to construct, negotiate, and challenge identity, community and space in various socio-historical contexts. Presenters will scrutinize archives, texts and objects as sites of power, and problematize the methodologies of microhistory as they strive to connect past stories to contemporary issues. These opportunities for interdisciplinary and international knowledge exchange offer a fitting tribute to the Cohens. Their substantial contributions have made York University, the CRRS, and Toronto more broadly a leading international centre for the study of the Renaissance and early modern world.
Making Stories has been co-organized by the following early modern historians: Professor Margaret Schotte (York University), Professor John Christopoulos (UBC) and Professor John Hunt (Utah Valley University).
The conference is sponsored by: LA&PS; the departments of History and Humanities; the Department of Languages, Literatures & Linguistics; the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation; the Faculty of Graduate Studies; and Vanier College. Other sponsors include the Centre for Reformation & Renaissance Studies, and the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada.
Kagiso Lesego Molope to read from latest novel at Nov. 5 Canadian Writers in Person lecture
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York University’s Canadian Writers in Person Lecture Series will feature author Kagiso Lesego Molope on Nov. 5, who will read from her latest novel, Such a Lonely, Lovely Road.
The series features 11 authors who will present their work, answer questions and sign books. Canadian Writers in Person is a for-credit course for students. It is also a free-admission event for members of the public. All readings take place at 7 p.m. on select Tuesday evenings in 206 Accolade West Building, Keele Campus.
Ottawa-based Lesego Molope was born and educated in South Africa. Her first novel, Dancing in the Dust, was on the IBBY Honour List for 2006. Her second novel, The Mending Season, was chosen to be on the school curriculum in South Africa. This Book Betrays My Brother was awarded the Percy Fitzpatrick Prize by the English Academy of Southern Africa, where it was first published. Her latest novel, Such a Lonely, Lovely Road (Mawenzi House), was released in 2018. Winner of the 2019 Pius Adesanmi Memorial Award for Excellence in African Writing, it tackles an urgent issue in her country of birth.
All his life Kabelo Mosala has been the perfect child to his doting absent parents, who show him off every chance they get. Both his parents and his small community look forward to him coming back after medical school and joining his father’s practice. But Kabelo’s one wish has always been to get as far away from the township as he possibly can and never come back. A few weeks before he leaves for university, he forms a close bond with Sediba, one of his childhood friends, confirming his long-held suspicion that he is gay. Their relationship is thrown into turmoil by social pressures and conflicting desires, and it starts to look as if they can’t be together. But against all odds the two young men make their way back to each other, risking scorn from the community that raised them.
March 17: David Bezmozgis, Immigrant City, HarperCollins
Canadian Writers in Person is a course offered out of the Culture & Expression program in the Department of Humanities in York University’s Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies. For more information on the series, visit yorku.ca/laps/canwrite, call 416-736-5158, or email Professor Gail Vanstone at gailv@yorku.ca or Professor Leslie Sanders at leslie@yorku.ca.
Celebrate the Day of the Dead with the Department of Languages, Literatures & Linguistics
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As Halloween approaches, York University’s Department of Languages, Literatures & Linguistics (DLLL) is set to launch its World Cultures Celebrations initiative, highlighting cultural diversity and significant holidays around the world.
Fittingly, the initiative’s first event is dedicated to the Day of the Dead, or Día de Muertos, usually observed on Nov. 1. This ancient Mexican tradition, which honours the dead in cheerful celebration, has been recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization as an example of intangible cultural heritage.
Day of the Dead altar in Mexico. Photo by RubeHM via Wikimedia Commons
Led by Professor Shanna Lino and her students in the course Spanish 3000, York’s Spanish program is mounting an altar in the DLLL office, in S580 Ross Building, in honour of the deceased. This is a customary part of the Day of the Dead celebrations, in which families venerate their dead by staging an altar and placing offerings (ofrendas).
This display is free and open to the entire York University community. Those who wish to visit the altar can do so during regular business hours from Monday, Oct. 28 (after 1:30 p.m.) until Monday, Nov. 4.
Attend Part 2 of Queer Ontario’s 10th anniversary celebration
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As part of Queer Ontario’s 10th anniversary celebrations, York University Professor Nick Mulé and Queer Ontario are partnering to launch a digital exhibition titled Queer Liberation Theory Project Study: Canadian Interviews through Dissident Voices Productions.
Taking place on Sunday, Oct. 27 from 2 to 5 p.m. at the ArQuives (34 Isabella St., Toronto), the exhibition will feature the full and unedited interviews from Mulé’s documentary QueerEdge: From Gay to Queer Liberation. Academics, activists and artists with a queer liberation sensibility in the Toronto and Ottawa areas will gather to discuss the values of gay liberation and how they relate to the queer liberation perspectives of today.
This free event will include light refreshments, snacks and beverages. All are welcome to attend.
Nick J. Mulé is the co-ordinator of York’s Sexuality Studies program and an associate professor in York’s School of Social Work, cross-appointed to the Faculty of Health and the School of Gender, Sexuality & Women’s Studies. He is the principal investigator of the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council-funded research study “Queer Liberation Theory: Resurrection and Development.” He directed, wrote and executive produced the feature documentary QueerEdge: From Gay to Queer Liberation. He is also the founder, past Chair and current secretary of Queer Ontario.
Queer Ontario is a provincial network of gender and sexually diverse individuals – and their allies – who are committed to questioning, challenging and reforming the laws, institutional practices and social norms that regulate queer people. Operating under liberationist and sex-positive principles, Queer Ontario fights for accessibility, recognition, and pluralism, using social media and other tactics to engage in political action, public education and coalition-building.
This event is co-sponsored by: the ArQuives, York’s Centre for Feminist Research, York’s Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies and the Sexuality Studies program at York University.
York professor edits new collection focusing on Chinese Canadian identities
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York University Assistant Professor Jessica Tsui-yan Li (Department of Languages, Literatures & Linguistics, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies) contributed to Chinese Canadian studies in her recently published edited volume The Transcultural Streams of Chinese Canadian Identities (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2019).
Jessica Tsui-yan Li
Focusing on the geopolitical and economic circumstances that have prompted migration from Hong Kong and mainland China to Canada, this book examines the Chinese Canadian community as a simultaneously transcultural, transnational, and domestic social and cultural formation.
York contributors include Li, Professor Lily Cho (English), Professor Lucia Lo (geography), Professor Guida Man and graduate student Elena Chou (sociology).
“I am very delighted to see the publication of this book, thanks to the great support of my fabulous colleagues,” said Li. “This research volume engages the leading scholars of the field of Chinese Canadian studies and organizes our scholarship into a sustained and influential dialogue. I will continue to contribute positively to a vigorous research agenda that will reflect well on York University.”
Taking an innovative interdisciplinary approach to the ways in which Chinese Canadians adapt to and construct the Canadian multicultural mosaic, the book explores various patterns of Chinese cultural interchanges in Canada and how they intertwine with the community’s sense of disengagement and belonging.
Essays in this volume argue that Chinese Canadians, a population that has produced significant cultural imprints on Canadian society, have constantly redefined their identities as manifested in social science, literary and historical spheres. These perpetual negotiations reflect social and cultural ideologies and practices and demonstrate Chinese Canadians’ recreations of their self-perception, self-expression and self-projection in relation to others. Contextualized within larger debates on multicultural society and specific Chinese Canadian cultural experiences, this book considers diverse cultural presentations of literary expression, the “model minority” and the influence of gender and profession on success and failure, the gendered dynamics of migration and the growth of transnational (“astronaut”) families in the 1980s, and inter-ethnic boundary crossing.
“This book provides a composite view of Chinese Canadian identities, characterized by performativity, fluidity and diversity, transcending many cultural and national boundaries,” said Li. “Chinese Canadians negotiate their transcultural identities historically, socially and culturally, and thus resulting in continuous multidimensional cultural exchanges, from institutional racism to the gradual adaptation and co-construction of a culturally diverse Canadian society.”
The book is the product of an earlier workshop on cultural translation and Chinese Canadian studies organized by Li and hosted by the York Centre for Asian Research (YCAR). The workshop included senior scholars, emerging academics, graduate and undergraduate students, as well as community and business leaders whose work leads them to focus on cross-cultural encounters, movements across borders, processes of displacement and historical change.
The collection was published with support from YCAR and the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, as well as the Asian Institute at the University of Toronto and the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council.
Author Craig Davidson came to the Canadian Writers in Person reading series Oct. 22 to talk about his recent book, The Saturday Night Ghost Club. This novel is a finalist for the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize, described by Penguin Random House as a “short, infectious, and bittersweet coming-of-age story in the vein of Stranger Things and Stand by Me about a group of misfit kids who spend an unforgettable summer investigating local ghost stories and urban legends.” 
York University’s Canadian Writers in Person Lecture Series will feature author Kagiso Lesego Molope on Nov. 5, who will read from her latest novel, 
Essays in this volume argue that Chinese Canadians, a population that has produced significant cultural imprints on Canadian society, have constantly redefined their identities as manifested in social science, literary and historical spheres. These perpetual negotiations reflect social and cultural ideologies and practices and demonstrate Chinese Canadians’ recreations of their self-perception, self-expression and self-projection in relation to others. Contextualized within larger debates on multicultural society and specific Chinese Canadian cultural experiences, this book considers diverse cultural presentations of literary expression, the “model minority” and the influence of gender and profession on success and failure, the gendered dynamics of migration and the growth of transnational (“astronaut”) families in the 1980s, and inter-ethnic boundary crossing.