The 14th annual York-Ryerson Intersection/Cross Section conference will showcase graduate research from Kingston to New York to Portland.
“Thresholds: Presence, Absence, and Territory,” organized by the York-Ryerson Joint Communications and Culture Program, is a two-day interdisciplinary event taking place March 13 and 14 at Ryerson University. For the latest details on location and speakers/workshops, visit the York-Ryerson Intersection/Cross Section Conference website or check out the updated conference program.
The conference seeks to recognize the cultural importance of Toronto as a place for academic inquiry and growth. This year’s featured keynote speaker, Louie Palu, is an acclaimed Canadian documentary photographer. His lecture will focus on how image control in the post 9/11 age of terror shapes perceptions of the news, war, government, violence and trauma. Known for his cover of social-political issues, including war and human rights, Palu has covered the war in Kandahar, Afghanistan, from 2006 to 2010, and the drug war on the United States-Mexico border in 2011.
Described as being “one of the largest communication and culture events of the year,” the overarching aim is to utilize the best resources available at both the York University and Ryerson University campuses. “Conferences like these are meant to bring together the academic, creative and urban communities,” says co-chair Natalja Chestopalova. “This conference can become a forum for sharing research, engaging in creative artistic exchanges and inciting dialogues around current critical issues.”
There will be a host of panels looking at everything from self(ie) surveillance, the corpse bride and thresholds of belonging to racism today.
Several York speakers will deliver workshops during the conference. Michael Moir, head of the Clara Thomas Archives & Special Collections with York University Libraries, will lead a workshop titled “Crossing the Archives’ Threshold: The Perks and Perils of Archival Research.”
Irina Lyubchenko, a Ryerson-York PhD candidate, will showcase the basic techniques and skills for stereo 3D anaglyph images in the workshop “3-D Computer Animation.” Several drop-in workshops, including “Subversive Crafting: Needlework and the New Feminine”, will follow.
Day one will close with a social reception at the Gladstone Hotel featuring work by York PhD candidates Dan Browne and Quintin Hewlett.
In the acknowledgement and support of graduate students across North America, the conference offers an opportunity for students to present their research in a panel or roundtable discussion. A collaborative event, the conference encourages participation from interdisciplinary scholars as well as local activists, researchers and community members.
For a full list of panels, topics and speakers, along with more information and registration, visit the York-Ryerson Intersection/Cross Section Conference website or check out the updated conference program.