Author: lmacadam

Canadian Writers in Person wraps up with Louise B. Halfe/Sky Dancer, March 22

stack of books

If you love meeting talented writers and hearing them read from their published work, or just want to soak up a unique cultural experience, don’t miss the final instalment of the 2021-22 Canadian Writers in Person Lecture Series on March 22, featuring a reading from Louise B. Halfe/Sky Dancer’s fourth book of poetry, Burning in This Midnight Dream (Brick Books, 2021).

Cover of Burning this Midnight Dream
Cover of Burning this Midnight Dream

The series gives attendees an opportunity to get up close and personal with authors who present their work and answer questions. Canadian Writers in Person is a for-credit course for students and a free-admission event for members of the public. The book reading will take place at 7 p.m. via Zoom.

Halfe was raised on Saddle Lake Reserve and attended Blue Quills Residential School. Her first book, Bear Bones & Feathers (Coteau, 1994), received the Milton Acorn People’s Poetry Award, the Pat Lowther Award and the Gerald Lampert Award. Blue Marrow (Coteau, 1998) was a finalist for the 1998 Governor General’s Award for Poetry, and her fourth book, Burning in This Midnight Dream (originally published by Coteau in 2016), won the 2017 Saskatchewan Book Award and the Raymond Souster Award, among numerous other awards. Brick Books published a new edition of Burning in This Midnight Dream in May 2021. Halfe was awarded the Latner Writers Trust Award for her body of work in 2017, the Kloppenburg Award for Literary Excellence in 2020 and was granted a lifetime membership in the League of Canadian Poets. She lives near Saskatoon with her husband, Peter.

Many of the poems in Halfe’s Burning in This Midnight Dream were written in response to the grim tide of emotions, memories, dreams and nightmares that arose in her as the Truth and Reconciliation process unfolded. In heart-wrenching detail, Halfe recalls the damage done to her parents, her family and herself. With fearlessly wrought verse, Halfe describes how the experience of the residential schools continues to haunt those who survive, and how the effects pass like a virus from one generation to the next. She asks readers to consider the damage done to children taken from their families and to families mourning their children; damage done to entire communities and to ancient cultures.

This year’s Canadian Writers in Person Lecture Series lineup included a unique selection of emerging and established Canadian writers whose writing explores a broad range of topics and geographical and cultural landscapes. Featuring seasoned and emerging poets and fiction writers, the series highlighted Canada’s ever-growing pool of literary talent.

Canadian Writers in Person is a course offered in the Culture and 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, or email Professor Gail Vanstone at gailv@yorku.ca or Professor Leslie Sanders at leslie@yorku.ca.

Canadian Writers in Person continues with a reading from Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s latest novel

stack of books

If you love meeting talented writers and hearing them read from their published work, or just want to soak up a unique cultural experience, don’t miss the Canadian Writers in Person Lecture Series, which continues March 8 with a reading from Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s latest novel, Mexican Gothic (Penguin Random House, 2021).

Book cover of "Mexican Gothic" by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

The series gives attendees an opportunity to get up close and personal with 11 authors who will present their work and answer questions. Canadian Writers in Person is a for-credit course for students and a free-admission event for members of the public. All readings take place at 7 p.m. on select Tuesday evenings via Zoom. Links for each reading can be found here.

Moreno-Garcia is the New York Times bestselling author of the critically acclaimed speculative novels Gods of Jade and Shadow, Signal to Noise, Certain Dark Things and The Beautiful Ones, and the crime novel Untamed Shore. She has edited several anthologies, includ­ing the World Fantasy Award-winning She Walks in Shadows (a.k.a. Cthulhu’s Daughters). She lives in Vancouver.

In development as a Hulu original limited series, winner of the Locus Award and named one of the best books of the year by The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, NPR, Washington Post and more, Mexican Gothic is a gothic horror set in glamorous 1950s Mexico about an isolated mansion, a chillingly charismatic aristocrat and a brave socialite drawn to expose their treacherous secrets.

After receiving a frantic letter from her newly-wed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom, Noemí Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside. Mesmerized by the terrifying yet seductive world of High Place, she may soon find it impossible to ever leave this enigmatic house behind.

This year’s Canadian Writers in Person Lecture Series lineup consists of a unique selection of emerging and established Canadian writers whose writing explores a broad range of topics and geographical and cultural landscapes. Featuring seasoned and emerging poets and fiction writers, the series highlights Canada’s ever-growing pool of literary talent.

Final reading scheduled in this series:

Canadian Writers in Person is a course offered in the Culture and 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, or email Professor Gail Vanstone at gailv@yorku.ca or Professor Leslie Sanders at leslie@yorku.ca.

Zsuzsi Gartner to read from debut novel at Feb. 1 Canadian Writers in Person

stack of books

If you love meeting talented writers and hearing them read from their published work, or just want to soak up a unique cultural experience, don’t miss the Canadian Writers in Person Lecture Series, which continues Feb. 1 with a reading from Zsuzsi Gartner’s debut novel, The Beguiling (Penguin Random House Canada, 2020).

Book cover of "The Beguiling" by Zsuzsi Gartner.

The series gives attendees an opportunity to get up close and personal with 11 authors who will present their work and answer questions. Canadian Writers in Person is a for-credit course for students and a free-admission event for members of the public. All readings take place at 7 p.m. on select Tuesday evenings via Zoom. Links for each reading can be found here.

Gartner is an award-winning magazine journalist and the author of the fiction collection All the Anxious Girls on Earth. She lives in Vancouver.

With ruthless wit and dizzying energy, The Beguiling, a finalist for the Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize, explores blessings and curses, sainthood and sin, mortality and guilt in all its guises. Weaving together tales of errant mothers, vengeful plants, canine wisdom and murder, this electrifying debut novel lays bare the sacrifices some are willing to make to get what they think they desire.

This year’s Canadian Writers in Person Lecture Series lineup consists of a unique selection of emerging and established Canadian writers whose writing explores a broad range of topics and geographical and cultural landscapes. Featuring seasoned and emerging poets and fiction writers, the series highlights Canada’s ever-growing pool of literary talent.

Other readings scheduled in this series are:

Canadian Writers in Person is a course offered in 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, or email Professor Gail Vanstone at gailv@yorku.ca or Professor Leslie Sanders at leslie@yorku.ca.

Canadian Writers in Person continues with a reading from Thomas King’s new novel

stack of books

If you love meeting talented writers and hearing them read from their published work, or just want to soak up a unique cultural experience, don’t miss the Canadian Writers in Person Lecture Series, which continues Jan. 18 with a reading from Thomas King’s latest novel, Sufferance (HarperCollins Canada, 2021).

Cover of Thomas King's book "Sufferance."

The series gives attendees an opportunity to get up close and personal with 11 authors who will present their work and answer questions. Canadian Writers in Person is a for-credit course for students and a free-admission event for members of the public. All readings take place at 7 p.m. on select Tuesday evenings via Zoom. Links for each reading can be found here.

King is an award-winning writer whose fiction includes Indians on Vacation, which won the Leacock Award for Humour; Green Grass, Running Water; Truth and Bright Water; and The Back of the Turtle, which won the Governor General’s Literary Award. The Truth About Stories won the Trillium Book Award, and The Inconvenient Indian won the RBC Taylor Prize as well as the BC National Book Award for Canadian Non-Fiction. A companion of the Order of Canada and the recipient of a National Aboriginal Achievement Award, King taught at the University of Lethbridge and was Chair of American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota. Following this, he taught at the University of Guelph until he retired. King lives in Guelph with his partner, Helen Hoy.

Jeremiah Camp, a.k.a. the Forecaster, can look into the heart of humanity and see the patterns that create opportunities and profits for the rich and powerful. Problem is, Camp has looked one too many times, has seen what he hadn’t expected to see and has come away from the abyss with no hope for himself or for the future. So Jeremiah does what any intelligent, sensitive person would do. He runs away. Goes into hiding in a small town, at an old residential school on an even smaller Indian reserve, with no phone, no Internet, no television. And then his past comes calling. A sly and satirical look at the fractures in modern existence, Sufferance is a bold and provocative novel about the social and political consequences of the inequality created by privilege and power – and what we might do about it.

This year’s Canadian Writers in Person Lecture Series lineup consists of a unique selection of emerging and established Canadian writers whose writing explores a broad range of topics and geographical and cultural landscapes. Featuring seasoned and emerging poets and fiction writers, the series highlights Canada’s ever-growing pool of literary talent.

Other readings scheduled in this series are:

Canadian Writers in Person is a course offered in 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, or email Professor Gail Vanstone at gailv@yorku.ca or Professor Leslie Sanders at leslie@yorku.ca.

Learn about the benefits of video games at the next Scholars’ Hub @ Home event

White gaming console on wooden surface

For the Dec. 8 edition of the Scholars’ Hub @ Home speaker series, Alison Harvey, an assistant professor of communications at York University’s Glendon Campus, will host a discussion titled “Video gaming for good: Play in the pandemic.”

Alison Harvey
Alison Harvey

This talk is in English, but simultaneous interpretation in French is available.

While video games have become one of the largest media industries in the world, they continue to suffer from a narrow and often negative public perception, as mindless entertainment at best and addictive at worst. With lockdowns and increased time indoors and in front of screens over the past year, time and money spent on video games has only increased, with the games industry one of the few to profit from the pandemic.

In partnership with Glendon, this talk will consider the role that video games play in our lives, focusing on the benefits and opportunities presented by gaming during the pandemic. Research has found that games present a myriad of positive experiences and impacts. Harvey will discuss these social, creative and intellectual possibilities, as well as positive outcomes in terms of health and well-being.

Brought to you by York University’s Office of Alumni Engagement, the Scholars’ Hub @ Home speaker series features discussions on a broad range of topics, with engaging lectures from some of York’s best and brightest minds. Students, alumni and all members of the community are invited to attend. All sessions take place at noon via Zoom.

Events are held in partnership with Vaughan Public Libraries, Markham Public Library and Aurora Public Library.

To register for the event, visit bit.ly/3meglCB.

Découvrez les bienfaits des jeux vidéo lors du prochain événement de la série Scholars’ Hub @ Home

Le 8 décembre, dans le cadre de la série Scholars’ Hub @ Home, Alison Harvey, professeure adjointe du programme de communications du campus Glendon de l’Université York fera une présentation intitulée « Video gaming for good: Play in the pandemic ».

Alison Harvey
Alison Harvey

Présentation bilingue avec interprétation simultanée disponible.

Les jeux vidéo sont devenus l’une des plus grandes industries médiatiques au monde. Cette industrie est d’ailleurs l’une des rares à avoir profité de la pandémie. Lors des confinements, le temps passé à l’intérieur (notamment devant des écrans) ainsi que le temps et l’argent consacrés aux jeux vidéo n’ont cessé d’augmenter. Toutefois, la perception du public demeure étroite et souvent négative : les jeux vidéo sont considérés comme abrutissants dans le meilleur des cas et addictifs dans le pire des cas.

En partenariat avec Glendon, la professeure Alison Harvey se penchera sur le rôle des jeux vidéo dans nos vies en se concentrant sur leurs avantages et leurs possibilités durant la pandémie. Selon des études, ils présentent une multitude d’expériences et d’effets positifs. Alison Harvey discutera de ces perspectives sociales, créatives et intellectuelles ainsi que des retombées positives en matière de santé et de bien-être.

Proposée par le Bureau de l’engagement des diplômés de l’Université York, la série de conférences Scholars’ Hub @ Home propose des discussions sur un large éventail de sujets et des conférences intéressantes données par certains des esprits les plus brillants de York. Les étudiants et étudiantes, diplômés et diplômées et les membres de la communauté sont invités à y assister. Toutes les sessions ont lieu à midi via Zoom.

Ces événements sont présentés en partenariat avec les bibliothèques publiques de Vaughan, de Markham et d’Aurora.

Pour vous inscrire à cet événement, visitez la page bit.ly/3meglCB.

Canadian Writers in Person features Katłįà (Catherine) Lafferty, Dec. 7

stack of books

If you love meeting talented writers and hearing them read their published work, or just want to soak up a unique cultural experience, don’t miss the Canadian Writers in Person Lecture Series, which continues Dec. 7 with a reading from Katłįà (Catherine) Lafferty’s debut novel, Land-Water-Sky/Ndè–Tı–Yat’a (Fernwood Publishing, 2020).

Book cover of "Land-Water-Sky /Ndè–Tı–Yat’a" by Katłįà (Catherine) Lafferty.

The series gives attendees an opportunity to get up close and personal with 11 authors who will present their work and answer questions. Canadian Writers in Person is a for-credit course for students and a free-admission event for members of the public. All readings take place at 7 p.m. on select Tuesday evenings via Zoom.

Lafferty is a Dene woman from the Northwest Territories. Previously serving as a councillor for her First Nation, Yellowknives Dene, she is an activist, poet and columnist, and law student in Indigenous legal orders. She writes about Indigenous injustices with a focus on the North.

Set in Canada’s far North, this layered composite novel traverses space and time, from a community being stalked by a dark presence, a group of teenagers out for a dangerous joyride, to an archeological site on a mysterious island that holds a powerful secret. Riveting, subtle and unforgettable, Lafferty provides a unique perspective into what the world might look like today if Indigenous legends walked amongst us, disguised as humans, and ensures that the spiritual significance and teachings behind the stories of Indigenous legends are respected and honoured.

This year’s Canadian Writers in Person Lecture Series lineup consists of a unique selection of emerging and established Canadian writers whose writing explores a broad range of topics and geographical and cultural landscapes. Featuring seasoned and emerging poets and fiction writers, the series highlights Canada’s ever-growing pool of literary talent.

Other readings scheduled in this series are:

Links for each reading can be found here.

Canadian Writers in Person is a course offered in 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, or email Professor Gail Vanstone at gailv@yorku.ca or Professor Leslie Sanders at leslie@yorku.ca.

Experts to discuss reimagining science education in climate crisis, Dec. 1

View of trees from below

The third event of the Borderless Higher Education for Refugees (BHER) Speaker Series, titled “Science Education in Climate Crisis,” takes place Dec. 1 at 9 a.m. (EST) on Zoom.

Climate change poses observable and accelerating threats to the environment, human peace and security across the world. Yet its consequences are unevenly dispersed, with those facing its most acute threats often the least responsible for the kinds of consumption practices that have led to warming. Amidst wildfires, droughts and floods, advocates across the world call to centre climate change in science education more than ever.

In this BHER Speaker Series event, Steve Alsop (professor, York University), Sila Otieno Asaka (natural resource and environment officer, Fafi Integrated Development Organization), Roxanne Cohen (York University PhD candidate and sustainability educator) and Deka Gaiye (York University MEd student and eco-feminist advocate) will talk about how they have reimagined science education in an era of climate crisis. They will do so from a transnational perspective, paying particular attention to how to think in new ways about the intersections of climate crisis, global migration and transformative possibilities for education. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Steve Alsop

Steve Alsop
Steve Alsop

Alsop is a faculty member in York’s Faculty of Education and has been teaching in the BHER Project for the past four years. He teaches courses and supervises students in the fields of education, science technology studies and environmental sustainability studies. His research interests include climate change education.

Silas Otieno Asaka

Silas Otieno Asaka
Silas Otieno Asaka

Otieno Asaka is currently pursuing a master of science degree in land and water management at Kenyatta University in Nairobi County, Kenya. He is a National Environment Management Authority-registered lead expert in Kenya and a member of the Environment Institute of Kenya. He has over 10 years of experience in the planning and implementation of environment and natural conservation projects in Kenya, has implemented environmental mitigation activities for the Dadaab refugee camp and participated in the development of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Global Strategy for Safe Access to Fuel and Energy 2014-18. He is currently the natural resources management and environment key expert for Kenya Development Response to Displacement Impacts Project.

Roxanne Cohen

Roxanne Cohen
Roxanne Cohen

Cohen is a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Education at York University and has been teaching with the BHER program for three years. She recently co-created a University-community partnered certificate program in the Faculty of Education called Rooted and Rising for young leaders passionate about climate change. She also supports a local food co-op in a newcomer community focused on food sovereignty in the climate crisis. Cohen is an educator in university, non-profit, co-op, and corporate settings in climate change and mental health.

Deka Gaiye

Deka Gaiye
Deka Gaiye

Gaiye is a graduate student in the Faculty of Education at York University. She has worked as an educator in the Dadaab refugee camps and has been largely involved in a project titled “Women Refugees for Environmental and Social Change.” The project is school-based, gender- and community-responsive. Its mission is to establish women and children’s rights and environmental justice at the heart of refugee schools and community environmental programming and policies. Her research is rooted in women’s right and schooling, studying the impact of poverty on single mothers and schooling).

To attend the virtual event, visit bit.ly/3wqwB6N.

This event is a part of the BHER Speaker Series 2021-22: Reciprocal Learning Beyond Crisis, which is co-sponsored by Windle International Kenya and York University’s Faculty of Education, Centre for Refugee Studies and Borderless Higher Education for Refugees Project. For more information about the the speaker series, visit yorku.ca/edu/reciprocal-learning-beyond-crisis.

Next Scholars’ Hub looks at intimate partner violence and access to justice

Judge signing papers

For the Nov. 24 edition of the Scholars’ Hub @ Home speaker series, Janet Mosher, an associate professor in York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School, will host a discussion about intimate partner violence and access to justice.

Janet Mosher
Janet Mosher

Many survivors of intimate partner violence, especially when they leave or attempt to leave an abusive relationship, must navigate two or more legal domains – among them family, criminal, child welfare and immigration law. While there is a sizable body of Canadian research on access to justice challenges in each of these areas of law, this talk will highlight the unique and complex challenges that arise for survivors when two or more of these legal domains are engaged and the reality that this engagement is often triggered by abusive partners as a means to coerce, control and harm their (former) intimate partners.

Brought to you by York University’s Office of Alumni Engagement, the Scholars’ Hub @ Home speaker series features discussions on a broad range of topics, with engaging lectures from some of York’s best and brightest minds. Students, alumni and all members of the community are invited to attend. All sessions take place at noon via Zoom.

Events are held in partnership with Vaughan Public Libraries, Markham Public Library and Aurora Public Library.

To register for the event, visit bit.ly/3nrDyAL.

Aurora helps grad students and postdocs navigate the job market

Two students looking at a computer monitor

The Faculty of Graduate Studies (FGS) at York University provides graduate students and postdocs with access to Aurora, an innovative eLearning platform by Beyond the Professoriate, to help navigate career options after graduation.

Aurora by Beyond the Professoriate logo

York’s future alumni can put their apprehensions about the job market to rest by taking advantage of this unique online resource that aids in outlining the skills graduates have acquired throughout their studies and provides strategies for applying and securing non-academic employment.

The platform was designed and built by PhDs – the Beyond the Professoriate team – who recognize the difficulties and worries of transitioning from full-time studies to the workforce. As a professional development tool, Aurora lets students and postdocs explore their postgraduate options and learn job search strategies to obtain a rewarding career in a variety of different areas. All of the platform’s contributors, who deliver workshops and participate in career panels and interviews, have successfully completed PhDs and are experts in the fields of: the arts; social sciences; business; education; and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

Aurora offers resources such as interactive workbooks and webinars, designed to be conveniently accessible 24-7 for busy graduate students. Its curated videos feature interviews with more than 170 PhDs, discussing how they made the transition from academia to the workplace, plus advice from employers on how to sell your skills in the job market. This one-of-a-kind video library lets users explore what it is like working in a number of sectors: academia, government, higher education administration, industry and non-profits. 

“Part of Aurora’s great appeal is its vast library of relevant and engaging content, providing resources to grad students and postdocs from a diversity of fields with tools and insights they can begin applying today,” says Wesley Moir, academic affairs officer. “Coupled with its accessible format, Aurora complements the Graduate & Postdoctoral Professional Skills (GPPS) program to ensure the graduate and postdoctoral community has access to meaningful opportunities to support their professional goals.”

The on-demand, self-paced learning modules allow graduate students and postdocs to build a strong foundation that will lead to successful employment. There are two programs of study to help students learn successful job search strategies: the Professional Careers Pathway program and the Academic Careers Pathway program. Users can access the modules in any order and earn a completion certificate after fulfilling seven core modules. Topics covered include networking, time management, negotiating job offers, publishing, and applying for grants and fellowships. The platform helps graduates identify the skill sets they have acquired throughout their studies that are valuable outside of academia and provides the terminology that can turn a basic CV into an outstanding résumé. All of these resources, which were developed based on rigorous research, help users make informed decisions about the job market that can lead to fulfilling careers.  

Future alumni can start exploring the changing career landscape today by accessing the eLearning platform through the FGS website. For more information, contact the Office of the Dean, Faculty of Graduate Studies, at fgsnews@yorku.ca.

EUC Seminar Series looks at Indigenous involvement in city planning, Nov. 23

Scenic view of Toronto sunrise

This year, York University’s Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change (EUC) Seminar Series is focusing on Assistant Professor Martha Stiegman’s knowledge translation project Polishing the Chain, which leverages research by the Indigenous-led Talking Treaties community arts project of Jumblies Theatre and Arts to enrich public discussion of treaty relations Toronto.

The series’ third instalment, “Treaty Relations, Planning and Indigenous Consultation at the City of Toronto,” will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 23. Speaking at the event are Selina Young, director of the Indigenous Affairs Office for the City of Toronto; Leela Viswanathan, associate professor, School of Urban and Regional Planning, Queen’s University; and Bob Goulai, Niibisin Consulting.

Treaties, the Crown’s duty to consult and Ontario’s Provincial Planning Policy Statement have triggered new practices of Indigenous consultation and urban planning in Toronto. In this panel, speakers will discuss Indigenous planning and decision making in the Greater Toronto Area. To what extent does city planning include Indigenous nations and communities? To what extent do Indigenous Peoples have meaningful authority or decision-making power in relation to land and waters? To what extent does the city recognize and enable their ability to practise ceremony, plant and harvest food and medicines, or enact stewardship responsibilities?

Polishing the Chain: Treaty Relations in Toronto is a fall and winter conversation series that will bring together Indigenous and allied scholars, knowledge holders, artists, Earth workers, and activists who will explore the historical significance and contemporary relevance of the treaties Indigenous nations in southern Ontario have made with each other, with the land and with the Crown. It will explore: the spirit and intent of Toronto treaties; the ways Indigenous Peoples have upheld and continue to uphold them; the extent to which they are (and are not) reflected in contemporary Indigenous and state relations; and the treaty responsibilities of both settler and Indigenous Torontonians.

All Fall 2021 seminars will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. via Zoom and live-streamed on the Polishing the Chain Facebook page. To register, visit https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/treaty-relations-planning-indigenous-consultation-at-the-city-of-toronto-tickets-208769514237.

This year’s EUC Seminar Series is co-presented by York’s new Centre for Indigenous Knowledges and Languages, the Indigenous Environmental Justice Project, and the Jumblies Theatre and Arts Talking Treaties project. For more information about the seminar series, email polishingthechain@gmail.com.