LA&PS professor leads the way with research on media and creative labour of youth

July 12, 2020

For the past eight years, Department of Communication Studies Associate Professor Natalie Coulter has led an assortment of courses at York University, covering themes including advertising, culture, digital media and youth. However, recent accolades have helped to further her efforts in adding to the wealth of knowledge on these connected subjects beyond the classroom.

Natalie Coulter

In summer 2019, Coulter was awarded Insight Development Grant funding from the Social Science Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) valued at $67,345 to support her latest project, which will run until 2022, studying the creative labour performed by youth within the digital capitalist landscape.

The new research will explore the manner in which the work is encouraged and utilized by corporations to promote intellectual properties – creating simultaneous marketing and target audience roles for youth in the digital age. With a strong research background on the evolving relationships between digital media and youth, Coulter is excited for the project to help paint a clearer picture of children’s cultural industries, particularly as social media, data mining and advertising continue to progress.

With the COVID-19 pandemic altering the original course of action for this SSHRC-funded project, the current focus has been shifted to creating a detailed analysis of select Disney programs over the summer. Alongside Communication and Culture graduate student Tamar Faber, and a pair of ‘junior researchers’ – one of them being Coulter’s 11-year-old daughter – the professor will examine the ways that young people are positioned as content creators.

This component of the study will open larger discussions on their rights as digital contributors and will explore the possible outcomes of raised awareness on the subject among youth. To mobilize the knowledge gained, it will be translated into an essay, and potentially adapted as a video documentary to visualize the findings as well.

Another primary facet of the research plan will break down the motivating factors of this labour process from the corporation perspective, using children and teens as marketers to support financial interests with their participation, through fandoms, social engagement, online involvement and other means. Investigations on the methods used to groom young people to promote products and brands will address gaps in multiple fields of study pertaining to youth and technology.

For the time being, travel restrictions have placed barriers on some of the networking and learning opportunities that would have come from Coulter and Faber attending youth marketing conferences in person. Earlier outlines of the project designated these events as a unique chance not only to build connections with industry professionals, but to engage with the practices and strategies they implement as well. However, accessing this information and establishing these collaborations through alternative methods (such as live webinars) is still a strong possibility.

York U prof writes book about social media — Digital media is a huge part of how young people interact with one another, says Associate Professor Natalie Coulter

“Digital media is a huge part of how young people interact with one another. It’s so interwoven in their everyday that ‘real life versus digital life’ for youth is now a false narrative,” Coulter explains. “They’re constantly moving back and forth. In the context of data specifically, now more than ever, young people are harnessed to the needs of the capitalist project. They find modes of resistance, yet still, the creative labour of children’s culture has kept capitalism moving. This is what I’m trying to investigate in my research.”

In January, Coulter was appointed the new director of the Institute for Research on Digital Learning (IRDL) at York University. Five months in, she is excited to widen the scope of the research unit by encouraging more engagement with other collectives specializing in studies on various digital literacies.

With an assortment of previous work on the subject, including books Tweening the Girl: The Crystallization of the Tween Market (2014), Youth Mediations and Affective Relations (2018) (co-edited with fellow Communication Studies Associate Professor Susan Driver), as well as an impressive list of guest chapters, conference papers and journal articles, Coulter has done her part in establishing dialogues on the facets at play. Nevertheless, she acknowledges that more must be done to move forward from dated media literacy learning models.

Years of collaborations with IRDL and teaching at York provide optimism for the future of the field. For decades, the Institute has worked to open countless inquiries on education and technology, and today, it encourages collaborative learning more than ever. In the classroom side of her profession, Coulter is regularly inspired by the students she instructs, both at the undergraduate and graduate level.

“The students at York are so connected globally and internationally, that you don’t have to spend a lot of time convincing them to be critical of the power dynamics of the world. As an instructor, you’re just providing the tools to help them critique. They’re a joy to teach, and I’m always learning from them too.”

Indigenous Studies program connecting students with unique learning experiences

July 8, 2020

Jesse Thistle speaking with students at the 2020 All Nations Pow Wow at York University’s Keele Campus

Offered through the Department of Humanities, York University’s Indigenous Studies Program brings Indigenous voices, cultures, issues and histories into focus, and is a site of resistance against misconceptions and mischaracterizations of Indigenous peoples and culture.

Bonita Lawrence, a professor of humanities and coordinator of the Indigenous Studies program says the program “provides students, particularly those who are non-Indigenous, with a site where they not only learn about Indigenous issues, and the effects of settler colonialism on Indigenous peoples, but they also acquire some understanding of Indigenous values, which is important in ultimately situating them as potential allies to Indigenous peoples.”

Lawrence is Mi’kmaw and a founding member of the program, which aims to give Indigenous students the opportunity to see themselves reflected in their learning, something that has aided many on the journey to reclaiming and rediscovering their heritage.

“I chose Indigenous Studies because I think it’s a great way to connect with my culture,” said Elizabeth Barrera, a Criminology and Indigenous Studies double major. “I am Indigenous myself, not from Canada but from Mexico City, and I think the program is a great way to understand the many ongoing issues that are hindering Indigenous communities.”

When she graduates, Barrera plans to use her education to pursue a career in law but also to help Indigenous communities.

“I want to work with Indigenous communities and provide a platform for them to fight against colonialism. I want to educate people on the many issues that are happening nowadays,” she said.

Similarly, recent Governor General of Canada Silver Academic Medal and York University Alumni Association Golden GRADitude Award recipiet Lance Morrison notes that his time in the program has helped him develop confidence in his identity as an Indigenous person.

“The encouragement I get from professors in the department has really helped me believe in myself and helped other Indigenous students believe in themselves as well,” said Morrison. “The support that we get is something that we’ve never had before.”

Morrison and Barrera are prime examples of the outcomes the program desires to foster among its Indigenous students. “We hope that the program will promote pride in their identities, along with gaining an understanding of how they can work to support their communities,” explained Lawrence.

Since its creation in September 2018, the program has welcomed 21 students from a diverse array of backgrounds along with a number of leading Indigenous Studies academics, including Jesse Thistle, the assistant professor and best-selling author who teaches the program’s first-year “Introduction to Indigenous Studies” course.

The program takes an innovative approach to teaching with its blend of culturally based, in-class and experiential learning courses that provide a way for students to meaningfully engage with Indigenous communities inside and outside the classroom.

“Some of our classes are ceremony-based, some are land-based, some are based on textbooks and lectures,” said Morrison. “Even the academic learning, sometimes it’s through books and documentaries, other times we just have to listen to a podcast or attend a guest lecture.

“It’s not just one way of learning,” Morrison continued, observing that this kind of teaching is “a lot closer to Indigenous traditional pedagogy.”

Having taken the “Indigenous Spiritualties in the Contemporary World” course, Barrera also appreciates the hands-on learning opportunities the program offers. “In one of my classes, my professor performed a water ceremony with the whole class. It was a great way for us to get to know how Indigenous peoples view the culture and how they’re very thankful for the elements and Mother Earth.”

In the core spirituality course, “students don’t just read about the culture, they learn how to practice it, through taking part in sweat lodges, feasts, fasting and other processes such as attending ceremonies in their local community,” Lawrence said.

It’s through courses such as those which explore spirituality, Indigenous-Black relations, and Indigenous arts that give the program its unique standing.

2020 All Nations Pow Wow at York University's Keele Campus — 2020 All Nations Pow Wow at York University’s Keele Campus

This fall, Indigenous Studies will offer its first language course, “Introduction to Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe),” which is taught by Brock Pitawanakwat, the program coordinator. Students will learn basic pronunciation and phrases, among other aspects of Ojibwe. There are hopes to eventually include Mohawk and advanced level Ojibwe courses in the program.

As the Indigenous Studies program gears up to enter its third academic year and welcome new and returning students, Lawrence makes clear that, “there is a place for everybody in this program.”

Meet the student recipients of the 2020 Alumni Awards and Scholarships

July 8, 2020

The York University Alumni Board has recognized four distinguished York students for their academic excellence and student leadership.

The Alumni Awards and Scholarships started in 2009 and are adjudicated by the York University Alumni Board every year. Awards include the Harry Arthurs Alumni Families Scholarship, the Golden GRADitude Award and the Silver Jubilee Award.

Harry Arthurs Alumni Families Scholarship

This scholarship is awarded each year to the child, sibling or grandchild of a graduate holding a York University degree. Applicants must be seeking admission into the first year of undergraduate study, have a minimum admission average of 90 per cent and have a demonstrated record of participation and leadership in extracurricular student life. This award is renewable in years two, three and four of undergraduate study provided the recipient maintains a minimum grade point average of 7.8.

This year’s recipient is Olivia Beltrano (BBA candidate ’24), whose parents and brother are alumni, and sister is a current fourth-year student at the Schulich School of Business.

This fall, Beltrano will follow in her family’s footsteps when she joins the Bachelor of Business Administration undergraduate program at Schulich. Her ambition to study at Canada’s number-one business school began when she was a student in elementary school.

As a high school student, Beltrano achieved a 95 per cent average. She demonstrated leadership and teamwork through her involvement in many extracurricular activities. A proficient skater with a passion for sports, she played house league ice hockey for the North York Storm for nine years while working as a skating instructor for children aged three to 10 years old. Beltrano has also volunteered as a leisure buddy at the Vaughan Summer Camps.

Beltrano says she looks forward to exploring the many extracurricular options that York has to offer when campus reopens in the future. “I have an interest in marketing and hope to combine my skills, qualities and experiences to create a successful career path.”

Golden GRADitude Award

Established by the Alumni Office and the York University Alumni Association in honour of York’s 50th anniversary, this award expresses the University’s gratitude to a graduating student who has made the University a better place during his/her time at York. This award is granted to graduating students who have demonstrated significant leadership in campus life, including but not limited to: student clubs, varsity athletics, residence life, student government, academics and research, SC&LD activities and building bridges between York students and alumni.

This year, there are two recipients of this award.

Khadeja Elsibai (BPA ’20) is a public administration and French studies student. She is credited as a key ambassador for Francophone culture during her time at York. She was instrumental in the creation of an official French Studies Student Organization, the Association des Étudiants Francophones et Francophiles de York (AEFFY), which offers academic-orientated and socio-cultural programming in French for students interested in the language and Francophone culture. This achievement is impressive; a French students’ organization hasn’t existed at the Keele campus in 15 years.

Elsibai has inspired and motivated her peers through various leadership roles on campus. Among other volunteer commitments, she was a Founders College peer academic leader where she supported students with their transition to university studies and led orientation for 600 new students.

Elisbai graduates from her undergraduate program this summer and will be returning to York in the fall to complete a master of public policy, administration and law, with an interest in building a career in government. Last summer, she landed an internship at a government office, where she continues to work.

“I think government is probably the most complex organization to work in because you’re balancing so many interests while delivering public services and supporting citizens. It’s rewarding,” she said.

Lance Morrison (BA ’20) is completing his fourth year of a specialized major in Indigenous studies and has also earned an anti-racist research and practice certificate. A Plains Cree and Métis student, he is the first in his family to attend university and will graduate this summer Summa Cum Laude and as a member of the Dean’s Honour Roll.

In York’s Department of Equity Studies, Morrison has embraced a safe space to work and study in, and has discovered a natural affinity for academia.

“My research interests completely lie in cultural, ceremonial and language revitalization and reclamation as a means of healing,” said Morrison.

Morrison is also a creative; in his first year at York, he wrote a 40-page play, titled New Woman Standing, in response to an essay assignment about the trauma that residential schools have inflicted and the resilience within Indigenous communities. The play won the President’s Creative Writing Awards competition in the Stage Play category and has been published in Residential School Magazine.

Morrison’s contribution to the Indigenous community at York extends to governance, research and mentoring. He served twice on the Aboriginal Students’ Association at York, as an officer and as president. He has completed multiple research projects supporting urban Indigenous people and has mentored Indigenous younger students throughout his time at York.

Morrison plans to complete a masters in interdisciplinary studies at York in the fall, followed by a PhD.

Of this award, Morrison said: “I appreciate being considered for future awards and I continue to fight for justice, through my strengths: academia and volunteerism, and being unapologetically Indigenous.”

Alumni Silver Jubilee Scholarship

This scholarship is awarded to an undergraduate student who have completed a minimum of 10 full courses (or equivalent) at York University with a minimum cumulative grade point average of 6.00 (B). Applicants must also demonstrate one or more of the following: York University or other community leadership, participation in extracurricular student life, volunteer services, achievements in athletics or the arts or any other significant endeavours.

Aly Fawzy (BSc ’20) is this year’s recipient. He is a fourth-year kinesiology and health science student driven by a desire to understand the human body and its capabilities, a journey which began during his time in high school.

The Kinesiology and Health Science program at York, ranked first in Canada and ninth in the world, has enabled Fawzy to pursue his passion for research. He has served as vice-president at York’s Canadian Association for Research in Regenerative Medicine, and he was the recipient of a prestigious grant awarded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada (NSERC).

“There’s lots of excellent researchers in the Kinesiology and Health Science department. I have been involved in research to do with vascular disease at York and I hope I can continue that in the future,” he said.

This summer, Fawzy will be graduating and looking to pursue a medical degree and career as a physician.

In addition to his academic success, Fawzy is a leader in the York community. Whether he is representing the President’s Office as a president’s ambassador or leading a group of 500 first-year kinesiology students as an orientation day leader, he operates as a role model making a difference.

“I am appreciative of York’s Alumni Board for recognizing my extra-curricular activity, and granting me a very generous award, which will help me to finance the tuition and equipment I might need,” he said.

‘Murder on the Middle Passage’ reconstructs important trial in anti-slavery movement

July 8, 2020

A new book by Nick Rogers, Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus from the Department of History at York University, exposes the brutality of the slave trade, uncovers an important legal trial in the first wave of British abolition and shows how class is crucial to understanding the dynamics of the abolition movement.

Murder on the Middle Passage: The Trial of Captain Kimber (Boydell and Brewer, 2020) tells the story of how the death of a 15-year-old girl aboard a slave ship shook the British establishment.

In 1792, John Kimber, captain of the Recovery ship out of Bristol, was denounced in the British House of Commons by William Wilberforce for flogging a 15-year-old African girl to death after she refused to eat, dance and keep herself in shape in order to be sold. Kimber was soon after indicted for murder, but in a trial lasting just under five hours, he was found not guilty.

Rogers’ book is a micro-history of that trial, reconstructing it from accounts of what was said in court and setting it in the context of pro- and anti-slavery movements. Rogers considers contemporary questions of culpability, the use and abuse of evidence, why Kimber was criminally indicted for murder and how the slave lobby ruthlessly opposed a possible prosecution and corralling of witnesses.

By examining the subsequent trials of witnesses that brought evidence of the whippings into public view for the first time, the book also looks at the role of sailors in the abolition debate, both in bringing the horrors of the slave trade to public notice and as strawmen for slavery advocates.

*Murder on the Middle Passage: The Trial of Captain Kimber*

Rogers began the micro-history after he encountered a printed version of Kimber’s trial, as well as the muster roll of the Recovery in the Bristol archives, which provided critical details on Kimber’s crew, including their ages, seafaring experience, place of birth and literacy. That roll, and others like it, helped him picture what happened on that fateful voyage in which Kimber whipped three slaves to death.

Rogers demonstrates how prosecuting a slave-ship captain for murder struck at the very heart of a trade that was profitable and imbricated or woven into many other parts of the national economy.

“It was an incident that mattered to contemporaries,” he explained. “It pushed the envelope on what was already a regulated albeit despicable trade.

“Would this tip the scales for a rapid abolition, at the very moment when Britain’s main competitors in sugar production and imminent enemies in war, the French, were struggling?” Rogers asked. “Both in terms of the economy and the international situation, the stakes were high.”

Many of the events in this account take place in Bristol, where a statue of slave owner Edward Colston was toppled in June 2020.

Murder on the Middle Passage: The Trial of Captain Kimber is available for purchase online.

New book explores interwoven areas of energy, environment and the economy

July 8, 2020

A new book co-edited by York University Professor Hassan Qudrat-Ullah and Muhammad Asif from Glasgow Caledonian University addresses the vital and interwoven areas of energy, environment and the economy within the field of sustainability research.

Dynamics of Energy, Environment and Economy: A Sustainability Perspective (Springer, 2020) explores issues such as energy security, depleting fossil fuel reserves, novel energy technologies and climate change, as well as the dynamic global response from the perspective of policy, technology and economics.

“Unified by the common goal of making better decisions in the sustainable production and consumption of energy, this book provides unique and innovative insights and modeling-based solutions for sustainable energy policy design and assessment,” said Qudrat-Ullah. “Innovation solutions to a variety of issues in dealing with energy-environment-economy interaction are provided with a focus on energy availability, adequacy, affordability and acceptability.”

According to the authors, the book examines successful integrative solutions in the discourse on complex climate change and energy dynamics; includes methods, techniques and perspectives for socio-economic and environmentally oriented energy supply systems; and features “sustainability insights” including novel solutions for sustainable performance through energy production and consumption systems.

The text will serve as reference book for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students, researchers, academics, policy makers, NGOs and developmental sector professionals within related fields.

Dynamics of Energy, Environment and Economy: A Sustainability Perspective is available for purchase online.

York University announces 12 York Research Chair appointments

July 1, 2020

Eight emerging and four established researchers across the University will join the York Research Chairs (YRC) program, York University’s internal counterpart to the national Canada Research Chairs (CRC) program, which recognizes outstanding researchers. Two of these appointments are renewals.

These YRCs belong to the seventh cohort of researchers to be appointed since the establishment of the program in 2015. These YRCs’ terms start July 1 and run through to June 30, 2025.

“Our new YRCs exemplify the extraordinary contributions of York’s researchers,” said President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda L. Lenton. “York is committed to ensuring that our research, scholarship and creative activities are focused on the needs of the communities we serve and on the complex challenges facing our society – from climate change to racism. In the current context, as the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, research focused on creating positive change is even more important. The YRC program is central to that commitment, and we are proud to support the ongoing excellence of our outstanding researchers through this initiative.”

The YRC program seeks to build research recognition and capacity, with excellence in research, scholarship and associated creative activity serving as selection criteria. “This program mirrors the federal CRC program to broaden and deepen the impact of research chairs at York in building and intensifying world-renowned research across the institution. These new YRCs are undertaking visionary work that has local, national and international impact,” said Vice-President Research & Innovation Amir Asif.

Tier I YRCs are open to established research leaders at the rank of full professor. Tier II YRCs are aimed at emerging research leaders within 15 years of their first academic appointment.

Tier I York Research Chairs

Ilijas Farah
York Research Chair in Foundations of Operator Algebras

Ilijas Farah, Faculty of Science, singlehandedly developed the field of the applications of logic to operator algebras, revealing deep and unexpected connections between the foundations of mathematics and some of the most concrete and ubiquitous mathematical objects. A top researcher in both of these hitherto unrelated subjects, he was invited to speak at the International Congress of Mathematicians. He was also fortunate to supervise some spectacularly talented PhD students.

Stephen Gaetz
York Research Chair in Homelessness and Research Impact

Stephen Gaetz, Faculty of Education, is the director of the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness, the Homeless Hub, and Making the Shift – Youth Homelessness Social Innovation Lab. He has a long-standing interest in understanding homelessness – its causes, how it is experienced and potential solutions. His research is defined by his desire to ‘make research matter’ through working in collaboration with partners to conduct and mobilize research so as to have an impact on policy and practice.

Obiora Okafor
York Research Chair in International and Transnational Legal Studies

Obiora Okafor, Osgoode Hall Law School, has had his YRC renewed. This renewal supports the continuation of Okafor’s research on Canada’s human rights engagements with various African countries, including in the sub-areas of economic and social rights, judicial strengthening, institution building, democratization and poverty alleviation. This work includes a study on Canada’s human rights engagements with the African Union as a body.

Laurie Wilcox
York Research Chair in 3D Vision

Laurie M. Wilcox, Faculty of Health, is a member of the Centre for Vision Research and VISTA (Vision: Science to Applications). Her research focuses on the neural mechanisms responsible for human depth perception and how depth information is processed under complex real-world conditions. She has a long history of collaboration with industry partners, for instance in 3D film (IMAX, Christie) and more recently in virtual and augmented reality (Qualcomm Canada) and image quality (VESA).

Tier 2 York Research Chairs

Ali Abdul-Sater
York Research Chair in the Regulatory Mechanisms of Inflammation

Ali Abdul-Sater, Faculty of Health, is interested in identifying novel regulators of inflammation and understanding how these regulators control immunity and the inflammatory response. He is pursuing several avenues of research: the roles of the protein TRAF1 in controlling inflammatory and autoimmune diseases; the role of Type I interferons (proteins made in response to the presence of viruses) in bacterial and viral responses; and how exercise regulates the immune response.

FES Professor Sheila Colla — Sheila Colla

Sheila Colla
York Research Chair in Interdisciplinary Conservation Science

Sheila Colla, Faculty of Environmental Studies, is an ecologist using scientific principles to address real-world conservation issues. Her research focuses on the conservation of lesser understood native species such as bees, butterflies and flowering plants. She works closely with environmental NGOs, landowners, academic partners and government agencies to implement conservation management based on the best available science. She wants her research to inform relevant environmental and agricultural policy.

Mike Daly
York Research Chair in Planetary Science

Mike Daly, whose YRC was renewed, is in the Lassonde School of Engineering. This appointment recognizes Daly’s outstanding contribution to space-flight instrumentation research at York. The YRC will enable his participation in NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission to the near-Earth asteroid Bennu and the return of Canada’s first sample of material from another solar system. Knowledge gained from Bennu could provide key information about the origins of Earth and the solar system.

Sarah Flicker
York Research Chair in Community-Based Participatory Research

Sarah Flicker, Faculty of Environmental Studies, is an expert in community development, health promotion and adolescent well-being. Flicker’s innovative program of research focuses on the engagement of youth and other allied actors in environmental, sexual and reproductive justice. She works across methodologies using participatory approaches for social change.

Eve Haque
York Research Chair in Linguistic Diversity and Community Vitality

Eve Haque, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, has research and teaching interests that include multiculturalism, white settler colonialism and language policy, with a focus on the regulation and representation of racialized groups in white settler societies. Her current research focus is on the recognition and language rights of non-official language communities in Canada. She is also the author of Multiculturalism Within a Bilingual Framework: Language, Race and Belonging in Canada.

Ali Sadeghi-Naini
York Research Chair in Quantitative Imaging and Smart Biomarkers

Ali Sadeghi-Naini, Lassonde School of Engineering, is an emerging leader in multi-disciplinary research at the intersection of AI, biomedical engineering, biophysics and oncology. His seminal studies demonstrated, for the first time, that quantitative ultrasound biomarkers at low frequencies can detect cell death induced by anti-cancer therapies. He seeks to develop quantitative imaging and biomarker technologies integrated with innovative machine learning and computational modeling techniques for precision medicine and personalized therapeutics.

Valérie A. M. Schoof
York Research Chair in Primate Behavioural Endocrinology

Valérie A.M. Schoof, Glendon Campus, is a primatologist whose research program, funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and New Frontiers in Research Fund, focuses on the ecology, sociality, physiology and life history of wild primates in East Africa, and the biological, geographical and cultural factors influencing human-wildlife interactions. She is also the director of the Primate Behavioural Endocrinology Lab, recently funded by Canada Foundation for Innovation and the Ontario Research Fund.

Marlis Schweitzer
York Research Chair in Theatre and Performance History

Marlis Schweitzer, School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design, is a theatre and performance historian with a specialization in 19th and early-20th century Anglo-American performance. Schweitzer plans to use her YRC to explore urgent questions about the relationship between historical casting practices, theatre’s role in the circulation and perpetuation of racist stereotypes, and the onstage representation of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC) individuals in contemporary Anglo-American performance.

Three students receive the Robert Everett Exceptional Leadership in Student Governance Award

July 1, 2020

Bob Everett speaking at a University event

In honour of Robert Everett, a distinguished senior assistant secretary of the University who made extraordinary contributions supporting University governance for nearly three decades, President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda L. Lenton established in 2018 the Robert Everett Exceptional Leadership in Student Governance Award to recognize and celebrate students and their impact on governance at York University.

The student recipients are: Kimiko Clark, undergraduate, Multidisciplinary Studies (Environmental and Health Studies), Glendon Campus; Michelle Cobblah, undergraduate, Economics and International Development Studies, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies; student senator; and, Moboluwajidide (Bo) Joseph, undergraduate, Communications and Creative Writing, Glendon Campus.

Clark was recognized for her passion, leadership, collegiality and inclusiveness, which her nominators stated were the hallmarks of her approach to student governance. In particular, they referenced her contributions to governance at Glendon, which were described as significant and lasting, including securing broad engagement of students and stakeholders in Faculty Council and Student Caucus, and the establishment of a process and a structure that brought representation of Indigenous students on Student Caucus. Particularly noteworthy to the panel considering Clark’s nomination was her role in actively striving to bring all voices and views to the table to foster full and fair deliberations to reach a better decision. Glendon faculty members were struck by her dedication to governance, as she served several roles and secured students to fill every seat on Faculty Council and its committees. Glendon students also wrote with equal praise of the mentoring Clark provided to ensure robust student governance carries on at Glendon.

Cobblah’s nominators spoke of her deep dedication, collegiality, respect and compassion, which they say is at the heart of her approach to student governance. They praised her contributions to the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, Senate and the University, which they said have been significant and lasting. Key among her achievements cited in the nomination was the revitalization of the Student Council of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (SCOLAPS) under her presidency, and her work to secure robust student participation on Faculty Council committees. Cobblah was also praised for pioneering the inaugural SCOLAPS-sponsored Mental Health Week to support students’ needs. The panel considering her nomination was struck by her selfless dedication to governance activities, not only in serving in many roles herself, but also in facilitating constructive relationships with College Councils and external partners to enhance student engagement and the quality of experience for all involved.

Joseph was recognized for his deep commitment to collegiality, inclusivity and diplomacy in his governance roles at Glendon. Nominators wrote of his contributions to governance at Glendon and the University, which they describe as being significant and influential. Through his leadership exhibited on the principal’s search committee, as the Glendon director for the York Federation of Students, and as a member of Faculty Council and its Policy, Planning and Nominations Committee, Joseph provided an influential and eloquent voice. He brought the student perspective to bear on complex governance matters. He was described as an exemplary ambassador of York who is “making a difference for the best … that will continue for years to come.”

All of this year’s nominees exhibited incredible dedication to supporting governance at the University. All three of these student recipients stood out for their passion, leadership, collegiality and inclusiveness, and their significant and lasting contributions to governance, which perfectly embody the spirit of this award. The members of the University Secretariat and the Senate of York University extend congratulations to these exceptional students. Their names will be added to the Student Award plaques in the Vari Hall rotunda.

Four York graduate students receive prestigious Vanier Scholarships

July 1, 2020

Four York University PhD students conducting cutting-edge research have been awarded the prestigious Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship for 2020.

Valued at $50,000 per year for three years during doctoral studies, the Vanier scholarship is awarded by the Government of Canada to doctoral students whose work displays excellence in three equally weighted selection criteria: academic excellence, research potential and leadership.

From the social impact of climate change in Ghana to the role of vocality in women’s resistance in India, this year’s Vanier Scholars once again show the paradigm-shifting ambition and global impact of York research.

Vanier Scholars

Cameron Butler
Anthropology

Cameron Butler’s thesis “Fertilizing Settler Bodies: Tracing Global Phosphorus Transfers through the Fraser Valley, BC” will trace the movements of phosphorus around the planet in order to understand how the modern Canadian food system is sustained.

An essential nutrient for agriculture and historically, phosphorus historically went through smaller local cycles where soil phosphate levels remained at sufficient levels. With industrial agricultural production, farmers have had to apply fertilizers to maintain high levels of phosphorus in the soil and allow for large crop yields. Producing fertilizers has meant mining phosphate rock, which exists in few places on Earth. On a global scale, intensive farming and fertilizer use is rapidly depleting phosphorus reserves, raising concerns about future scarcity and the potential global collapse of our modern agricultural system.

“However,” says Butler, “people in the global north play a much larger role in depleting global phosphorus reserves, despite the universally shared impacts. My research project ask how white settlers in Canada specifically are implicated in global movements of phosphorus, how they knowingly or unknowingly depend on the labour of people of colour and migrants to sustain them, and whether they are aware of their own role in these systems.”

To answer these questions, Butler will conduct fieldwork in diverse spaces of the Fraser Valley of British Columbia, and explore how people form relationships with one another, locally and globally, through the phosphorus that passes between them. “Fundamentally, I’m interested in how the global distribution of phosphorus across the globe is being rapidly changed through systems of white supremacy, settler-colonialism and capitalism,” he adds. “Through this research, my goal is to understand what ethical responsibilities white settlers like myself have to the vast array of people, nonhuman beings, and places that sustain us.”

Rajat Nayyar
Theatre

Rajat Nayyar seeks to study the power of women’s songs and vocality in rural North India as a form of everyday resistance within patriarchal social contexts.

His proposed dissertation is titled “Women’s Vocality, Radical Sociality: Re-Imagining Power, Folklore & Audiovisual Ethnography in Rural North India,” and looks at North India from the 19th century onward, when forms of women’s entertainment attracted the attention of British colonial lawmakers, upper-caste social reformers, Hindu nationalists, revivalists, and an emerging middle class that sought to initiate change in the social and customary behaviour of women and lower castes. Embarrassed by the women’s public gatherings and their “vulgar” folk songs, these social reformers aimed to construct “new women” who would enjoy the benefits of British education while cherishing the innate values of “Indian womanhood.”

“My ethnographic, community-based research aims to address how conventional understandings of the relationship between caste, class, gender, religion and power may be questioned through the study of Indian women’s folk songs,” says Nayyar. “Focusing on ‘gaari’ songs that hurl abuses at men during wedding rituals, my research will explore the ways in which these expressions of vocal resistance are improvised, crafted and performed in everyday life, both within and outside the gendered ritual context. I will study the politics, performativity and sonic potentiality of voice as a form of social and political agency. Furthermore, I will provide filmmaking and acting workshops to community members at village schools, in order to improvise and co-produce a series of films.” In addition to exposing community members to a new perspective of India’s colonial history, these workshops will equip participants with digital filmmaking and archiving skills.
His dissertation will also be accompanied by a self-reflexive ethnographic film and an analysis of the activist potential of collaborative and creative research methodologies in safeguarding communities’ folklore.

Laura Keane
Mathematics and Statistics

Laura Keane’s research interests focus on using applied mathematics to solve real-world problems. Her research, titled Hybrid mathematical modelling, analysis, and simulation to improve design and operation of lithium-ion batteries, tackles an evergreen global problem: energy.

“We are facing increasing global energy demands due to rising levels of industrialization in developing countries,” says Keane. “In addition to this, there is increasing pressure to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels in order to combat climate change. One solution to these energy dilemmas are lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). LIBs are rechargeable batteries which are commonly used in portable devices such as mobile phones. They have the highest energy densities among all rechargeable batteries which makes them an attractive candidate for powering technologies of the future, such as electric vehicles. However, in order to move to a predominately battery-powered society there are several issues that need to be addressed in relation to battery operation and safety.”

For her PhD research, Keane will seek to develop models of LIBs, using mathematical tools and numerical simulations to investigate the factors hindering LIB performance such as thermal runaway (the process by which a battery overheats), short circuiting (the failure of an electrical circuit) and capacity fade (the slow loss of charge over multiple charge and discharge cycles). The overall goal is to improve battery operation, design and performance.

Balikisu Osman
Environmental Studies

Since 1960, Ghana has witnessed several climatic changes, including an increase in annual temperature by 1 degree Celsius and a decrease in rainfall by 2.4 per cent per decade. These changes have exposed the country to weather extremes such as droughts, floods and windstorms. Yet, agricultural activities are highly dependent on rain-fed schemes, as only about 0.2 per cent of the farmlands are under irrigation.

In the northern part of Ghana, the grassy savanna landscape combines with persistent chronic poverty situation to further exacerbate households’ vulnerability to climate risks and food insecurity, says Osman. “Through the Ghana climate change policy, the government prioritizes food security and has a strategic focus to develop climate-resilient agriculture and food systems. A major challenge to this policy, however, is the paucity of research identifying indigenous knowledge and best practices to achieve the policy goals.”

Osman will contribute with her work, titled “Analyzing climate risks and management responses for food security in northern Ghana.”

“One of the objectives of my research is to address this identified need by building on the existing literature and providing empirical evidence to advance our knowledge on the effects of climate risks as well as management responses in the area of food security,” she says. “My research underscores the importance of indigenous climate risk responses and helps understand how they contribute to sustainable food security. It also serves as a basis to gather experiences and share knowledge to guide Ghana’s climate change strategies and actions for the food and agricultural sector.”

Three York University professors earn York-Massey appointments

July 1, 2020

York University Professors Carmela Murdocca, Mark Winfield and Deborah Britzman have earned Massey College appointments for the 2020-21 academic year. Murdocca, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, has been offered the position of York-Massey Fellowship; while Britzman, Faculty of Education, and Winfield, Faculty of Environmental Studies, were awarded York-Massey Visiting Scholarships.

“We are very pleased that Professors Murdocca, Britzman and Winfield were awarded these honours,” said Amir Asif, vice-president Research & Innovation at York University. “The York-Massey Fellowships and Visiting Scholarships represent an important opportunity for our academics and researchers to expand their areas of scholarship and contribution to their various disciplines in a broader context.”

Massey College is an independent college situated on the University of Toronto campus. The fellowship provides the selected faculty member with prime office space in the college for the academic year and the status of a full senior resident of the college, with all privileges enjoyed by senior Fellows. The title “York Fellow of Massey College” remains for life or while mutually agreeable. Membership in the Massey Alumni Association is granted to visiting scholars at the completion of their program.

York-Massey Fellowship (2020-21): Carmela Murdocca

Murdocca will use this fellowship to work on her book manuscript titled “Testimony, Racial Violence and Redress.” She will also begin the research project Colonial and Racial Genealogies of Socio-Legal Personhood.

“Testimony, Racial Violence and Redress” explores the social, legal and representational field of testimonies of racial violence in an era of political redress. The book’s manuscript considers the relationship between testimony, ongoing racial violence, criminalization and the politics of redress.

To better understand the interconnections between testimony, racial violence and redress, the book outlines a national landscape of redress in Canadian politics and culture in response to racial violence, focusing on diverse testimonial sites that mark racial and human difference.

Murdocca’s research explores the intersections of racial carceral violence and the socio-legal politics of repair.

York-Massey Visiting Scholarship (2020-21): Mark Winfield

A major focus of Winfield’s research over the 2020-21 period will be examining the impact of the emergence of populist governments in Canada, United States, European Union and elsewhere on climate change mitigation and low-carbon sustainable energy transition policies. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, “these developments have highlighted the political fragility of low-carbon transitional strategies in unexpected ways,” he said. They also represent significant threats to the capacity of the global community to respond to the climate change challenge.

The principle outputs of the visitorship will be two major book projects. An edited volume on low-carbon sustainable energy transitions in the age of populism and pandemic will bring together an interdisciplinary team of leading researchers from Canada on climate change policy and low-carbon energy system transitions. Winfield will also be completing a sole-authored monograph on environmental politics and policy in Ontario focused specifically on the long-term challenges facing the province, including climate change, decision-making around major infrastructure investments and reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.

To learn more about the York-Massey Visiting Scholarship (2020-21) for Professor Deborah Britzman, see this previously published YFile story.

About Massey College

Massey College consists of junior Fellows, made up of graduate students; senior Fellows, consisting primarily of faculty; journalism Fellows; members of the Quadrangle Society (leaders in business, the legal profession and philanthropy); as well as visiting scholars and alumni, of whom an increasing number come from York University. The college offers an extraordinary experience by providing a community that allows all members to expand their horizons academically, socially and culturally.

The York-Massey Fellowship and York-Massey Visiting Scholarships were open to full-time faculty members planning to go on sabbatical or other leave during 2020-21.

SPPA Municipal Symposium highlights practices for achieving community benefits

June 24, 2020

In early March, York University’s School of Public Policy and Administration (SPPA) in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS) held its third annual Municipalities of the Future Symposium at York University’s Keele Campus.

The 2020 symposium was co-hosted by United Way of Greater Toronto (UWGT) and focused on the theme “Advancing Communities Through Better Business Solutions.” The topic of the symposium was best practices for achieving community benefits for large public infrastructure projects such as the Gordie Howe Bridge Project by the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority, and examples like inclusive and diverse hiring, apprenticeship programs and procurement policies took centre stage at the day-long event.

April Lim (left), policy development officer, Social Development, Finance and Administration of the City of Toronto during panel discussion on Community Benefit Initiatives in Action with Heather Grondin (right), vice-president, Communications and Stakeholder Relations, Windsor Detroit Bridge Authority

To underscore the importance of partnerships for advancing community benefits in Canada, the symposium opened with two keynote addresses: first by Daniele Zanotti, president and CEO of UWGT, followed by John M. Beck, Chairman of Aecon Group Inc.

LA&PS Dean J.J. McMurtry welcomed the symposium participants along with co-hosts Nation Cheong, vice-president, Community Opportunities and Mobilization, UWGT and Alena Kimakova, director of SPPA.

From left: Lorna Schwartzentruber, associate director, Access Programs and Community Engagement represented York University at the panel on Community Benefit Opportunities; other panelists included Dennis Bailey, executive director of the Community Legal Clinic of York Region; Mercedes Sharpe Zayas, workforce planning coordinator for Parkdale People’s Economy and Joseph Silva, director, Strategies and Partnerships, Community and Health Services at the Regional Municipality of York

Systemic barriers, visionary leadership, effective stakeholder engagement and project management issues were discussed by panelists and an audience representative of the diverse groups that partner for social and economic benefits for local communities: the corporate sector, labour unions, non-profit and advocacy groups, community members, public servants, academics and students.

Panel participants discuss collaboration on projects (from left): Chris Campbell, business representative of the Carpenters District Council of Ontario; Margaret Taylor, executive director of the Ontario Association of Demolition Contractors; LiUNA! representatives: Merissa Preston, Manager, partnership and business development and Wayne Brown, construction craft worker apprentice, 3rd Term, Crosslinx Transit Solutions; and Marc Arsenault, director, Stakeholder Relations, Ontario Ironworkers Council

Experts from the United Kingdom were able to offer insights from the experiences of another jurisdiction with a longer track record of community benefit agreements, including their enforcement and impact measurement.

Mark McDonald, CEO, Moonbeam Trading moderated the panel on Innovation and New Players with panelists Richard Houston, associate director, Simetrica (UK) in partnership with Jacobs and Steve Van Binsbergen, senior director, Ontario Public Sector, Rogers Communications

The symposium concluded with a participant engagement session to facilitate further co-operation across sectors, and outline the key lessons learned and suggestions for improvement. York University President Rhonda L. Lenton also attended the session and thanked the participants for their engagement.

Rosemarie Powell, executive director of the Toronto Community Benefits Network (second from left) with symposium guests served as facilitator at the participant engagement session alongside SPPA Professor Dagmar Soennecken, director of the Master of Public Policy and Administration Program (not shown in the picture)

“It will be interesting to see the role that community benefits play in restarting the economy after the covid-19 economic shutdown,” said Kimokova.

While the pandemic’s different impact on Canadians from different socio-demographic groups has clearly been brought into focus, at the same time, industry groups have already called on the federal government to relax the provisions for diversity employment on infrastructure projects to achieve faster economic recovery. The Toronto Community Benefits Network, United Way Greater Toronto, United Way Centraide Windsor-Essex, and Lenton, on behalf of the University, and others have responded by issuing a letter to federal government “to remain steadfast in its commitment to integrate and expand community benefit expectations in publicly funded infrastructure projects” in the face of the current challenges to achieve recovery and growth with equity.

The symposium was co-sponsored by the Institute of Public Administration of Canada Toronto Regional Group (IPAC TRG) and the lunch break included ethnographic virtual reality presentations from:

the Firgrove Mixed Media Oral Narratives Project by Professor Joel Ong from the Department of Computational Arts and Director of Sensorium at the Centre for Digital Arts and Technology, and David Han, PhD student, Cinema & Media Arts, a collaboration between York University and the Firgrove Learning and Innovation Community Centre in Jane-Finch; and
Ancient Thoughts and Electric Buildings by Michael Trommer, PhD student, Cinema & Media Arts, an ethnographic VR cinema/ambisonic project which examines the portion of Toronto’s downtown core that stretches along Toronto’s Gardiner Expressway – a site of extensive condo and commercial development as well as a locale that a large number of homeless people call home.

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