Upcoming Events
Lunch & Learn featuring Roxana Escobar Ñañez
The Lopez Sisters: Musical Houses and Performance Geographies in Lima
This presentation sheds light on the different ways in which music and blackness are integral to the formation of the Black geographies of the South through the case of the López sisters, two Afro-mestizas who own and run a peña criolla—a criollo music venue—in Lima, Peru, since 1974. Criollismo or criollo culture is a mix of different popular traditional expressions of the coast of Peru mainly associated with Limeño's working-class cultural productions such as gastronomy, musical production, and everyday life. By analyzing the position of Afro-peruanas as peña owners and performers of criollo music, my research seeks to understand Afro-descendant women’s musical spatialities as essential to Lima’s urban blackness.
About the presenter:
Roxana Escobar Ñañez is an Afro-Peruvian Ph.D. candidate in Human Geography. She also holds a B.A. in Philosophy and a M.A. in Political Science by the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, and M.Ed in Social Justice Education from OISE-UofT. Roxana’s research focuses on the places Afro-Peruvian women hold in Lima’s sonic landscapes. With her project, Roxana seeks to contribute to the geographic knowledge production about black womanhood in Latin America.
Lunch & Learn featuring Riley Yesno
(Land) Back to the Future
This work traces how Indigenous Futurism (IF) has been defined and evolved over time—from its conceptual roots in Afrofuturism to present challenges and articulations of IF in activism, art, and literature. Through this review, we uncover how Indigenous people's practice of imagining their futures is more than just a creative venture. Instead, this talk argues that through IF, Indigenous people are pushing the boundaries that have been imposed by settler colonialism—embracing dreaming as a political act that can serve as a roadmap for anti-colonial resistance and help sustain work toward liberation.
About the presenter:
Riley Yesno (she/her) is a queer Anishinaabe scholar, writer, and commentator from Eabametoong First Nation. She is highly sought after for her words and analysis – she has been a contributor and commentator for some of the largest media outlets in Canada and the world and has travelled the globe speaking at internationally renowned institutions and events, including the UN climate negotiations, the Stockholm Forum on Gender Equality, TEDx stages, and many others. She teaches Indigenous governance and justice at Toronto Metropolitan University and is a Vanier Scholar at the University of Toronto.
Lunch & Learn featuring Majd Al-Shihabi
Data traces, memory, erasure, and Palestine futures
Palestine is one of the most well-documented and data rich places on the planet, but much of that data is compiled with extractive modes, and for colonial purposes, and kept in archives with restrictive access. Palestine Open Maps (PalOpenMaps.org) is an experiment to make historical spatial data about Palestine open and accessible, while being conscious of the political consequences of open archives. Through Palestine Open Maps, I read the traces that are left to us by the archivists, and attempt to make an inventory that enables us to think of Palestine futures through the lens of a pluralistic society that was shattered by settler colonialism.
About the presenter:
Majd Al-Shihabi is a PhD student in the geography and planning department at the University of Toronto. He researches coproduction practices in knowledge production, examining the network of questions around community ownership. His doctoral research is about participatory modelling for municipal climate action plans, specifically thinking about housing as a climate solution.
Lunch & Learn featuring Kavita Reddy
Navigating the Everyday Governance of Settler-Colonialism: An Investigation into Injunctions within the Context of Canada’s Extractive Resource Economy
This research delves into the capillary-like powers of the resource extractive economy of settler-colonialism. The primary objective is to scrutinize the power of injunctions as a legal instrument that effectively circumvents constitutionally protected rights, historical treaty rights, and the entitlements associated with Aboriginal title as articulated within the framework of Canadian common law. The study’s core focus lies in tracing the intricate mechanisms of this legal instrument, from its historical origins, which were once a means to safeguard Aboriginal land claims, to its transformation into a pivotal component of Canada’s extractive economy, despite growing Constitutional and common law recognition of Aboriginal rights and authority. I argue that it’s time for a novel approach in this domain to adequately address the overarching domination of settler colonialism within a contemporary context of an extractive resource economy.
About the presenter:
Kavita Reddy is a PhD candidate in Political Science at the University of Toronto.
Lunch & Learn featuring Dr. Jessica Penney
The Muskrat Falls Project within the (Hydro)Power Relations of Labrador
This discussion aims to explore the power dynamics which shape the development, implementation, and perspectives on the Muskrat Falls Hydroelectric Project (MFP) in Labrador, Canada. It considers the historical context within Newfoundland and Labrador which shape community viewpoints, as well as the political dynamics which allowed the project to proceed without sufficient community consultation and consent. The central analytical question considered is how the MFP fits within the settler colonial structure of the region. I will also consider how the project is wrapped in larger global issues and structures of capitalism through corporate exploitation of Labrador.
About the presenter:
Dr. Jessica Penney is a Nunatsiavut Inuk researcher raised in Nunavut. Her work focuses on the intersection of Inuit health, food systems, and environmental issues in both Nunatsiavut and Nunavut. She completed her PhD at the University of Glasgow and is currently a Co-Investigator on the ‘Inuksiutit: Food Sovereignty in Nunavut’ project, which works with youth and elders to consider how Inuit food choices and food futures are affected by climate change, and to promote the intergenerational transmission of food knowledge.
Lunch and Learn featuring Dr. Masha Kardashevskaya
Gendered Indigenous Nonviolent Resistance: The Case of the Batak Toba in North Sumatra, Indonesia
The current presentation is based on my research with the Indigenous Batak Toba communities and my engagement with a community-based organization called KSPPM (Community Initiative Study and Development Group, Kelompok Studi dan Pengembangan Prakarsa Masyarakat). KSPPM has been working with several Batak Toba communities in the province of North Sumatra, Indonesia. My research explored the gendered dynamics of the Batak Toba peoples’ struggle for land rights. I identify the gendered motivations and methods that the communities used in their struggle for land and forests. The presentation will focus on these findings.
About the presenter:
Masha Kardashevskaya holds a PhD in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Manitoba. Prior to her doctoral work, she worked with community-based organizations in South-East Asia, including Indonesia. Masha is currently a research associate at Research and Education for Solutions to Violence and Abuse (RESOLVE), a centre at the University of Manitoba that engages in community-based research to prevent and address gender-based violence.