The Art of Remembering: Iranian Political Prisoners, Resistance and Community

Over the last three decades, many women and men who were political prisoners in the Middle East have come to Canada as immigrants and refugees. In their countries of origin, they resisted oppressive social policies, ideologies, and various forms of state violence. Their journeys of forced migration/exile took them away from their country, families, and friends, but they arrived in Canada with memories of violence, resistance and survival. These former political prisoners did not want the sacrifices that they and their colleagues had made to be forgotten. They needed to find effective ways to communicate these stories. This research was conducted from a critical feminist‒anti-racist perspective, and used life history research to trace the journey of one such group of women and men. This group of former political prisoners has been meeting together, using art as a mode of expression to share their experiences, inviting others to join their resistance against state violence. Interviews were conducted with former political prisoners and their supporters and artist facilitators who were part of the art workshops, performances, and exhibits held in Toronto, Canada from January 2010 through December 2011. This dissertation examines the importance of memory projects and of remembering in acts of public testimony and the significance of providing spaces for others to bear witness to those stories. This research also contributes to the body of knowledge about the role that remembering, consciousness, and praxis play in individual and community recovery, rebuilding community, and continued resistance

State Violence, Learning and the Art of Memory

This paper examines the role that memory plays in the learning process of people who have experienced state violence. Our approach to this study has been a critical feminist-anti-racist perspective. Working with a group of women and men who are former political prisoners from Iran living in diaspora, we tried to interrogate questions about the role that memory plays in resistance and community building

Halton Region Youth In/At Risk Research Report

The goal of the research was to conduct a Needs Assessment in relation to services for in/at-risk groups of youth between the ages of 16-24 years of age within the Halton region: 1. To identify the existing services available to meet the needs of the youth 2. To identify the gaps/duplication within services in order to suggest future fundable solutions. Launched May 2018: Halton Region Youth In/At Risk Research Report now has a companion website http://halton-youth-need.webflow.io/ The website was designed by students from the Interaction Design Program at Sheridan and profiles the Halton Region Youth In/At Risk research findings in an accessible way

Learning to be Effective Allies to Indigenous Communities: Perspectives from the Sheridan College Community - Research Report

In Our Voices: Sheridan’s Indigenous Community and Allies is an arts-based research project conducted in collaboration with the Centre for Indigenous Learning and Support at Sheridan College. The larger research project from which these findings emerged was focused on the dual purposes of understanding how the Sheridan community views the role of an effective ally to Indigenous communities and to highlight stories of strength, resilience and discovery of Sheridan’s Indigenous community members. The research was funded by a Sheridan College SRCA growth grant. This study received ethics approval from the Sheridan Research Ethics Board in May 2018. Data collection began in September 2018 and was completed in March 2019. This report focuses on the findings that emerge from interviews with faculty, staff and administrators and Sheridan’s Indigenous community members as well as from an online survey that sought to understand what it means to be an ally to Indigenous communities. The three videos below emerged from Phase 1 of the research project and feature the voices of Sheridan’s Administrators, Faculty and Staff. Video 1: What does it mean to be an effective ally to Indigenous Communities? Video 2: What can Sheridan do to be more effective allies to Indigenous Communities? Video 3: How can Sheridan students be allies to Indigenous Communities while they are at Sheridan and as they enter the field

Domestic Violence in Immigrant Communities: Breaking the Cycle

Dr. Ferzana Chaze and Dr. Bethany Osborne, and their fellow authors family lawyer Archana Medhekar, and Dr. Purnima George, Ryerson University discuss their recently published book Domestic Violence in Immigrant Communities: Case Studies. This book opens up an important conversation about the impact of domestic violence within immigrant communities and seeks solutions for how the social service and justice sectors can work more effectively to support vulnerable immigrant women and their families. In this webinar they are joined by an exciting panel of experts, to discuss the importance and relevance of the topic, and possible next steps in breaking the cycle of violence. We will be welcoming Justice Gerri Wong from the Family Court; Lianne Kendall, Sheridan’s Sexual Violence Response Specialist; Antionette Clarke from Peel Family Mediation; and Professor Nick Bala from Queen’s University.https://source.sheridancollege.ca/conferences_dvic_btc/1000/thumbnail.jp

Unprotected, Unrecognized: Canadian Immigration Policy and Violence Against Women, 2008-2013

The Migrant Mothers Project (MMP) was launched in 2011, as a collaborative research project led by Rupaleem Bhuyan at the University of Toronto in partnership with a network of community stakeholders, legal clinics, community health centres, and grassroots women. The MMP examines how immigration policies contribute to the production of violence against women and creates barriers for women seeking safety and support. In 2013, The Migrant Mothers Project conducted research to understand how immigration and refugee policies impact the safety of immigrants who have a precarious status. Since 2008, the Canadian government has introduced an unprecedented number of legislative and regulatory changes that have impacted immigrants’ and refugees’ access to legal representation, access to social and health services, and pathways to permanent residence. We wanted to understand how immigration policy changes are impacting how community based organizations work with women with precarious immigration status, especially in cases where women are seeking safety from violence. Over the past two decades, anti-violence against women advocates have grappled with intersecting oppressions that impact women’s efforts to flee or recover from violence. When Linda MacLeod and Maria Shin were commissioned by Health Canada to study the service delivery needs of immigrant and refugee women, they emphasized that many immigrants and refugees who are abused are isolated due to language and cultural barriers, racism, the ‘strangeness’ of their environment and the power that their immigration sponsors held over them. Supporting refugee claimants, immigrants who were facing sponsorship breakdown, and developing programs to address language barriers, ethno-cultural differences, and queer and trans people in immigrant communities emerged as key concerns in anti-violence against women programs and services. More recently, organizations have identified immigration status as a pivotal factor that increases vulnerability to abuse and neglect

“Once you Arrive, se te sala todo” (Everything is Salted): Latina Migrants’ Search for “Dignity and a Right to Life” in Canada

This study explores how Latina women fleeing gender-related violence seek protection for themselves and their children under Canada\u27s humanitarian laws. Rising emphasis on border control contributes to a growing number of forced migrants whose transnational movement is constructed as “illegal.” Migrants who fall outside legal migration channels are exposed to precarious conditions that can lead to further violence. Through interpretive analysis of in-depth interviews with women from Mexico and Central America, we explore how immigration policies produce gendered forms of “illegality.” We also highlight how women\u27s migration in search for rights and protection represents a form of substantive citizenship

Introduction From the Special Issue Editors: Preparing Graduate Students for a Changing World of Work

Introduction article for a special issue of the Canadian Journal of Higher Education. The issue represents the growing recognition of changes in the career paths and trajectories of graduate students, as well as the deepening interest in the support and development of professional knowledge and skills in advanced degree holders. The call for proposals for this issue sought contributions that theorized the problem of graduate student development, reports on empirical research, and/or illuminated comparative models for work in the Canadian context to inform the growing field of graduate student support in Canada. The goal of this special issue is to contribute to the global conversation about graduate student education reform by deepening the conversation on this issue across Canada

Undergraduate Student Participation in Non-Curricular Research: Preliminary Findings

This report presents the highlights of preliminary findings from a survey of 104 persons who had engaged in non-curricular research (i.e., research outside of coursework and practicums) in either a paid or voluntary capacity during their undergraduate studies. The survey formed part of a mixed method study that sought to understand the experiences of students who have been involved in non-curricular research during their undergraduate studies and how these experiences may have contributed to them gaining research related work experience or in building their social capital. The Study was reviewed and received ethical approval by the Research Ethics Boards of Sheridan College and Ryerson University. The preliminary findings in this survey highlight the importance and value of undergraduate students engaging in non-curricular research. It also provides evidence that the high impact that experiential learning can provide