Events

Decolonizing Conference 2013
 

7th Annual Decolonizing Conference:
Decolonizing the Spirit: Subalterneity and the Politics of Subversion. 

Conference Date:
Friday, April 12, and Saturday, April 13, 2013.

Conference Venue:
5th Floor, OISE, University of Toronto
252 Bloor St West, Toronto, ON

Free admission.
Register by emailing: decolonizingconference2013@gmail.com

Download Conference Abstracts (PDF)

Conference Description: It was the Late South African activist Steve Bantu Biko, who once said that “no one wants to be told how to cry after she or he has been kicked.” Steve Biko’s comment is instructive for us as we attempt to unpack the varied ways the subalterns and their allies engage in the everyday politics of resistance. The key questions for intellectual debate and analysis are: To what extent do subalterns utilize their political and intellectual currency or discursive power to engage in the acts of subversion? In what ways can our political decisions to accentuate resistance in everyday social relations particularly within local and global contexts engage the question of the intersectionality/ intersections of difference [ethnicity, gender, class, sexuality, ability, language, and religious differences]?

The Seventh Annual Conference on Decolonizing the Spirit is inviting PAPERS and POSTERS to explore, critically examine, and celebrate the various strategies employed by marginalized bodies and their allies to resist and challenge structures of domination at the local and global level. Themes for presentation include but are not limited to subalterneity and:

Race
Class
Gender
Sexuality
Disability
Immigration and Citizenship
Indigeneity
Land ownership
Indigenous Knowledges
Spirituality
Development
Globalization
Education 

PAST EVENTS

Spirituality Conference 2011
 

5th Annual Decolonizing Conference:
Land, Citizenship, Belonging, and the Place of the Spirit

When: March 25 and 26th, 2011
Time: 9 am to 6 pm both days. 
Location: OISE, Rm 5-260.

Download a poster or program for the event (PDF). Keynote Speakers: Dr. Paula Sherman andDr. George Dei. 

This conference is organized by the Centre for Integrative Anti-Racism Studies at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.

Since European contact and the subsequent historization of the myth of the discovery story of the "Americas," Turtle Island has not been the same. In essence, the "discovery" story ushered in an age of colonialism, imperialism, and the enslavement of Indigenous populations across the globe. This conference, "Land, Belonging, and the Place of the Spirit", aims at creating dialogue relating to the role of spirituality as a liberating discourse that Indiogenous peoples of the world have and continue to tap into as a source of emporwerment and resistance against colonial violence.

Indigenous spiritualities are the foundation of a collective spiritual awareness, and visions help make sense of the contemporary challenges facing Indigenous communities but also keep a gaze on their intergenerational anti-colonial struggles. The conference will discuss a broad range of issues such as citizenship, identity, and belonging from various spiritual domains, and thioughts about the social, political, and cultural implications of claiming Indigenous spirituality. We welcome panels, posters and discussions that will engage in and around Spirituality, and share the stories of our Indigenous ancestral knowledges and the impact of colonization to address the political, practical, and the pedagogical implications for Indigenous peoples. For more information about the conference and to submit an abstract please emaildecolonizingconference@gmail.com. Please indicate if you need technology.

Subtopics (theme- land, citizenship, and belonging):

• Indigenous Diasporic Spirituality Land and Belonging
• Spirituality and Identity
• Spirit and Research
• Indigenous Orality
• Sacred spaces for Spirituality
• Land and Identity
• Intergenerational Spirituality
• Citizenship and identity
• Land as Teacher
• Trauma and Healing (recovering)
• Collective memories, Land memoires, and Blood memories
• Spirituality and Schooling
• Vision and Decolonization
• Singing sacred Songs
• Revisioning and reclaiming spirituality
• Spirituality and Food
• Sexuality and Spirituality
• Displacement and Relocation
• Land and Sovereignty
   

Spirituality Conference 2008

Decolonizing the Spirit: Making Indigenous Spirituality Visible in Research, Learning and Praxis, April 11, 2008.

• Conference Flyer (PDF)
• Schedule (PDF)

The Second Asian Canadian National Conference Against Racism

will take place November 25-27th, 2005 in Toronto, Ontario. The Chinese Canadian National Council has convened this conference to establish a national network of Asian Canadian communities and activists and to develop concrete action plans for five prioritized subject areas: immigration and security; employment; media; racial profiling; and education.

This important national conference is open to all participants, but we strongly encourage anti-racism activists, artists, representatives from national and local Asian Canadian organizations, scholars of the Asian diasporic experience, and settlement service agencies to attend.

We are especially welcoming of immigrant and refugee youth and women and will provide a venue at this working conference for the establishment of a National Asian Canadian network against racism and strategic action planning.

Please access our registration form from the conference website at: www.freewebs.com/panasian2

We are also offering a limited number of travel scholarships and the application form is also available on the website. Please note that scholarships will be allocated to ensure equity, being respectful of diversity inregion, age, gender, Asian ethno-cultural participation.

We would like to hear your ideas. If you would like more information, or would like to contact us, please email national@ccnc.ca or telephone (416)977-9871.

Cosponsored by the Centre for Integrative Anti-racism Studies.

Education Roundtable in Celebration of Asian Heritage Month, 2005. 

An education roundtable to celebrate the Asian Heritage Month was held on Friday, May 20, 2005.The public was invited to participate in the roundtable in which high school teachers and students, especially those from Asian heritage, discussed how they would like to see their experiences reflected in the curriculum. Notes and pictures from this session can be found at:

http://www.geocities.com/asianheritagemonth2005/roundtablenotes.htm

and

http://www.geocities.com/asianheritagemonth2005/roundtablephoto.htm

Organized with the participation of the Centre for Integrative Anti-racism Studies.

Report on Race, Racism and EducationTeach-in

On February 26, 2005, the Centre for Integrative Anti-Racism Studies (CIARS) organized a one-day Teach-In on the persistence of racism in education. The Teach-In was a forum where researchers, administrators at all levels, and policy makers concerned about the continuing effects and changing faces of racism listened to those directly affected by manifestations of racism, including students, parents, teacher candidates and community members. The report was intended to generate questions for and proposals to those authorized to make changes as part of the CIARS’ ongoing effort to raise awareness about racism in the educational system. This report provides the background of and context for the Teach-In, and summarizes the major themes that emerged.