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Dr. Nima Naghibi is a Professor of English at Toronto Metropolitan University, specializing in postcolonial and diasporic studies with a focus on Iran. She holds a PhD from the University of Alberta. Education: PhD in English, University of Alberta Research Interests: Explores postcolonial theory, diasporic literatures, trauma narratives, and human rights through the lens of immigrant/refugee experiences. Her work emphasizes Middle Eastern studies, particularly Iranian contexts, and the intersections of social justice with literary forms. Publications: Authored two monographs and contributed to journals like English Studies in Canada and Radical History Review . Her 2016 work Women Write Iran examines diasporic Iranian women's narratives, while earlier scholarship interrogates Western feminist frameworks in relation to Iran. Awards: No awards explicitly mentioned in the text. Advisees/Grants: No current advisees or grant details listed. She teaches courses related to life narratives and exile literature.

• Postcolonial Studies
• Diaspora Studies
• Immigrant/Exile Literatures
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Lamees Al Ethari is an Associate Professor (Teaching Stream) at the University of Waterloo. Her academic journey began in Baghdad, where she earned a BA from Al-Moman University College and an MA from the University of Baghdad. Awarded a Fulbright Scholarship, she completed a second MA at Kansas State University before immigrating to Canada and earning a PhD from the University of Waterloo. Her research explores: Life Writing/Women's Life Writing Arab and Arab North American literature, history, and culture Diaspora and Postcolonial Theory War and Trauma in literature She is currently preparing an autoethnography titled Patterns of Telling , examining women's life narratives in the diaspora. Professional roles include: Nonfiction Editor for The New Quarterly Co-Founder of The X Page Project Knowledge Mobilization Committee Member for The Naomi Shihab Nye Prize Awards and honors: SSHRC Connection Grant for 'The X Page' (2019-2020) National Magazine Award in Poetry nominee (2019) Ontario Graduate Scholarship (2011-2013) Multiple Dorothy Shoemaker Literary Awards Fulbright Scholarship (2006-2008)

• Life Writing/Women’s Life Writing
• Creative Writing
• Arab and Arab North American literature, history, and culture
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Yana Meerzon is a Full Professor in the Department of Theatre at the University of Ottawa, affiliated with the Faculty of Arts. Her academic roles include teaching advanced courses such as Performance and Migration , THE 5130 Dramaturgy , and THE 5934 Theatre at the Crossroads of Narratives . She holds additional adjunct roles at institutions like Carleton University’s Cultural Mediations Program and Dalhousie University’s Department of English. Her research focuses on theoretical approaches to performance and migration, including studies on displacement, multilingualism, and identity politics. She has authored four books and co-edited nine collections, with recent works exploring Russian nationalism and migration narratives. Her current SSHRC-funded project examines the intersection of migration and neo-nationalism in European theatre. Meerzon’s academic leadership includes serving as President of the Canadian Association for Theatre Research (2020–2022) and membership in global organizations like IFTR and EASTAP. Her educational background includes a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto and advanced degrees from the Russian Academy of Theatre Arts (GITIS). Her scholarly contributions span over 86 publications, including analyses of Wajdi Mouawad’s work, Michael Chekhov’s pedagogy, and digital performance in crises. She actively engages in public discourse through interviews and media links, emphasizing the ethical and cultural dimensions of migrant theatre practices in Canada and beyond.

• Theoretical Performance Studies
• Dramaturgy
• Migration and Displacement
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Florian Gassner is an Associate Professor of Teaching in the Department of Central, Eastern, and Northern European Studies at the University of British Columbia (UBC), part of the Faculty of Arts. His research focuses on the cultural history of Central & Eastern Europe, intersections of music, religion, and literature, and the history of censorship. He holds an M.A. from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (2008) and a Ph.D. from UBC (2012). Dr. Gassner has held visiting professorships at the University of Kassel (2016/17) and has taught at Mount Allison University. He is a Fellow of the New Europe College in Bucharest and represented the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) at Donetsk National University. His work bridges interdisciplinary studies, including transnational literature and digital humanities, exemplified by his database Kasseler Liste documenting banned books. His research trends emphasize cultural memory, censorship across eras, and Germanophone literatures in Eastern Europe. Publications include monographs on Nikolaus Lenau and the cultural divide between Germany and Russia, alongside edited volumes on censorship and Eastern European studies. Media engagements highlight his expertise in Ukraine-Russia relations and the global impact of censorship. Teaching focuses on German cinema, cultural contrasts in Eastern Europe, and interdisciplinary themes like religion and literature. He actively contributes to public discourse through media commentary on Ukraine, censorship, and historical contexts of geopolitical conflicts.

• Cultural History of Central & Eastern Europe
• Music, Religion and Literature
• History and Theory of Censorship
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Wenona Giles is a Professor Emerita of Anthropology at York University and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (FRSC). She retired from teaching in 2018 but continues research on gender, migration, forced migration, refugee issues, and access to education for marginalized populations. Her work focuses on protracted refugee situations, particularly in Africa and the Middle East, and she co-led projects like the Borderless Higher Education for Refugees (BHER) initiative in Kenya’s Dadaab camps. Giles holds a PhD in Anthropology from the University of Toronto and has authored numerous books, including Refugees in Extended Exile (2017) and Sites of Violence: Gender and Conflict Zones (2004). Education: Ph.D. Anthropology, University of Toronto M.A. Anthropology, University of Toronto B.A. Liberal Arts (English and French Literature), University of Santa Clara Diplôme de Langue et des Lettres Françaises, Université d'Aix-Marseille Research Interests: Gender relations in migration, refugee education, protracted displacement, militarization, and the intersection of gender and nationalism. She has conducted fieldwork in Iran, Kenya, and post-Yugoslav states, emphasizing the lived experiences of refugees and marginalized groups. Awards: Officer of the Order of Canada (O.C.) Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (FRSC) Grants & Projects: Co-investigator of the SSHRC-funded Canadian Refugee Research Network and founder of the Women in Conflict Zones Research Network. She led initiatives to provide higher education access to refugees in Dadaab through partnerships with Kenyan and Canadian universities. Labs/Teams: Centre for Refugee Studies at York University, where she served as a Resident Research Associate.

• Gender Studies
• Forced Migration
• Refugee Issues
• +4 more

Dr. Dominique Bourque is a Full Professor at the University of Ottawa , affiliated with the Department of French and the Faculty of Arts . Her research focuses on marginalized groups, including immigrants, artists, and lesbians, with expertise in feminist theory, French materialism, queer identity, and the politics of exile. She collaborates at the intersection of art, literature, and societal structures. Ph.D. in French Literature, University of Ottawa (2000) M.A. in French Literature, University of Ottawa (1995) B.A. in French Studies, Université de Montréal (1988) Her research explores strategies of "un-marking" social categories, analyzing how identities are constructed and deconstructed in cultural contexts. She has published extensively on Monique Wittig's work and conducted pioneering studies on Canadian lesbian communities. Recent publications span feminist theory, queer identity, and cultural representations, with a focus on artistic resistance and postcolonial narratives. These works bridge literary criticism, sociological analysis, and political discourse. Lambda Foundation for Excellence Award (2006) She supervises graduate students, including Mina Fakhravar (2027), Farinaz Basmechi (2025), and Rocio Villagran Becerra (2024). Her research has been supported by CRSH grants (2008–2011).

• Feminist Theory
• Queer Studies
• French Literature
• +5 more

Josip Novakovich is a Professor of English at Concordia University, Montreal, specializing in fiction and nonfiction writing. He has held visiting positions at Hebrew University, Pennsylvania State University, University of Cincinnati, Bard College, and Freie Universitaet Berlin. His work explores the culture, politics, and history of the former Yugoslavia, alongside themes of language acquisition and transnational identity. University of Texas at Austin, MA in English/Creative Writing (1988) Yale University, MDiv (1982) Vassar College, BA in Psychology (1978) University of Novi Sad, School of Medicine (1975-1976) Josip's research focuses on fiction and nonfiction writing , particularly examining the cultural and political legacy of the former Yugoslavia . His narratives often blend personal experience with historical context, addressing themes of war, trauma, immigration, and linguistic identity. He has contributed to pedagogical texts like Writing Fiction Step by Step and Fiction Writer’s Workshop , emphasizing accessible teaching methods. His literary output includes 15+ books published internationally, with translations in French, Croatian, Bulgarian, and other languages. Recurring motifs include exile, memory, and the interplay between personal and collective history . Science and Technology Medical Humanities Balkan Studies Post-Colonial Theory Migration Studies Comparative Literature Black Mountain Institute Fellowship Fulbright Senior Research Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowship Whiting Writer's Award U.S. National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship Paterson Fiction Prize Finalist Pushcart Prizes Richard Margolis Prize W.K. Rose Fellowship Cohen Award Josip has received multiple fellowships and awards, including the NEA Fellowship in Fiction and a Fulbright Scholarship . He has mentored students through core faculty roles in multidisciplinary MFA programs at Bard College and Summer Literary Seminars since 1998. His teaching spans institutions like Nebraska Indian Community College, Breadloaf Writers’ Conference, and Freie Universitaet Berlin.

• Fiction Writing
• Nonfiction Writing
• Culture and Politics of the Former Yugoslavia
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Dr. Mustapha Hamil serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures within the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Windsor, a position he has held since 2007 following prior appointments as Assistant Professor at the University of West Georgia (2001-2007) and Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois (2001). His academic credentials include: Doctorat de 3ème Cycle in Victorian Literature (1986), University of Stendhal, Grenoble, France Ph.D. (2000), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA Dr. Hamil's research centers on Postcolonial theory with emphases on Hybridity, Identity, and Exile, critically examining Francophone Maghrebi literature, Immigration Literature, Arabic literature in translation, and Arab cinema through frameworks of cultural ambivalence and transnational migration. His scholarship consistently interrogates representations of terrorism, border politics, and hybrid identities in North African and Arab cultural production. His publication trajectory (2012-2023) reveals sustained engagement with cinematic and literary responses to terrorism and migration, particularly analyzing works by Nabil Ayouch, Abdelkebir Khatibi, and Mahi Binebine across Maghrebi and Middle Eastern contexts, with increasing focus on gendered dimensions of clandestine emigration and post-9/11 geopolitical narratives. His teaching excellence was formally recognized through: Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence (2009), University of Windsor (awarded by OPUS)

• Postcolonial Theory
• Hybridity
• Identity
• +5 more