Ben Nobbs-Thiessen is an Assistant Professor of History and Chair of Mennonite Studies at the University of Winnipeg. He holds a PhD from Emory University (2016), with prior roles as a research associate at Arizona State University (2016–18) and a teaching fellow at Washington State University (2018–2020). His research focuses on Mennonite migrations across the Americas, environmental change, and indigenous-settler relations. He teaches courses on Latin American Mennonites and Mennonite Studies II. His research combines archival work, field studies, and oral histories from Bolivia, Paraguay, Mexico, Canada, and the U.S. His 2020 book Landscape of Migration examines Bolivia’s lowland colonization and its intersection with Mennonite and indigenous communities. Current projects include a century-long study of Mexico-Canada Mennonite migrations linked to water scarcity and neoliberal reforms. His publications span journals like Journal of Latin American Studies and Agricultural History , addressing topics like frontier development, foodways, and border conflicts. His transnational approach bridges environmental, migration, and colonial histories. He contributes to interdisciplinary initiatives such as the Newberry Consortium in American Indian Studies and the Centre for Rupert's Land Studies.
Ameil Joseph is an Associate Professor at McMaster University's School of Social Work, where they contribute to critical scholarship at the intersection of mental health, race, and social justice. Their work examines how ideas about difference, normalcy, sexuality, eugenics, race, ability and mental 'illness' cohere and perform within policy, law and practice, with over a decade of professional experience in mental health settings including supportive housing, settlement services, crisis respite, and forensic community treatment. Education: Ph.D in Social Work, York University (2009-2014) MSW, Wilfrid Laurier University (2005-2007) BA in Psychology, University of Waterloo (1998-2003) Dr. Joseph's research engages with critical mental health, postcolonial theory, critical race theory, and critical disability studies to examine the historical production of ideas about difference. Their scholarship particularly focuses on how these ideas manifest in mental health systems, immigration policy, and criminal justice, with attention to issues of social justice, violence, ethics, and confluence. Their work bridges theoretical frameworks with practical implications, addressing the complex interplay of colonialism, racism, sanism, and eugenics in contemporary social systems. Analysis of Dr. Joseph's recent publications reveals a sustained focus on colonial and eugenic violence within mental health, immigration, and criminal justice systems. Their scholarship consistently examines how racism, sanism, and ableism intersect to produce particular forms of state violence, particularly against racialized immigrants with mental health conditions. Recent work has expanded to address temporal dimensions of oppression, data colonialism, and community responses to grief and loss during the pandemic, demonstrating both theoretical sophistication and practical relevance to current social issues. Scientific Awards: University Scholar 2025 - Recognized for research leadership and impact among eight McMaster professors honored as University Scholars Dr. Joseph has secured significant research funding, including nearly $75,000 from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) for community-engaged projects addressing social justice issues. Their teaching portfolio includes advanced courses on critical mental health perspectives, race and colonialism in Canadian society, and social justice theory. While specific graduate students aren't listed in available materials, their extensive co-author network suggests active mentorship and collaboration. Dr. Joseph contributes to community-based initiatives in Hamilton addressing racism in healthcare and mental health systems, connecting academic scholarship with practical community responses to systemic issues. Dr. Joseph maintains an active presence in community responses to contemporary challenges, particularly through initiatives addressing grief during the pandemic and systemic racism in healthcare. Their work exemplifies the integration of scholarly rigor with community engagement, demonstrating how academic research can inform and be informed by real-world social justice efforts.
LK Bertram is an Associate Professor in the Department of History at the University of Toronto, specializing in 19th-century North American history with a focus on migration, gender, sexuality, and colonialism. Her work bridges academic research and public engagement, particularly through social media algorithms (TikTok, Instagram) for combating digital disinformation. Clio Prize-winning author (2020) 2022 SSHRC Insight Grant recipient Public history campaign curator (9 million+ views) Her research spans colonial institutions, sex work economies, and material culture, with publications on Icelandic diaspora, Arctic militarization, and immigrant food traditions. She teaches courses like HIS199 History and Social Media and HIS417 Histories of Sex Work , emphasizing hands-on learning via exhibitions and artifact workshops. Recent projects explore how social media algorithms can amplify quality historical data, including the viral @socialforscholars initiative. Her work connects historical narratives to contemporary debates on disinformation, cultural appropriation, and legal frameworks.
Adèle Garnier is an Associate Professor at the Department of Geography, Université Laval's Faculty of Forestry, Geography and Geomatics. She serves as Director of undergraduate geography programs and the certificate in sustainable tourism. Her research focuses on political geography, migration dynamics, and humanitarian governance, particularly examining refugee labor market participation, temporary migration policies, and technological impacts on immigration systems. Education : PhD in Political Science (Macquarie University/Universität Leipzig, 2012), MA in Political Science (Universität Leipzig, 2006), Diploma in Political Science (Paris, 2002) Her research integrates political geography , migration studies , and geographies of inequality , analyzing power structures in migration governance. Recent work explores Canada's digitalization of immigration, multiscalar impacts of refugee policies, and settler-colonial migration frameworks. Current research trends focus on technological governance of migration , refugee resettlement , and marketization of humanitarian services , with interdisciplinary approaches bridging political science and geography. Research Units : Graduate School of International Studies (ESEI), Immigration Research Team (ERIQA), Cultures-Arts-Societies Center (CELAT) Collaborations : Study Group on Ethnic Relations (Flers), Center for Refugee Studies (York University), Peace Research Institute Oslo She supervises graduate students in geography and co-leads multiple funded projects, including Liberating Migrant Labour (2023-2030) and digital migration governance research (2023-2028).
David B. MacDonald is a full Professor of Political Science at the University of Guelph's Department of Political Science, housed within the College of Social & Applied Human Sciences. He holds an honorary academic position at the University of Auckland and previously taught at the University of Otago and ESCP Business School in Paris. His research focuses on Indigenous-settler relations, genocide studies, decolonization, and comparative politics in Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and the U.S. He has held significant grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), including principal investigator roles on projects like 'Complex Sovereignties' and 'Bi-Nationalism as Reconciliation.' Education: PhD in International Relations from the London School of Economics (2001). Key publications include The Sleeping Giant Awakens (2019) and co-authored textbooks like Comparative Politics (2020). He is North American series editor for Palgrave Macmillan's Global Political Sociology. Research interests emphasize settler colonialism, Indigenous sovereignty, and truth and reconciliation processes. He has contributed to policy discussions, including advising the Canadian Senate on the National Council for Reconciliation. His work bridges academic scholarship with activism, aiming to address systemic inequalities and promote Indigenous rights. SSHRC Grants: Over $200k in grants since 2008, focusing on Indigenous self-determination and colonialism. Publications: 4 sole-authored books; 31 refereed articles; numerous edited volumes. Awards: Shortlisted for the John McMenemy Prize (2013, 2017).
Rodney Harrison is a Reader in Archaeology, Heritage and Museum Studies at the UCL Institute of Archaeology, University College London. He serves as the founding editor of the Journal of Contemporary Archaeology and has been Vice President of the Association of Critical Heritage Studies since 2012. His research focuses on critical heritage studies, contemporary archaeology, and future-making practices in heritage contexts. Harrison's work challenges traditional boundaries between past, present, and future in heritage discourse, emphasizing how heritage functions as a future-oriented practice. His research spans cultural and natural heritage, exploring connections between heritage conservation and other material legacy management systems, including nuclear waste disposal. Harrison leads the major international 'Heritage Futures' research program funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council. This project represents one of the largest critical, comparative ethnographic studies of heritage practices, examining how different forms of heritage function as distinctive future-making practices across diverse contexts. His scholarly contributions include more than a dozen books and over 60 peer-reviewed articles. Notable publications include Collecting, Ordering, Governing: Museums, Anthropology and Liberal Government (2016), Heritage: Critical Approaches (2013), Reassembling the Collection (2013), Understanding the Politics of Heritage (2011), and The Heritage Reader (2008). Harrison's work consistently engages with critical theory, challenging conventional heritage frameworks and exploring innovative approaches to understanding how material and cultural legacies shape future possibilities. His research has significant implications for heritage policy, conservation practice, and theoretical developments in critical heritage studies.
Jeffrey Monaghan is an Associate Professor at the Institute for Criminology and Criminal Justice (ICCJ) at Carleton University. He holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from Queen’s University and serves on the editorial board of Criminological Encounters . His research focuses on the intersections of policing, surveillance, and systemic inequality, with a particular emphasis on settler colonialism, Indigenous movements, and the global expansion of security practices. Monaghan teaches courses on criminological theories, policing, and justice frameworks. His work examines how security and policing practices criminalize marginalized communities, especially Indigenous peoples and social movements resisting extractive development. Key projects include analyses of counterterrorism strategies, disability injustice in criminal systems, and the securitization of Canadian foreign aid. He has authored/co-authored books like Security Aid: Canada and the Development Regime of Security and Policing Indigenous Movements , and edited volumes such as Protests in the Information Age . Monaghan’s research integrates critical criminology, colonial studies, and sociolegal analysis. He is cross-appointed to Carleton’s Department of Sociology and Anthropology and the School of Canadian and Indigenous Studies, amplifying interdisciplinary engagement with security governance and social justice issues.
Juan Ortiz-Apuy is a Canadian-Costa Rican artist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Studio Arts at Concordia University . His practice critically examines intersections of commodity fetishism , object-oriented ontology , and post-colonialism through installations addressing sustainability and environmental exploitation . He has exhibited internationally in institutions such as Les Abattoirs Museum (France) and MASS MoCA (USA). MFA, NSCAD University (2011) PG Dip, The Glasgow School of Art (2009) BFA, Concordia University (2008) His research investigates material cultures and ecological impacts of consumerism, employing found objects, 3D animation, and industrial materials. Key projects include Tropicana (2020), which critiques tropicality commodification, and La Guaria Morada (2019), exploring Costa Rican identity through environmental systems. Best International Representation (2024) by AICA, Costa Rican Chapter Grants from Canada Council for the Arts, Conseil des arts et lettres du Québec, and SSHRC Ortiz-Apuy has participated in residencies at MASS MoCA and Guldagergaard Ceramic Research Center . His work has been reviewed in Canadian Art , MOMUS , and local Montreal publications.
Adam King is an Assistant Professor in the Labour Studies Program at the Faculty of Arts, University of Manitoba. His research focuses on labor regulation, employment standards enforcement, Indigenous labor dynamics, deindustrialization impacts, and labor market policy. He co-investigates a SSHRC Partnership Grant project on migrant labor in settler-colonial contexts. Education: PhD in Sociology (York University, 2019) MA in History (University of Toronto, 2011) BA in Sociology/History (Trent University, 2010) His research examines the political economy of labor regulation, including enforcement mechanisms in federally regulated sectors and contested Indigenous labor relations. He analyzes deindustrialization's social consequences and contributes to debates on job guarantee proposals and right-wing populism's influence on labor movements. Recent publications explore topics like Indigenous labor law frameworks, precarious creative workers' unionization, and gendered identities in deindustrializing communities. He actively engages with media outlets such as CBC, The Globe and Mail, and The Maple's 'Class Struggle' newsletter.
Claire Battershill is an Assistant Professor jointly appointed in the Faculty of Information and the Department of English at the University of Toronto. She holds a PhD from the University of Toronto and a BA (Hons) from the University of Oxford. Her research focuses on the history and future of the book, with a particular emphasis on feminist experimental publishing, literary aesthetics, and 20th/21st-century publishing practices. She is Co-Director of the Modernist Archives Publishing Project (MAPP), a critical digital archive of early 20th-century publishers’ records, and Co-Creator of the SSHRC-funded 'Make Believe' research-creation project. Her publications include Women and Letterpress Printing: Gendered Impressions (2022) and Using Digital Humanities in the Classroom (2022). Dr. Battershill has held prestigious roles such as Wendy M. Cecil Professor in VicOne at Victoria College and Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. She has secured grants including the SSHRC Impact Award (2017) and funding from the Canada Council for the Arts. Her teaching spans courses like INF2228H (The Future of Things: Digitization and Remediation) and BKS1002H (Book History in Practice), blending theory with hands-on engagement in digital humanities and book studies. Her research interests span digital humanities pedagogy, collaborative publishing projects, and the intersection of feminist theory with material book culture. She actively contributes to interdisciplinary initiatives like the Critical Digital Humanities Initiative (CDHI) at the University of Toronto.
Stefan Kipfer is a Professor at the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change , York University. He coordinates the Cities, Regions, Planning program and holds a PhD in Political Science from York University. His research focuses on the intersections of spatial organization, social order, and political rule, with particular emphasis on urban politics, racial capitalism, and anti-colonial theory. Education: PhD in Political Science, York University MES in Urban Political Economy and Ecological Politics, York University BA in Political Science and French, York University Kipfer's research spans transnational urban studies, critical theory, and radical political ecology. He explores: Urban social movements in Zurich, Toronto, and Paris State interventions in public housing, transit, and environmental policy The capitalist and racialized dimensions of urbanization Right-wing populism and neo-fascism Connections between Henri Lefebvre, Frantz Fanon, and Antonio Gramsci Recent work analyzes: Urbanization as neocolonial process Anti-racist and decolonial spatial strategies Transit justice and free public services Comparative urban governance Resistances to far-right regimes Articulation theory and political strategy He supervises graduate students in Environmental Studies, Geography, and Political Science, and has contributed to critical urban theory through publications linking Marxist, anti-colonial, and feminist frameworks.
Anup Grewal is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) within the Department of Historical and Cultural Studies and affiliated with the Tri-Campus Graduate Department of History at the University of Toronto. She teaches courses in History, Women’s Studies, and Global Asia Studies, integrating interdisciplinary perspectives into her pedagogy and research. Education: PhD in East Asian Languages and Civilizations, University of Chicago (2012) MA in History, Trent University BA in History, McGill University Her research focuses on modern Chinese cultural history, gender studies, and transnational leftist movements. She explores intersections of literature, film, and political activism, particularly examining Chinese women's roles in leftist movements of the 1920s-30s. Additional projects include comparative analyses of socialism in Indian and Chinese literature, and studies of minority films in contemporary China. Prior to her current position, she held roles as a Lecturer in Chinese and Comparative Literature at King’s College London (2013–15) and a Postdoctoral Fellow at Leiden University (2012–13).
Joan Judge is a Professor of History at York University in Toronto, Canada, specializing in cultural history of modern China with focuses on knowledge cultures, print culture, and women’s history. She holds a PhD from Columbia University and additional degrees from the University of Alberta and the Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris. Education: PhD, Columbia University MA, Columbia University MA, Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris BA, University of Alberta Research Interests: Judge’s work examines print culture in comparative perspective, Chinese women’s history, and reading practices in modern China. Her scholarship bridges transnational and local contexts, exploring how media like periodicals shaped gender roles and political discourse during transformative periods such as the late Qing dynasty and the early 20th century. Awards: 2021 Guggenheim Fellow Member of the Royal Society of Canada Grants & Leadership: Her current SSHRC-funded project, The Politics of Common Reading , analyzes vernacular knowledge in China from 1894–1954. She serves on the advisory boards of the British Inter-university China Centre and Journal of the History of Ideas in East Asia , and chairs roles in professional associations like the Canadian Association for the Study of Book Culture. Labs/Teams: Collaborates with global networks through her editorial work on collections such as Women and the Periodical Press in China’s Global Twentieth Century and Beyond Exemplar Tales .
Julie Rak is the HM Tory Chair and Professor in the Department of English and Film Studies at the University of Alberta. She holds a BA and PhD from McMaster University and an MA from Carleton University. Her research focuses on auto/biography, life writing, and nonfiction in North America, with specialties in gender, Canadian literature, and publishing studies. She has authored or co-edited numerous books, including False Summit: Gender in Mountaineering Nonfiction (2021) and The Routledge Introduction to Auto/biography in Canada (2023). Rak’s academic roles include interim Chair of the EFS Department (2023–2024) and leadership in the Stories of Change research group. She has received prestigious awards such as the J. Gordin Kaplan Award (2023) and the Killam Annual Professorship (2017–2018). Her research explores marginalized narratives, including Inuit literature and digital life writing, with a commitment to inclusivity and community engagement. Her teaching spans undergraduate and graduate courses on autobiography, gender theory, and Canadian literature. She actively supervises research projects and supports student initiatives like the Roger Smith Undergraduate Research Award. Rak’s work bridges academic rigor with public scholarship, with over 90 media engagements. Education: PhD in English, McMaster University MA in Canadian Studies, Carleton University BA in English, McMaster University Grants & Projects: SSHRC Insight Grant for Government Agents, Literary Agents: Inuit Books and Government Intervention, 1968–1985 Leadership in the Stories of Change initiative Awards & Honors: Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (2022) Henry Marshall Tory Chair (2019–2025) 2024 Visiting Professor at Merton College, Oxford
Andrea Lanza serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Italian Studies within the Faculty of Arts & Science at the University of Toronto. Originally from Italy, he completed his academic training in France at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS), earning both his Diplôme d'Études Avancées and Doctorat degrees, following his Laurea from Università degli Studi di Milano La Statale. His scholarly profile demonstrates extensive transnational engagement with French political thought while maintaining institutional affiliation with Italian Studies. Doctorat, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (Paris) Diplôme d'Études Avancées, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (Paris) Laurea, Università degli Studi di Milano La Statale Lanza's research focuses on the historical intersections between political thought and social science, with particular emphasis on Early French Socialism (1800-1850), the making of French working classes, and Contemporary French Political Thought. His scholarly trajectory follows two interrelated axes: the emergence of socialist discourse in 19th century France and historic-philosophical debates on democratic society, especially regarding French thinkers like Lefort, Gauchet, Rosanvallon, Foucault, and Rancière. His work demonstrates remarkable interdisciplinary range, connecting political philosophy with historical anthropology, sociology, and religious studies. His recent publications reveal a growing engagement with contemporary issues including decolonization debates, cancel culture, and the epistemological challenges facing social sciences today. Lanza has also held significant administrative roles, serving as Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Italian Studies during 2022-2023. Administrative Service: Associate Chair - Undergraduate, Department of Italian Studies (2022-2023) Lanza's scholarly network extends across North America and Europe, with collaborations spanning multiple disciplines. His recent editorial work on Claude Lefort's political philosophy and Marcel Gauchet's theories of democratic society demonstrates his position at the forefront of contemporary political thought scholarship.
