News and Events
Click here for Left Coast Events.
Social Justice Studies presents:
Allyship 201: Steps to an Ecology of Activism
Tuesday February 26th
7:00-8:30 p.m.
Social Science and Math Building A104
featuring:
Julie-Anne Gilchrist
* Local activist and organizer
* Associated with VIC FAN, VIPIRG coordinating collective, A Freeskool collective, Camas Collective & the Disruption collective
and
Shane Calder
* 20+ years in the Victoria area as a facilitator
* Currently working with AIDS Vancouver Island
* Co-facilitator of the Street College program.
* Member of Allies of Drug War survivors
Past SJS events, sponsored and co-sponsored
February 13, 7 pm
UVic, MacLaurin Bldg D116
Rethinking Media
a series of critical and creative workshops
The second of two media workshops will be held February 13. Each event will begin with a presentation followed by participation.
"Islamic Terrorism" and the Media
with Mehdi Najari, radio producer and host of The Hidden News, CFUV
We will analyze "Islamic terrorism" and western media narratives. Is there an alternative narrative?
Free Admission
Sponsored by the Victoria Peace Coalition and UVic Social Justice Studies Program
Miko Peled - Beyond Zionism, A New Paradigm for Palestine/Israel
Friday February 8th, 2013
7:00 pm
David Strong Building (DSB) C103
This event is organized by CJPME locally in conjunction with Social Justice Studies.
Robert Fisk - "Arab Awakening, But are we Hearing the Truth?"
Friday February 1st, 2013
7:30 pm - Doors open at 7:15
Bob Wright Building Room B150
Robert Fisk's credentials as a correspondent on the Middle East are second to none - he is world renowned and respected as an independent political, historical and military expert on the Middle East. He reports from the ground and has been based in Beirut, Lebanon for the past 35 years. He has also written five books, including the highly significant work, The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East. Fisk spares none of the players, on any of the issues. He has strong views on what the role of journalists should be and what it has come to be, specifically as regards reporting on the Middle East.
Conversations with Activists Series
Documentary Film as a Tool of Social Justice, Community Eduction and Activism
Tuesday January 29th
7:00 - 8:30 pm
SCI A104 (Earth and Ocean Sciences)
Recording of event below.
http://www.gorilla-radio.com/index.php?id=613
Mandy Leith is the founder & Program Director for OPEN CINEMA - now in its 10th successful season. A seasoned documentary filmmaker, she now works as a digital alchemist with her company Media Rising and sits on the National Board of Directors for the Documentary Organization of Canada.
For more info: www.opencinema.ca or www.MediaRising.tv
Kym Hothead identifies as a “Transgendered Anarcho Anti-Colonial Radical Feminist”. He is a local filmmaker, poet, writer and performer, among other activities. After spending years on the streets, Hothead now keeps a watchful eye out for those who live on the street or are street involved.
For more info: http://ctehv.wordpress.com/
Decolonizing the Past and Present in Palestine, Israel and the West - with Basem Ra'ad
Thursday November 29th
7:00-9:00 pm
University of Victoria
Hickman Building 110
Professor Ra'ad will be lecturing on the phenomenon of self-colonization amongst the colonized and colonizers alike, in Palestine, Israel and the West, as it affects such aspects as history, religion, culture, political rhetoric and education; and on the means to overcome its symptoms and reframe perceptions. A Q&A session will follow. |
Book Launch and Speaking Tour - Yves Engler will discuss his new book "The Ugly Canadian".
Tuesday November 13th
7:00 pm
University of Victoria
David Strong Building, Room C122
Over Mined, Under Ruled, Justice Activism for Corporate Regulation
Thursday November 15th
7:00 pm
University of Victoria
Harry Hickman Building, Room 105
Spreading the Maple Spring: Lessons from Quebec's Student Strike
Thursday, October 4
7 p.m.-9 p.m.
University of Victoria
Room A120, Social Sciences and Math Building
Part of a Cross-Canada Speaking Tour
The October 4 UVIC event will feature:
-Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, former spokesperson for CLASSE
-Cloé Zawadzki-Turcotte, a former member of CLASSE's executive and a key organizer behind the strike
-Ethan Cox, rabble.ca's Quebec correspondent and a former student organizer
Admission by donation.
Local sponsors: UVIC Social Justice Studies, Victoria Voice.
Fighting for Education and Against Austerity Together
The forum will address what happened in Quebec, but also how the hard-earned lessons of the longest student strike in Canadian history can be applied to organizing across the country. We hope to be able to build bridges of solidarity with movements in other parts of Canada, ties that are critical to mounting a truly national movement against Stephen Harper and austerity.
For CLASSE, the largest of the student unions involved in the Quebec student strike, this victory is merely the start of the next fight. And that fight is against austerity, in all its forms. More importantly, that fight is to not only oppose assaults on our social welfare, but to build a better society.
Eye Witness Update on Gaza and the Plans for Gaza's Ark
Speakers - Kathy Copps and Jase Tanner
October 12th, 2012
7:00 pm
University of Victoria
Cornett A125
Victoria Colloquium:
“Economentality: How the Future Entered Government”
Friday, October 5th
Fraser Building, Room 152
2:30 to 4:30 pm:
Prof. Timothy Mitchell is the 2012 CCCBE Distinguished Speaker. He is a renowned scholar on political economy. His work has examined the creation of economic knowledge and the making of “the economy” and “the market” as objects of twentieth-century politics; the problems with explaining contemporary politics in terms of globalization or the development of capitalism. He recently published a very well received book, Carbon Democracy: Political Power in the Age of Oil (Verso, 2011). His visit is jointly sponsored with the Victoria Colloquium on Political, Social and Legal Theory
"Current Trends in International Development and the Impact of the Federal Budget on Canada's Contribution to Aid Effectiveness"
with Robert Fox, Executive Director, Oxfam-Canada
Tuesday, May 8th • 7:00-9:00pm • David Strong Building C122 • University of Victoria
View the poster here.
Co-sponsored by: VIDEA; University of Victoria's: Social Justice Studies, Women's Studies, Department of Political Science, School of Public Administration, and Centre for Global Studies.
Lester Pearson's Peacekeeping: The Truth May Hurt • 28 March, 2012
Yves Engler
Wednesday, March 28, 7:30pm • Harry Hickman Building 105 • University of Victoria
Yves Engler will be launching his new book, an expose of Lester Pearson's imperialist side which raises serious social justice issues and challenges us to be clear-headed and open-eyed in appraising political leaders.
Sponsored by: Victoria Peace Coalition • UVic Social Justice Studies • Council of Canadians, Victoria Chapter • Independent Jewish Voices.
View the poster.
Social Justice and the Media Mini-Conference • 25 March, 2012
An afternoon exploration of the relationship between Canada's Corporate Media and Social Justice issues
Keynote address: Steve Anderson, OpenMedia.ca
"Open Media, Open Democracy"
Sunday, 25 March, 1:00-5:00 pm • UVic Legacy Art Gallery • 630 Yates Street (at Broad)
University of Victoria Social Justice Studies and Community Media Canada are pleased to announce an afternoon mini-conference to explore the relationship between Canada's highly-concentrated corporate media and social justice issues.
Internet activist Steve Anderson of OpenMedia.ca will deliver the keynote lecture "Open Media, Open Democracy", followed by a panel discussion on the state of corporate and community media in Canada.
Panelists will include Tyee legislative correspondent Andrew MacLeod, freelance investigative journalist Sean Holman, community video producer Jack Etkin, Street NewZ publisher and editor Janine Bandcroft, and Community Media Canada founder Stuart Hertzog.
Sponsored by: UVic Social Justice Studies and Community Media Canada.
View the poster.
Conversations with Activists • 13 March, 2012
Resisting Political Violence, Torture & the Death Penalty: Connections and Discernments in Anti-Violence Activism and Work
Vikki Reynolds
Tuesday, 13 March, 7:30 pm • Harry Hickman Building 105 • University of Victoria
Vikki Reynolds is a community activists, instructor and therapeutic supervisor whose experience includes clinical supervision and therapy with refugees and survivors of torture, mental health and substance abuse counsellors, community activists, anti-violence counsellors, and working alongside transgendered and queer communities. Vikki's published work addresses social justice, resisting "burnout", supervision, ethics, group work, substance abuse and resisting trauma. She is an instructor with VCC, UBC, and City University where she received the Dean's Award for Distinguished Instruction.
Sponsored by: UVic Social Justice Studies and UVic School of Child and Youth Care.
View the poster and visit Vikki's website.
Social Justice and the Law Conference • 3 March, 2012
A day long exploration of Social Justice and the Law
Keynote Address: David Eby, Executive Director, BC Civil Liberties Association
"Skunks at the Picnic: The Disruptive But Essential Role of Social Justice Lawyers, Advocates and Law Students in British Columbia"
Saturday, 3 March, 2012 • 8:30am-4:30pm, followed by a reception 4:30pm–6:00pm • Fraser Building, Room 159 • University of Victoria
Fee (sliding scale): $20 waged, free to unwaged people, including students
This important conference aims to build on and stimulate growing discussion and concerns about whether and how law can be used to gain greater social justice in our community and in the world. It is in response to widespread and intense interest in these issues that Social Justice Studies, the Faculty of Law and Together Against Poverty Society decided to co-host a conference. In order to make this event accessible to activists, students, scholars and concerned citizens panels will include a variety of speakers from a range of backgrounds. After a full day of dialogue we invite all attendees to join us for a reception.
Panels will include: Poverty Law & Criminalizaton of the Poor • Indigenous Issues & the Law • Environmental Justice & the Law • Legal Aid & Advocacy.
Presented by: UVic Faculty of Law • UVic Social Justice Studies • Together Against Poverty Society (TAPS) • With financial support from: The Law Foundation of British Columbia
For more info, including panelist bios, visit: uvicjusticeconference.wordpress.com
View the poster.
A Commemorative Symposium • 24 February, 2012
70th Anniversary of Japanese Canadian Uprooting: Reconciling a Difficult Past
Friday, 24 February, 2:30-6:00pm • Senate Chambers, UC A180 • University of Victoria
On February 24, 1942, the Mackenzie King cabinet passed Order-in-Council 1486. Two days later, the government ordered all people of Japanese heritage out of their homes and sent them into camps in the BC interior or further east. This was followed by the seizure and selling of their properties, and an attempt to prohibit them from ever returning to British Columbia. Japanese Canadians survived this adversity, re-established communities, and in 1988 won the first redress settlement with the Canadian government.
Join this commemorative event to discuss the difficult past and to honour elders from the Japanese Canadian community.
Sponsored by: Department of History • Social Justice Studies Program • Centre for Asia-Pacific Initiatives • UVic Asian Canadian Working Group • Office of the Vice-President Academic and Provost.
View the poster.
Conversations with Activists • 21 February, 2012
Community-Based Research as Community Organizing, with VIPIRG
Cheryl Bryce and Mark Willson
Tuesday, 21 February, 7:30 pm • Harry Hickman Building 105 • University of Victoria
Community-Based Research can mean a lot of things, but within the university it too often means more of the same social scientific research with limited benefits for the communities being studied. Cheryl Bryce (VIPIRG interim Indigenous Research Coordinator) and Mark Willson (VIPIRG interim Research Coordinator) will introduce VIPIRG's approach to CBR through a community organizing lens, with emphasis on current projects engaging with local indigenous sovereignty and anti-poverty struggles. Cheryl's work on indigenous food sovereignty and Mark's work on local harm reduction and policing issues will be presented as a basis for reflecting on the benefits and challenges of community organizing work through community-university alliances.
View the poster and visit VIPIRG's website.
Lansdowne Lecture Series • 22 February, 2012
How Can You Tell if We Are Living in a 'Post-war' Era? Some Feminist Warnings
Dr. Cynthia Enloe
Wednesday, 22 February, 7:00 pm • Harry Hickman Building 105 • University of Victoria
Dr. Cynthia Enloe is a world renowned expert on the gendered politics of militarization and globalization. Her talk will address the gendered implications of Canada's "post-war" eras of World War II and the war in Somalia, and the soon to be "post-war" era of the Afghanistan war. Why do these periods last so long? Do they ever end? Paying close attention to how women experience long "post-wars" will reveal important insights about the actual costs and consequences of war.
Co-Sponsored by: Department of Women's Studies • Office of the Vice-President Academic and Provost • Department of Political Science • Social Justice Studies Program • Dean of Social Sciences • Centre for Cooperative and Community Based Economy
View the poster.
The Campaign to End the Blockade of Gaza - Canada's Role • 19 February, 2012
Ehab Lotayef
Sunday, 19 February, 7:00 pm • Harry Hickman Building 105 • University of Victoria
You are invited to attend a public forum and audio/visual presentation on the Israeli blockade of Gaza with Ehab Lotayef, who will share his account of the Freedom Waves to Gaza aid flotilla which took place in November, when Irish and Canadian boats tried to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza. Mr. Lotayef is a Montreal-based poet and long-time solidarity activist, who was on board the Canadian humanitarian aid boat, the Tahrir, which was heading to Gaza when it was hijacked by the Israeli navy in international waters. Freedom Waves is part of an ongoing Global solidarity movement challenging the blockade of Gaza and working for freedom for Palestine, which Ehab describes as, "a group of unarmed civilians peacefully confronting Israel's blockade and occupation."
Admission is by donation. Pay parking at the UVic Centennial Stadium lot.
Sponsored by: UVic Social Justice Studies.
View the poster, and for more information visit www.tahrir.ca.
Conversations with Activists • 31 January, 2012
Beyond Occupy, Assembling the Future
Emily Gale, Devon Cowen, Robert Duncan, and Simon Zukowski
Tuesday, 31 January, 7:30 pm • Harry Hickman Building 105 • University of Victoria
The Occupy movement that spread around the globe starting October 15th, 2011 also came to life in Victoria as the People's Assembly of Victoria. The event "Beyond Occupy, Assembling the Future" will feature four panelists (Emily gale, Devon Cowen, Robert Duncan and Simon Zukowski) from the Assembly of Victoria who will share their experiences of being involved in the movement - from both a local and global perspective. Then, drawing on the insights they have gained, they will discuss possible directions for assembling the future. We invite you to be part of the conversation!
View the poster.
Wikileaks: The Haiti Files • 27 January, 2012
Kim Ives
Friday, 27 January, 7:30 pm • David Strong Building 103 • University of Victoria
Kim Ives, journalist, filmmaker and editor of the newspaper Haiti Liberté, reveals U.S. lies about intervention and aid in Haiti. Straight from the U.S. diplomatic cables on Haiti, you will hear how the U.S. conspires to keep Haiti poor, about who is running Haiti, and what happened to the earthquake relief effort.
View the poster.
Co-sponsored by: UVic Social Justice Studies, Victoria Peace Coalition, and Victoria Friends of Cuba.
Our Way to Fight: Peace-Work Under Siege In Israel-Palestine
Monday, November 21, 2011 at 7:30 p.m.
David Strong Building, Room C112, University of Victoria
Michael Riordon is a writer and documentary-maker. He has generated many books and articles as well as documentaries for television, radio, theater and Internet. "Our Way to Fight: Peace-Work Under Siege In Israel-Palestine" is his fifth book.View the book cover.
Co-sponsored with Independent Jewish Voices, Victoria Chapter (IJV) the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid, Victoria Chapter (CAIA). Also endorsed by the Victoria Raging GranniesJohn Price and Timothy Stanley joint book launch
Wednesday, November 16, 2011 at 4-5:30 p.m.
Cornett Building, Room B334, University of Victoria
A celebration of the publication of John's Orienting Canada: Race, Empire and the Transpacific, and Tim's Contesting White Supremacy: School Segregation, Anti-Racism and the Making of Chinese Canadians.View the book cover.
Social Justice Studies Annual Lecture, 27 October 2011
"Exit Environmentalism: Reflections on the past and future of a (failing) social movement"
by Dr Michael M'Gonigle
Eco-Research Chair in Evironmental Law and Policy
University of Victoria
For more details, see the poster.
View the lecture.
Israeli Rejectionism -A Hidden Agenda in the Middle East Peace Process, a talk by authors Zalman Amit and Daphna Levit Tuesday October 4th, 2011, in Harry Hickman Bldg.(HHB) room 105 at 7:30 pm
For more details, see the poster.
View the lecture
Israel -- Palestine Fear of the Future, a lecture by award-winning Israeli human rights journalist Amira Hass, in Bob Wright Centre, Room B150, 7:30 pm, 27 September 2011
For more details, see the poster.
Facing the Challenge of AIDS in Africa, a lecture and panel discussion featurung Dr. Eleanor Maticka-Tyndale, in Cornett Building, Room B143, noon, 21 September 2011
Cindy Sheehan -- Peace Mom.
April 16, 2011, 7 pm in David Lam Auditorium (A144 MacLaurin Building).U.S. peace activist Cindy Sheehan spoke in Victoria on Saturday April 16. She gave a short speech at the Victoria Earth Walk, which this year marked its 30th anniversary. At 7:00pm the same day, she spoke at the David Lam Auditorium at the University of Victoria.
Prof. Javier Auyero spoke on Envirinmental Suffering and Poor People's Waiting
April 20, 2011, 5:30 pm in David Strong Building Building, Room C122.
International Humanitarian Law (IHL) Workshop FLYER
March 24, 2011, 5:00-8:30 pm in Grad House Room 108. Food and beverages provided.
Freedom Flotilla to Gaza: an eye witness account, with Kevin Neish FLYER
March 29, 2011, 7 pm in SSM Building, Room A110.
Conversations with Activists: A series of dialogues about changing the world
Session 4, 1 March, 7 pm in Hickman 105: Prof Sunera Thobani (UBC) spoke on States of Race and Struggles for Social Justice
For more details, see the poster (PDF).
View the lecture.
Gender and Human Rights in Africa, a lecture by Emily Sikazwe, founder of Women for Change
Thursday, February 17, 2011, 7-8:30 pm in SSM Room A102, on campus.For more details, see the poster (PDF).
Conversations with Activists: A series of dialogues about changing the world
Session 3, 15 February, 2011, 7 pm in Cornett B143: Harm Reduction and Illicit Drug Use In Victoria
For more details, see the poster (PDF).
How Canada's Right did Canada Wrong
Author Yves Engler examines why Canada did not get a UN Security Council seat. Everyone is welcome!Wednesday, February 9, 2011 7:30 pm in UVic David Strong Building C118
For more details, see the poster (PDF).
From Endless Growth to Steady State: Defining a Transition
a short conference for those concerned and interested about the changes we must make to the ways we live on this planet. Everyone is welcome!Friday, January 28, 2011 (7-9 pm) - Saturday, January 29 (10-5) in Strong C103, featuring Professor Andrew Weaver on Friday evening
For more details, see the poster (PDF).
Imperialist Canada, a lecture based on a new book by Dr. Todd Gordon, York University
Monday, January 31, 2011 1 pm-2:30 in Hickman 116, on campus. Everyone is welcome!For more details, see the poster (PDF).
Conversations with Activists: A series of dialogues about changing the world
Session 2, 1 February, 7 pm in Cornett B143: Youth Activism with Katie Shaw, Mike Sheehan and Cole Little
For more details, see the poster (PDF).
Conversations with Activists: A series of dialogues about changing the world
Session 1, 18 January, 2011, 7 pm in Cornett B143: "Being imperfect and fluid allies: informed by queer theory and the criminalization of dissent"with Vikki Reynolds
For more details, see the poster (PDF).
John Loxley on Privatization
November 26, 2010 at UVic in SSM A102, 7 pm
Prof. Loxley, of the University of Manitoba Department of Economics, lectured on his new book, Public Service, Private Profits.
Sponsored by CUPE, Water Watch, and SJS.
FLYER
Cedar and Bamboo
4:30 p.m., Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Ceremonial Hall, First Peoples House, UVIC
The Asian Canadian Working Group is proud to present Cedar and Bamboo, a 22-minute documentary that examines the stories of four people of mixed Chinese-Indigenous ancestry: Lilwat elder Judy Joe; Musqueam elder Howard Grant; and two young people, siblings Jordie and Hannah Yow.
Co-sponsored by Social Justice Studies
FLYERDerrick Jensen, 17 November 2010, 7:30 pm in MacLaurin A144, UVic
"Endgame"
Derrick Jensen is the acclaimed author of 15 books. He has been hailed as the philosopher poet of the environmental movement.
His premise is as profound as it is persistent: industrial civilization is inherently unsustainable.
FLYERBeehive Design Collective, 29 October 2010, 3 pm in Strong C122, UVic
"MOUNTAINTOP REMOVAL: The True Cost of Coal"
The Beehive mission:
To cross-pollinate the grassroots, by creating collaborative, anti-copyright images that can be used as educational and organizing tools.
FLYERIa Iran a Threat to World Peace?, 4 November 2010, 7 pm in SSM A110, UVic
A panel discussion and public forum
FLYERSocial Justice Studies Annual Lecture, 21 October 2010, 7:30 pm in Hickman 105
"Is the Global Justice Movement Colonial? A Troubling Tale of Indigenous Peoples at the World Social Forum"
by Dr Janet Conway
Canada Research Chair in Social JusticeBrock University
FLYERProfessor Michael Keefer, Criticize Israel: Go to Jail?. A public lecture. FLYER
Friday, September 24, 2010, 12:30 pm in David Strong Building C116.
Dr. Alice Rothchild, Healthcare in the West Bank and Gaza: Examining the impact of war on a civilian population. A public lecture. FLYER
April 7, 2010, 7 pm in HSD A240. Everyone is welcome!
Conversations with Activists: A series of dialogues about changing the world
January-March, 2010
Canada and Israel: Building Apartheid, with Yves Engler, 7:30 pm March 25, 2010, in Hickman 105
For more details, see the poster (PDF).
Reproductive Justice and Human Rights, with Loretta Ross, 7:00 pm February 11, 2010, in UVic David Lam Auditorium (MAC D144)
For more details, see the poster (PDF).The Olympic Torch: Symbolism and Politics. A film/panel discussion/public forum, 7:00 pm February 4, 2010
For more details, see the poster (PDF).Activism and Solidarity -- In Conversation with Vikki Reynolds, in Strong Building, Room C116, 7:30 pm January 19, 2010
For more details, see the poster (PDF).Malalai Joya, "The most courageous woman in Afghanistan"
2:00 p.m. Sunday, November 15, 2009 in David Lam Auditorium, MacLaurin Building
poster
Social Justice Studies Inaugural Lecture
"Changing the World: What Works?" by Dr Mary-Wynne Ashford
7:00 p.m. Thursday October 1, 2009 at Harry Hickman Building room 105
View the lecture; see the poster (PDF).
Media Mind Control: The Covert War on Truth
With the Victoria Peace Coalition, Social Justice Studies is co-sponsoring this free public event. Bo Filter will facilitate.
Wednesday June 10, 2009, 6:30 - 9:30 pm, UVic David Strong Building C113



