Colloquium on the Global South
Complete series
Wednesdays -
2:30-4:30 pm
Room 305, York
Lanes
Summaries, Background, and Links Fall 2004 September 22 Can Advocacy Change the Rules?: The OXFAM Make Trade Fair Campaign
Mark Fried (Oxfam
Abstract: Since April 2002 Oxfam International has waged the “Make Trade Fair” campaign to change the rules of international trade. The objective: to make trade part of the solution to poverty, rather than part of the problem. The campaign combines research, lobby and popular mobilization to win the intellectual, moral and political argument for fairer trade rules and practices. Two and a half years, thirty-three briefing papers and four million signatures later, what has been accomplished?
Bio: Mark Fried is Communications and Advocacy Coordinator for Oxfam Canada and co-chair of the Trade Policy committee of Oxfam International, the federation of 12 international development agencies. Oxfam International seeks to address the root causes of poverty and injustice through humanitarian assistance, development programming and policy advocacy in 120 countries worldwide. For Oxfam Canada, he undertakes outreach to government officials and the media on trade and development issues, and has published numerous articles on the subject. He formerly worked for Oxfam Canada’s Americas Programme and in a previous life edited a magazine and taught school. He lived for ten years in Latin America and has published ten books as a literary translator.
Resources: The key link is www.maketradefair.com, and more detailed policy papers can be found at www.oxfam.org/eng/policy_pape.htm.
Two seminars (both in 305 York Lanes) by Pat Mooney (Action Group on Erosion, Technology and Concentration - ETC Group) 10:30-12:30: Breaking Waves: How to control technological tsunamis in an era of globalization 1400 to 2100 2:30-4:30: Biodiversity, Biotech and the Marginalized
"...we are faced with, good or ill, a technology wave coming towards us. It
is the biggest technology wave the world has ever seen. It is the manipulation
of all the materials, living and non living, at ... the nanoscale."
Abstract: The 10:30-12:30 seminar will be oriented to a 'science and society' crowd and the 2:30-4:30 seminar to a 'global south' crowd. Both seminars will draw on Pat Mooney’s path breaking book The "ETC" Century: Erosion, Technological Transformation, and Corporate Concentration in the 21st Century (ETC Group, 2001) and the work that has followed.
Bio: Pat Roy Mooney is the Executive Director of ETC Group. For more than thirty years, Pat Mooney has worked with civil society organisations (CSOs) on international trade and development issues related to agriculture and biodiversity. Mooney has lived most of his life on the Canadian prairies. The author or co-author of several books on the politics of biotechnology and biodiversity, Pat Mooney received The Right Livelihood Award (the "Alternative Nobel Prize") in the Swedish Parliament in 1985. In 1998 Mooney received the Pearson Peace Prize from Canada's Governor General. He also received the American "Giraffe Award" given to people "who stick their necks out". Pat Mooney has no university training, but is widely regarded as an authority on agricultural biodiversity and new technology issues. Together with Cary Fowler and Hope Shand, Pat Mooney began working on the "seeds" issue in 1977. In 1984, the three co-founded RAFI (Rural Advancement Foundation International), whose name was changed to ETC group (pronounced "etcetera" group) in 2001. ETC Group is a small international CSO addressing the impact of new technologies on rural communities. ETC has offices in Canada, the United States, Mexico, and the UK; and works closely with CSO partners around the world.
Resources: The ETC Group can be reached at http://www.etcgroup.org/. Pat Mooney's book The "ETC" Century can be downloaded at http://www.etcgroup.org/article.asp?newsid=159. A brief synopsis of the book can be found at http://www.ratical.org/co-globalize/ETCcent.html. Recent ETC publications include The Big Down: Atomtech - Technologies Converging at the Nano-scale at http://www.etcgroup.org/article.asp?newsid=375, and New Enclosures: Alternative Mechanisms to Enhance Corporate Monopoly and BioSerfdom in the 21st Century at http://www.etcgroup.org/article.asp?newsid=271.
October 6 NOTE SPECIAL VENUE: SENIOR COMMON ROOM (ROOM 305), FOUNDERS COLLEGE NOTE SPECIAL TIME: 2:30-5:00 PM Perspectives on the Recurring Crises in Sudan Chair: Peter Penz (Centre for Refugee Studies) Panelists: Gamal Adam (PhD candidate in Anthropology), Ibrahim Badr (French Studies), Jane Kani Edward (Postdoctoral fellow, York University), John Lewis (Kairos), and Robert Shenton (History, Queen's University)
Presentation:
Sudan is a large and very diverse country,
straddling the divide between northern, Arab-speaking Africa and sub-Saharan
Africa. Sudan has experienced civil war since independence in 1956, with the
exception of an 11-year period between 1972 and 1983. Since independence most of
the conflict in Sudan has been between various regimes in Khartoum, most
recently Islamist, and various forces within southern Sudan seeking secession or
greater autonomy, and with whom a tenuous peace agreement has recently been
signed.
Resources: Click here for article from New Yorker magazine. A useful blog site is http://platform.blogs.com/passionofthepresent, which links to other useful websites.
From National to Transnational Activism: Linking Social Movements and Struggles in Southeast Asia Dominique Caouette (Université de Montréal)
Abstract: While the study of contemporary transnational activism is becoming a growing
area of interest among social scientists and practitioners alike, the literature is generally rooted in European, North and South American case
studies. Asian, in particular Southeast Asian transnational movements and networks have yet to be discussed. This is partly surprising given the
increasing density of social movements, NGO and networks organising transnational mobilisations and activities in the region. Discussing the
NOTE SPECIAL VENUE: SENIOR COMMON ROOM (ROOM 305), FOUNDERS COLLEGE Water Struggles in Local and Global Contexts: Cases from Bolivia, Ontario, and South Africa Chair and discussant: Roger Keil (Environmental Studies) Panelists: Anne-Marie Debbane (PhD candidate in Geography), Eduardo Sousa (Council of Canadians) and Susan Spronk (PhD candidate in Political Science) Panel presentation: The political ecology of water has become one of the most visible areas of contestation in an era of rapid globalization and neoliberalization. The global struggle around water has been particularly virulent in the South as global water companies have been hard at work to re-colonize the urban and rural populations in many developing countries around the world through privatized and marketized water systems. As pervasive as these corporate schemes to get control over the world’s “blue gold” have been, they have also been resisted equally universally in all corners of the globe. While the huge and powerful water companies take most of the blame in trying to bring one of the earth’s major resources under the discipline of the capitalist market, neoliberalizing states have been equally active in striving for more market and less public regulation of water systems. Starting in the UK in the 1980s, we have seen a wave of marketization efforts supported and often initiated by local and central states everywhere from South Africa to Canada. This panel will tell of three very different experiences with struggles around water in South Africa, Ontario and Bolivia. Details about Anne-Marie Debbané presentation Abstract: While the South African government takes pride in having the human right to water enshrined in its constitution, and claims that reducing apartheid's legacy of stark racial inequities in access to water as one of its major victories, the reality on the ground tells a startling different story. Access to basic services like water is at the locus of the resurgence of community struggles in South Africa's poor communities and townships since the end of apartheid. This presentation will zoom in on the small coastal town of Hermanus and examine how underlying political motives, masked with social and ecological objectives, have shaped water policies and practices and ultimately deepened the economic, racial and social divides within the town's communities, mirroring the broader situation throughout the country. Bio: Anne-Marie Debbané is in the PhD program in Geography at York University. She completed her Master's in Environmental Studies focusing on processes of political and social restructuring in post-apartheid South Africa from the perspective of urban water policies and plans to extend this stream of work in a rural context. Following her field research in Hermanus, she extended her stay to work with the Johannesburg-based Rural Development Services Network and Jubilee South Africa. Resources: Municipal Services Project: http://www.queensu.ca/msp/ ; Anti-Privatisation Forum: http://www.apf.org.za/. Details about Susan Spronk presentation
Abstract:
The Bolivia “Water War” of 2000
has become an iconic example of the power of social movements to resist the
transfer of water resource management to large transnational corporations. While
the mobilization succeeded in establishing water as a “social good” and reversed
the contract awarded to a consortium led by American construction giant,
Bechtel, Cochabambinos continue to struggle with serious water and sanitation
problems four years later. The presentation will examine the after-effects of
the Water War, discussing both the challenges and victories the activists have
faced in its aftermath, and will outline alternatives to large-scale
privatization, which may have a better hope of improving service to the urban
poor. Resources: The most comprehensive website on water in Bolivia is http://www.aguabolivia.org/, run by the Commission for Integral Water Management in Bolivia (CGIAB), a network of non-governmental organizations and research centres that aims to facilitate public participation in Bolivia’s water sector reform. For more information on alternatives to privatization and particular case studies from Bolivia, see Public Citizen’s “Water for All Campaign” http://www.citizen.org/cmep/Water/. Excellent reports on water privatization in Latin America and other regions can also be found at http://www.psiru.org/.
Regoverning Markets: The
Impact of Market Restructuring on Small-Scale Farmers in Sub-Saharan
Spencer Henson (Agriculture Economics
and Business, Abstract: This title is partly derived from a current electronic discussion group that is exploring the ways in which changes in both domestic and global agricultural and food markets are impacting on small-scale producers in the South. Central questions in this debate include the scope for small-scale producers to participate in these evolving markets and the resultant impacts on them. This seminar considers the broad elements of this debate and then presents evidence from studies in Zimbabwe and Kenya on impacts on the livelihoods of small-scale producers, and their position in these chains in terms of power and risk. Both of these cases are in the context of export supply chains, although parallels are drawn with evolving domestic supply structures in an increasing number of Sub-Saharan African countries. Bio: Spencer Henson is an agricultural economist at the University of Guelph, with an interest in small-scale production and micro-enterprises in the context of evolving marketing systems, especially at the global level. In recent years he has mainly focused on Sub-Saharan Africa, although he has also worked in parts of Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. He is currently involved with projects on contract farming in Zimbabwe and Kenya, small-scale food processing in Tanzania and the poverty impacts of fish exports from Lake Victoria. Conceptual Perplexity of Food Security
Mustafa Koc (Director, Centre for Studies in Food Security, Chair and discussant: Deborah Barndt (Environmental Studies) Abstract: The importance of food to human health and the economy is well understood and profound. As one of the vital elements of human existence, from production to consumption, food involves many of the most important cultural, social, and economic activities of human societies. Unfortunately, despite all the scientific and technological advances that have modernized food production and distribution, hunger and malnutrition are still threatening the health and well being of millions of people around the world. The food security problem in Canada is evidenced by the doubling of food bank use in the decade of the 90s, from roughly 380,000 recipients / month in March 1989 to 841,640 recipients / month in March 2004. In Canada, as in other countries, there certainly is not a problem with producing enough food; rather the issue of food insecurity arises at the community and household level because of the barriers to accessing food. Further, food security at a national level does not necessarily indicate food security at a community, household, or individual level. While rural poverty continues to be a major problem, the question of food security is emerging as a new concern for urban populations because the 20th century has witnessed such massive growth in cities. Almost half of the world’s population now resides in cities, and therefore ensuring safe and affordable food for urban populations is a challenge even for advanced industrial economies. Food security is widely defined as "the condition in which all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.” The term food security has its roots in the food relief efforts of the post WWII era. Its definition and conceptualization have evolved over time, and are interpreted differently by governments, food system players, and civil society. This presentation examines changing discourses of food security and critically evaluates the concept’s analytical limits. Bio: Mustafa Koc is an associate professor at the Department of Sociology at Ryerson University where he also serves as the Director of the Centre for Studies in Food Security. Graduated from Bogazici University, in Istanbul Turkey, Mustafa Koc received his B.A. at the University of Waterloo and Ph.D. at the University of Toronto, both in sociology. Currently he serves as a member of the executive of the International Sociological Association’s research committees on Sociology of Agriculture and Food, Social Transformations and Sociology of Development, Ryerson Faculty Association and a member of Oxfam Canada’s Food and Trade Policy Working Group. Mustafa has been involved in various national and global debates on globalization, social change and development, food security, and peace. He has various publications on sociology of agriculture and food, social change and development, and immigration.
Resource: www.ryerson.ca/foodsecurity Globalizing Work, Globalizing Citizenship: Migrant Worker Alliances in Southwestern Ontario
Kerry Preibisch (Sociology and
Anthropology,
Abstract: For 38 years, agricultural workers from the Caribbean and Mexico have spent extended periods working in Canada under a guest worker program. In this presentation I explore worker-community relations in the Canadian rural communities in which they live. Specifically, I explore both the structural constraints that contribute to the social exclusion of non-citizen migrant agricultural workers in these rural communities as well as the personal ties that are presenting new forms of rural inclusiveness. In particular, the presentation will explore the emergence of non-state actors who have become increasingly relevant in defending the rights of migrant workers before their employers, their home country government officials, and the Canadian state.
Bio: Kerry Preibisch is a rural sociologist currently teaching in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology and in the International Development Studies programme at the University of Guelph, Canada. Dr. Preibisch received her M.A. from Simon Fraser University and her Ph.D. from the University of Reading, U.K. She is a Canadian scholar who has conducted field research in Latin America, principally in Mexico, on issues of gender and rural development. Dr. Preibisch's research interests are broadly in the field of gender and development studies, and in particular focus on the micro-level realities accompanying the globalization of agro-food systems. One of her ongoing programs of research explores the implications of economic restructuring on small-scale farmers in Mexico, focusing on changes in the livelihood portfolios of rural inhabitants and the gendered dimensions of restructuring. A second program of research explores the use of Caribbean and Mexican labour in Canadian agriculture.
Why Blaming Women’s Fertility is Bad Environmental Policy
Joni Seager (Dean, Faculty of
Environmental Studies,
Abstract: Over the last decade or so, mainstream environmental groups in Western Europe and the USA have embraced and promoted ideologies of population control in the name of protecting the (global) environment. Such “populationist” analyses have been integrated into international environmental policy, and blaming environmental problems on “overpopulation” is now a rote element in public green conventional wisdoms. This apparently modern green and global ideology in fact is a rehearsal of a long and dangerous history of waves of population control that have been practiced in the West for the sake of various putative greater social goods. This history alone should raise alarms about this analysis, but as a green approach population alarmism is especially troubling -- and for feminists even more so. In this seminar, Seager will assess the environmental implications of populationist policies, but primarily will focus on a feminist analysis of why this approach has such persistence and why populationism is so hard to dislodge.
Bio: Joni Seager is a scholar and activist in feminist geography, women's studies, and environmental studies. In the environmental field, one of her primary areas of interest is in bringing feminist perspectives to bear on environmental policy and analysis. She has published widely on various aspects of this topic, including a 1993 book on feminist environmentalism (Earth Follies: Coming to Feminist Terms With the Global Environmental Crisis). She also has pursued research on the environmental costs of militarism, and has been active in several efforts to make this issue visible. Joni has been active in several collaborative feminist environmental endeavors, and has participated in several international and national feminist ecological conferences and gatherings. She was a founding member of the "Committee on Women, Population & Environment," a coalition of activists, scholars, and health practitioners that is dedicated to bringing feminist perspectives into population/environment debates and to influencing public policy in this arena. She is the author of a global survey of the state of the environment -- the "State of the Earth Atlas" (1990 and 1995). As a feminist geographer, her atlases on the global status of women ("The State of Women in the World Atlas", 1997) have received considerable critical acclaim. Joni received her Ph.D. in Geography from Clark University in 1988. She has held faculty positions at the University of Maine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Wellesley College, and Antioch Graduate College, and she has taught courses in Feminist Geography, Global Political Economy, Environmental Studies, Feminist Environmentalism, Political Ecology, Human Rights, and Research Methods.
Links: http://www.yorku.ca/yfile/archive/index.asp?Article=2941; http://ecocon.uoregon.edu/Fellows/seager.htm; http://www.the-womens-press.com/atlas.htm; http://www.earlham.edu/~wellingh/wpea/seager.html; seager.html.
The South in the North: Social Exclusion and Immigrant Legal Status in the Greater Toronto Area Chair: Luin Goldring (Sociology, CERLAC, and STATUS campaign) Panelists: Gilda Gomez (Davenport Perth Neighbourhood Center), Michael Kerr (Karuna Community Services and STATUS campaign), Jean McDonald (PhD candidate in Anthropology and No One is Illegal, Toronto), Peter Nyers (Political Science, McMaster), Francisco Rico Martínez (Hamilton House), and Amutha Samgam (community member). Abstract: In the United States, the topic of undocumented workers and their families is polemical but not taboo. Both the public and academics recognize that the economy depends on this category of workers in many industries and sectors, including agriculture, personal services (from nannies to gardeners), construction, and hospitality (hotels and restaurants). From small employers to large ones, such as Wal-Mart, the economy seems to depend on underpaid and largely unorganized undocumented workers. In Canada, there is much less discussion of the topic. Perhaps because unauthorized entry is not the main pathway to becoming a non-status immigrant in Canada, the issue has been largely ignored. In the last couple of years, however, activists, journalists, academics and others have attempted to bring the issue into mainstream discussions. Although there is little systematic research, we know that people without legal immigration status are among the most marginalized groups in Canada. Non-status or less-than-full status immigrants are vulnerable to multiple forms of exploitation, for example, at the hands of employers, landlords, or other authorities. This is compounded by the fact that they face significant barriers to access public services, such as education, health care, social services, legal support, and housing. Lack of immigration status can also prevent immigrant women from pressing charges against abusive partners, or accessing services for Canadian-born children. Panelists will address these issues as well as some of the ways in which we can work for change in our own communities. Panelists will make brief presentations and then facilitate a discussion. They will offer their perspectives as service providers, refugee and immigrant advocates, activists and academics. Links: Status Campaign (http://www.ocasi.org/status/); No One Is Illegal - Toronto (http://toronto.nooneisillegal.org); No Borders (European focus) (http://www.noborder.org/news_index.php); questions and answers about non-status Canadians - OCASI site (http://www.ocasi.org/downloads/Status_Questions.pdf); Canadian Council for Refugees (http://www.web.net/~ccr/); FCJ Hamilton House Refugee Project (http://www.fcjsisters.ca/HamiltonHouse/index.html); New estimates of the undocumented population in the United States, by Jeffrey Passel (May, 2002) (http://www.migrationinformation.org/feature/display.cfm?ID=19); Don't Ask, Don't Tell (www.dadttoronto.org); and Migration Information Source (http://www.migrationinformation.org/?mpi) (this site contains very useful articles and data on migration, for the United States and other countries, including Canada).
Winter 2005
The Global Small Arms Epidemic: A Public Health Perspective Wendy Cukier (Ryerson University) Abstract: Violence has been labelled a global “pandemic” by the World Health Organization and violence fuelled with small arms (guns) kills hundreds of thousands each year and injure many more. The shape of gun violence varies from region to region – in some it is primarily associated with conflict, in others crime, and in others political and criminal violence are inseparable. It is estimated that more than 200 thousand gun deaths occur in countries which are “at peace” each year: 35,000 in Brazil, 10,000 in South Africa, and 30,000 in the USA. In Colombia the number is about 20,000 and it is estimated that in 1998-99, the number of violent deaths from small arms in Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala exceeded those that had occurred in the respective civil wars. Major small arms producers include the US, China and Russia. Worldwide, almost 2/3 of small arms are in the possession of civilians, 200 million of them in the USA. Although guns do not in themselves “cause” violence, they increase its lethality and fuel “cultures of violence”. There is a strong association between the availability of guns and gun related death and injury in both the north and south. Virtually every illegal small arm begins as legal small arm. With the globalization of trade in licit products has come the globalization of the illegal trade in small arms – weapons originating in the United States for example, fuel violence in Canada and Latin America but also account for many of the weapons seized as far away as Japan. Since 1998 there has been an emerging global NGO movement to control the illicit trade and misuse in small arms with a comprehensive strategy addressing both supply and demand. Currently there are a range of activities at the national, regional and global level. One such campaign is the Control Arms Campaign and its associated Million Faces Petition, a joint project of IANSA (International Action Network on Small Arms), Amnesty International and Oxfam. Because weapons tend to flow from unregulated areas to regulated areas, international cooperation is critical but global efforts have been limited by major arms producers and gun lobbies such as the National Rifle Association. Bio: Wendy Cukier is a professor Communications and Culture and of Information Technology Management at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada. Since 2004 she has also been the Associate Dean, Academic, of the Faculty of Business, the largest business school in Canada. In 1990 she co-founded Canada’s Coalition for Gun Control, which is supported by 350 public safety organizations and has been credited with the passage of two major pieces of legislation. A founding member of the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA), she coordinates the Small Arms Firearms Education and Research Network (SAFER-Net) which conducts research on various aspects of firearms violence and prevention. She has published more than 200 articles on aspects of firearms control and has consulted to governments around the world, most recently in South Africa. Her book, the Global Gun Epidemic: From Saturday Night Specials to AK47s will be published in 2005 by Praeger. She has also published extensively on coalition building and advocacy. Her work has been recognized with a Docteur d'Universite (HC) from the Faculty of Medicine, Laval University (1996) and a LLD (HC) from Concordia University (1997), the Canadian Public Health Association’s Award of Merit (1996), Jewish Women International Woman of the Year (1995), a YWCA Woman of Distinction Award, as well as the Governor General’s Meritorious Service (2000). She is also a well-established management and technology consultant and writer and the co-author of the best seller Innovation Nation: Canadian Leadership from Java to Jurassic Park published by Wiley. Wendy has a Master’s degree in History, an MBA from the University of Toronto and a PhD in Management Science from York. Links: Small Arms Firearms Education and Research Network (SAFER-Net); Coalition for Gun Control; International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA); Control Arms Campaign. January 19 - Panel discussion co-sponsored by YCAR, FES, and UCGS NOTE SPECIAL VENUE: HNES Room 140 In the Wake of the Tsunami: Environmental Vulnerabilities, Disaster Relief, and Reconstruction Moderator: Peter Vandergeest (YCAR) Courting Disaster: Coastal Development in Southern Thailand Craig Johnson (Political Science, Guelph) In the Path of the Wave: Impact on Two Vulnerable Communities in Chennai, India Martin Bunch (FES) A New Meaning for ‘Geo’-Politics: When the Forces of Nature and Politics Collide in Aceh, Indonesia Judith Nagata (Anthropology) Post-Tsunami Recovery in Sri Lanka: Questions, Concerns and Reflections" Rudhramoorthy Cheran (Sociology & Refugee Studies) Discussant: Harris Ali (FES).
Abstract: The panel discussion will be an opportunity to deepen and broader our understanding of the social and environmental background to the recent disaster in Asia, and link these to how relief and reconstruction might address socio-environmental vulnerabilities and north-south inequities. Panelists doing research in sites in each of the four countries most affected by the Tsunami will each address some of the following themes: how coastal zone developments in Asia may have shaped the impact of the tsunami; how socio-natural processes in coastal zones are linked to broader regional and north-south relationships; how regional politics shape relief and reconstruction efforts; how different approaches to relief and reconstruction may have different impacts on coastal communities and landscapes, and how these different approaches might address socio-environmental vulnerabilities.
Bank Meltdowns: International Financial Institutions in the Global South Poster for printing Chair and organizer: Anne-Marie Debbane (Geography). Panelists: Amin Alhassan (Communication Studies), The World Bank’s Strategies of Survival: The Ghana Story Grahame Russell (Rights Action), Guatemala: Global Impunity and the Chixoy Dam Reparations Campaign Grainne Ryder (Probe International), Why the World Bank Should Be Shut Down: A 20 Minute Tour of the World Bank's 'Model' Development Project in Lao PDR
Panel abstract: International financial institutions (IFIs) like the World Bank and the IMF have long been criticized as forces of domination in the global South through their imposition of macroeconomic austerity programs and their support of large-scale corporate led development projects, which have had severe social and environmental impacts. Despite the fact that these criticisms have resulted in some reformative but inconsequential actions, IFIs have kept up and even intensified their destructive practices. Taking us from Guatemala, Lao to Ghana, this panel will present specific cases where IFIs have exerted their influence to advance market-oriented development agendas and examine the devastating effects that these have had on local populations. In addition, the panelists will examine what kinds of resistance, or the lack thereof, that have emerged as a concerted challenge to IFIs. Finally, this panel discussion will serve as an opportunity to explore possibilities for active engagement toward building North-South solidarity in putting an end to harmful IFI policies.
Resources: Resources: For more information about Rights Action go to www.rightsinternational.org; Probe International, www.probeinternational.org; the Nam Theun 2 dam project in Lao PDR,
http://www.terraper.org/watershed/index.html the Integrated Social
Development Centre, Ghana
http://www.isodec.org..gh and the World Bank Bond Boycott campaign,
http://econjustice.net/wbbb/. Amin Alhassan, The World Bank’s Strategies of Survival: The Ghana Story
Abstract: For the past two decades, Ghana’s development policy process has been under the command of the World Bank and the IMF. At the level of the popular discourse these two organizations have successfully disassociated themselves from the consequences of their policies in Ghana and often put the blame on the governments. From healthcare to education and local government administration, the bank has successfully distance itself from the social consequences of restructuring. The only visible area of protest is in the area of water privatization. And even within this sector, the Bank seems to be having its way. Why is it that despite the two decades of the World Bank’s active control of the development policy process in Ghana, resistance to the consequences of the bank’s policy has not yet reached a critical mass? How does the bank and its sister organizations articulate their policies to seduce and win the heart and minds of the Ghanaian press and population? Focusing on two cases, water privatization and telecom deregulation, I will discuss some of the bank’s strategies of survival and suggest ways and means by which we can raise public consciousness of the bank’s (ir)responsibility.
Bio: Amin Alhassan is an assistant
professor of Communication at York University. He teaches in the York/Ryerson
Graduate Program in Communication and Culture as well as in the undergraduate
program in Communication at York University. Before settling at York last year,
Prof Alhassan taught in the Graduate Program in Communication at McGill
University and also at Concordia University’s Communication Studies Department.
He previously worked as a journalist in Ghana for 5 years with the Ghana News
Agency and the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation. His research and publications are
in the area of the rhetoric of economics in development communication policy.
His latest book is
Development Communication Policy and Economic Fundamentalism in Ghana
Tampere University Press 2004. Grahame Russell, Guatemala: Global Impunity and the Chixoy Dam Reparations Campaign
Abstract:
Grahame's presentation will focus on Global Impunity
and the Chixoy Dam Reparations Campaign. Indigenous groups in Guatemala
have been engaged in a struggle for reparations from the World Bank (WB), the
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Guatemalan government, as well as
the governments that control and direct the WB and the IDB, for the massacres of
over 400 Mayan-Achi people and the complete loss of home, community and land
associated with the construction of the Chixoy hydro-electric dam in
Guatemala. Grahame will explain why the WB, IDB, etc. and the governments that
direct and control these international financial institutions must be held
accountable according to the strictest standards of international and national
law for the devastating social and environmental impacts and gross violation of
human rights suffered by indigenous and other communities in Guatemala.
Bio:
Grahame Russell is a human rights lawyer and global justice activist from
Toronto. For 9 years, Grahame lived in Mexico and Central America, working on
development and human rights issues. Since 1995, Grahame co-directs
Rights Action that raises funds for
community development and human rights advocacy projects in Mexico, Central
America and Haiti and doing education and
Gráinne Ryder, Why the World Bank Should Be Shut Down: A 20 Minute Tour of the World Bank's 'Model' Development Project in Lao PDR
Abstract: The World Bank is about to decide whether or not to finance Southeast Asia's largest and most environmentally destructive hydro dam, the US$1.2 billion Nam Theun 2 project in Lao PDR. About two-thirds of the dam's revenues would go to its French and Thai investors, with the remainder going to the central Lao government for so-called poverty alleviation and watershed protection programs, as directed by the World Bank. The Bank claims that flooding almost 500 square kilometres of the Nakai Plateau -- a highland area that Western conservationists regard of "global significance" in terms of its wildlife and biodiversity -- is an acceptable tradeoff for the benefits generated, namely revenue for poverty alleviation. Thousands of people belonging to five different minority ethnic groups will either be displaced or are threatened by the loss of forests and other resources. Another 42,000 people downstream (the developers' estimate) are expected to lose income due to the loss of migratory fisheries and riverside crops. Grainne will review the Nam Theun 2 debate particularly the World Bank's response to critics, and then present some conclusions and recommendations for group discussion. A briefing paper is available here and a report here.
Bio: Gráinne Ryder is policy director at Probe International, a Toronto-based citizens group that investigates the environmental and economic impacts of Canadian aid and companies in developing countries. She has a Masters in Environmental Studies from York University (1996) and a Bachelor of Science in Water Resources Engineering from Guelph University (1983). Gráinne provides power sector analysis and advocacy support to citizens groups in the Mekong region of Southeast Asia, including the Bangkok-based environmental group TERRA (Towards Ecological Recovery and Regional Alliance), Palang Thai, and the Se San Protection Network of Cambodia. She also works collaboratively with international NGOs, including Oxfam America, WWF Thailand, and US-based environmental groups: Environmental Defence, International Rivers Network, and Natural Resources Defence Council.
Zimbabwe in Crisis: Rights, Resistance, Democracy and the Elections Chair and organizer: Richard Saunders (Political Science) Panelists: Raj Anand (Human Rights Lawyer, Toronto), Destruction of the Rule of Law in Zimbabwe Grace-Edward Galabuzi (Ryerson University), Contending with Mugabe's Legacy: Zimbabwean Labour Confronts the Dual Spectre of Authoritarian Rule and a Failed Economy Jim MacKinnon (Southern Africa Coordinator, Oxfam Canada), Civil Society: Preserving Hope, Building Community Blair Rutherford (Carleton University), The Rough Contours of Land and Rural Labour in Zimbabwe
Panel abstract: In 2000 Zimbabwe’s political landscape was dramatically altered by popular rejection of a proposed new constitution and the near defeat of President Mugabe’s ZANU-PF in parliamentary elections. Since then, the political, social and economic environment in the country has deteriorated alarmingly, accompanied by a precipitous decline in the country’s human rights record. New parliamentary elections are due in March this year. They come amid open power struggles within ZANU-PF, intensifying threats by the state and irregular militia to the main opposition challengers and failed diplomatic efforts by regional African leaders to restore a semblance of domestic stability. The roundtable will examine the origins of Zimbabwe’s current political-economic crisis, review its implications for Zimbabweans and their representative civic organizations, and consider the prospects for Zimbabwean democracy in 2005 – and beyond.
February 23 - Seminar NOTE SPECIAL VENUE: Bethune 341 The World Social Forum – 5 years later: Developments, Debates and Dilemmas Janet Conway (Ryerson University)
Abstract: This presentation will offer a historical overview of the WSF since its inception in Brazil in 2001. I will elaborate on the Social Forum as a particular political form and methodology, its transformations over time, and the variations introduced as the World Social Forum has moved geographically and in response to the development of major regional processes. I will discuss the demographics of the World Social Forum, especially the presence and role of particular major social movements, how they are using the Social Forum and how this intersects with major debates over the meaning and future direction of the WSF. I will pay particular attention to the presence and significance of women/feminism, indigenous movements and ‘non-Western’ discourses in the developments to date and debates over the future. I will also touch on major debates over the Forum as “space” vs. the Forum as “movement” and controversies over the governance of the process.
Bio: Dr. Janet Conway teaches in social movements, feminism, and democratic theory in the Politics department at Ryerson University. She is the author of Identity, Place, Knowledge: Social Movements Contesting Globalization, Fernwood Publishing, 2004. She is a long-time activist, most recently as an organizer of the Toronto Social Forum. She is currently engaged in a three-year SSHRC-funded research project entitled “The World Social Forum: Towards a New Democratic Imaginary.”
Links: A link to the official World Social Forum sites and to other documents and sites can be found here.
Security and Militarism in the Americas Chair and organizer: Shana Shubs (CERLAC). Panelists: Elena Cirkovic (Ph.D candidate, Political Science), Simon Helweg-Larsen (MA, Social and Political Thought), and Justin Podur (ZNET)
Abstract: While Latin America has emerged from the military dictatorships and armed conflicts of past decades, the military remains a powerful institution in many Latin American societies. A failure to bring those responsible for crimes against humanity to justice has only strengthened the impunity with which militarized groups operate. Today’s discourses of ‘security’ and the ‘war on terror’ are called upon to further U.S. interests in the region and, increasingly, to legitimize the militarization of social unrest and popular dissent. Taking us to Venezuela, Guatemala and Peru, this panel will explore the current social, political and economic contexts of militarism and consider the consequences for local populations as well as the implications for the region as a whole.
Participatory Processes for Watershed Management in Brazil: Models and Challenges Chair and organizer: Patricia E. (Ellie) Perkins (Faculty of Environmental Studies). Panelists: Marcia Chandra (MES student, Environmental Studies); Erika de Castro (School of Community and Regional Planning, Un. of British Columbia); Patricia E. (Ellie) Perkins (Environmental Studies); Paul Zandbergen (Dep. of Geography, University of South Florida, Tampa).
Abstract: Brazil's water law, one of the most progressive in the world, requires the participation of civil society in watershed management decisions. What does this mean in practice, and how can the views and interests of various publics be democratically incorporated in ecologically-sound watershed decision processes? This seminar, bringing together participants in two joint Canada-Brazil projects, will discuss the details of several case studies from the Sao Paulo region and their implications for the principles of improved watershed governance.
Bios: Marcia Chandra is a MES student in the Faculty of Environmental Studies at York University. She has recently returned from a six-month research trip to Brazil in connection with the Sister Watersheds project, where she conducted a case study of civil society participation in managing a pollution crisis on the urban fringe of the Metropolitan Sao Paulo watershed.
Erika de Castro is a Research Associate and Program
Manager of the Centre for Human Settlements in the School of Community and
Regional Planning at the University of British Columbia. She managed a CIDA-funded
project on "Community-Based Watershed Management in Santo André, Brazil". She
has been involved in UBC initiatives on Global Citizenship issues and she
teaches courses related to social development. Erika spent 20 years in urban and
social planning in Brazil before moving to Vancouver, where she has worked
locally as a volunteer in several participatory action programs on public health
and immigration.
Patricia E. (Ellie) Perkins is Associate Professor
in the Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University, where she teaches and
advises students in the areas of Ecological Economics, Environmental Economics
and Community Economic Development. She is a director of the CIDA-funded Sister
Watersheds project aimed at strengthening public participation in watershed
management in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Her research focuses on feminist ecological
economics, local economies, and participatory processes.
March 17 - (special day: note this is a Thursday) - Seminar presentation Mining, Conflict, and Trade in Asia Pacific Catherine Coumans (MiningWatch Canada)
Catherine Coumans, Ph.D., is Research Coordinator for MiningWatch Canada
Abstract: Canadian mining companies are at the center of intense struggles over human rights, economic security and cultural survival in the Asia-Pacific region. This presentation provides a brief overview of some of the social issues related to struggles surrounding Canadian mining projects in India, Indonesia, Burma, Thailand, and Papua New Guinea. It explores in greater depth one case in the Philippines and one in Kanaky-New Caledonia where indigenous peoples’ efforts to establish their rights over land and to cultural continuity are being severely eroded in the confrontation with Canadian mining companies. These examples highlight the need to examine violence and human rights abuses around mining in the region from the perspective of the new security agenda and Canadian trade policies, as well as the need to revisit frameworks for regulating the activities of Canadian corporations overseas.
Link: MiningWatch Canada can be found at http://www.miningwatch.ca/.
March 23 - Seminar presentation Muslim Diasporas and the West: Re-negotiating Multiculturalism? Haideh Moghissi (Atkinson Faculty of Liberal and Professional Studies)
Abstract: The influence of Islam as a religion, or a political ideology is increasing among migrants of Islamic cultures. This paper discusses whether it is Islam that defines the identity of Muslim diasporas or it is the diasporic experience that defines their Islamic identity? I argue that Muslims who use religious symbols (such as Islamic dress code Hijab) as a signifier of their cultural identity and to claim a voice, find themselves the target of anti-Muslim sentiments, stereotypes, discrimination and exclusion. The anti-Muslim racism, global political conditions, including military intervention in the Middle East and unresolved Palestinian-Israeli conflict tap into the diasporas’ grievances. All this help the development of an emotional and psychological detachment from the ‘host-land’; increased religiosity; revitalization of tribal customs; and creation of a vicious cycle. Hostile reception in the host society, pushes Muslims to create their own self-contained, protected spaces and supportive networks, in the form of numerous Muslim associations and community networks, and to insist on the fundamental differences between Muslims and ‘others’. However, these protected spaces increase marginalization and isolation of Muslim diasporas from the larger society.
Bio: Haideh Moghissi teaches sociology and women’s studies at Atkinson Faculty of Liberal and Professional Studies and the Faculty of Graduate Studies, York University, Toronto. Before leaving Iran in 1984, she was a founder of the Iranian National Union of Women and member of its first executive board and editorial board of Barabari (equality) and Zanan Dar Mobarezeh (Women in Struggle). Haideh Moghissi has served as a commentator on Iran and women in the Middle East on BBC World Service, CBC, Radio France, and Voice of America. Her publications include articles in refereed journals and chapters in edited volumes and following books: Women and Islam:Critical Concepts in Sociology (ed.) London: Routledge (2005); Feminism and Islamic Fundamentalism: The Limits of Postmodern Analysis, London: Oxford University Press 2000 (Zed Press, 1999, winner of Choice Outstanding Academic Book Award) and Populism and Feminism in Iran :Women's Struggle in a Male-Defined Revolutionary Movement, London: Macmillan Press; New York: St. Martin's Press (1994.) She has served as Coordinator of Certificate for Anti-Racist Research and Practice (CARRP), Chair of the Executive Committee of Centre for Feminist Research, and is a member of the Executive Committee of Centre for Refugee Studies at York University.
Fall 2005
October 19 - Seminar presentation Universities and the Production of Knowledge for Human Development Luciano Carrino (UNESCO)
Abstract and bio: Dr. Luciano Carrino
is a well-known author and practitioner in the field of international
development cooperation, in particular in the EU, UN and similar other
multilateral contexts. In his latest book, Of Pearls and Pirates (original in
Italian), Dr. Carrino discusses the contemporary crisis of development
cooperation and proposes alternatives to the aggressive unilateralism and
bilateralism which, he argues, are at the root of the crisis. In this talk,
Dr.Carrino will discuss how universities and university research may play a
critical role in this endeavour.
What Does Internationalization Mean at York? Adrian Shubert (Associate Vice-President International, York University)
Abstract: York University's engagement with the world is long standing. The University has reaffirmed this commitment in its Mission Statement, and in its key planning documents, including "Strategic Planning for the New Millennium" (May 1999), and the University Academic Plan in 2000 and 2005. The creation of the new position of Associate Vice-President International in July 2002 was intended to further advance the internationalization of the university. This presentation will describe the approaches and initiatives undertaken over the last three years and will invite suggestions for the future.
Human Development: Has the Paradigm Failed Us? Ananya Mukherjee Reed (Political Science, York)
Abstract: This talk will critically explore the paradigm of human development. As is well known, the paradigm was supposed to have brought about a shift from an economistic understanding of development to a more "humanistic" approach. Has this shift yielded any benefits to the Global South? Or has it simply given a "human face" to the traditional approaches to development? Does it serve as a means to capture any of the dominant concerns in the Global South? For instance, does it allow a healthy contestation between global powers and local visions of development? After developing a critique of the paradigm along these lines, the outlines of an alternative understanding of human development will be presented for collective reflection and discussion.
Prison, Prisoners, and Systems of Control Chair and organizer: Elena Cirkovic. Panellists: Marcelo Domingues Roman (University of São Paulo, Brazil, and Fique Vivo); Adam Hanieh (PhD candidate, Political Science, York); Ryan James (MA student, Anthropology, York); and Melanie Newton (Assistant Professor, History, University of Toronto)
Abstract: The panel will examine the role of detention and imprisonment within the global south, and their function in maintaining systems of colonial and imperialist control. The panel will look at several case studies of political prisoners and criminal offenders as well as the resistance engaged in by prisoners, families and their communities. In Brazil, the treatment of criminal offenders is largely based on punitive segregation. In Haiti, prisons are being used to silence political opposition to the regime. Palestinian political prisoners are being detained by the Israeli military. Within the borders of the United States, anti-imperialists are controlled and imprisoned.
People’s Globalization: Immigrant Women Organizing in Toronto Judy Rebick (Ryerson University)
Abstract: Immigrant women, using many of the techniques of the women’ s movement, organized around health and employment issues in Toronto during the 1980’s. Rebick, speaking from stories documented in her book Ten Thousand Roses: The Making of a Feminist Revolution, will show how the coalition forged among immigrant women helped make the Canadian women’ s movement the most diverse in the world.
Bio: Judy Rebick is the publisher of Canada's irreverent web magazine rabble.ca, author of Imagine Democracy, and the CAW Sam Gindin Chair in social justice and democracy at Ryerson University. She appears frequently on radio and television across Canada and writes for CBC Online and other magazines and newspapers. She lives in Toronto.
This talk is co-sponsored by the Graduate Program in Women's Studies and the Centre for Feminist Research at York.
Gender Perspectives from the Global South Elizabeth Asante (PhD candidate, Sociology); Evelyn Encalada Grez and Vivian Jiménez (ISHD, York and PhD candidates, OISE)
Abstract: Evelyn
Encalada and Vivian Jiménez
are working at the
International Secretariat for Human Development (ISDH) developing curricular
material to be used in teaching gender and human development. The goal is to
create an inventory of material that represents voices, experiences, and
conceptualisations of gender from various structural and geographical locations,
in particular those that are marginalized. Elizabeth Asante is working on a
dissertation that critically examines how international financial and aid
institutions approach gender “mainstreaming” in a neoliberal economic context,
focusing on a case study of
Taxi!: Cabs and Capitalism in New York City Biju Mathew (Taxi Workers Alliance)
Abstract: In his book Taxi! Cabs and Capitalism in New York city, Biju Mathew, a professor of business at Rider University and longstanding organizer of the Taxi Workers Alliance, draws extensively on interactions with the drivers themselves to tell the story of an industry that has come to typify the ruthless exploitation of modern business. Taxi! engages the political task of immigrant labour organizing with postcolonial and Marxist theory to produce a rich commentary on a range of issues—from immigration, gender, race and multiculturalism to the neo-liberal political economy and the imaginaries that fuel global cities like New York.
Co-sponsors: This talk is co-sponsored by: Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean, Division of Social Science, Graduate Program in Social Anthropology, International Development Studies Program, Labour Studies Program, York Centre for Asian Research, and York University Bookstore.
Winter 2006
Mining Our Business: Human Rights, Sustainability, and Canadian Extractive Corporations in the Global South Chair: Liisa North (CERLAC). Panellists: James Cooney (Placer Dome); Grahame Russell (Rights Action); Sara Seck (PhD candidate, Osgoode, York University); and David Szablowski (Professor, Law and Society Program, York University)
Abstract: Some Canadians make a lot of money from mining, oil and gas extraction. At the same time, Canadian extractive companies are running into difficult ethical situations in their overseas operations. Given these two realities, what can be done to ensure that the extraction of natural resources respects human rights, benefits local communities and contributes to sustainable development? Is it even possible? Come listen to representatives from business, academia, and civil society discuss these questions.
Sponsors: This event is sponsored by: Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean (CERLAC), University Consortium on the Global South (UCGS), York Institute for Research in Sustainability (IRIS), and Amnesty International Canada.
Silver Lining or Dark Cloud: Climate Change Effects on North-South Relations Chair: Anne-Marie Debbané (PhD Candidate, Geography, York University). Panellists: Sarah Dover (Sierra Club), Graham Erion (MES & LLB candidate, York University), and Eric Haites (Climate Change Consultant, Margaree Consultants, Inc.)
Panel abstract: While
environmentalists lamented the lack of any serious consideration given to
climate change at the last G8 meeting, the UN Conference held in Montreal this
past December put climate change firmly back on the political agenda. Heads of
state congratulated themselves for having taken concrete steps toward adapting
and implementing the Kyoto Protocol. Particular emphasis was placed on improving
the financial and institutional capabilities for clean development mechanisms
and carbon markets, which are premised on a mutually beneficial relationship
between developed and developing countries by addressing their respective
environment and development priorities. This panel will examine the prospects
and problems associated with these climate change policies, specifically looking
at their implications for North-South relations and their potential for
mitigating climate change and promoting equitable and sustainable development.
Sarah Dover - Climate Change and
Change Resistance: Discord Between International Environment and ‘Free Trade’
Laws
Thursday, February 2, 3:00-5:00 PM - Panel Atkinson Building, Harry Leith room 004 - PLEASE NOTE SPECIAL DAY, TIME, AND VENUE State-Building and Development Administration in Palestine - Reporting on a project of Canada Corps/University Partnership Program Introduction and Framework of the Project - Prof. Saeed Rahnema (Atkinson Faculty) Developing State Capacities in Palestine - Prof. Greg Albo and Robert MacDermid (Dept. of Political Science) Impressions - Political Science students - Angela Joya (PhD Candidate); Kareem Javed (MA Candidate); Lamees Awweh (4th year); and Ammar Hussein (4th year) This event is co-sponsored by the Colloquium on the Global South and Shalom-Salam at York
February 22 - Panel Constructions of Internationalization, Area Studies, and the Post-Colonial Question Chair: Pablo Idahosa (African Studies). Panellists: Eduardo Canel (Latin American Studies); Linzi Manicom (Institute for Women's Studies and Gender Studies, University of Toronto); Gavin Smith (Anthropology, University of Toronto); and Alissa Trotz (Sociology and Equity Studies, OISE)
Friday, February 24, 9:15 AM- 3:00 PM - Symposium Senior Common Room, Founders College - PLEASE NOTE SPECIAL DAY, TIME, AND VENUE
University
Engagements with the Global South: Internationalization, Graduate Programs and
Area Studies March 8 - Film presentation and discussion with the director 280 York Lanes NOTE SPECIAL VENUE Wetback - The Undocumented Documentary Director of the film: Arturo Perez Torres. Chair: Luin Goldring (Sociology)
March 29 - Presentation and discussion Chiapas Indigenous Women's Fair Trade Weaving Cooperatives- The Struggle for Women's Empowerment and Indigenous Autonomy Pascuala Patishtan and Yolanda Castro (Jolom Mayaetik and K'inal Antzetik organizations, Chiapas, Mexico) Abstract: Indigenous women from Chiapas, Mexico educate and empower themselves through their participation in women's cooperative Jolom Mayaetik and NGO K'inal Antzetik. Their work raises women's political awareness, and creates alternatives to gender and economic subordination. Women's work in Fair Trade cooperatives has been instrumental also in maintaining the autonomy of Indigenous communities in Chiapas, providing an alternative source of income for communities whose livelihoods continue to be threatened by macro-economic development plans such as the Plan Puebla Panama (PPP), trade agreements such as NAFTA, and persistent low-intensity warfare. Please join representatives from Jolom Mayaetik and K'inal Antzetik, sharing their struggle for dignity, autonomy, and survival. Discussion to follow.
Oct. 4 - Seminar Immigration, Racism and South Asian Patriarchy Amrit Wilson (Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Huddersfield, UK) Co-sponsored by Atkinson School of Social Sciences, Department of Social Anthropology, South Asia Studies Program and York Centre for Asian Research
Abstract: How has South Asian politics reshaped
gender relations in Britain over the last
Foreign Aid as G(r)ift Ilan Kapoor (Environmental Studies) Co-sponsored by South Asia Studies Program
Abstract: Drawing on Derrida's work on the gift, in which he points out it is ”the impossible” because it is always contaminated (by economy), this paper focuses on the aporia (impasse) of Western foreign aid: on the one hand, the discourse of aid is constructed as non-reciprocated gift; on the other hand, the discursive practice of aid is closely tied to conditionalities, be they ideological (neoliberalism), economic (tied aid) or political (foreign policy objectives). My main argument is that foreign aid regimes have been successful in publicizing the former (aid as gift) and covering up the latter (aid conditionalities) so as to shore up the donors’ national self-image as benevolent and generous. I conclude with a consideration of ethical, political and institutional possibilities for aid as “gift.”
Bio: Ilan Kapoor is Associate Professor and Undergraduate Programme Director at the Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University. His teaching and research are in Development Studies, focusing on participation, democratic theory, and postcolonial studies/politics. Previous to joining York, he carried out assignments with various development agencies, including CIDA, UNDP, IDRC and ICLEI (International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives).
From Missile Defence to Afghanistan: How Citizens are Confronting the Bush Agenda in Canada Steven Staples (Ceasefire Campaign) Presentation of his new book Missile Defence: Round One
About the book: An insider’s account of how and why Canada said no to George Bush — and why the missile defense issue won’t die.
In the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the United States embarked on a mission to resurrect the ballistic missile defence program known as Star Wars, once envisioned by Ronald Reagan. But when Bush turned to Canada to support the program, he touched off a political firestorm. This book explains how an unlikely coalition of parliamentarians, peace activists, former diplomats, experts and ordinary citizens were able to stop Canadian participation. Steven Staples, one of the key organizers of the opposition to missile defence, explores the public positions and private motivations that led Ottawa to reverse its original decision to participate. But the issue continues to bubble just below the surface. Staples also explores the prospects for Canada and Canadians holding fast to a decision not to participate in this controversial program.
Bio: Steven Staples is a veteran political organizer from the peace and anti-globalization movements. From his office at the Polaris Institute in Ottawa, he was one of the central backroom – and sometimes front-page – voices that led the political resistance to Paul Martin’s plan to put Canada in Bush’s missile defence system. Known on Parliament Hill, in newsrooms, and on the street, Staples is a key figure in Canada’s peace movement.
Challenging the HIV/AIDS Paradigm: Perspectives from the Global North and Global South Chair and organizer: Penny Van Esterik (Anthropology) Panellists: Rebecca Rogerson (Interdisciplinary Studies), Eric Mykhalovskiy (Sociology), Tamara Daly (School of Health Policy and Management, on behalf of co-researchers Julie Maggi and Mark Halman, St. Michael’s Hospital), and Penny Van Esterik (Anthropology)
Abstract: The International AIDS Conference in Toronto (August 2006) brought together specialists with a diversity of positions on HIV/AIDS. That event, and an earlier conference on Gender, Child Survival and HIV/AIDS: From Evidence to Policy at York University (May 2006), underscored the differences in the way the disease is perceived and addressed in the Global North and the Global South. In this panel, researchers currently working on HIV/AIDS from different disciplinary perspectives share results from ongoing projects. Presentations raise questions about connections and disconnections between the Global North and the Global South in approaches to prevention, treatment and policy. How does the existence of HIV/AIDS intersect with broader questions about gender, poverty and power, and with research agendas in health policy, international development, and economic change?
Titles of presentations: Penny Van Esterik (Anthropology, York): Introduction and comments on conference on Gender, child survival and HIV/AIDS: From evidence to policy (York, May 7-9, 2006) Rebecca Rogerson (Interdisciplinary Studies, York ) Traditional healers: Their approaches to HIV prevention, care and support in South Africa. Eric Mykhalovskiy (Sociology, York) On the articulation of public health and biomedicine in HIV: Reflections on the discourse of integration. Tamara Daly (School of Health Policy and Management, York), Julie Maggi (St. Michael’s Hospital) and Mark Halman (St. Michael’s Hospital): Topic TBA. Penny Van Esterik: The missing fluid: HIV transmission through breastmilk.
This event is co-sponsored by the York Institute for Health Research (YIHR) and the School of Health Policy & Management (SHPM).
Bio: Eric Mykhalovskiy is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology, York University. His primary research interest is the social organization of health knowledge. His recent research includes studies of the interface of biomedical and experiential knowledges in the context of HIV/AIDS, published in *Critical Public Health*, *Social Theory & Health* and elsewhere as well as studies of formal discourses of health knowledge, in particular health services research and evidence-based medicine, published in such journals as *Social Science & Medicine *and *Health.* He is currently principal investigator of a SSHRC-funded study on the relationship between lay and biomedical knowledge in HIV/AIDS, is co-investigator of a SSHRC-funded study on interspecies health with Melanie Rock (Calgary) and Thomas Schlich (McGill), and is working with Lorna Weir (York) on a study of global health surveillance. He holds a Canadian Institutes of Health Research New Investigator Award for his work in HIV.
Rebecca Rogerson is a registered Traditional African Healer (Isangoma). After the completion of her training in Soweto, South Africa, Ms. Rogerson worked as a traditional healer in Southern Africa for more than a decade. As a CUSO Cooperant from 2001-2003, Ms. Rogerson initiated HIV/AIDS programs on community, medical and national policy levels. Her work as both an activist and a practitioner has earned her numerous international awards. In her most recent position with ACHAP (a joint project between Merck Pharmaceuticals, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Government of Botswana), she developed a national traditional healer HIV/AIDS program. Ms. Rogerson has conducted research and presented on traditional African medicine in academic, medical, community based and private sectors. She is currently a board member with Toronto based and Southern African based NGO’s. She maintains a private practice in Toronto, focusing on wellness for continental and diasporic Africans. She begins her MA in Interdisciplinary Studies at York University in 2007.
Penny Van Esterik is Professor of Anthropology at York University, Toronto. She teaches nutritional anthropology, advocacy anthropology and feminist theory, and works primarily in Southeast Asia. Past books include Beyond the Breast-Bottle Controversy (on infant feeding in developing countries), Materializing Thailand (on cultural interpretations of gender in Thailand), Taking Refuge: Lao Buddhists in North America (on the reintroduction of Buddhism by Lao refugees to North America), and Food and Culture: a reader, edited with Carole Counihan (currently being updated). She is a founding member of WABA (World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action) and has been active in developing materials on breastfeeding and women’s work, breastfeeding and feminism, and contemporary challenges to infant feeding such as environmental contaminants and HIV/AIDS.
Nov. 15 - Seminar Multiracialism as More than the Sum of Ethnicities: Experiences from the Anglophone Caribbean Sara Abraham (Sociology, University of Toronto)
Nov. 22 – Panel Discussion Reflections on the Election Year in Latin America Organizer and Chair: Laura Shillington (PhD Candidate in Geography) Confirmed panellists: Thomas Marois (PhD Candidate in Political Science) and Jonah Gindin (freelance journalist)
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