African Studies

A milestone investment in the African Studies Centre and the Centre for Caribbean Studies at the �ؿ�ζSM will help attract top experts in the field, energize the next generation of researchers and engage students in advanced scholarship.

The $5-million donation from alumnus Richard Rooney, which will be matched by funds from the Faculty of Arts & Science, will create an endowed professorship at each centre and two prestigious postdoctoral fellowships, energizing the next generation of African Studies and Caribbean Studies scholars.

“We are deeply grateful to Richard Rooney for his visionary gift to the �ؿ�ζSM,” said U of T President Meric Gertler. “This landmark benefaction will further advance U of T’s leadership in African Studies and Caribbean Studies.”

Melanie Woodin, dean of U of T’s Faculty of Arts & Science, said the gift will elevate the centres to new heights as sites of scholarly excellence and transdisciplinary dialogue.

“The research, teaching and collaboration happening at these two centres are indispensable for making sense of the 21st century, providing learners with the tools they need to become engaged citizens, anchored by a rich understanding of the world today,” Woodin said.

Recognized as one of the best undergraduate programs of its kind in North America, the African Studies Centre is a vibrant social and cultural hub of academic excellence, helping students develop a deeper understanding of African societies, cultures and histories through an interdisciplinary lens.

The Centre for Caribbean Studies, meanwhile, brings together academics and learners with shared commitments to Caribbean Studies as an area of interdisciplinary focus for research, teaching, learning and community engagement – and offers the only program in Canada with degrees specifically dedicated to the study of the Caribbean and its people.

Both programs originated at New College, where long-time supporter and volunteer Rooney studied while earning his bachelor of arts degree in 1977.

“The education I received at New College was a springboard for my success,” said Rooney, who is vice-chair and co-founder of Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. “It’s an honour for me to be able to give back to a place that was so pivotal in my life and to support academic programs that can help us imagine a more equitable and just society.”

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Elite Africa Project shines light on the creativity, expertise and power that thrives on the continent

Christopher.Sorensen — Fri, 23 Feb 2024 19:50:09 +0000

Elite Africa Project shines light on the creativity, expertise and power that thrives on the continent

Christopher.Sorensen Fri, 02/23/2024 - 14:50

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Students on the upper gallery of the Alioune Diop University Lecture Building in Bambey, Senegal (photo by Chérif Tall/Aga Khan Trust for Culture)

Topic

Faculty of Arts & Science

Subheadline

An international group of African studies scholars has launched the Elite Africa Project, which seeks to redefine the notion of power in Africa and shift public perceptions about the continent’s most prominent and prosperous people.

A global hub of information for scholars, activists, journalists and practitioners, the initiative aims to foster deeper engagement with the expanse of creativity, expertise and power that thrives in Africa today while challenging negative portrayals of the region.

“We’re in a moment where Africans are playing a leading role in almost every field of human endeavor you can imagine,” says Antoinette Handley, a professor in the �ؿ�ζSM’s department of political science in the Faculty of Arts & Science who is the project’s principal investigator.

“For example, several of the world’s top prizes for literature have gone to a range of African authors in recent years, the 2022 Pritzker Architecture Prize was awarded to a native of Burkina Faso – the first African and first Black architect to receive the honour — the World Health Organization is currently headed by an Ethiopian public health researcher and the World Trade Organization is headed up by the former finance minister of Nigeria.”

In addition to Handley and fellow U of T scholars Dickson Eyoh, Sean Hawkins and Nakanyike B. Musisi, the project is led by Gerald Bareebe of York University, Peter Lewis of Johns Hopkins University, Landry Signé of Arizona State University and the Brookings Institution and Thomas Kwasi Tieku of King’s University College at Western University.

Despite the many achievements emerging from across the world’s second-most populous continent, the researchers say most popular and academic treatments of Africa tend to feature people commonly regarded as weak and poor or villainous and despotic.

Calling for a reassessment of former approaches, the scholars’ aims are to:

Challenge the narrow and sometimes racist popular understanding that the continent is composed largely of poor or disempowered populations and a class of individuals who are either corrupt, self-serving or puppets of international forces.
Map the dynamics of elite formation in Africa.
Present power as more multidimensional: comprising “soft” forms of power such as knowledge, skills and creativity, as much as it also comprises the more commonly considered “hard” forms of power, such as coercion or material resources.

“Ultimately, our goal with the Elite Africa Project – aptly named to refer to the people who are unusually influential in agenda-setting and decision-making – is to challenge academic and public perceptions of influential Africans as grasping and self-interested, a framing that perpetuates negative depictions of the continent and its peoples and draws on a simplistic understanding of power and how it is wielded,” Handley said.

“Our focus is on the burgeoning ranks of globally renowned artists, prominent intellectuals, innovative businesspeople, accomplished scientists and many others who are flourishing and, in the process, transform both Africa and the global fields within which they work.”

Clockwise from top left: Antoinette Handley, Dickson Eyoh, Sean Hawkins, Nakanyike Musisi, Thomas Kwasi Tieku, Landry Signé, Peter Lewis and Gerald Bareebe (photos courtesy of Elite Africa Project)

The project’s central feature is a database curated primarily for scholars and students of African studies that’s designed to be an entry point into more research about – and a better understanding of – elites and elite accomplishments across the continent.

“With the help of our team from across the globe, we're building an essential hub of information for scholars, activists, journalists and practitioners – anyone intrigued by Africa's vibrant domains ranging from politics and economics to religion and the arts, and everything in between,” said Eyoh, an associate professor in U of T’s department of political science in the Faculty of Arts & Science and the African Studies Centre at New College.

The database contains key academic works, a curated assortment of relevant podcasts and videos, and a collection of biographies of personalities and organizations.

“Whether someone is looking for information about highly regarded African photographers or fashion designers, or some background on the political history of any one African nation, or the roles of religious leaders across many African societies, our hope is that the database can serve as a starting point or a source of supplementary information in the course of their investigation,” Handley said. “It could also be used as a teaching tool for students at any level.”

Another key feature of the project’s website is a weekly roundup of news articles offering insights into a wide variety of people, places and proceedings making headlines both domestically and internationally.

“We're very conscious about presenting items that are not just limited to politics or big economic stories, but represent accomplishments by leading Africans in every imaginable sphere of human activity,” said Handley.

“There’s a huge amount of news stories and data about Africa out there – we’re trying to present a shorthand, easy overview that provides a more well-rounded picture. It lands in your Instagram feed once a week and you can keep track broadly of what’s happening on the continent.”

Handley says her hope for the project is “to go beyond negative stereotypes and ensure a broader, balanced, perhaps more positive view of all that Africa has to offer.”

‘Learning is a lifelong experience’: U of T grad celebrates 80th birthday on his convocation day

Christopher.Sorensen — Mon, 06 Nov 2023 22:22:18 +0000

‘Learning is a lifelong experience’: U of T grad celebrates 80th birthday on his convocation day

Christopher.Sorensen Mon, 11/06/2023 - 17:22

Cutline

Jacques Leduc says the support of his family has been immensely important throughout his studies (photo by Polina Teif)

Topic

Faculty of Arts & Science

New College

Jacques Leduc says it feels extra special to be celebrating two significant milestones on Nov. 6: his 80th birthday and his graduation from the �ؿ�ζSM.

Before going back to university, Leduc worked in central and west Africa as an accountant.

He says the experience inspired him to complete a bachelor’s degree with a double major in African studies and near and Middle Eastern civilizations in the Faculty of Arts & Science.

“I learned things that I maybe should have known before,” said Leduc who is a member of New College.

“When you’re working in a career – particularly a career in, let’s say law, accounting or engineering – you’re sort of focused on that particular technical area. Whereas if you do a humanities course, it really broadens your way of thinking.”

Leduc crosses the stage at Convocation Hall

He credits the “high level discussions” he had in his classes, the books he was assigned to read and, of course, his professors for opening his eyes to things he might not have realized had he not gone back to university – including a more complete understanding of the deep and lasting harms caused by colonialism in Africa.

“You think about it a bit longer and you realize most of us in Canada are a colonial power,” he says. “It really makes you rethink how people feel.”

The last time Leduc was a student was in the 1960s at the Royal Military College of Canada, which he says was a very different experience. It was a small school – with about 180 students in Leduc’s graduating class (by contrast, more than 21,000 are expected to graduate from U of T in 2023) – and his focus back then was on friends and sports.

After graduating, Leduc worked at an accounting firm and then for the government in the auditor general’s office. As the director of international affairs, he made contacts from across the globe, including organizations in Africa.

When he semi-retired, he took on consulting work in the region, where he became fascinated by the continent.

(photo by David Lee)

On his graduation day, Leduc’s wife, daughter and son-in-law will be sitting inside Convocation Hall cheering him on. They plan to celebrate both his convocation and birthday that evening by going out to dinner.

He says that the support of family has been immensely important to him during his four years at U of T.

“I would often be squirreled away in a corner working on my assignments instead of doing things around the house and my wife never complained – she really encouraged me,” he said.

“Any time I had written assignments or essays, she’d always read everything and give me good feedback.”

Leduc wants to continue his education – he has his eye on a master’s degree in African studies.

“Education doesn’t stop when you first graduate,” he says. “Learning is a lifelong experience.”

New graduate credits U of T’s Transitional Year Programme for her success – and plans to pay it forward

siddiq22 — Fri, 16 Jun 2023 17:09:52 +0000

New graduate credits U of T’s Transitional Year Programme for her success – and plans to pay it forward

siddiq22 Fri, 06/16/2023 - 13:09

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Floria Kangootui, wearing traditional clothing from her homeland of Namibia, graduated this week after U of T's Transitional Year Programme helped her achieve her dream of attending university (supplied image)

Topic

Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work

Faculty of Arts & Science

University College

Subheadline

After overcoming challenges to achieve her dream of attending university, Floria Kangootui aims to help others by drawing on her own experiences

As Floria Kangootui crosses the stage at Convocation Hall this week, she’ll be thinking about how far she’s come.

While the �ؿ�ζSM graduate always planned to continue her education when she fled Namibia for Canada 12 years ago, obstacles kept getting in the way – until she discovered the Transitional Year Programme (TYP).

“I wanted to go to a country where I would just feel safe and be who I am. I came not having any friends or family, not knowing anyone – I just made a huge decision to come here and really wanted to go to school,” recalls Kangootui, 40, who earned a bachelor’s degree in the Faculty of Arts & Science with a major in critical studies in equity and solidarity and a double minor in Indigenous studies and African studies.

“When I arrived, I came in as a refugee claimant and did not have my immigration status yet. Due to my challenges supporting my family back home, I dropped out of school. I didn’t know what to do – I didn’t have a voice for myself.”

Kangootui wears a stole from Black Grad 2023, a student-run celebration that highlights the accomplishments of Black graduates at U of T (supplied image)

Kangootui, a member of University College, left Namibia because of societal pressures, including a longstanding tradition within her family to promise girls in marriage to their cousins, as well as deeply rooted homophobia within the country.

Once in Canada, she took a job in 2013 with a mining company in Timmins, Ont. – pushing her aspiration to finish high school even further off.

But when an Indigenous colleague at the company shared stories about residential school and the Sixties Scoop, Kangootui's desire to learn was rekindled.

“I really began questioning why I didn’t know anything about this history and realized I wanted to go back to school and learn more about the history of Canada.”

After becoming a single parent in 2016 and moving back to Toronto, she was set to study community services at college when a Facebook post about U of T’s Transitional Year Programme caught her eye.

The eight-month program, which helps adult students who have not completed high school enter university, offers supports – including an academic adviser, access to counselling, funding options, spaces to work and social events – to ensure students succeed in transitioning to undergraduate studies.

“I remember going to my first TYP meeting – it was opening doors to people who never would have had the qualifications or background to go to university,” Kangootui says.

Kangootui’s interest in social justice quickly found a home in her studies, which opened her eyes to inequities at home and abroad and underscored her desire to effect change.

“For example, I have people from my community who are LGBTQ – they don’t want to come out because of the stigma,” she says.

“Learning more about equity has really changed my understanding about so many things.”

Kangootui credits the TYP with allowing her to fulfil her dream of higher education – and for helping her to cultivate a network of peers who have overcome everything from addiction, language barriers, homelessness and more to work toward the same goal.

“Every story is so unique – most of us didn’t have parents who went to university. I think all of us realized that it was something we had to do,” she says. “The people that I have met in the program, we are still together to this day – it’s a real community.”

“Even though we may come from different backgrounds and speak different languages, we all still need a place where we feel that we belong.”

She’s also grateful for the mentorship and guidance of faculty and lecturers Francis Ahia, Stan Doyle-Wood, Chevy Eugene and Joanne Valin, as well as program director Lance McCready, registrar Shane Wallace and program administrator Maru Rodriguez.

“Floria was a committed, conscientious TYP student who built a strong network of support,” says McCready, associate professor of leadership, higher and adult education at U of T’s Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.

“She is a shining of example of the transformative power of undergraduate studies and the importance of investing in education access for mature students.”

During her studies, Kangootui served as the upper-year representative of the African Studies Course Union and volunteered with Fife House, an organization providing supportive housing and support services to people living with HIV.

“Now I can understand others’ struggles based on my experience, and want to give back in any way I can. That’s my goal for the future,” she says.

Kangootui plans to live up to that commitment through the next step in her educational journey – she’ll start a master’s degree at U of T’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work in the fall – and hopes her achievement will inspire her seven-year-old daughter.

She has a simple message for others facing challenges on the path to university: “School does not have any age – we can all do it. If I was able to go to school given my whole journey, and as a single mother, then everyone can do it.”

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Transitional Year Programme

After a harrowing escape from Sudan, U of T scholar Nisrin Elamin calls on the world to pay attention

siddiq22 — Wed, 14 Jun 2023 18:07:17 +0000

After a harrowing escape from Sudan, U of T scholar Nisrin Elamin calls on the world to pay attention

siddiq22 Wed, 06/14/2023 - 14:07

Cutline

Nisrin Elamin, an assistant professor of archeology and African Studies in U of T's Faculty of Arts & Science, recently fled Sudan, which is in the midst of an armed conflict between rival factions of the military government (photo courtesy of Nisrin Elamin)

Topic

Faculty of Arts & Science

Global

International

New College

Subheadline

Elamin, an assistant professor of archeology and African Studies, says more needs to be done to support the country's pro-democracy movement

Why aren’t there more eyes on Sudan – the site of a humanitarian crisis which has seen more than one million people driven from their homes in the space of two months, with many others killed or injured?

Nisrin Elamin asks herself that question every day. The assistant professor in the department of anthropology and the African Studies program in the Faculty of Arts & Science recently escaped from Sudan, where she had been visiting family.

After a dangerous, difficult journey from the capital city of Khartoum to Port Sudan on the Red Sea, Elamin was evacuated at the end of April, along with her parents and three-year-old daughter.

Now, she thinks about her many close relatives who remain sheltering in place in and around Khartoum – and about the millions of other Sudanese people still living there and in other parts of the country in desperate conditions.

Entire villages have been burned to the ground, with many citizens deprived of access to food, water, medicine and fuel during the ongoing conflict between rival factions of the military government.

“It’s a terrible situation,” Elamin says. “And the international humanitarian response has been ‘too little, too late’ in the sense that when we evacuated, the aid community evacuated with us.”

During a temporary ceasefire, several international aid organizations have been able to resume assistance to Sudan. But aid agency operations often report obstructions, and Elamin says the Sudanese people themselves have sometimes proven most effective at helping their fellow citizens.

“People have been relying on resistance committees and civilian volunteer networks,” she says.

“These are grassroots democratic forces that have been the backbone of Sudan’s popular uprising against the current regime since 2018. They’ve been the ones distributing food and water – and they have actually been arrested for doing this work.”

Women carrying belongings walk down a street in Omdurman, Sudan, the twin city of the country's capital, Khartoum (photo by AFP via Getty Images)

Since Sudan gained independence from colonial rule in 1956, the country has spent the majority of those years riven by internal conflict. In 2021, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of Sudan’s army, and Lt. General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (known as Hemedti), paramilitary chief of the Rapid Support Forces, collaborated to topple the regime of Omar al-Bashir – a leader who had been indicted by the International Criminal Court in 2009 for directing a campaign of mass killing in the Darfur region and was subsequently imprisoned on corruption charges.

Yet the generals are themselves steadfast enemies of democracy – together, they have been responsible for human rights violations, including al-Burhan’s direction of the Khartoum Massacre of 2019 and Hemedti’s brutal leadership of the Janjaweed militia in Darfur beginning in 2003. And now they are at war with each other.

“The Rapid Support Forces were supposed to be integrated into the armed forces based on a political agreement that would eventually lead to democratic elections,” Elamin says.

“But these two generals, who are known war criminals, are now struggling for political and economic control. And everybody else is in the middle of this.”

Even prior to the fighting that gave rise to this catastrophe, Sudan – Africa's third-largest country – was dealing with a refugee crisis and severe food insecurity. The United Nations estimates that 25 million people in the country currently need aid and protection.

Elamin is an American citizen who recently completed her first year as a scholar at U of T. She is currently writing a book based on 15 months of fieldwork in Sudan, and her recent trip there was taken with the intention of conducting follow-up research while also introducing her young daughter to her Sudanese family.

“My work focuses on large-scale land investments – what many call ‘land grabs’ in central Sudan, where I’m originally from,” she says.

“I’ve been tracing the impacts of Gulf Arab corporate and domestic investments on local communities and researching the various forms of resistance to these investments. Just to give you an idea, the Saudis and Emiratis have invested about $27 billion in real estate infrastructure over the last two decades – all while the country was governed by a brutal military regime.

“Such investments have also impacted local food sovereignty – these shifts in land ownership undermine people’s access to subsistence food, and they’re relying on imports now more than ever.”

Elamin notes that despite the various crises affecting them, the people of Sudan remain unbowed. Soon after the shelling and explosions began, “only 16 per cent of hospitals in Khartoum were operating at capacity. The Sudanese Doctors’ Union has set up field hospitals on the outskirts of the city to treat the injured, deliver babies and do whatever is needed, though even getting there is dangerous.”

Since her return from Sudan, Elamin has been tireless in her efforts to inform the public about what is happening in her family’s homeland, appearing on international radio and television programs. She points out that while the news cycle invariably moves on, Sudan’s problems do not.

Still, Elamin affirms that much is being done.

“For example, the Sudanese Students Union at U of T recently held an event to inform the community about what’s happening. It was also a fundraiser for the Sudanese Doctors’ Union – that’s an important initiative to support, because money goes directly to the support the lifesaving work doctors are doing there.”

Elamin also calls on governments around the world to lend help where they can. Much more assistance is needed at the borders of the seven countries bordering Sudan, which are all processing refugees at a painfully slow rate in the punishing desert climate.

She notes Canada could provide expedited travel visas, such as those offered to refugees from Ukraine.

“But probably the most important thing is for Canadians to assist the international community – specifically efforts on the African continent led by regional actors such as the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority for Development – with their effort to broker a sustainable peace," Elamin says.

"This requires, in my view, putting these two generals on trial instead of putting them at the negotiating table – and really starting a transitional kind of process: one that centres the pro-democracy forces that have been sidelined.”

Creative Writing Workshop for Racialized Students lets participants 'showcase the beauty of my background'

Christopher.Sorensen — Fri, 24 Feb 2023 20:52:32 +0000

Creative Writing Workshop for Racialized Students lets participants 'showcase the beauty of my background'

Christopher.Sorensen Fri, 02/24/2023 - 15:52

Cutline

Comfort Azubuko-Udah, an assistant professor in the department of English, created a four-session writing workshop that encouraged racialized students "to tell their own stories in their own voice" (photo by Diana Tyszko)

Topic

Faculty of Arts & Science

New College

University College

Having completed most of her degree online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Calista Nyembwe was looking for a way to connect with other students and to express herself.

“I’m constantly writing academic papers for school and I needed an outlet to be creative again,” says Nyembwe, a fourth-year student in the �ؿ�ζSM’s Faculty of Arts & Science who is majoring in diaspora and transnational studies and minoring in African and Caribbean studies as a member of New College.

“I wanted to write about experiences that I can relate to. I wanted to write stories about the subjects I’m studying, but I also wanted to get into more personal writing because it can be a great way to get my thoughts and feelings out.”

She found exactly what she was looking for with the Creative Writing Workshop for Racialized Students, which ran through January and February of this year.

Sponsored by the African Studies program and co-sponsored by African Studies Course Union (ASCU), the workshop was created by Comfort Azubuko-Udah, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Arts & Science’s department of English who is cross-appointed to New College’s African Studies program.

The four-session workshop offered students a welcoming space to be expressive, creative and vulnerable in personal storytelling – no grades, no expectations, no pressure.

“I just wanted to encourage students to tell their own stories in their own voice and not have to worry about having this air of expertise,” says Azubuko-Udah.

“The idea was to be able to own your experiences and not have to explain yourself or feel the need to have your experiences mediated for someone else's consumption.”

She created the workshop, in part, because she, too, wanted to connect with students after arriving at U of T last summer.

The workshop attracted 17 students from different genders, cultures and academic programs.

“Interestingly, I had quite a few STEM students,” says Azubuko-Udah. “I had some students in the humanities and social sciences as well. I even had a York University student who commuted to join us.”

One of the STEM students was Anaïs Ouedraogo, a third-year cognitive science and global health student and a member of University College.

“Being on a campus as large as St. George and in two STEM programs, I rarely have the chance to sit back and reflect on my identity and experiences in a space with people who look like me,” says Ouedraogo.

“Because I struggle with expressing a lot of what I feel and my lived experiences, this workshop was the perfect opportunity to learn a new way of creative expression. I want to write about the lived experiences of trauma and pain that I’ve been struggling to accept throughout my life.”

The workshops were a mixture of reading, writing exercises and discussion. One of the early exercises involved simply learning how to pronounce everyone’s name correctly.

“We went around the room and I made a point of having them all say their names and write them out,” says Azubuko-Udah. “And then we talked about our names – if there was meaning behind them and how we came to get that name. It was a way of being able to just exist and not have to constantly negotiate.”

That theme of not having to negotiate extended to being encouraged to write in multiple languages “if that proved easier and more reflective of who they are, and not have their stories or experiences ‘watered down’ through translation," says Azubuko-Udah.

Azubuko-Udah says she designed the workshop to focus on the joy of writing and storytelling, regardless of the subject.

“Literally everywhere else, they're hyper-aware of their race and racialization and dealing with microaggressions and macroaggressions on a daily basis,” she says. “In this space, we definitely had people share stories about questionable things they've experienced.

“A racialized positionality can come to define one's whole being and everyone was welcome to resist that expectation if they wished, or dive into it as they saw fit. But I wanted them to feel like they have a right to frivolity when it comes to their storytelling.”

The approach clicked with Nyembwe. “I would say a huge block in my writing these past couple of years has been the lack of just writing for fun,” she says.

Regardless of whether the stories were serious or light-hearted, Azubuko-Udah says she witnessed a change in the students.

“I got a lot of joy out of seeing them gain the courage to share something they've written with the group, allowing them the space to share in ways they've not usually felt comfortable sharing in bigger spaces,” she says.

Azubuko-Udah is open to hosting another workshop with a longer duration. In the meantime, the four-week workshop has made a lasting impact.

“This workshop will help me with writing in school or outside of school because I thrive when I’m being creative, and I work best when I don't feel restricted,” says Nyembwe. “It’s helped me revisit creativity and think of ways of applying this to academic papers.”

“I’ve learned to be more honest with myself through writing,” says Ouedraogo. “Now, I feel like I can clearly express myself and showcase the beauty of my background thanks to Comfort’s workshop.”

Triumph and resilience: U of T’s Black graduates celebrated at virtual Black Grad event

Christopher.Sorensen — Wed, 30 Jun 2021 16:51:52 +0000

Triumph and resilience: U of T’s Black graduates celebrated at virtual Black Grad event

Christopher.Sorensen Wed, 06/30/2021 - 12:51

Cutline

More than 60 Black grads were celebrated at this year’s student-run Black Graduation event, which was held virtually due to the pandemic (photo courtesy of Cindy Njoki Kamau)

Topic

Women and Gender Studies

Wearing a stole that read “Black Grad Class of 2021” around his neck, Stephane Martin Demers took a deep breath and put his fingers to the piano keys.

The recent graduate of the �ؿ�ζSM’s Faculty of Music opened the fifth annual Black Graduation event this week with Sonata in E Minor by Florence Price, the first African American female composer whose work was performed by a major symphony.

Martin Demers says he chose to play the sonata at the student-run celebration, which took place virtually June 26, because it’s reminiscent of African American spirituals, with emotional peaks and valleys.

“I think the form that it takes is crucial to the message that the ceremony is trying to convey or deliver,” Martin Demers said after the event. “The ceremony is about triumph, overcoming struggles, hardship and resilience in the Black community – all the difficulties that have come our way that we’ve had to surmount.”

Martin Demers, who will be attending law school at York University in the fall, was one of the more than 60 Black undergraduate students in programs ranging from human biology to law whose accomplishments were celebrated at this year’s Black Grad.

Counting friends, family and Black faculty and staff, the online event attracted more than 150 people. Appearing in front of a background of white and gold balloons and streamers, organizer Cindy Njoki Kamau said resilience was an obvious theme for this year’s ceremony.

“The 2021 Black graduating class has overcome racialized adversity in the classroom and more broadly on campus,” she said.

“What is even more astonishing is that, despite these barriers, this set of graduates has also managed to reach an important milestone while navigating the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, a challenge that cannot be understated.”

In Kamau’s case, the closure of international borders due to the pandemic made it impossible to see her family in Kenya. Her mom Muthoni, who tuned into the ceremony from a time zone seven hours ahead, texted her daughter during the event – but Kamau tried not to read her messages to avoid becoming too emotional.

Kamau took the opportunity to thank Black faculty and staff for their advice, mentorship and help with networking.

“Thank you for being a positive representation of Black bodies belonging in academia along with being mentors, friends and, to some, parental figures to our students graduating today,” she said.

Marieme Lo, an associate professor of women and gender studies and the director of the African studies program, congratulated students and led a rollcall of graduates from each of U of T’s three campuses.

Keynote speaker Randell Adjei, Ontario’s first poet laureate, picked up on the theme of resilience in his address. He encouraged graduates to look for the “seed of opportunity” in adversity. “A seed has the potential to turn into just about anything,” he said.

He closed with a reading of his piece, “The Dash,” which focuses on living life to the fullest in the space between the dates on one’s gravestone. “When your time comes and your soul is sent, what will the dash on your tombstone represent?” he said.

Rebecca Barclay Nguinambaye, a graduate of the Faculty of Law who will be articling at a firm in Vancouver, watched the ceremony from B.C. with her parents. Barclay Nguinambaye, the only Black law student in this year’s graduating class, was one of the co-founders of Black Future Lawyers, a collaboration between the Faculty of Law, Black Law Students Association, Black alumni and the broader legal profession that aims to support Black undergraduates aspiring to go to law school. “The administration has been good to work with, and they have really been working on it,” Barclay Nguinambaye said.

Although representation of Black students is improving in key fields through initiatives like Black Future Lawyers and similar programs at other faculties, Barclay Nguinambaye says it was sometimes easy to forget there were other Black students on U of T’s vast campus.

“Sometimes you feel like you’re carrying the torch for everyone,” she said. “It’s just really affirming to see there are Black students in so many faculties and areas of study – even in artificial intelligence.

“We’re making our way all over the place and lifting each other up.”

A Rhodes Scholar and student leader, U of T grad Ikran Jama brought her community into the classroom

Christopher.Sorensen — Mon, 21 Jun 2021 15:12:45 +0000

A Rhodes Scholar and student leader, U of T grad Ikran Jama brought her community into the classroom

Christopher.Sorensen Mon, 06/21/2021 - 11:12

Cutline

Ikran Jama, a Rhodes Scholar, says "growing up in a multicultural community gave me the understanding to consider issues from perspectives that are not always recognized in academia" (photo courtesy of Ikran Jama)

Topic

Faculty of Arts & Science

Women and Gender Studies

When Ikran Jama took public transit home from school each day, the changes in landscape were a constant reminder of the stark differences between her two worlds.

As the bus careened forward, the glass buildings of downtown, the neo-Gothic residences and the vast green spaces of the �ؿ�ζSM were replaced by the modest houses, concrete apartment buildings and eclectic storefronts of the west-end Toronto neighbourhood that Jama called home.

Contrary to the headlines, which often equated her neighbourhood with crime, Jama’s community was a place where she and her six younger siblings played tag and grounders at the park, where Somali mothers gathered together for tea and where neighbours welcomed people into their apartments with open arms.

Her community was never far from her mind as she completed her undergraduate education at U of T, pursuing a double major in international relations and criminology and sociolegal studies, with a minor in African Studies. And she plans to keep her community close even as she graduates this week and embarks on a Rhodes Scholarship this fall at the University of Oxford.

“The community was in the classroom with me,” Jama says. “Growing up in a multicultural community gave me the understanding to consider issues from perspectives that are not always recognized in academia.

“A question I always ask myself is: ‘Why do I do the things that I do?’ One reason is that I don’t want other kids to continue to grow up with the same issues that I did.”

Jama arrived on campus as a �ؿ�ζSM Scholar, a distinction awarded upon admission for high academic achievement and outstanding performance. Still, in the beginning, she says she suffered from “imposter syndrome” and questioned her place in the classroom.

“My grades weren’t up to par with my expectations,” Jama says. “I started getting into my own head, thinking about how I looked different from everyone else and how my responses in seminar weren’t being met as positively as I thought they would be.”

She was also jarred by class discussions of crime rates and police responses in which her neighbourhood was cited as a case study, and she was disheartened by the narratives surrounding her community – a community that had inspired her to come to university in the first place.

As her community was analyzed via numbers and statistics, Jama noted a glaring lack of human perspectives. “The most important voices were absent from that room,” says Jama, who sought to provide those missing viewpoints.

“I know mothers whose sons were arrested, and I understand the heartaches that they faced,” Jama says. “I have community members who have lost their children. I know the people behind these issues and what is holding them back – the emotions and the sacrifices.

“These are people who can easily be siloed in society, when what is needed for real change is to understand them on a human level.”

As she spoke in class about the issues affecting her community, Jama became more confident in the value of her opinions. Through the Vic One program’s Lester B. Pearson stream, in which first-year students take part in intimate seminar discussions exploring the nature of public life and citizenship, Jama slowly found her voice in the classroom.

She credits many of the professors and friends she met through Vic One with helping her foster a sense of belonging on campus. Her tightknit group of friends has always been there to “hype each other up,” she says, and her professors constantly encouraged her to share her ideas in class.

Jama enjoyed her Vic One experience so much that she transferred to Victoria College, which she calls her “home base.” She is the recipient of Victoria College’s Margaret Slater Scholarship and Elizabeth Anne Sabiston Scholarship for high academic achievement.

Jama says she was initially nervous about being accepted as a valued member of the U of T community, but that she was also eager to get involved from the start.

Foti Vito, a member of Trinity College who went to high school with Jama, recalls her leading him to the Arts and Science Students’ Union (ASSU) office during their first week on campus. She would go on to serve on the ASSU executive for all four years, including the last two as president. Vito has also been an executive member for three years.

“Ikran always leads with empathy and compassion,” Vito says. “She makes you want to emulate the same goodness that she brings to the team. She is extremely dedicated to advocacy, especially for underrepresented students.”

In her first year, Jama launched Student Success Day, a conference that welcomed marginalized Toronto high school students onto campus for a day of workshops highlighting the opportunities offered by a post-secondary education.

“At the time, I was still in the mindset of asking, ‘Do I belong?’” Jama says. “So, I wanted others to look at the space and feel like they belonged before even enrolling here.”

As ASSU president, Jama oversaw a $500,000 budget and managed a team of more than 60 academic course unions, advocating for policies that affect 26,000 undergraduate students. At the onset of the pandemic last year, she and her team created the ASSU Student Emergency Fund for students requiring immediate financial relief.

“I have been truly impressed by Ikran’s sheer brilliance, social grace, generosity, leadership talents and humility,” says Marieme Lo, an associate professor in women and gender studies at U of T and the director of the African studies program.

“What struck me in Ikran are her unique work ethic, outstanding and impactful community citizenship, intellectual acumen and her ethics of care during the pandemic that all shine through her invaluable contributions to various student communities,” says Lo, who has taught and mentored Jama.

Last November, Jama was among just 11 Canadians to be awarded a prestigious Rhodes Scholarship to study at the University of Oxford this coming fall. U of T graduate Jeffrey Fasegha also received the honour.

She plans to study criminology at Oxford before returning to U of T, where she has been accepted to the Faculty of Law.

Jama aims to one day work as a lawyer in the communities where she grew up – and has even considered entering politics as a way of achieving reforms for her community.

“I want to be someone who is able to provide legal services for my community at a lower cost, to speak the language and understand the people who are coming to seek help,” Jama says. “If someone comes into the office nervous because they don’t trust the system, I want to be that face for the community.”

The work would be a continuation of what Jama has been doing for years.

In high school, she worked at an immigration aid centre, where she helped Somali refugees translate documents, complete paperwork and navigate the system. In university, she volunteered at her local community centre to engage with Somali youth, whom she has tutored and mentored with the goal of empowering them to feel confident in their academic pursuits.

She says her work with Somali refugees often reminds her of her family’s own journey to Canada. It is a story that her mother has told her countless times: In the 1990s, amid civil war in Somalia, her grandmother told her mother to leave the country – and they had found a way to get her to Canada. On the plane ride to a new continent, her mother stared out the window and longed for her family.

“My mom found it very hard to feel like she belonged in the country,” Jama says. “To come to a world so unfamiliar to her, and to raise our family despite all these challenges – it makes me feel heartbroken and inspired at the same time.”

Jama says her mother has always pushed her to excel. When she stayed up until 3 a.m. writing a paper, her mother would bring her a hot cup of orange pekoe tea with a combination of spices and cinnamons that seemingly only her mother knew how to conjure.

As Jama prepares to exchange her daily bus rides across the city for a flight to the United Kingdom, she is determined to learn the recipe for the special drink.

“That’s my mom’s tea,” she says. “I need to take it with me.”

'Give your curiosity free rein': U of T grad Michael Bol offers words of wisdom to incoming students

Christopher.Sorensen — Thu, 11 Jun 2020 15:30:36 +0000

'Give your curiosity free rein': U of T grad Michael Bol offers words of wisdom to incoming students

Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 06/11/2020 - 11:30

Cutline

Michael Bol, a member of Victoria College, says his interests led him to co-found the South Sudan Development Club and be involved in a number of other organizations and associations (photo courtesy of Michael Bol)

Alexa Zulak

Topic

Our Community

African Studies

Faculty of Arts & Science

Global

Human Geography

Victoria College

Michael Bol speaks from experience when he offers a piece of advice to incoming University of Toronto students: Get involved.

The Victoria College member — who graduated with an honours bachelor of arts degree this week — co-founded the South Sudan Development Club, aimed at creating a safe space for South Sudanese students and working with marginalized South Sudanese communities to create lasting social change.

He also chaired New College’s Swahili Cultural Showcase, an event celebrating the diversity and rich culture of the Swahili language, and served as an executive member of the East African Student Association and was also an active member of both the Black and African Student Associations.

Bol joined U of T as a World University Service of Canada (WUSC) student. The non-profit development organization, which focuses on education, employment and empowerment for youth around the world, provides post-secondary education opportunities for refugee students on Canadian campuses through its student refugee program. He also served as a WUSC refugee student representative at Victoria College.

Arts & Science News writer Alexa Zulak spoke to Bol about his academic interests – he majored in geographic information systems and minored in human geography and African studies – and what, if anything, he’d do differently if he could go back to first year.

What did you study and why?

I was drawn to geographic information systems (GIS) and human geography during my first year. A few of my friends spoke about the role of GIS and remote sensing and it really appealed to me. However, it wasn’t until after my second year that I began to develop a highly specific interest in GIS, spatial analysis and remote sensing.

What’s inspiring about GIS is that it’s a computer system designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage and present a variety of spatial and geographical data. GIS is used in a variety of industries to help in planning and monitoring.

What advice would you give your first-year self?

One of the first things I noticed about being a U of T student is that everything moves quickly – professors, instructors, TAs, students and time. I used to find this frustrating, trying desperately to rush through my assignments at a breakneck speed and throwing myself into activities without really thinking.

If I could go back, I would allocate my time more effectively, with a more flexible mindset. I would also try to engage more with colleagues, attend more campus and career talks and make good use of school facilities.

What have been some of your most memorable experiences at U of T?

My experiences have been amazing. I have learned and experienced so many new things in such a short period of time – it has gone by so fast and I’m still discovering all the opportunities that U of T offers.

The freedom to choose my major, my friends and what I do with my time have been memorable. Also, exploring different clubs, associations and becoming involved with things that I’m interested in was amazing.

What would you say to someone considering U of T and Victoria College?

Slow down. Things are going to be thrown at you and it can get overwhelming. Breathe, ground yourself and look at doing the things you really want to do – don’t do things for the sake of it.

Group up. The work is likely going to be hard. Find a group of people to study with. With each person participating a bit, you will get things done.

Be intentional with your time and energy. Track what you do, review the results and adjust accordingly. Be open to unfamiliar surroundings, take advantage of the resources and opportunities at Victoria College and find ways to engage.

Above all, explore, give your curiosity free rein and don’t let your program confine you.

Can you tell us a little bit about what you're planning for the future?

A few of my future goals include leading an entrepreneurial team in some capacity, starting my own company and getting involved in learning as much as I can until I eventually take on a leadership role. I prefer to work with others and I believe that I could thrive as a leader if given the chance.

‘Going back to my centre’: How Suleyman Demi used PhD research at U of T to improve lives in Ghana

perry.king — Wed, 30 Oct 2019 20:31:04 +0000

‘Going back to my centre’: How Suleyman Demi used PhD research at U of T to improve lives in Ghana

perry.king Wed, 10/30/2019 - 16:31

Cutline

Suleyman Demi made Ghana the core of his research, studying everything from how his home country feeds itself to the role communities and local farming play in the future of food and the environment (all photos by Perry King)

Topic

Ontario Institute for Studies in Education

U of T Scarborough

When he crosses the stage at Convocation Hall on Nov. 7, the �ؿ�ζSM’s Suleyman Demi will know he got there by keeping Ghana in his mind – and close to his heart.

Demi, who will receive a PhD in social justice education from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), made his home country the core of his research, studying everything from how the country feeds itself to the role communities and local farming play in the future of food and the environment.

Convocation marks the end of a chapter for Demi – and he has mixed feelings about it.

“I’m able to say that I’ve graduated, happy to finish my program. At the same time, I miss the kind of support I received from this community,” said Demi, who is currently a teaching assistant for a health studies course at U of T Scarborough.

At the same time, Demi is excited for what’s to come.

“Even though the title of ‘doctor’ puts a lot of responsibility on me … that’s life,” said Demi, who first arrived at OISE to pursue a master’s degree in humanities, social science education, and environment and health in 2013. “You move from one state to another and you should be prepared for it. It’s a transition and I’m trying to tune my mind [to the next challenge].”

African Studies

Historic gift for African Studies and Caribbean Studies programs at �ؿ�ζSM

Read the full story here

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New graduate credits U of T’s Transitional Year Programme for her success – and plans to pay it forward

After a harrowing escape from Sudan, U of T scholar Nisrin Elamin calls on the world to pay attention

Creative Writing Workshop for Racialized Students lets participants 'showcase the beauty of my background'

Triumph and resilience: U of T’s Black graduates celebrated at virtual Black Grad event

A Rhodes Scholar and student leader, U of T grad Ikran Jama brought her community into the classroom

'Give your curiosity free rein': U of T grad Michael Bol offers words of wisdom to incoming students

‘Going back to my centre’: How Suleyman Demi used PhD research at U of T to improve lives in Ghana

Read more about Convocation 2019

Read more about Suleyman Demi