Inclusion Day Conference 2016: Program

8:30am: Registration

280A York Lanes Lobby

9:00am: Opening Ceremony

280N York Lanes

  1. Philip Cote, Aboriginal Elder
  2. Noël A. J. Badiou, Executive Director, Centre for Human Rights

9:30am-10:30am: Session A - Concurrent Sessions

Pinhole Puppetry and Anti-Oppression Art

305 York Lanes
Tristan Castro Pozo, Playwright and Puppeteer

This workshop offers an insight into the use of pinhole boxes, puppetry and storytelling techniques. Participants are expected to execute body movement and to build cardboard puppets for sharing stories of oppression.

Social Justice and the University: Beyond the liberal marketplace of banter, slogans and clichés

280N York Lanes
Dr. Livy Visano, Undergraduate Program Director and Professor, Department of Equity Studies, Faculty of LA&PS

Rights are embedded within many contexts at the university - social, political, economic and legal. Despite its hyperbolic niceties, the frequency invoked individualized context of rights conceals as much as it reveals. Rights have surrendered to juridic chatter. As a result, a large number of communities in the university do not and cannot enjoy their full rights of university citizenship.

Does the University need a new Humanism?

280N York Lanes
Dr. Mauro Buccheri, Associate Professor, Department of Languages, Literatures & Linguistics and Master, Founders College, Faculty of LA&PS

Against the background of the ethics and politics of recognition, Mauro will make the case for:

  1. The intellectual limits of Todorov’s Liberal Humanism, which is exemplified by the myth of Sisyphus (the eternal return of the same)
  2. Edward Said’s Cosmopolitan Humanism centered on the politics and ethics of inclusion, rooted in self-criticism nurtured by philology, history, philosophy and literature, exemplified by the myth of Kadmus
  3. Marcuse’s notion of Non-Repressive Tolerance as a supplement to Said’s Cosmopolitan Humanism
  4. In the light of Marcuse and Said’s Humanism, is the University "Progressive, Constrained, Connected"?

This Is My Time: A Story of Trials and Tribulations

280A York Lanes
Aerissa Roy-Dupuis, Student, Bachelor of Social Work

Join Aerissa as she tells a compelling story of the struggles and triumphs she experienced as a legally blind, queer, and transgender student. As a student leader she worked hard to agitate for change and make York a better place. Aerissa will also discuss the challenges marginalized students face in attending a post-secondary institution.

11:00am-12:15pm: Session B - Panel

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC): Reflections on the role of post-secondary institutions in implementing socially just public education

280N York Lanes

  1. Kerry Potts, Faculty, Humber College of Applied Arts and Technology
  2. Dr. Ruth Koleszar-Green, Associate Professor, School of Social Work
  3. Dr. Deborah McGregor, Associate Professor, Osgoode Hall Law School

When Justice Murray Sinclair was asked what is the one message that non-Aboriginal Canadians can learn from the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), he said "put the relationship back into balance". Sinclair stressed that in order to achieve reconciliation and achieve balance in the relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people, we need to change the way non-Aboriginal people are educated about Aboriginal peoples. This roundtable discussion of Indigenous women will initiate dialogue on the implication s of the TRC's recommendations for public education in Canada.

12:30pm-2:00pm:  Lunch Program

The Underground Restaurant

12:30pm: Lunch commences

12:50pm (was previously 1:00pm): The REDI Award

To be awarded by Janet Morrison, Vice-Provost Students

In 2015, the CHR created a new award - The REDI Award - to recognize students who are committed to building a respectful, equitable, diverse and inclusive (REDI) community and to advancing, promoting and upholding human rights at York. Join us as we award our first ever awardees!

1:00pm-1:15pm: Remarks & Keynote Introduction

Mamdouh Shoukri, President & Vice Chancellor, York University
Rhonda Lenton, Vice-President Academic & Provost

1:15pm-1:45pm: Keynote Presentation

Human Rights and the University

Renu Mandhane, Chief Commissioner, Ontario Human Rights Commission

2:15pm-3:30pm: Session C - Concurrent Sessions

University-Community Engagement: Bridging the Gap

280A York Langes

  1. Lorna Schwartzentruber, Manager, York U - TD Community Engagement Centre
  2. Nathan Stern, Community Projects Coordinator, York U - TD Community Engagement Centre

This roundtable will highlight emerging issues and success in community-university relationships. Discussion will include issues such as power and privilege, validating other ways of knowing, co-creation of agendas, shared impacts, and deconstructing silos. Participants in this roundtable will be encouraged to bring their own experiences or examples of community-university engagement to the discussions.

Are Non-Toxic Environments a Human Right? DIY Personal Care Workshop

305 York Lanes

  1. Rene Suarez, Co-Founder, Skillseed
  2. Tanya Marie Smith, MSW Candidate, Laurier University

Experience the hows and whys of Do-It-Yourself (DIY) personal care. Learn how to make natural deodorant, toothpaste, and other personal care recipes. Explore the political, social, ecological, and personal health implications of DIY. Examine human rights from a toxicological perspective, and join the growing movement for Soap Sovereignty in South Ontario!

The Politics of Trigger Warnings: How should they be used?

280N York Lanes

  1. Representative, SASSL
  2. Alice MacLachlan, Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy
  3. Deidre Walton, Graduate student
  4. Krista Hunt, Learning Specialist & Advisor, Sexual Assault Prevention Education, Centre for Human Rights (Moderator)

Are trigger warnings important in the classroom? Are they effective? How are trigger warnings used, who is asking for them and to what end? Join our panel of faculty and students to discuss trigger warnings in university classrooms.

3:45pm-4:30pm: Panel Discussion and Conference Closing

Academic Freedom? Academic Justice?

280N York Lanes 

  1. Dr. Rachel Gorman, Assistant Professor in Critical Disability Studies, School of Health Policy and Management
  2. Dr. Eve Haque, Director, Graduate Program in Social and Political Thought, Associate Professor, Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics
  3. Kiran Opal, Student, Activist, Blogger
  4. Nadia Bello, Advisor - Education and Communications, Centre for Human Rights (Moderator)

Is there a conflict between anti-racism and academic freedom? Where do these two concepts intersect? Where do they diverge? Are academics accountable to the anti-racism policies of the university as an institution? Can academics hold institutions accountable? What does this mean for research? Pedagogy? Scholarship?