Upcoming Events
Lunch & Learn featuring Roxana Escobar Ñañez
The Lopez Sisters: Musical Houses and Performance Geographies in Lima
This presentation sheds light on the different ways in which music and blackness are integral to the formation of the Black geographies of the South through the case of the López sisters, two Afro-mestizas who own and run a peña criolla—a criollo music venue—in Lima, Peru, since 1974. Criollismo or criollo culture is a mix of different popular traditional expressions of the coast of Peru mainly associated with Limeño's working-class cultural productions such as gastronomy, musical production, and everyday life. By analyzing the position of Afro-peruanas as peña owners and performers of criollo music, my research seeks to understand Afro-descendant women’s musical spatialities as essential to Lima’s urban blackness.
About the presenter:
Roxana Escobar Ñañez is an Afro-Peruvian Ph.D. candidate in Human Geography. She also holds a B.A. in Philosophy and a M.A. in Political Science by the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, and M.Ed in Social Justice Education from OISE-UofT. Roxana’s research focuses on the places Afro-Peruvian women hold in Lima’s sonic landscapes. With her project, Roxana seeks to contribute to the geographic knowledge production about black womanhood in Latin America.
Lunch & Learn featuring Riley Yesno
(Land) Back to the Future
This work traces how Indigenous Futurism (IF) has been defined and evolved over time—from its conceptual roots in Afrofuturism to present challenges and articulations of IF in activism, art, and literature. Through this review, we uncover how Indigenous people's practice of imagining their futures is more than just a creative venture. Instead, this talk argues that through IF, Indigenous people are pushing the boundaries that have been imposed by settler colonialism—embracing dreaming as a political act that can serve as a roadmap for anti-colonial resistance and help sustain work toward liberation.
About the presenter:
Riley Yesno (she/her) is a queer Anishinaabe scholar, writer, and commentator from Eabametoong First Nation. She is highly sought after for her words and analysis – she has been a contributor and commentator for some of the largest media outlets in Canada and the world and has travelled the globe speaking at internationally renowned institutions and events, including the UN climate negotiations, the Stockholm Forum on Gender Equality, TEDx stages, and many others. She teaches Indigenous governance and justice at Toronto Metropolitan University and is a Vanier Scholar at the University of Toronto.
Lunch & Learn featuring Majd Al-Shihabi
Data traces, memory, erasure, and Palestine futures
Palestine is one of the most well-documented and data rich places on the planet, but much of that data is compiled with extractive modes, and for colonial purposes, and kept in archives with restrictive access. Palestine Open Maps (PalOpenMaps.org) is an experiment to make historical spatial data about Palestine open and accessible, while being conscious of the political consequences of open archives. Through Palestine Open Maps, I read the traces that are left to us by the archivists, and attempt to make an inventory that enables us to think of Palestine futures through the lens of a pluralistic society that was shattered by settler colonialism.
About the presenter:
Majd Al-Shihabi is a PhD student in the geography and planning department at the University of Toronto. He researches coproduction practices in knowledge production, examining the network of questions around community ownership. His doctoral research is about participatory modelling for municipal climate action plans, specifically thinking about housing as a climate solution.