Event Date: Wednesday, April 25, 2018

Join us for the annual Women's Studies and Feminist Research Conference
Addressing Gender-Based Violence: Past, Present, Future.

Guest speakers include:

• Bonnie Brayton, Director of DisAbled Women's Network
• Annalise Trudell, Manager of Education, Training and Research, Anova
• Barb MacQuarrie, Community Director of the Centre for Research and Education on Violence against Women & Children in the Faculty of Education at the Western University
• Lina Sunseri, Associate Professor, Sociology, Brescia University
• Erica Lawson, Associate Professor, Women's Studies and Feminist Research, Western University

With sessions on violence against Trans communities, the impacts of domestic violence on workers and the workplace, women and peace activitism in Liberia, and spoken word poetry.

Open to all! Please Register by April 17.

For more information please contact Alicia at amcint4@uwo.ca.

Event Date: Thursday, March 29, 2018

The Landscapes of Boko Haram

Thursday, March 29, 2018
2:00–3:00 p.m.
Chu Centre, International and Graduate Affairs Building (IGAB), 2nd Floor

Speaker: Scott MacEachern, Bowdoin College

MacEachern examines the deep history of Boko Haram, a contemporary Islamist terrorist organization, but one that is rooted in a long tradition of frontier violence, banditry, and smuggling in Central Africa. His 2018 book Searching for Boko Haram is grounded in 30 summers of archaeological fieldwork in Cameroon and Chad.

Co-sponsored by Western University’s Africa Institute, the Social Science Student Donation Fund, and the Departments of Anthropology and History

Event Date: Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Alienation and Plight: Intellectual Conceptions of the State in the Late-Qing Dynasty

Wednesday, March 21, 2018
1:30 PM
Lawson Hall, Room 2270C

Speaker: Aihua Zhang

The national publishing media in the late Qing Dynasty had the characteristics of a tool of the elite who were the 'gatekeeper' of the publishing media. The elite decided the meaning of some special important words and the accepted and reject the ideas from foreign nations according to their political conception. What's more, the elite who had the proper position and ability to articulate their ideas did not rationally develop or illuminate the Confucian culture which should be the foundation of Chinese new political conception.

Event Date: Wednesday, March 21, 2018

How Important is Optimal Capital Structure?

Alan Douglas,
Associate Professor in the School of Accounting and Finance at the University of Waterloo
March 21, 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm
SSC 2036

Alan is an Associate Professor in the School of Accounting and Finance at the University of Waterloo. He obtained his Ph.D. in Finance and Economics from Queen’s University. Alan has taught economics, finance and accounting at UW, Queen’s, and Clemson University (South Carolina), and is an accredited Ph.D. supervisor. Alan’s research centres on issues relating to corporate finance, economics, and accounting, with a focus on corporate incentives and their interactions with financial policy and corporate governance. Alan is particularly interested in the information problems and agency conflicts that determine optimal performance measures, compensation schemes and financial policy.

We examine the empirical evidence relating to corporate capital structure, and its implications for academic theories such as the Trade-off Theory and the Pecking Order hypothesis. We pay special attention to two empirical findings: (i) the strongly negative correlation between leverage and profitability, termed the “Leverage-Profitability puzzle” because it seems inconsistent with trading off the costs and benefits of debt, and (ii) the exceptionally wide range of leverage values exhibited by individual firms, i.e., leverage values that tend to range from 0% to 50% over time.

We present new evidence that that the L-P puzzle reflects relatively low debt-adjustment costs that facilitate a valuable residual debt financing (RDF) strategy for a range of operations. We also show that the negative L-P correlation remains even when firms make pure capital structure adjustments (debt-for-equity or equity-for-debt swaps), which seems to contradict both the trade-off and pecking order hypotheses. We consider what might explain these findings, focusing on the value managers place on RDF versus optimal leverage values. Our analysis suggests that optimal leverage is often of lesser importance, particularly when managers have little concern with financial distress and are more focussed on dividend stability.

Event Date: Friday, March 23, 2018

Join us for Flaunting It! - The Undergraduate Conference on Gender & Sexuality hosted by Women's Studies and Feminist Research.

Andie Shabbar will present "AN A.I. GAYDAR?" Facial recovnition technology and the digitization of sexuality...or, WTF makes a face gay?

Friday, March 23 9 AM-5 PM in Social Science Centre room 5220

Lunch provided, everyone welcome!

Event Date: Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Community-Based (CEL*) Research Poster Session 

Wednesday April 4, 2018, 10:30am-1:30 pm, UCC atrium

CEL Courses  
Psych3315E Addictions: Theory & Research
By Special Permission. Contact hinson@uwo.ca

Psych3317E: Community Psychology
By Special Permission. Contact lswartzm@uwo.ca

Psych3840F/G: Survey Design and Construction  

*Community Engaged Learning

Event Date: Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Behind the Scenes: Sharing Experiences of Doing Research in Ghana & Madagascar

Event: March 27, 2018 @ 5-7pm in SSC 2257

Speakers:
Dr. Patrick Schulist, Ivey Business School
Dr. Andrew Walsh, Anthropology
Siera Vercillo (PhD Candidate), Geography
Mingyuan Zhang, (PhD Candidate), Anthropology
Facilitator - Uche Ikenyei (PhD Student), FIMS

The event will be a series of discussions with opportunities to ask questions about building a research plan, working with in-country partner organizations, all of the logistics, and more.

Pizza and refreshments will be provided.

Event Date: Friday, March 23, 2018

Psychology Honors Thesis Poster Session

Fri. March 23, 2018 9:30am-3:20pm

SSC, 7thFloor A/B Elevators

See the range of projects done by this year’s Honors Thesis students
Talk with thesis students about their experiences

Six 50 minute sessions

10-11 new posters per session

Event Date: Friday, April 6, 2018

Teen pregnancy in Canada: A forgotten social problem

Lisa Strohschein,
Vice-President, Canadian Population Society,
Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Alberta

Apr. 6, 2018
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm
SSC 5220

Today, teen pregnancy rates in Canada are at historic lows, and births are more common for women over age 40 than under the age of 20. The downward trend of teen pregnancy and childbirth signals success over a social problem that has been at the forefront of policy and programmatic intervention for much of the twentieth century. The downside of such success is that the issue of teen pregnancy commands much less attention in policy circles than some of the other, more pressing social problems youth face today. Is waning interest in the problem of teen pregnancy warranted? Drawing on Canadian data, I present three compelling reasons why teen pregnancy still matters, not just for youth and their potential futures, but also for the good of Canadian society.

Dr. Lisa Strohschein is an associate professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Alberta. She studies how family dynamics influence health and well-being.

Event Date: Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Fighting Fake News on the Front line: Public Radio Ukraine (Hromadske Radio)

Wednesday, April 4
UCC 37
4:30 - 6:30pm

Kyrylo Loukerenko
Editor-in-Chief
Public Radio Ukraine
(Hromadske Radio)

Presented by The Departments of Political Science and History Present

If you require information in an alternate format, or if any other arrangements can make this event accessible to you, please contact polisci-web@uwo.ca or 519-661-3266.

Event Date: Friday, April 13, 2018

MER Graduate Student Conference 2018: Migration and Diversity in Changing
Global Contexts

The annual Migration and Ethnic Relations (MER) Graduate Student Conference is meant to allow graduate students to showcase their works in the fields of migration and ethnic relations. The conference highlights a variety of disciplines, theoretical perspectives, and methodological approaches.

The MER Graduate Student Conference is made possible by generous donations from the Migration and Ethnic Relations Collaborative Program, and Research Western, the Society of Graduate Students (SOGS), and the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (SGPS) through the Joint Fund for Graduate Research.

Conference Schedule

9:30 AM—10:00 AM Registration opens at the Social Science Centre (SSC), outside room 6210. Refreshments in SSC 3327.

10:00 AM—11:00 AM Keynote: “Not All Roads Lead to Rome: Notes of a “Once-Upon-a-Time a Refugee.” Dr. Clelia O. Rodriguez, UWO. (SSC 6210)

11:00 AM—11:10 AM Break. Refreshments in SSC 3327.11:10 AM—12:10 PM Session 1: Culture and Identity (SSC 6210)

• “’Best English Names’ on the Global Linguistic Market: A Commodification of Chinese Naming Practices.” Federica Guccini, UWO.
• “’I’m Just Gonna Call You Steven.’ How Having an Ethnic Name Impacts Integration.” Nadja Schlote, UWO.
• "Canada as a Safe Haven?: Homonational Modernity and the In/Authentic Queer Refugee." Jennifer Tran, UWO.

12:10 PM—1:10 PM Lunch (SSC 3327)

1:10 PM—2:10 PM Session 2: Racialization and Anti-Racism (SSC 5220)

• The Changing Spaces of Racism in Brampton, Ontario: A Multimedia Analysis.” Stuart McHenry, UWO.
• “Visible minorities and Aboriginal people in Canada: The impact of ethnic profiling by police on sense of belonging.” Jonathan Cleary and Lianne Mulder, UWO.
• “Deconstructing Internalized Oppression: Ethnic Identity Formation Among South Asian Youth.” Tasmeea Islam, UWO.

2:10 PM—2:20 PM Break. Refreshments in SSC 3327.

2:20 PM—3:20 PM Session 3: Precarity in Migration (SSC 5220)

• “Historical and Contemporary Migration: the “Shithole” Race in Danger.” Sebastien Kouakou, UWO.
• “Challenging “Illegality”: The Role of Toronto’s Sanctuary City Policy in Providing Access to Services and Shifting Perspectives of Belonging for Undocumented Persons.” Sarah Marshall, York University.
• “Ball is in Your Court: Political Economy of Rohingya- a ‘Imagined Community’.” Atm Shaifullah Mehedi, Queen’s University.

3:20 PM—3:30 PM Break. Refreshments in SSC 3327.

3:30 PM—4:30 PM Session 4: Colonialism and Capitalism (SSC 5220)

• “Neoliberalism and its Influence on Jamaican Migration since 1970.” Lianne Mulder, UWO.
• “Don Vasco de Quiroga: The Side Effects of Good Intentions.” Luis Miguel Herrera Bejines, UWO.
• “DNA and Indigeneity in the Age of Big Data.” Jennifer Whitaker, Queen’s University.

Event Date: Wednesday, April 11, 2018

Can Turkish Democracy Survive the Rule of the AKP?

Wednesday, April 11, 2018
4:00 PM
Lawson Hall Room 2270C

Dr. Feyzi Baban Associate Professor
Department of Political Studies
Trent University

Feyzi Baban is working on two SSHRC funded five year research projects. The first project investigates why, how and under what conditions some communities in various European countries are more open to cultural difference than others; what types of projects facilitate openness to newcomers and how do citizens and non-citizens participate in these projects in ways that transform understandings of citizenship and belonging. The second project studies humanitarian assistance to Syrian refugees and rights claims emerging from legal, political and economic precarious conditions Syrian refugees face in Turkey.

Hosted by the Middle East and North Africa Research Group at Western University

For more information, please contact MENARG at menarg@uwo.ca. For a campus accessibility map please visit: www.accessibility.uwo.ca/resources/maps/index.html

Event Date: Thursday, June 14, 2018

Exploring the Pre-Conditions of Successful Transitional Justice

June 14 and June 15

Includes sessions on:

• Development
• Amnesty/Prosecution
• Inter-personal and societal relationships
• Role of Institutions
• Institutional Safeguards

The conference will consider whether and how particular activities and institutions could be put in place that would somehow undergird or shore up the transitional justice activities that will be convoked at a later stage. Recent work suggests that front-ending transitional justice processes with elements that somehow "cement" the transitional justice work will ultimately make it more successful. The goal of the conference us to better understand the importance of such activities.

Event Date: Thursday, June 14, 2018

Exploring the Pre-Conditions of Successful Transitional Justice

June 14 and June 15

Includes sessions on:

• Development
• Amnesty/Prosecution
• Inter-personal and societal relationships
• Role of Institutions
• Institutional Safeguards

The conference will consider whether and how particular activities and institutions could be put in place that would somehow undergird or shore up the transitional justice activities that will be convoked at a later stage. Recent work suggests that front-ending transitional justice processes with elements that somehow "cement" the transitional justice work will ultimately make it more successful. The goal of the conference us to better understand the importance of such activities.

Free but registration required. Contact tjcentre.ca for registration details.

Event Date: Thursday, March 21, 2019

The Talman Lecture: The Honourable Leonard Braithwaite: The Imprint of a Black Canadian Legal Pioneer on the History of Modern Ontario

Thursday, March 21, 2019
2:30 - 4:00pm
Location: TBD

Dr. Barrington Walker
Department of History, Queen's University

Barrington Walker  is an historian of Modern Canada who focuses on the histories of Blacks, race immigration and the law.  His work seeks to illuminate the contours of Canadian modernity by exploring Canada's emergence as racial state through its histories of white supremacy, slavery, colonization/immigration, segregation and Jim Crowism. Much of his work considers how these practices were legitimized, and in some instances contested, by the rule of law and legal institutions. He is the author of Race On Trial: Black Defendants in Ontario's Criminal Courts (University of Toronto Press and the Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History, 2010) which was shortlisted for the Ontario Legislature Speaker's Book Award for 2012.  He has also edited two collections: The African Canadian Legal Odyssey: Historical Essays (University of Toronto Press and the Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History, 2012) and The History of Immigration and Racism in Canada: Essential Readings (Canadian Scholars Press, 2008).

He is currently working on two new books. The first is Colonizing Nation: A Canadian History of Race and Immigration (under contract with Oxford University Press). The second is Dark Peril: Blacks and the Social Order in North America's Urban Landscape, 1992-2012. With Dr. Jeffrey Brison, he is also is the co-founder and co-convener of the Arthur Lower Workshop Series in Canadian History. This is a new forum for prominent and emerging scholars from all regions of Canada and beyond to present advanced research to the department.

About the J.J. Talman Lecture Series

J.J. TalmanPresented by the Department of History and Western Libraries

The J.J. Talman Lecture Series focuses on Ontario history, Ontario regional collections and innovative uses thereof, or previously unstudied aspects of Canadian history.

Reflecting the breadth of Dr. Talman’s career at Western, as a respected historian and Chief Librarian, the lectures are organized annually by a joint committee comprised of representatives from the Department of History and Western Libraries.

The J.J. Talman Lecture Series was envisioned and is funded by Raj Jain, Librarian Emerita, and her brother, Dr. Sushil Jain, in gratitude for Dr. Talman’s many personal kindnesses, and to recognize his substantial contribution to Western.

Event Date: Wednesday, March 6, 2019

Beyond repair? Mayan women’s protagonism in the aftermath of genocidal harm

Alison Crosby, York University

Wednesday, March 6, 2019


1:30-2:30 p.m. in Social Science Centre room 3010

Part of the Centre for Transitional Justice and Post-Conflict Reconstruction
Speakers' Series 2018-2019

Event Date: Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Limits of Sovereignty: Rethinking International Criminal Justice

Ryan Liss, Western Law and TJ Centre
Wednesday, February 27, 2019
1:30-2:30 p.m. in Social Science Centre room 3010

Part of the Centre for Transitional Justice and Post-Conflict Reconstruction
Speakers' Series 2018-2019

Event Date: Wednesday, January 23, 2019

Displaced Persons in Chocó, Colombia

Allison Cordoba, TJ Centre

Wednesday, January 23, 2019

1:30-2:30 p.m. in Social Science Centre room 3010

Part of the Centre for Transitional Justice and Post-Conflict Reconstruction
Speakers' Series 2018-2019

Event Date: Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Exploring Post-Conflict Efforts to Deal with Sexual and Gender-Based Violence: Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone

Rachelle Kouassi, TJ Centre

Wednesday, November 07, 2018

1:30-2:30 p.m. in Social Science Centre room 2028

Part of the Centre for Transitional Justice and Post-Conflict Reconstruction
Speakers' Series 2018-2019

Event Date: Thursday, October 25, 2018

The Pot-Law Pendulem: America's Past Problems with Cannabis Legalization and Advice for Canada's Future

Dr. Emily Dufton
October 25, 2018
Location: LWH 2270C, 12:30pm

For many in the United States, widespread cannabis legalization seems certain. Nine states have legalized recreational marijuana since 2012, and 29 states have laws permitting medical use. But America battled over access to cannabis in the past, too. In the 1970s, grassroots activists pushed for decriminalization in a dozen states, and activists thought legalization was certain then. But when rates of adolescent marijuana use skyrocketed, a nationwide anti-marijuana movement formed in response, overturning decriminalization laws and paving the way for the "Just Say No" 1980s. It took decades for pro-cannabis activists to rebound and for laws to change once again, but that doesn't mean that the pendulum of public opinion on marijuana has stopped swinging. A new anti-legalization campaign has formed in recent years, and the battle over who can use marijuana, and why, continues to be waged.

As Canada legalizes marijuana on the federal level, Canadians can learn useful lessons from America's past problems with cannabis. This talk will give the history of America's 50-year battle over legalization, with ideas and advice for how Canada can best handle this substance in the future."

Part of the American Studies Speakers' Series