Voices: 13th Annual Social Science Festival at Vanier College

Letting people speak for themselves will be at the centre of Voices: the 13th Annual Vanier College Social Science Festival to be held October 21 - 25, 2013. “As social scientists and others who are interested in humans and their world, we sometimes tend to listen to each other talk about “others”, says Vanier Anthropologist Jacky Vallée, the festival’s principal organizer. “This year’s Social Science Festival will partly focus on listening to the voices of those “others”. By letting people speak for themselves, we will ask questions about authority: Who gets to speak for whom? What can we learn from each other by listening to each other’s truths?”

Children and young people take aim at inequalities On October 21, Dr. Cindy Blackstock, a member of the Gitksan Nation, will launch the festival with her Keynote address Just because we are small does not mean we cannot stand tall, in which she showcases children and young people actively engaged in reconciliation to address longstanding inequalities experienced by First Nations children.

Gwynne Dyer: The Triumph of Non-Violence Later that day, at 4:00 pm, journalist Gwynne Dyer, will present The Triumph of Non-Violence, a look at the revolutions of the “Arab spring”, what they mean for the region and the world, and how non-violent revolution is more common and more successful in the modern world than the bloody version, but not well understood.

Ron Charbonneau Memorial Lecture On Tuesday, October 22, Vanier Humanities teacher, Dr. Martha Bernstein will deliver the Ron Charbonneau Memorial Lecture entitled: French Youth and The Nazi Occupation of France, 1940-1944, that examines the experiences of young people involved in resistance activities in France during the Nazi Occupation in WWII.

Personal stories Other festival guest lectures and other voices include HIV: A Personal and Sociological Journey, by Joseph O'Shea; a personal account of autism by Michelle Dawson; a drug awareness seminar by former NFL football player Alvin Powell; An Introduction to Sex Workers' Rights, by Robyn Maynard; and a talk about Restorative Justice by Rev. David Shantz and Gilles S. whose family was the victim of robbery and drug abuse by their own son. As well, Mylène St-Pierre, will debunk myths about health and weight in her talk Fat is not a four letter word; Nirmala Bains will explore racism; and historian Miles DeNora will talk about Lee Harvey Oswald, President John F. Kennedy’s assassin.

Muslim women and veiling On Friday, October 25, Roshan Jahangeer, from York University, will present Muslim women and veiling: Voices from the margins. This talk will examine religious practices from a deeper perspective than what is usually presented in the media and will feature testimonies from field research about the experiences of Muslim women in France, where laws that prohibit the wearing of “religious symbols” in public schools have existed since 2004.

LGBTQ refugees and migrants That same day AGIR and Ed Lee will present Speaking Out, where LGBTQ refugees and migrants living in Montreal will explore their experiences and the challenges they face.

Living with blindness The last event of the festival will take place Friday at 1:00 pm when Peter Nikolantonakis will describe his personal experience with vision loss and blindness.

See the full Social Science Festival schedule for details.