Social Justice Studies

Welcome to Social Justice Studies

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela


UVic is situated on the territory of the Coast and Straits Salish people.

Social Justice Studies presents:

The Campaign to End the Blockade of Gaza - Canada's Role • 19 February, 2012

Ehab Lotayef

Sunday, 19 February, 7:00 pm • Harry Hickman Building 105 • University of Victoria

You are invited to attend a public forum and audio/visual presentation on the Israeli blockade of Gaza with Ehab Lotayef, who will share his account of the Freedom Waves to Gaza aid flotilla which took place in November, when Irish and Canadian boats tried to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza. Mr. Lotayef is a Montreal-based poet and long-time solidarity activist, who was on board the Canadian humanitarian aid boat, the Tahrir, which was heading to Gaza when it was hijacked by the Israeli navy in international waters. Freedom Waves is part of an ongoing Global solidarity movement challenging the blockade of Gaza and working for freedom for Palestine, which Ehab describes as, "a group of unarmed civilians peacefully confronting Israel's blockade and occupation."
Admission is by donation. Pay parking at the UVic Centennial Stadium lot.

Sponsored by: UVic Social Justice Studies.

View the poster, and for more information visit www.tahrir.ca or call 250 595-3991.

Conversations with Activists • 21 February, 2012

Community-Based Research as Community Organizing, with VIPIRG

Cheryl Bryce and Mark Willson

Tuesday, 21 February, 7:30 pm • Harry Hickman Building 105 • University of Victoria

Community-Based Research can mean a lot of things, but within the university it too often means more of the same social scientific research with limited benefits for the communities being studied. Cheryl Bryce (VIPIRG interim Indigenous Research Coordinator) and Mark Willson (VIPIRG interim Research Coordinator) will introduce VIPIRG's approach to CBR through a community organizing lens, with emphasis on current projects engaging with local indigenous sovereignty and anti-poverty struggles. Cheryl's work on indigenous food sovereignty and Mark's work on local harm reduction and policing issues will be presented as a basis for reflecting on the benefits and challenges of community organizing work through community-university alliances.

View the poster and visit VIPIRG's website.

Lansdowne Lecture Series • 22 February, 2012

How Can You Tell if We Are Living in a 'Post-war' Era? Some Feminist Warnings

Dr. Cynthia Enloe

Wednesday, 22 February, 7:00 pm • Harry Hickman Building 105 • University of Victoria

Dr. Cynthia Enloe is a world renowned expert on the gendered politics of militarization and globalization. Her talk will address the gendered implications of Canada's "post-war" eras of World War II and the war in Somalia, and the soon to be "post-war" era of the Afghanistan war. Why do these periods last so long? Do they ever end? Paying close attention to how women experience long "post-wars" will reveal important insights about the actual costs and consequences of war.

Co-Sponsored by: Department of Women's Studies, Office of the Vice President Academic, Department of Political Science, Social Justice Studies Program, Dean of Social Sciences, Centre for Cooperative and Community Based Economy

View the poster.

Conversations with Activists • 13 March, 2012

Resisting Political Violence, Torture & the Death Penalty: Connections and Discernments in Anti-Violence Activism and Work

Vikki Reynolds

Tuesday, 13 March, 7:30 pm • Harry Hickman Building 105 • University of Victoria

Vikki Reynolds is a community activists, instructor and therapeutic supervisor whose experience includes clinical supervision and therapy with refugees and survivors of torture, mental health and substance abuse counsellors, community activists, anti-violence counsellors, and working alongside transgendered and queer communities. Vikki's published work addresses social justice, resisting "burnout", supervision, ethics, group work, substance abuse and resisting trauma. She is an instructor with VCC, UBC, and City University where she received the Dean's Award for Distinguished Instruction.

Sponsored by: UVic Social Justice Studies and UVic School of Child and Youth Care.

View the poster and visit Vikki's website.

SJS 200, Introduction to the Practice of Social Justice

Offered January-April, 2012, Tuesdays 5:00-7:50 pm in DSB C112.

Social Justice Studies Annual Lecture, 27 October 2011

"Exit Environmentalism: Reflections on the past and future of a (failing) social movement"

Dr Michael M'Gonigle

View the lecture.

Social Justice Studies Annual Lecture, 21 October 2010

"Is the Global Justice Movement Colonial? A Troubling Tale of Indigenous Peoples at the World Social Forum"

Dr Janet Conway

View the lecture.

Social Justice Studies Inaugural Lecture, 1 October 2009

"Changing the World: What Works?"

Dr Mary-Wynne Ashford

View the lecture.



For details on the SJS program and how to apply for it, see the pages on this site.