Call for Symposium Proposals

Planned date and location
April 24-26, 2025
Tiohtià:ke (Montreal)

The toll of Colonialism on the lives of many peoples worldwide has been shown to persist over decades and centuries. Colonization dismantles societies, engenders physical and cultural genocides, and shapes destinies across generations. Colonization, by its very nature, justifies exploitation and oppression, through dehumanization, leaving communities fractured and struggling for survival, justice, and recognition.

Acknowledging these histories and addressing injustices is paramount to fostering global justice, solidarity and promoting healing. The role of academia in breaking the silence is essential as academia must leverage its resources, research, and platforms to amplify marginalized voices, challenge oppressive systems, and contribute to the restoration of justice. This conference aims to provide a critical space where past and present colonization processes can be deconstructed allowing for a deeper understanding of the ongoing collective struggles and the paths toward dignity, liberation, and hope for a just future.

SYMPOSIUM
THEMES

  • Historical and contemporary forms colonization and their impact and intersections on contemporary power structures and inequalities.

  • Critically examining one's own positionality and privilege in addressing injustice amidst widespread atrocities.

  • By amplifying youth voices, we create space for more inclusive, transformative solutions.

  • The fight of Indigenous peoples in Canada, Palestine, and globally for sovereignty, land rights, and cultural preservation.

  • Examining the role of anger as a legitimate response to injustice and a driving force for social transformation.

  • Exploring narratives of hope and resilience in the face of oppression and violence.

  • Reflecting on the responsibilities of academic institutions and scholars in challenging silencing, advocating for human rights, and fostering inclusive spaces for dialogue and dissent.

  • Exploring the role of hope and healing for an international movement of support between colonized peoples for a just future.

  • Peace as a messy process, involving griefs and improbable encounters.

  • Examining how witnessing genocide on screens and through our families’ stories produces pain and immobility.

  • How do state actors (in)validate struggles? Who has skin in the game of liberation and how?

A Focus on Turtle Island, Palestine, and Lebanon

Image of a olive branch, symbolizing the Palestinians' fight for self-determination.

Central to this symposium is the genocidal settler-colonization of Palestine and Lebanon, which echoes and re-inscribes these century-long processes on Turtle Island. We are currently witnessing a contemporary repeat pattern, marked by dispossession, occupation, and structural violence. Since the Belfour Act, the experience of Palestinians resonates deeply with other colonized nations, as they continue to defend their land and resist to achieve self-determination across the region.

This symposium will emphasize the importance of creating spaces where experiences can be voiced, acknowledged, and connected with the broader global and present forms of colonization. We seek to explore how Palestinian resistance speaks to the shared hopelessness, anger, and seeds for hope in other communities impacted by colonization, enabling a collective reflection on the interconnectedness of these realities and associated struggles.

MAIN
SPEAKERS

To Be Announced Soon.

The symposium invites proposals that engage with the dynamics of colonization across the globe, with a specific focus on the Indigenous peoples in Canada, Palestine, Lebanon and the SWANA (South-West Asia and North-Africa) region. Their ongoing suffering and their fight for justice, land, and recognition mirror the colonial violence experienced by many peoples worldwide, particularly in Africa and South-America.

The symposium will bring together voices of resistance, hope, and relationship to Land, from Turtle Island to the various SWANA lands. The gathering seeks to foster dialogues that explore pathways of resistance, solidarity, and healing. By integrating closed and open sessions including silenced and marginalized voices, participants will collectively draw strength from each other, explore strategies for decolonization, and cultivate hope in the face of seemingly insurmountable adversity.

Illustration of a turtle symbolizing Turtle Island, a concept from Indigenous traditions referring to North America.

Connecting Colonial Realities Globally

PROPOSAL
FORM

The official symposium call is available for download.

Submissions will be accepted until March 14, 2025.