[Fdu] Next Week's events at & around UofT: Syria, Palestine, Academic freedom in India, Turkey and Canada

[Cynthia Wright]

apologies for x-postings...


	

	

	

	



1) The Syrian Solidarity Collective cordially invites you to their 
second Week Against Assadist Tyranny (https://www.facebook.com/SSCToronto/):

*Monday April 25, 6:50pm at_Beit Zatoun_ (612 Markham St, Bathurst/Bloor):*

*Syrian White Helmets & /Molham/: Civilian Rescue, Defence and Solidarity*

The evening will feature two short films about the White Helmets, Goal 
to Syria and Behind the White Color, as well as discussions by: Khaled 
‘Abd al-Wahed - a member of Molham Volunteering Team who has recently 
arrived in Canada; Donya Ziaee, a member of the Ali Mustafa Memorial 
Collective; Jens Hanssen, Associate Professor, Near and Middle Eastern 
Civilizations, University of Toronto. 
(http://beitzatoun.org/event/syrian-white-helmets/)


*Wednesday April 27 at 6:30pm - _University College_, 15 King’s College 
Circle – room UC179 *

*/
/*

*/Burning Country: Syrians and Revolution and War/**– a talk with book 
authors Robin Yassin-Kassab and Laila al-Shami 
(*https://plutopress.wordpress.com/2016/03/24/burning-country-in-north-america/) 


Join us for a lecture with Robin Yassin-Kassab and Leila Al-Shami. Their 
book tells the story of the Syrian uprising and the courageous 
individuals and communities who rejected tyranny and demanded freedom in 
the face of savage repression. /Burning Country/ has been praised as "by 
far the best account of the Syrian uprising yet" by Dr. Yasser Munif 
(co-founder of the Global Campaign of Solidarity with the Syrian 
Revolution). The Syrian intellectual Yassin Al-Haj Saleh adds: "For 
decades Syrians have been forbidden from telling their own stories and 
the story of their country, but here Yassin-Kassab and al-Shami tell the 
Syrian story. Their words represent the devastated country which has 
denied them and their compatriots political representation. Burning 
Country is an indispensable book for those who wish to know the truth 
about Syria."

Robin Yassin-Kassab was born in west London in 1969. He grew up in 
England and Scotland, expert for six months in Beirut. He has worked in 
London, France, Pakistan, Turkey, Syria, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Oman. 
Now, he lives in Scotland. Robin is the author of /The Road From 
Damascus/, a novel published by Hamish Hamilton and Penguin, and by il 
Saggiatore in Italy. His journalism on Syria have appeared at the 
/Guardian/, the /National/, /Foreign Policy/, the /Daily Beast/, 
/Newsweek/, /Al-Jazeera/.

Leila Al-Shami has both Arab and European roots. She has been involved 
in human rights and social justice struggles in Syria and elsewhere in 
the Middle East. Leila was also a founding member of Tahrir-ICN a 
network connecting anti-authoritarian struggles across the Middle East, 
North Africa and Europe.

*Friday April 29 at 4:00pm - /Innis Town Hall/ - 2 Sussex 
Avenue, Toronto, M5S 1J5*

*“Not Who We Are,”* Movie –followed by a Skype interview with the 
Director Carol Mansour and in-person conversation with Siham Abu Sitta, 
one of the five amazing Syrian women who tell their stories through the 
film, will be present for q&a.


2)*Crackdown on BDS: Criminalization of Dissent?*

*Tuesday, April 26*
*6:30 - 9:00 pm*
*Steelworkers Hall, 25 Cecil Street, Toronto*
(south of College, east of Spadina)
https://www.facebook.com/events/795216720579192/
On February 18, 2016 Canadian parliament passed a motion condemning “any 
and all attempts by Canadian organizations, groups or individuals to 
promote the BDS [Boycott Divestment Sanctions against Israeli apartheid] 
movement, both here at home and abroad.”
• What are the legal implications of this motion? Is BDS being 
criminalized?
• What is the political and transnational context?
• How have activists and university campuses been affected by the 
vilification of BDS?
• What does this mean for the BDS movement?
*Speakers include:*
* Faisal Bhabha, Associate Professor, Osgoode Hall Law School, and 
founding member of Arab Canadian Lawyers Association (ACLA)
* Rajean Hoilett, Chairperson, Canadian Federation of Students Ontario
* Dania Majid, Founder, Executive Member Arab Canadian Lawyers 
Association (ACLA)
* Issam Yamani, Palestinian activist
*Organized by Faculty for Palestine*

3) *Unpacking Academic Freedom: Nation State Formation in Turkey and India*

*Thursday, April 28*

*7-10pm*

*Tranzac Club, 292 Brunswick Ave*

(https://www.facebook.com/events/212961105761106/)


The recent brutal attacks on academics in India and Turkey highlight the 
connections between nationalism and the role of academia. These events 
show that the so-called privileged spaces of academia, when they 
confront the myths of nation states, can become targets of oppressive 
political regimes. Focusing on the limits and possibilities of academic 
freedom this panel will explore the questions of ethnicity, caste and 
nationality in Turkey and India. This event seeks to explore 
transnational solidarities against global repression of dissent.

*Speakers*:

Sedef Arat Koc: Department of Politics & Public Administration, Ryerson 
University

Secil Dagtas: Anthropology, University of Waterloo.

Ali Kerem Saysel, Institute of Environmental Sciences, Bogazici University

Malavika Kasturi, Department of Historical Studies, University of Toronto

Aparna Sundar, Visiting Faculty, School of Development, Azim Premji 
University

Respondent: Jens Hanssen, Department of Near and Middle Eastern 
Civilizations, University of Toronto



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