CONVERGENCE brings together articles, papers, political pamphlets, photos & art that were either presented at Study In Action or were part of the Community-University Research Exchange (CURE).
CONVERGENCE highlights both social justice-based research and the essential contributions of undergraduates.
CONVERGENCE, a limited-edition 80-page booklet, is available by donation ($2-$5) at both QPIRG Concordia or QPIRG McGill during their office hours:
QPIRG McGill
3647 University, 3rd floor
(McGill metro)
Office hours: Monday-Friday 11am-5pm
contact: 514-398-7432 or qpirg@ssmu.mcgill.ca
www.qpirgmcgill.org
QPIRG Concordia
1500 de Maisonneuve Ouest, #204
(Guy-Concordia metro)
space is wheelchair accessible
Office hours: Monday-Thursday 12pm-6pm
contact: 514-848-7585 or info@qpirgconcordia.org
www.qpirgconcordia.org
You can also pick up a copy of CONVERGENCE at the many events organized by QPIRG Concordia & QPIRG McGill. Check out their websites for more info.
CONVERGENCE is available as of October 7 at 5pm at QPIRG Concordia’s Annual General Meeting and Open House, and will be available at both QPIRG Concordia and QPIRG McGill until November 3, when QPIRG Concordia hosts its monthly “Community-based research” workshop at 3pm.
CONVERGENCE is made possible thanks to a summer stipend grant by the Quebec Public Interest Research Group (QPIRG) at Concordia University.
Below, we include the table of contents from the inaugural issue of CONVERGENCE as well as the introduction by CONVERGENCE coordinator Derek Lappano.
CONTENTS OF CONVERGENCE (2010):
* ‘Precious metals, stolen lands’ – Cleve Higgins & Fred Burrill [presentation at Study in Action 2010]
* ‘A critical review of the Quebec government’s poverty-fighting measure: a discourse analysis’ – Beatrice Mulewa & Samuel St-Pierre Theriault [CURE project]
* ‘Queers come out in solidarity with Palestine’ – Q-Team [CURE project]
* ‘Drawing lines in the sand: draught & privatization in kenyan-masaai land’ – Erin Coughlan [presentation at Study in Action 2010]
* ‘Life Lines’ – Svea Vikander [displayed at Study in Action 2010]
* ‘Think local, recruit global: the role of temporary workers in Canadian food production’ – Kerri Westlake [presentation at Study in Action 2010]
* ‘Demystifying the life sentence in Canada’ – ReCon [CURE project]
* ‘Subverting higher education: teaching environmental justice’ – Kathryn Lennon & Asha Philar [workshop at Study in Action 2010]
INTRODUCTION TO CONVERGENCE:
Convergence is the name we give to an event that unites different people, ideas, and approaches in a common project.
As a noun it simultaneously describes the group of students who, together, form the content of this project; the variety of research and educational approaches, from honours theses to political pamphlets or photo essays; and the movement between university work and community activism, not simply by uniting them but by attempting to strengthen one through the other, bringing them into contact.
In its form as a verb, convergence is a taking-on of injustice: where students, approaches, and ideas encounter political and social problems, where research converges on the powerful territory of academia to insist on alternatives.
in its simplest, however, convergence is intended as a modest companion piece to the community-university research exchange (CURE) and the Study in Action conference – a kind of archival capsule that, by recording their work, affirms the efforts of undergraduate students. But at the same time we hope this small convergence of people and ideas ultimately takes on a life of its own, encouraging and creating space for intellectual work that is geared towards community and committed to fighting for justice.
CREDITS:
co-ordinator: derek lappano
editors: degane sougal & derek lappano
layout & design: derek lappano
cover art: madelaine t.
thank-you: tasha, jaggi, ashley (QPIRG-concordia) • degane the great (CURE-mcgill) siji (CURE-concordia) • QPIRG-mcgill • maddie r, shannon f • those who offered time & skill (sarah k, tara m, svea v, jules r-b, emma r, katie e, drew n) • those who agreed to have their work published in this little journal