Content warning: Mentions of sexual violence, hazing, and sexism On Oct. 11, Hockey Canada CEO Scott Smith and the entire board of directors resigned from their positions after weeks of scrutiny over the organization’s handling of sexual assault allegations. Several major sponsors like Tim Hortons and the Bank of Nova[Read More…]
Tag: culture
For a better future, McGill must learn from Black history
Every February, Black History Month comes around with growing support, yet there is still room for growth on behalf of institutions and individuals. Oftentimes, corporations and institutions appear to care about Black history, while truly not doing much good for anyone. These institutions shape Black History Month increasingly around Black[Read More…]
Back to the tailor
No matter where I live or how old I get, I never escape that one ill-fated afternoon every two weeks when my family declares that we are going to the tailor shop. As a toddler, a trip to this seemingly mundane part of town was an uphill battle––one where I[Read More…]
No, I will not curb my enthusiasm
I always freeze up whenever I’m asked to describe myself. From introducing myself at the beginning of each elementary school year to writing college essays in high school, I consistently clam up in confusion when forced to encompass myself in a short paragraph. While basically everyone I know has experienced[Read More…]
Thinking through race in anthropology through poetry
On Nov. 3, the McGill Anthropology Graduate Student Association (AGSA) organized the workshop Thinking Through Race with Ethnographic Poetry as part of an ongoing series on racism and racial justice within anthropology. Ethnographic poetry is a research method where anthropologists study an individual’s poetic works in an attempt to understand[Read More…]
Quebec’s new program takes an ignorant course
On Oct. 24, the Quebec government unveiled a new education program called Culture and Citizenship in Quebec (CCQ). The new course will take the place of the previous Ethics and Religious Culture (ERC) program. Intended to broaden student engagement with Quebec values, the program is currently undergoing a curriculum drafting[Read More…]
Made with love
Growing up, I never had chicken nuggets or frozen pizza for dinner. Instead, there was a fresh, home-cooked Persian meal in front of me each night––and looking back, I was extremely unappreciative of it. As I have gotten older, I have grown to appreciate that the love of somebody labouring[Read More…]
When being deemed ‘non-essential’ threatens cultural existence
On Sept. 16, Grévin Montréal, the famous Montreal wax museum, permanently closed its doors. It had been temporarily closed since March 2020 as public health protocols forbade non-essential activities like cultural exhibitions from fully opening. Numerous Black-owned businesses faced similar circumstances after being deemed “non-essential,” exposing how such arbitrary labelling[Read More…]
Finding new words for my identity
It took me until I was 12 to realize that my father’s English was accented. Before that, it was just my father’s voice: Familiar and melodic, a vestige of his first, tonal language. Like many mixed kids, I was hyper-aware of the racial categories I fit into from a young[Read More…]
The ubiquity of human song
From songs on the radio to birds chirping outside, humans are constantly surrounded by music. However, while making music appears to be a universal phenomenon, the vast diversity of music across different cultures also seems to point toward variation. Furthermore, human song’s global similarities have never been proven through research. [Read More…]
