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2019 Reflections from our Culture + Society Desk
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This month I’ve been reading historical war fiction. The stories of refugees and resistors and fascism in Europe warn of the dangers of xenophobia. The tales are dismayingly relevant today.
Yet a recent national survey about racism in Canada makes us sound like our stereotype: polite people who all just get along. More than 80 per cent of respondents said race relations in their communities are generally good. Compare this to a 2019 United States survey: 60 per cent said race relations are bad and have grown worse since Donald Trump took office.
The Culture + Society desk at The Conversation Canada publishes stories that challenge the notion that we all just get along.
We do it with eyes wide open and we don’t turn away from the difficult ideas. These are the stories that provoke and prod. These are the stories you bookmark and share. These are the stories that deepen mainstream news media coverage and help make sense of the chaos around us both locally and internationally.
We can’t let it get us down; and so within this, we also look for and highlight the joy around us. (A couple of the top articles are about sex).
Here is a list of some of our most-read stories published in 2019 that brought some crucial issues to light – with some that have spotlighted our joys.
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Vinita Srivastava
Culture, Arts, Critical Race Editor
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Race
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Rhoda E. Howard-Hassmann, Wilfrid Laurier University
Social movement theory helps to explain why Japanese-Americans received reparations but the same will be much more challenging to provide for African-Americans.
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Corrie Scott, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa
How do we reconcile the daily racism that Black people face in our country with our public expressions of multicultural pride?
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Margaret Moss, University of British Columbia
The United States could learn from Canada's national attention being put on the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.
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Darryl R. J. Leroux, Saint Mary’s University
Recently in Canada and the United States, a small, but vocal minority of white French-descendants have used an ancestor born between 300 and 400 years ago to claim an "Indigenous" identity.
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Reem Bahdi, University of Windsor
Justin Trudeau's use of blackface and Arab costumes has raised questions about his authenticity on diversity issues. It also highlights the ongoing discrimination faced by Arab and Muslim Canadians.
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Philip S. S. Howard, McGill University
The Canadian election has been dominated by old pictures of Justin Trudeau wearing blackface. Instead of focusing on Trudeau's poor behaviour, a larger discussion is needed to act on systemic racism.
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Culture + Society
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Adam Davies, University of Toronto
What does it mean to be a good father to your son? Drop the traditionally masculine roles and embrace your emotions.
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Gonzalo R. Quintana Zunino, Concordia University; Conall Eoghan Mac Cionnaith, Concordia University
As North Americans celebrate Pride this summer, we should take it as a reminder of our colourful sexual diversity, and also the infinite ways to have sex, with nothing unnatural with any of them.
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Treena Orchard, Western University
Bumble, the wildly popular dating app where women ask the men out relies on a girl-power model of feminism. The problem is that the men on Bumble aren't ready for this model.
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Anil Varughese, Carleton University
India's updated citizenship act violates its constitution by allowing discrimination on religious grounds.
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Yue Qian, University of British Columbia
South Korea is facing a low fertility trend. Valentine's Day serves as a reminder to help ease the domestic burden on young women so they can consider partnerships again.
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J.M. Opal, McGill University
If the U.S. Senate agrees to hear the articles of impeachment for Trump, it is not because of the U.S. founders' commitment to democracy, but rather in spite of their elitist design.
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Arts
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Sarah Olutola, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa
Monsta X fans have been derided as boy-band dupes, but their protests against the treatment of superstar Wonho shows them rejecting the capitalist system that's quick to cut people loose.
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Robert Morrison, Queen's University, Ontario
Planned only a few days earlier, the Jan. 30, 1969 rooftop concert by the Beatles was their last. It is fitting the show included Billy Preston who symbolized their global collaborative efforts.
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Samantha Brennan, University of Guelph
A feminist philosopher and fitness writer challenges a mother who recently asked Notre Dame University to ban leggings on campus. Leggings allow women to move like superheroes, she says.
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Stefan Dolgert, Brock University
It's tempting to go along with the notion of Daenerys as Mad Queen in Game of Thrones, but what if, instead Dany was the real heroine of the series, and Jon Snow the real heel?
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And new this week...
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LGTBQ Asian Community marches with QUEER ASIAN YOUTH banner at the 2017 Toronto Pride Parade.
Shawn Goldberg/Shutterstock
Hilary Rose, CFLE, Concordia University
A study shows that when compared to lesbian, gay and bisexual youth, heterosexual youth report improved family relations over the same time period.
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