colonialism. This paper traces my own trajectory as a solidarity activist. I reflect on my own early childhood experiences of being Jewish and experiencing antisemitism, and also sexism, to becoming a lawyer/Assistant Professor/activist teaching law. The purpose of this reflection is to name and frame my interest in, and dedication to, anti-Black racism and anti-colonial solidarity work. It is a mechanism to hold myself accountable by outlining the reasons I do this work for my peers, colleagues, students, and community members. This kind of transparency is often lacking in scholarly work written by white and other ‘allies’; this paper attempts to create further spaces for deep reflective practice within solidarity scholarship.
Urvashi Soni-Sinha, Sociology/ Women’s and Gender Studies
Dr. Urvashi Soni-Sinha did her PhD in Women and Gender Studies from the University of Warwick, UK. She teaches in WGST and Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminology at the University of Windsor. Her research interests are in the areas of Gender, Race and Employment, Women and Globalization, and Feminist Methodologies. She has published in several peer-reviewed journals including Journal of Mixed Methods Research, Feminist Economics, Qualitative Research, Contributions to Indian Sociology, Journal of Gender Studies, Global Labour, Organization and Gender Work and Organization.
Reflections on Race, Intersectionality and Positionality
This article uses critical race theory and postcolonial theory to reflect on my research on gender and globalization and on Intersectionality and work in the context of my positionality as a woman of colour. This is an ethno methodological essay of my journey academically and geographically across three continents and across disciplines, and of learnings and disjuncture, and of being an insider/outsider in academia. The paper explores the dynamism of subjective positionality and the salience of race in the academy today. It underlines the urgency of what Razack, Sherene (2008) terms “politics of accountability” in academia today.
Section Three: Solidarities
This section looks at the potential for solidarity, centering around questions of place, space and time, and how identify formation may reify solidarities between and amongst various communities while preventing others from forming.
Reem Bahdi, Law, Transnational Legal Justice Network
Reem Bahdi is an Associate Professor at Windsor Law. Her research explores dimensions of access to justice in Canada and Palestine. In Canada, her focus is on law’s response to Islamophobia and anti-Arab animus. In Palestine, she co-created and co-directed Karamah, the Project on Judicial Independence and Human Dignity, a multi-million-dollar initiative which advanced access to justice through research, continuing judicial education and directed civil society engagement. Professor Bahdi is a member of the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists and recipient of the 2018 Law Foundation of Ontario’s Guthrie Medal.
Her paper will explore anti-Arab discrimination with an emphasis on exploring stereotypes and how the law has responded. This paper will contribute to the understanding of the specificities of anti-Arab racism but also the larger discussions about solidarity and comparative racialization. This paper will explore the importance of thinking about conflicting and converging interracial experiences, different aspirations and treatment as a necessary step towards building solidarity.