What's Wrong with Rights? Social Movements, Law and Liberal Imaginations
June 28, 2018 - 平特五不中, Faculty of Law听
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Organized jointly by the LLDRL听and the 平特五不中 Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism, a launch of听O'Brien Fellow in Residence听Dr. Radha D'Souza's newest book What's Wrong with Rights? Social Movements, Law and Liberal Imaginations听(Pluto Press, 2018) took place at 平特五不中's Faculty of Law. Her book maps, for the first time, the transformations in the regime of international rights to the transformations in post-World War capitalism.听The event was chaired by听Dr. Lorena Poblete (O'Brien Fellow in Residence). Readers, Professor Mark Antaki (Faculty of Law), Professor Adelle Blackett (Faculty of Law) and Prof Aziz Choudry (Faculty of Education), shared their insightful comments on the book.听
Radha D鈥橲ouza is a critical scholar, activist, barrister, and writer, who has lived and worked in India, New Zealand and the UK. She is currently a Reader in Law at the University of Westminster. Her research straddles legal studies, development studies, sociology, geography, theory, comparative philosophy and history. D鈥橲ouza鈥檚 work is well-known for its interdisciplinary breadth and for critically engaging theories and practices within social movements.听
Humans as a Service: the Promise and Perils of Work in the Gig Economy听
May 14, 2018 - 平特五不中, Faculty of Law听
The LLDRL welcomed Jeremias Prassl, Fellow of Magdalen College, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law of Oxford University, for a special presentation of his most recent book听Humans as a Service: the Promise and Perils of Work in the Gig Economy (Oxford University Press, 2018).听Professor Prassl's听research interests are in the field of employment law and technology. Jeremias read law at Oxford, Paris, and Harvard, and regularly advises public and private sector organisations around the world on regulating the gig economy. He tweets about the future of work @JeremiasPrassl.
During this lecture, Professor Prassl offered an engaging account the implications of听"on-demand work" for employment law and workers. In addition to addressing how to听ensure decent working conditions, protect consumers and foster innovation amidst the rise of the "gig economy," Professor Prassl also used听this听opportunity to debunk popular myths about the gig economy's听"algorithmic boss" - explaining that听gig economy platforms, such as apps, are not mere digital intermediaries between tasks and individuals and create a unique set of challenges for employment law. During his lecture, Professor Prassl also stressed the need to remember the humans and the work so often hidden behind glossy apps and technology.
This event took place as part of the LLDRL Speaker Series.听
Whereto for Third-World Approaches to International Law Scholarship?
26 avril听2018 - Facult茅 de droit, Universit茅 平特五不中
Le Centre pour les droits de la personne et le pluralisme juridique de 平特五不中, en collaboration avec le LLDRL, a eu le plaisir d'organiser 听un expos茅 par听la docteure Radha D鈥橲ouza, boursi猫re en r茅sidence O'Brien, sur les th茅ories tiers-mondistes du droit international (TWAIL). L鈥檃nalyse tiers-mondiste est devenue populaire parmi les 茅tudiant-e-s et les jeunes chercheurs et chercheuses qui recourent aux TWAIL pour aborder un large 茅ventail d鈥檈njeux sur la sc猫ne internationale : justice, guerres, droits de la personne, environnement, d茅veloppement, n茅gociations commerciales, etc. Dans sa pr茅sentation, la docteure D'Souza a examin茅 les critiques relatives aux TWAIL et les d茅fis auxquels cette approche devra faire face 脿听l鈥檃venir.
Radha D'Souza est chercheuse critique, activiste, avocate et 茅crivaine. Elle a v茅cu et travaill茅 en Inde, en Nouvelle-Z茅lande et au Royaume-Uni. Elle est actuellement charg茅e de cours en droit 脿 l'Universit茅 de Westminster. Ses recherches chevauchent les 茅tudes en droit et en d茅veloppement, la sociologie, la g茅ographie, la th茅orie, la philosophie compar茅e et l'histoire. Le travail de la docteure D'Souza est r茅put茅 pour son envergure interdisciplinaire et pour sa critique des th茅ories et pratiques au sein des mouvements sociaux.
Equity Matters in Quebec Universities: a Conversation Between Malinda Smith and Sirma Bilge
February 22, 2018 - 平特五不中, Faculty of Law听
In continuance of the celebration of Black History Month and of the conversation on equity in Canadian universities, the LLDRL听organized a lecture with Professor Malinda Smith and Professor Sirma Bilge. The scholars discussed equity in Quebec universities, the language barrier that may be听hindering solidarity and equity听across Canada and Quebec, and the need to transform university campuses and work cultures.
Dr.听Malinda Smith听is a 2018 Trudeau Foundation Fellow and Professor of Political Science at the University of Alberta, where she teaches in the fields of international relations, comparative politics, and gender and politics. Her current research, teaching, and scholarship explore questions of equity and antiracism in higher education, the coloniality of knowledge and decolonizing the curriculum, and nuances of blackness in the academy. She is the co-author of The Equity Myth: Racialization and Indigeneity at Canadian Universities听(UBC Press 2017), the听critically-acclaimed book which sparked a nation-wide conversation on equity and diversity in听Canadian faculties and campuses.听听
Dr. Sirma Bilge is a Professor of Sociology at Universit茅 de Montr茅al. She founded and directed the Intersectionality Research Unit at the Centre des 茅tudes ethniques des universit茅s montr茅alaises (CEETUM) from 2005 to 2010 and is elected board member of the Research Committee on Racism, Nationalism and Ethnic Relations (RC05) of the International Sociological Association听(ISA). Her work engages with the intersections of social formations of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality and class, and examines how notions of national/ethnic sameness and otherness articulate themselves through gender and sexual regulation. She is the co-author of Intersectionality听with Patricia Collins (Polity Press, 2016).
This event was one of four impactful Black History Month events celebrating organized and co-sponsored by听the LLDRL and Canada Research Chair in Transnational Labour Law and Development.听A recap of these events is available听here.听
'The Fierce Urgency of Now': Equity and Anti-Racism in Uncertain Times
February 21, 2018 - 平特五不中, Faculty Club
In continuance of the celebration of Black History Month, the LLDRL听organized a special lecture with听Professor Malinda S. Smith. During this lecture,听Professor Malinda Smith led an urgently important discussion on the听dire state of equity in Canadian universities, a discussion听which emerges from听her pivotal co-authored book The Equity Myth: Racialization and Indigeneity in Canadian Universities听(UBC Press 2017).听Professor Smith spoke frankly about equity and anti-racism and called for an "equity reality check" in Canadian Universities - that is, the enactment of equity policies听which are concerned with intersectionality, racial literacy, the diversification of leadership, and the听decolonization of the academy.听
Dr. Malinda Smith is a 2018 Trudeau Foundation Fellow and Professor of Political Science at the University of Alberta, where she teaches in the fields of international relations, comparative politics, and gender and politics. Her current scholarship听explores questions of equity and antiracism in higher education, the coloniality of knowledge and decolonizing the curriculum, and nuances of blackness in the academy. Over the past two decades Dr. Smith has worked to advance equity in higher education as Vice President Equity Issues for the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, on CAUT鈥檚 Racialized Academic Staff Working Group, and as the Faculty Association鈥檚 Equity Advisor.听
This event was made possible thanks to the generous contributions of the Canada Research Chair in Transnational Labour Law and Development, the Henderson Fund of the Office of the Provost and Vice-Principal and 平特五不中's Faculty of Law, as well as the support of our partners, the听SEDE听Office, the听平特五不中 Senate听Subcommittee on Racialized and Ethnic Persons, the听Black Law Students Association, the Women of Colour Collective, and the Indigenous Law Association of the 平特五不中 Faculty of Law.听
This event was one of four impactful Black History Month events organized and co-sponsored by听the LLDRL and Canada Research Chair in Transnational Labour Law and Development. A recap of these events is available听here.听
The Egalitarian Free Labor Promise of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
February 15, 2018 - 平特五不中, Faculty of Law
As听part of continued teaching initiatives on Slavery and the Law at the Faculty of Law (initially fostered via a 2016-2017 course by Professor Adelle Blackett by the same name), and in continuance of the celebration of Black History Month, the LLDRL hosted a lecture by Professor听Rebecca Zietlow, Charles Fornoff Professor of Law and Values at the University of Toledo College of Law, on the 13th amendment of the US Constitution and its "egalitarian free labour promise." This lecture took place during a special plenary in the 1L Constitutional听Law course, and, though the event was open to the public, all first-year law students enrolled听attended the lecture in the context of their course.听Professor Rebecca E. Zietlow is a visiting professor at Vermont Law School and Charles W. Fornoff Professor of Law and Values at the University of Toledo College of Law. She is the author of Enforcing Equality: Congress, the Constitution and the Protection of Individual Rights (NYU Press, 2006), and The Forgotten Emancipator: James Mitchell Ashley and the Ideological Origins of Reconstruction听(Cambridge University Press, 2017).
Professor Zietlow's lecture traced the听history and theory behind the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, the amendment abolishing slavery, and its impact on civil rights and workers' rights in the United States. Drawing from her extensive research on the topic - which lead听to the publication of her most recent book听The Forgotten Emancipator: James Mitchell Ashley and the Ideological Origins of Reconstruction (Cambridge University Press, 2017) -听Zietlow recounted听how the antislavery movement and the nascent labour movement influenced the egalitarian free labour ideology of James Mitchell Ashley and his allies, the very vision that animated the 13th amendment.听
This event was one of four impactful Black History Month events organized and co-sponsored by听the LLDRL and听the Canada Research Chair in Transnational Labour Law and Development.听 A recap of these events is available here.听
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Black Professors Speak: 平特五不中 Renaissance?
February 8, 2018 - 平特五不中, Faculty of Law听
In celebration of Black History Month, the LLDRL organized the听first contemporary public panel of Black professors at 平特五不中. Professor听Nii A. Addy (Desautels Faculty of Management), Professor Adelle Blackett (Faculty of Law), Dr. Anita Brown Johnson (Faculty of Medicine), Professor Lawrence Goodridge (Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences), Professor Patricia Hewlin (Desautels Faculty of Management), Professor Philip S.S. Howard (Faculty of Education), Dr. Momar Ndao (Department of Microbiology and Immunology) and Emeritus Professor Glyne Piggott all contributed to the conversation, sharing their thoughts on equity and diversity at 平特五不中 and听celebrating听the work,听dedication, and mentorship of these colleagues. This panel also took the opportunity to honour Emeritus Professor Glyne Piggott and to remember the first Black professor at 平特五不中,听Dr. Ernest Melville Duporte.听
This event was co-sponsored by the LLDRL, the Canada Research Chair in Transnational Labour Law and Development, the Social Equity and Diversity Education (SEDE) Office, 平特五不中, and the Faculty of Law.听
This event was听one of four impactful Black History Month events organized and co-sponsored by听the LLDRL and Canada Research Chair in Transnational Labour Law and Development.听A recap of these events is available听here.听
Making International Trade more Equitable
January 29, 2018 - 平特五不中, Faculty of Law听
In the midst of renegotiations听of the North American Free Trade Agreement,听the LLDRL听welcomed听Risa Schwartz听to discuss progressive trade policies in Canada and their potential impact on Indigenous peoples. Risa Schwartz听is a sole practitioner, whose focus is on听international law and the intersections between trade law, environmental law, and Indigenous rights. She has held positions as counsel to the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs in Ontario听and the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, and worked as a legal officer at the World Trade Organization in Geneva, Switzerland.听She was formerly a senior research fellow with CIGI's International Law Research Program, where she researched law and policy that supported increasing Indigenous peoples鈥 participation in international law and treaty making.听
During this lecture, practitioner Risa Schwartz argued that the renegotiation of NAFTA offers a unique opportunity to better align international trade and investment with international Indigenous and human rights law: the announcement that Canada is seeking the inclusion of an Indigenous peoples鈥 chapter in NAFTA as a priority is a bold step to protect Indigenous rights, while enhancing听peoples鈥 increased participation in international trade.听Schwartz importantly added that the inclusion on an Indigenous people's chapter should听not merely be understood as听part of Canada's听"social agenda"听-听to suggest so, she argued, ignores听the important Indigenous populations in the United States, Mexico as well as Canada, and the opportunity to advance their economic situation through progressive trade and NAFTA.听
This event took place as part of the LLDRL Speaker Series.听
Comparative Labour Law: Is it Still Useful?
November 1st, 2017 - 平特五不中, Faculty of Law听
In November 2017, the LLDRL invited former听Director of听the Legal Advisor's Office at the ILO and member of the LLDRL's Board of Advisory Ms. Anne Trebilcock to present on the uses and limits of comparative labour law. Having听worked on听issues of public international law, international labour standards, comparative labour law, fundamental principles and rights at work for听almost 25 years in her capacity as Director of the Legal Advisor's Office at the International Labour Office,听Ms. Trebilcock shared her expertise with a full house of students, practitioners and scholars.听
Anne Trebilcock's听is听currently associated with the Labour Law Institute at Georg-August University in G枚ttingen, Germany, and has lectured at various universities. She co-edited, with Professor Adelle Blackett,听The Research Handbook on Transnational Labour Law, and is now preparing The Research Collection on Comparative Labour Law. She has written extensively on labour law, international law, and human rights.听
Ms. Anne Trebilcock's visit was sponsored by the Canada Research Chair in Transnational Labour Law and Development.听
This event took place as part of the LLDRL Speaker Series.听
You Shall Have the Body: Slavery, Property Rights and Resistance in Canada
September 12, 2017 - 平特五不中, Faculty of Law听
As听part of continued teaching initiatives on Slavery and the Law at the Faculty of Law (initially fostered via a 2016-2017 course by Professor Adelle Blackett by the same name), the LLDRL hosted a lecture by Professor Barrington Walker听on slavery, property rights and resistance in Canada.听This lecture took place during a special plenary in the 2L Property Law course, and though the event was open to the public, all second-year law students enrolled in this course听attended the lecture in the context of their course. Dr. Barrington Walker is a Professor in the History Department at Queen's University. His teaching and research听foci听are听on the histories of Blacks, race immigration, and the law. His work seeks to illuminate the contours of Canadian modernity by exploring Canada's emergence as a racial state through its histories of white supremacy, slavery, colonization/immigration, segregation, and Jim Crowism. Professor Walker is concerned with the ways these听practices were legitimized, and in some instances contested, by the rule of law and legal institutions.
During this听plenary, students were provided with an听overview of the social and economic history of slavery in Canada, and learned听how the institution of slavery was supported by the law - and particularly by property law. Professor Walker听also addressed the use听of the law by slaves as a tool of resistance to the institution of slavery.听Throughout the lecture, students听were听asked to consider the following questions: How do we define property and how has this shaped history over time? What do we mean when we say that property has been socially constructed? And finally, how have property laws been used to justify racist and discriminatory actions both in the distant and more recent past?
This event was co-sponsored by the LLDRL and the Canada Research Chair in Transnational Labour Law and Development.听
This event took place as part of the LLDRL Speaker Series.听
Labour Law and Development: The LLDRL at the 85th annual ACFAS Conference
11 mai 2017 - Facult茅 d'ing茅nierie, Universit茅 平特五不中
En mai 2017, de nombreux membres du LLDRL ont particip茅 脿 un symposium d'une journ茅e sur le droit du travail et le d茅veloppement, organis茅 dans le cadre du 85猫me congr猫s annuel de l'Association francophone pour le savoir (ACFAS). Ce symposium a li茅 le droit du travail et le d茅veloppement 茅conomique par le partage de recherches r茅centes et en cours sur la r茅glementation du travail informel, rural et domestique. La responsabilit茅 sociale des entreprises et la mani猫re dont les micro-entrepreneurs sont r茅gul茅s ont 茅galement fait partie des r茅flexions de la journ茅e, ainsi que des conversations sur la justice sociale au travail.
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Missed Opportunity in the Narrative of US Law: How Did American Workers Lose Legal Ground?
March听29, 2017 - 平特五不中, Faculty of Law听
In March 2017, the Faculty of Law Legal Theory Workshop and the LLDRL听welcomed Josephine R Witte听Chair听Professor Lea VanderVelde for a lecture on the Master-Servant听narrative in the听United States听and the impact of its cultural and institutional legacies听on听US听labour law.听Lea VanderVelde is a Professor听at the Faculty of Law of the University of Iowa who writes in the fields of work law, property law, slavery and the law,听American legal history, and constitutional law. She听is also the principal investigator for The Law of the Antebellum Frontier project at the Stanford Spatial History Lab, where she is currently conducting听digital research on听American national expansion in the critical years before the Civil War.听
During this lecture, Professor听VanderVelde, Constitutional Law Professor at the听Faculty of Law of the University of Iowa,听provided听a听compelling and timely perspective on slavery, labour law and constitutional law in the United States, as well as a contemporary commentary of her听classic article "The Labour Vision of the 13th Amendment."听
This seminar was听co-sponsored by the Labour Law and Development Research Laboratory and 平特五不中's Faculty of Law.听
This seminar was听part of the LLDRL Speaker Series and听the Faculty of Law Legal Theory Workshop.听
Transnational Labour Law and the Environment: Beyond the Bounded Autonomous Worker
March 15, 2017 - 平特五不中, Faculty of Law听
The LLDRL Speaker Series and the Canada Research Chair in Transnational Labour Law and Development hosted听Professor听Sara Seck, Associate Professor at the University of Western Ontario Faculty of Law. Professor Seck's presentation听explored how听transnational labour and environmental law may听come together to protect not only workers, but their families and听communities from health and safety risks associated with听"fast fashion" production. Professor Seck encouraged a cooperative and interdisciplinary听approach听to researching in the fields of labour law and environment law, explaining that the often siloed approach to study in听these fields does little to protect workers and their communities who live in the vicinity of polluting factories and experience a 鈥渟low death鈥 as a result of contaminated air and water.
This event was sponsored by the Labour Law and Development Research Laboratory, the Canada Research Chair in Transnational Labour Law and Development and 平特五不中's Faculty of Law.
This event took place as part of the LLDRL Speaker Series.听
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