Weekly Update – August 21
August 21, 2020
Weekly Update – August 21
Event Invitation for Worldviews Lecture 2020 – The Myth of Meritocracy: From satire to social inequality
Dear CUASA members,
I wanted to personally invite you to an engaging discussion at OCUFA’s 6th annual Worldviews Lecture on Media and Higher Education, happening online on September 18, 2020.
I would be grateful if you could share this event amongst your networks and encourage you to join with fellow academics and those from across our sector for an evening of important conversations about social inequality and economic marginalization.
You can find more details and register for this free event below.
If you have any questions, please reach out to Jordyn Perreault-Laird at [email protected].
I hope that you are able to join us.
Sincerely,
Angelo Mingarelli
CUASA President
You’re re-invited to Worldviews 2020
We have a new date for Worldviews 2020! Now taking place on September 18, the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations and the Centre for the Study of Canadian International Higher Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto are proud to be hosting the sixth annual Worldviews Lecture on Media and Higher Education as a live online event.
The Myth of Meritocracy: From satire to social inequality
Speaker: Professor Jo Littler
Date and time: Friday, September 18, 2020, 11am (EST)
Location: Online
Registration: This is a free public event but advance registration is required.
The concept of meritocracy suggests that anyone can ascend the social and economic ladder if they work hard enough, regardless of their social position. This rather ambitious claim originated as a satirical take on social mobility in the 1950’s.
And yet meritocracy is now embedded at the heart of our economic, social, cultural, and academic institutions in a way that obscures the role meritocracy plays in social exclusion.
This year’s Worldviews lecture will attempt to make meritocracy satire again.
The discussion will open with a talk by Professor Jo Littler of City, University of London and author of Against Meritocracy: Culture, Power and Myths of Mobility. Her talk will be followed by a conversation with a dynamic panel of experts and academics, featuring Rupa Banerjee, Carl James, and Wayne Lewchuk.
Moderated by Trish Hennessy, panelists will explore the ways merit creates social and economic barriers and address its intersections with class, race, gender, and immigration status.
The event is free and open to the public but registration is required. We hope you will join us for what promises to be an engaging conversation.
For more information and to register, please visit: http://worldviewsconference.com
CUASA Business and Events
Nominations for Steering Positions
We are still accepting nominations for the following Steering positions:
- Communications Officer
- Chair, Nominations and Elections
- Chair, Internal Affairs
- Instructor Representative
Information on the nominations process can be found on our How to Volunteer page. The work of the Association continues, despite the current environment we find ourselves in. Remember that our Association is only as strong as its membership, so we count on the time and commitment of our members to achieve our goals. Some of these positions come with a course release subject to the availability of funds.
Message from Dawn Moore, Chair of Equity
As your new Equity Chair, I am convening CUASA’s Equity Committee. We have an exciting year ahead of us and a lot to get done. We need to ready ourselves to be working and teaching in an upside-down world in which discrimination and inequality are finally making headlines and we see vital debates ongoing regarding the future of Universities in a world in which racism, colonialism, gender inequality, trans and homophobia, ableism and ageism must be addressed. The Black Lives Matter Movement and COVID are showing us how gender inequality persists, poverty and racism deeply impact health, and the lives of folks with disabilities are unduly jeopardized. In our own backyard we see our colleagues, students and friends struggling to keep working without childcare. Those in our community who are immune-compromised are experiencing extreme stress and lockdown is creating an unprecedented mental health crisis. At the same time, we worry for our BIPOC colleagues, students, friends and loved ones in the face of relentless violence and killings. These problems are in our own house, they impact us all and we must act now to address them.
The University intends to move very quickly on devising its Equity, Inclusion and Diversity plan AND we are moving into bargaining, all under the most remarkable circumstances of our time. This is our moment to make significant equity gains, but we will have to work hard to get them and make sure they suit our community and most importantly our current and future members.
Please send an email to [email protected] to express your interest in doing committee work. Given the context of COVID we will work together to devise work strategies that respect extenuating circumstances and people’s very real stresses around mental and physical health, as well as caregiving in the absence of safe and reliable childcare.
All emails are confidential.
Call for Volunteer: JCEE
We are seeking one CUASA member to serve on the Joint Committee on Employment Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JCEE). Details on the mandate of this important committee can be found here. If you are interested in serving on the JCEE, please email [email protected].
Academic Community Updates
Post-secondary staff concerned about remote teaching, research, health and safety and jobs
A survey conducted by the CAUT shows that the pandemic has significantly increased the workload and the stress level of academic staff across the country.
Amongst the key findings of the survey, a majority of academic staff from universities and colleges are working more than before COVID-19 with almost one-third working more than 10 additional hours per week. A total of 84% of respondents reported somewhat or much higher stress levels due to the pandemic, balancing work and dependent care, challenges with teaching and research, and job insecurity.
Click here to read more.
Courage, strength, and resolve: How the King’s University College Faculty Association unionized in the middle of a pandemic
“’Courage to start; strength to endure; resolve to finish.’ I’m not really sure who said this, but it is a mantra for distance runners. Certainly, this expression inspires my marathon training, but I never realized how true it is for other aspects of life until I helped lead the King’s University College Faculty Association’s union certification drive during the COVID-19 pandemic.” – Stephanie Bangarth, KUCFA.
Click here to read more.
Labour Community Updates
This year, the Ottawa and District Labour Council is coordinating an online Labour Day event. The ODLC will be using Zoom, Facebook, Twitter, and its website for a one-hour virtual event on Labour Day, Monday, September 7. Everyone is invited. The virtual hour will have messages from affiliate presidents in addition to other activities, including those specifically for children.
The ODLC is asking to help celebrate Labour Day 2020 by sending in photos/videos of previous years Labour Day events. If any CUASA members have any photos or videos they would like to share, please send them to[email protected] so we can pass them onto the ODLC.
More information on the virtual Labour Day 2020 event will be released soon.
