Dalla Lana School of Public Health

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This workshop is for 1st and 2nd year PhD students who are Black, Indigenous or Racialized and who are conducting critical qualitative research in the health sciences at the University of Toronto.

The focus of this workshop is for students to learn about and build on the support systems in place to help them navigate and succeed in their respective PhD programs. Academic supervisors, former and current PhD students, and university administrators will share their experiences and advice regarding power relations, dominant discourses, and discrimination regarding racialized students who are using non-dominant health science methodologies (i.e., critical qualitative research). Presenters will discuss specific challenges and practical responses relating to the compounding structural barriers often faced by Indigenous, Black, and other racialized students in academia (e.g. addressing power relations between students and supervisors, understanding the intersections of gender and race in Canadian universities). Participants will have the opportunity to discuss such issues and ‘speak back’ by proposing peer support systems, research networks, or other collaborative strategies they consider will promote their academic success for which CQ (and possibly other university departments/faculties) will aim to provide support.

Workshop Moderator: Ruth Rodney, CQ Fellow, Faculty of Nursing, York University

Speakers and Facilitators:

Centre for Critical Qualitative Health Research (CQ):

Rupaleem Bhuyan, CQ Fellow, Faculty of Social Work

Denise Gastaldo, CQ Educational Coordinator, Faculty of Nursing

Dalla Lana School of Public Health (DLSPH):

Tenzin Butsang, PhD Candidate

Amy Shawanda, Indigenous Health Post-Doctoral Fellow

Roberta K. Timothy, Black Health Lead

University of Toronto:

Natasha Prashad, Program Coordinator, Anti-Racism and Cultural Diversity Office

Ontario Universities:

Priscilla Boakye, Faculty of Nursing, Ryerson University

Nadia Prendergast, Faculty of Nursing, Ryerson University

Ruth Rodney, CQ Fellow, Faculty of Nursing, York University

Agenda

First Session: Doctoral Education: Struggles, Strategies and Resources (90 min)

Objectives of the session:

– Understand how social class, gender and race may impact dissertation supervision, research recognition, and career choices
– Explore structural power dynamics at play in the university from a macro to micro-scale
– Recognise the added barriers that racialized students often face in accessing their rights and potential strategies to overcome such hurdles
– Describe support systems and resources in place for PhD students across U of T.

Panelists (alphabetical):

Rupaleem Bhuyan, CQ Fellow, Faculty of Social Work

Tenzin Butsang, PhD Candidate

Denise Gastaldo, CQ Educational Coordinator

Natasha Prashad, Program Coordinator, Anti-Racism and Cultural Diversity Office

Ruth Rodney, CQ Fellow, Faculty of Nursing, York University

Amy Shawanda, Indigenous Health Post-Doctoral Fellow

Roberta K. Timothy, Black Health Lead

Panelists will respond to the following questions (45 minutes):

– Based on your experience, what potential power struggles might students encounter in their doctoral education?
– What strategies and resources could support Indigenous, Black and other racialized PhD students in their doctoral education?

Group Discussion (45 minutes)

Break (15 min)

Second Session: Building Networks for Success (75 min)

Objectives of the session:

– Explore existing and potential strategies for community building, peer support, collaboration, and self-organization within U of T and beyond
– Formulate ideas, strategies, and initiatives amongst workshop participants that are deemed useful outcomes of the workshop
– Identifying the necessary support systems and resources required for these initiatives to take place.

Facilitators (alphabetical):

Priscilla Boakye, Faculty of Nursing, Ryerson University

Nadia Prendergast, Faculty of Nursing, Ryerson University

Ruth Rodney, CQ Fellow, Faculty of Nursing, York University

In a group discussion, students and facilitators will address the following questions:

– What are current challenges for Black, Indigenous and other racialized students’ research and career development?
– How to build networks to mobilize strategies and resources to overcome current challenges and achieve success?

Notes from the second session will be shared with all participants.