How might trouble and troublemaking (re)shape our fields? How might oral history and storytelling help us survive the current moment of poly-crisis? How might we mobilize oral history and storytelling to engage in necessary troublemaking? This year’s symposium brings together twenty emerging scholars from Concordia and beyond in an interdisciplinary conversation on “Vivre avec le trouble” and the transformative potential of oral history in troubled times.
Over the course of our day-long conversations, panelists and conference attendees will explore ways of knowing, interrogate the politics of the archive, listen to oral histories on the ground, and examine how oral history and storytelling might be used in creating a more just society. We will delve into intergenerational conversations and contemplate ways of feeling memory. There will be “ghost stories” too. The program will culminate in a series of four brief performances, followed by a conversation with the researchers-artists.
Our keynote speaker, Dr. Lea Kabiljo (Université Laval), the 2024 recipient of the Award of Distinction in Oral History, will reflect on the complex ethical and relational dynamics of sharing authority in works of research-creation. Her keynote – “Oral History x Photography: Negotiating Authority in Participatory Research-Creation” – brings oral history and photography into a single analytical frame to explore the tensions between researcher subjectivity and participant agency.
The Emerging Scholars Symposium is one of the highlights of our COHDS year. We’d be delighted if you could join us! ,
See the full program (including panel description and biographies of panelists)
The Program Committee | Le comité organisateur
Samia Dumais is a PhD student in history at Concordia University. A transdisciplinary researcher, she is interested in Afro-descendant and Black transnational discourses and their materialization in Quebec and Canadian educational structures. Member of the editorial board of HistoireEngagée.ca, Samia is the archivist for the afro-feminist community organization Harambec and a Scholar-in-Residence (2024-25) at the Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling (COHDS).
Varda Nisar is a mother, daughter, and sister. She is also a PhD Candidate in Concordia’s Department of Art History and a Concordia Public Scholar (2022-23). She is currently a Fellow at the Social Justice Center and a COHDS Scholar-in-Residence (2024-25). Varda is the co-founder of the Art History Decolonial Action Group (AHDAG), which actively challenges the silence around Palestine in academia. Her doctoral research draws attention to cultural production under military regimes in Pakistan, mainly focusing on museums and archives. She currently sits on the executive committee of the South Asian Women’s Cultural Centre as the Vice-President of the Board and on Concordia University’s Graduate Student Association Council as the Director of the Faculty of Fine Arts.
Anna Vigeland is a PhD student in Concordia’s INDI program and a COHDS Scholar-in-Residence (2024-25). Her research is driven by overlapping interests in oral history, performance histories, translation, memory, and interdisciplinary forms of creation. Her approach also draws on over 15 years working in circus and on a translation practice that is increasingly interwoven with her research and artistic practices.
REGISTRATION
Please note that all our events are free and open to all, but registration is mandatory. For any questions please contact cohds.chorn@concordia.ca
LOCATION
In-person in LB-1019 (Sunroom) and LB-1042 (Moonroom), COHDS
COHDS/ALLAB is located on unceded Kanien’kehá:ka territory, in Tiohtiá:ke/Montreal.
