York Faculty of Education Professor Carl James (left) will receive an honorary doctorate from Uppsala University in Sweden at a ceremony on Jan. 27. James, a former youth leader and community worker, is being recognized for his work in Toronto's ethnically and racially diverse communities and for his role, nationally and internationally, in research around equity as related to race, class, gender and citizenship.
"Professor James has successfully influenced the work at our Department of Teacher Education via his excellent and profound research around antiracism education," said Bengt Spowe, professor in the Department of Teacher Education, Faculty of Education, Uppsala University. "In a number of collaborations (lectures, seminars, publications) between our department and York's Faculty of Education, we have, by comparing and giving attention to the educational situations and achievements of minority and immigrant students, learned from Carl's outstanding knowledge and guidance. We hope to continue working with Carl for many years to come."
A professor at York University's Faculty of Education since 1993, James has been working with teacher educators, teachers and teacher-candidates since 1997 at Uppsala University and Sodertorn University College in Stockholm. Over the years he has conducted research and published on the experiences of minority youth and education, and continues to work extensively in the community playing a major role in supporting the York-Westview Partnership, a program that links local schools, York University and the Jane/Finch community through a range of programs and initiatives designed to promote equity and increase student's access to post secondary opportunities.
James was recently profiled in the Toronto Star for his most recent book Race in Play: Understanding the Socio-Cultural Worlds of Student Athletes (2005), which looks at how race operates systemically in the lives of high-school student athletes to influence their schooling experiences, scholarship aspirations and educational outcomes. (See the April 7, 2005 issue of YFile.)
"Carl has accomplished so much at York and in the community," said Paul Axelrod, dean of York's Faculty of Education. "He has played a critical role in advancing our knowledge and understanding of minority cultural experiences. He is a tireless scholar and a dedicated advocate for young people. The honour he is receiving is a great tribute to the respect he has earned in Canada and abroad."