“Canadians should thank the Idle No More movement for bringing critically important social justice, environmental and economic issues to our collective attention,” wrote Paul Tsaparis, executive-in-residence at York University’s Schulich School of Business, in The Globe and Mail May 9. “To borrow the words of an Idle No More protester: ‘These aren’t aboriginal issues, these are Canadian issues.’ The concerns raised by the Idle No More movement are complex and mired in historical complications, but one fact is simple: All Canadians – not only those having indigenous status or who live on reserves – bear the tremendous cost of our unrealized national potential. Read full story.
Lost in translation?
Motoyuki Shibata, a translator, scholar and professor at Tokyo University, and his friend Ted Goossen, a translator of Japanese literature and professor at Toronto’s York University, have for three years been publishing an annual English-language literary magazine called Monkey Business International: New Writing from Japan, reported The New Yorker May 9. The project was born out of frustration: Why was Haruki Murakami the only contemporary Japanese writer anybody outside of Japan knew? Goossen urged Shibata to cull material from his own Japanese-language literary quarterly, the original Monkey Business. Murakami is a contributor, of course, but his writing takes on new colors alongside stories and poems by his Japanese contemporaries (younger and older), classic Japanese literature and even Japanese manga. Read full story.
Choice critical for promoting reading, says Canadian study
A study commissioned by the National Reading Campaign (NRC) in Canada and released this week says that giving people choice and control over what they read as well as in related social interactions are key factors in instilling a love of reading, reported Publishers Weekly May 9. The report’s author, Sharon Murphy, professor of education at York University, drew from hundreds of studies and commentaries mostly written in the past 10 years. Her focus, which reflects the interests of the NRC, was on ways to build a nation of people who love to read, as opposed to literacy strategies to ensure that the population can read. Read full story.
Dhaka factory collapse: Who will prevent another tragedy?
“The Rana Plaza factory disaster was entirely preventable; management forced hundreds of workers to re-enter the building to ensure that production targets were met in a timely fashion. There is no time to waste in shipping goods to the fashion giants who dominate orders from Bangladesh’s clothing factories. A safety-related production delay of weeks could well make all of their clothing in the pipeline arrive in stores worthless because it would be late for the season. Fast fashion is an unforgiving industry,” co-wrote York University Professor Alison Kemper in the Guardian May 10. Read full story.
Creaghan’s score to be heard at Cannes
Londoners have been serenaded by his music as they stroll through Storybook Gardens, and soon a Spencer Creaghan composition will hit the eardrums of film critics at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, reported the Londoner May 9. The young London composer is in his third year of music studies at York University where he recently teamed up with a group of student filmmakers for a short film called Legs. The 11-minute piece about a triathlete who loses his legs in a car accident features a score composed by Creaghan, and was selected to premiere at the Short Film Corner of the famous Cannes Festival this month. Read full story.
Reports of movement within Liberal party to get rid of Clark
Less than a week to go before the election and Liberal Leader Christy Clark seems to be embroiled in two new controversies. There are reports some people within the party want to get rid of her as soon as the polls close….“There is a group of Conservatives within this BC Liberal coalition who just don’t trust Christy Clark, think she’s a federal Liberal, and are not prepared to fall under her leadership,” said York University political science Professor Dennis Pilon in News1130 May 9. Read full story.