The popular McLaughlin Lunch Talk Series continues through fall with six events lined up for Oct. 24, 25, 30 and 31 as well as Nov. 13 and 14.
All events run from noon to 1:30 p.m. in the Senior Common Room, 140 McLaughlin College, and everyone is welcome to attend.
Oct. 24 – Battered but Unbowed: The Canadian Welfare State
This talk will explore a number of questions such as “What is a welfare state?,” “Is there a Canadian style?,” “What are the alternatives to the welfare state?” and “Why are there so many misconceptions about the welfare state?” George Fallis, York University professor emeritus, will address these questions and more. He will examine other topics, including whether neo-liberalism rolled back the welfare state and why progressives don’t acknowledge the resilience and success of the Canadian welfare state, and finally ask why Canada can’t fill the gaps in its welfare state.
Oct. 25 – Trumping the U.S. Empire
The political outcome of the first great capitalist crisis of the 21st century, Donald Trump’s election to the presidency of the American empire, was especially heightened following the Brexit referendum and the electoral successes of hyper-nationalist anti-immigration parties in Europe. With this, the American empire’s role in the making of global capitalism has come to be challenged from within rather than, as had been so widely expected, from without. In this talk, York University Professor Emeritus Leo Panitch will discuss whether or not the American state still has the capacity to manage global capitalism.
Oct. 30 – Surveillance and Migration: European Challenges of Legitimacy
The rapidly developing surveillance technologies and intelligence service access to
personal data held by private-sector actors such as telecom companies are highly
controversial in Europe. And nowhere are the incursions into privacy and personal data more pronounced than in the fields of border controls and migration, where people find
themselves in situations of vulnerability in front of foreign border guards and visa officers. In this talk, these challenges will be examined from the perspective of legitimacy and international legality by Didier Bigo, a professor in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London and a research professor at Sciences Po Paris, and Elspeth Guild, a Jean Monnet Professor ad personam in law at Queen Mary University of London and Radboud University in the Netherlands.
Oct. 31 – Current Developments in Detention in Canada
In this talk, human rights lawyer Rana Khan will speak about the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Detention Strategy, her work with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) on its detention portfolio and National Alternatives to Detention Framework, and the pending revision of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) Detention Guidelines. Since joining the UNHCR in 1994, Khan has worked as a legal officer and head of the Toronto office for the region of Ontario, covering all aspects of refugee protection, policy and practice.
Nov. 13 – Welcome Refugees? Exploring Resettlement Conditions for Recently Arrived Refugees in Canada
Recently arrived refugee newcomers are in the process of creating their new home in
Canada. They need to actively rebuild friendships, livelihoods, identities and hopes for
the future. Not surprisingly, the process takes time, and is supported but also hindered
by Canada’s settlement policies. Using data from several studies with recently arrived
refugee newcomers, York University Professor Michaela Hynie, resident faculty in the Centre for Refugee Studies, will reflect on some of the most important determinants of refugees’ health and well-being and how well we are doing in supporting refugee newcomers’ efforts to achieve their goals and aspirations.
Nov. 14 – Where to Stash your Dirty Cash: A Look at the International Regime to Combat Money Laundering
This talk, by Ian Roberge, co-interim principal and associate principal academic at York University’s Glendon Campus, will describe the international anti-money laundering and terrorism financing regime using the prism of experimental governance. Focusing on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) – the central organization in the fight against “dirty money” – the strengths and weaknesses of the use of experimentalism in combating illicit finance will be identified.
Light refreshments will be provided at the events. For more information, contact Vicky Carnevale at ext. 33824 or vcarneva@yorku.ca.