Meet Daphne Duruoha! Daphne is originally from Nigeria, but came to 杏吧原创 last fall from Berlin, Germany to pursue a Master of Arts in Legal Studies. Daphne is currently wrapping up the first year of her program and will be pursuing the Major Research Essay (MRE) stream going into the second year of her program.

Daphne is the recipient of this year’s Chet Mitchell Memorial Award in Law, which is given annually to a deserving student enrolled in the Master of Arts program in Legal Studies. Daphne was nominated by several faculty members who all had incredibly positive things to say about her academic skills, intellectual curiosity, and collegiality.

What led you to pursuing your MA in Legal Studies at 杏吧原创?
The interdisciplinary and interpretive nature of the MA here at 杏吧原创 is what drew me in. For my undergrad, I did an LL.B. and specialized in International Law. A lot of that was helpful for familiarizing with doctrinal legal provisions and their applications, but I knew that if I wanted to truly make an impact in the legal field, I needed to understand the law differently. How it works in everyday life, how it has come to be what it is, how it is interpreted (even resisted), and how it shapes our social and material realities. So far, the MA has really delivered on that. It has strengthened my research and writing skills, and I鈥檝e especially enjoyed the qualitative sidemof it. I love writing (creative non-fiction in particular) so learning how to translate that into academic research has been exciting. That鈥檚 not to say I鈥檓 not sometimes close to fainting in the process (haha), but it has definitely equipped me and nudged me out of my comfort zone.

Tell me more about your research, and what do you hope to gain out of it by the time you complete your degree?
My current research looks to capture marginalization from a more nuanced perspective. I鈥檓 working on developing a concept I鈥檝e called Legal Perpetuities. To put it simply, it looks at how the law can contribute to forms of marginalization that persist across generations, and how this affects certain groups, keeping them structurally dispossessed within social systems. Theorizing in the manner that I look to approach it can be very delicate, so
while I鈥檓 consulting on the possibilities of that idea, I鈥檓 also developing research on emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, and how optimism around these technologies shapes the law. By the time I complete my degree, I really hope to have stretched my intellectual capacity. How I interpret and apply law and policies, as well as how I write about it.

What advice would you give to incoming students?
If I had to give any advice, it would be not to underestimate the value of faith and consistency. I鈥檝e had quite a long journey getting here, and sometimes I wonder how different things would have been if I wasn鈥檛 consistent with my choices and didn鈥檛 trust them with God. I鈥檇 also say, speak up. In Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie鈥檚 speech titled Never
Admire Quietly, she says to speak, speak freely, speak kindly. Because human beings are fragile and life is fleeting. I take this advice with me into academia and often encourage everyone not to be afraid to sound silly, too
knowledgeable, or even a bit awkward. We are here to explore and grow, and that only really happens when you
participate fully. Engaging in classes, sharing ideas and taking part in activities will help you make the most of your experience at 杏吧原创 (and possibly, really have fun while at it).

Are you interested in learning more about our graduate programs? You can find more details here!

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Scholars connected to the Department of Law and Legal Studies are currently featured in The Journey of a Change Maker, an exhibition on display on the fourth floor of the MacOdrum Library. The exhibit highlights the research, creativity, and social commitments of graduate students and scholars from the Faculty of Public and Global Affairs.

The exhibition invites participants to reflect on the kind of change they hope to create in the world and to translate those visions into artistic expressions connected to their research, advocacy, and values. The result is a collection of interdisciplinary works that bridge academic research, public engagement, and creative storytelling.

Among the featured contributors are PhD Student听Sunitha Bisan Singh,听whose work in environmental law and global sustainability explores pathways toward ecological justice, and听Jeffrey Bradley, a PhD Graduate from Legal Studies and contractor instructor in Criminology whose research engages questions of state violence, prisons, and transformative justice.

Sunitha鈥檚 contribution is making the case for humility and teamwork to build momentum for Gender Climate Justice. She asks what a reimagination of justice governance could look like and how to amplify the grassroots women鈥檚 voices and contributions. She calls for climate justice as both a person and collective responsibility. 

Bradley鈥檚 contribution includes a collage and short documentary created on Prisoners鈥� Justice Day 2025 that honours the resilience and strength of women who experienced state violence at Canada鈥檚 former Prison for Women in Kingston. The piece draws attention to histories of harm within the carceral system while also highlighting possibilities for healing, abolition, and transformative justice. The exhibit also invites visitors to explore interviews with former prisoners, advocates, and community activists through the Healing for Justice documentary project.

Bringing together contributors from disciplines including law, social work, communication, and sustainable energy, the exhibition demonstrates how research can extend beyond traditional academic formats. The works collectively show how scholarship can also function as storytelling, advocacy, and a catalyst for social transformation.

Students, faculty, and community members are encouraged to visit the display on the fourth floor of the MacOdrum Library to engage with these inspiring visions for a more just and equitable world.

You can learn more about the exhibition here.

Healing for Justice: Prisoners’ Justice Day 2025 P4W Memorial Collective documentary: 

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We are pleased to share that Professor Ummni Khan recently had an article published on the Pancouver website titled, “Kinky caricature no more: How听Pillion听is rewriting BDSM听cinema.”

You can read this article .

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Meet Janakan Muthukumar! Janakan is pursuing a PhD in Legal Studies under the supervision of Professor Sean Richmond. Janakan is the recipient of this year鈥檚 Transformation Scholarship for Graduate Students.

1. What led you to pursue your PhD in Legal Studies at 杏吧原创?
杏吧原创’s Department of Law and Legal Studies stood out to me for its interdisciplinary ethos and commitment to tackling real-world legal and policy issues with intellectual depth. My academic and professional background sits at the intersection of international law, security, and human rights鈥攁reas that the department not only embraces but leads in. I was particularly drawn to 杏吧原创’s emphasis on critical legal scholarship, the faculty’s diverse expertise, and the department鈥檚 culture of mentorship and public engagement. After speaking with several faculty members and current students, I knew it was the right place to develop my ideas in a rigorous and supportive environment.

2. Tell us about your research, and what you hope to gain out of it by the time you complete your degree.
My research examines how, if at all, international law influenced Canada鈥檚 nuclear weapons policy between 1957 and 1984. While Canada鈥檚 nuclear history has often been studied through strategic or political lenses, I focus on the legal dimension鈥攁nalyzing how international legal norms were understood, debated, and invoked by Canadian policymakers during key moments of decision-making. This includes not only disarmament and non-proliferation treaties, but also broader principles such as sovereignty, collective self-defence, and humanitarian law. Drawing on archival materials, diplomatic correspondence, and theoretical frameworks like interactional international law, I explore how law shaped Canada鈥檚 nuclear trajectory鈥攏ot as a rigid constraint, but as a set of norms that helped define Canada鈥檚 identity, legitimate its policies, and navigate alliance obligations under NATO and NORAD.

By the time I complete my degree, I hope to produce not just a historical account, but a meaningful intervention in how we think about the role of law in shaping national security policy. My goal is to demonstrate that international legal norms鈥攅ven in areas as politically charged as nuclear weapons鈥攁re not peripheral, but central to how states like Canada define their choices, justify their actions, and project their identities. I also hope my work contributes to broader conversations about the future of disarmament, the credibility of international legal commitments, and the responsibilities of middle powers in upholding a rules-based international order. At a time when global arms control is under strain, I believe understanding the legal foundations of past restraint can help us imagine new paths forward.

3. What advice would you give to incoming students?
Graduate studies can be both rewarding and overwhelming, so my first piece of advice is to embrace the long view鈥攔ecognize that scholarship is a process, and it鈥檚 okay to not have everything figured out at the start. Build relationships with faculty and fellow students; 杏吧原创鈥檚 community is rich with people who are generous with their time and ideas. Also, carve out space to read widely and critically鈥攅ven beyond your discipline. Some of the most meaningful breakthroughs come from unexpected places. Lastly, don鈥檛 underestimate the value of self-care and setting boundaries鈥攖his work takes stamina, and so does taking care of yourself along the way.

Are you interested in learning more about our graduate programs? You can find more details here!

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On March 10th, we welcomed Professor Firat Bozcali from the University of Toronto who delivered our second Juristalks event of the year on his book titled, “Smuggling Law: Unsettled Sovereignties in Turkey鈥檚 Kurdish Borderlands.” The presentation was followed but some great questions and some very engaged conversation. Thanks to all who came out!

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On March 4th, we had the pleasure of welcoming Professor Judy Fudge from McMaster University in Hamilton. Professor Fudge delivered our 2026 Chet Mitchell Memorial Lecture titled, “Constructing Modern Slavery: Law, Capitalism and Unfree Labour” which was thoroughly enjoyed by all who attended.

Thanks to everyone who came out!

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We are pleased to share that Professor Umut Ozsu recently wrote an article for the Canadian Dimension titled, “Intergration or Independence?”听

You can read this article 鈥嬧�嬧�嬧�嬧�嬧�嬧��.听

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Jane Dickson鈥檚 work focuses on strengthening Indigenous access to justice through the development, training, and evaluation of Gladue reports and culturally informed sentencing practices. She recently did an interview with the FPGA going into more details about her work.

You can read the full interview here.

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The statement below was drafted and signed by members of the Department of Law and Legal Studies in response to 杏吧原创 University鈥檚 proposed impartiality policy. Although the administration has since issued a revised draft, the language, intent, and enforcement mechanisms remain, in our view, too vague to withstand legal scrutiny. We therefore consider the analysis and concerns in this letter fully applicable to the current version. We also note that, at a recent General Faculty Board meeting, members passed a motion urging the University Senate to recommend that the Board of Governors reject this impartiality policy and refrain from pursuing any other such policy.

****

Dear Members of the University Governance Secretariat and Senior Administration,

We, as members of the Department of Law and Legal Studies, are compelled to respond to the proposed policy on 鈥淚nstitutional Impartiality鈥� by asserting that this policy, as currently written, is legally incoherent, unenforceable, and needlessly provocative. We are particularly concerned that it:

(1) rests on a confused and unsustainable distinction between 鈥渋mpartiality鈥� and 鈥渘eutrality,鈥� and defines 鈥減artisan鈥� speech so vaguely and broadly that ordinary scholarly analysis of law, power, and public controversy could be treated as prohibited.

(2) wrongly restricts any unauthorized statement that could be 鈥渞easonably seen鈥� to be made on behalf of the University; in fact, we speak from, not for, 杏吧原创. While the President, Provost, and Chancellor represent the public face of the University and their statements might be reasonably interpreted as representing University policy, collective statements by units on important public issues can only be interpreted correctly as falling within the context of academic freedom. Any concern about 鈥渢he University鈥檚 position鈥� should be addressed by clarifying the role and conduct of senior administration, not by policing faculty.

(3) will be enforced unevenly, falling hardest on Law, the social sciences, and the humanities, and especially on new and untenured scholars whose research tackles contentious issues and powerful institutions.

(4) uses vague language that hands administrators arbitrary power to discipline lawful political expression on and off campus, a power incompatible with a public university operating under the rule of law in a constitutional democracy.

If this policy is passed by the University, we see two inevitable effects: (1) protected political speech will be silenced, and/or (2) our colleagues across the University will be forced to disregard this policy, potentially setting up an endless series of direct and legally justified confrontations with the upper administration. We believe both of these outcomes are undesirable and unnecessary, and we urge the Administration to quickly reject this ill-conceived policy.

List of signatories:

• Zeina Bou-Zeid
• Doris Buss
• Michael Christensen
• Pierre Cloutier de Repentigny
• Jane Dickson
• Stacy Douglas
• Megan Gaucher
• Sheryl Hamilton
• Mohammad Mahmud Hasan
• Atiya Husain
• Nadine Ijaz
• Philip Kaisary
• Gulay Kilicaslan
• Hollis Moore
• Umut 脰zsu
• Sean Richmond
• George Rigakos
• Alberto Salazar
• Dale Spencer
• Steve Tasson
• Christiane Wilke
• Ania Zbyszewska

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The documentary film Night and Fog in Kurdistan, directed by Kurdish filmmaker Shilan Saadi and produced by Keywan Fahimi and our faculty member Dr. Gulay Kilicaslan, recently won Best Foreign Feature Documentary at the Female Eye Film Festival at TIFF Lightbox in Toronto. The film has also received Best International Documentary (8th Amicorti International Film Festival, Rome), Equality Feature (JACKSON DOC Film Festival, Tennessee), and Best Canadian Film (6th Human-Environment Care Film Festival, Toronto).

Night and Fog in Kurdistan follows seven Yezidi teenage survivors of the 2014 ISIS genocide over five years, tracing their difficult migration journey from camps in Northern Kurdistan鈥揟urkey to Europe. Using innovative mixed methods of documentary making, namely graphics, maps, archival research, and first-person storytelling, the film documents the lasting trauma of genocide, the gendered and intersectional impacts of displacement, and the resistance of these young women as they turn their cameras on themselves, sharing their survival and growth through multiple displacements. This documentary is closely connected to Dr. Kilicaslan鈥檚 SSHRC-IDG funded research on Yezidi survivors鈥� resettlement in Canada after the 2014 ISIS genocide, and Shilan and Gulay are currently collaborating on another documentary in Canada based on this ongoing research.

You can find the trailer for this documentary below.

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