Department of Equity Studies Archives - LA&PS Newsroom

Equity studies professor teaches how queer activism has shaped history

efulton — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 14:48:43 +0000

A recent article in �첥��Ƶ Magazine looks at the important work of Tom Hooper (Department of Equity Studies), an academic and educator specializing in queer history and equity studies.

Hooper’s scholarship focuses on the history of queer activism and how it has shaped contemporary queer rights. He aims to empower students by sharing the impact of earlier generations of activists and demonstrating how students can also change the world with their work. In the article, Hooper discusses how advocacy around queer rights has shifted over the years, saying that Pride has transformed into a commercial and political event and is now less about advocacy for the queer community.

The article also features quotes from academics such as Tom Warner and Gary Kinsman, who speak to Hooper’s influential work and how it builds on a legacy of queer activism.

Hooper holds a PhD in history from �첥��Ƶ, and his research interests include human rights, law and justice and queer history.

Read the full feature in .

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Human Rights & Equity Studies professor discusses living in Greenland in �Ѳ��𲹲�’s

efulton — Wed, 21 Jan 2026 19:19:15 +0000

Yvonne Su, associate professor in the Department of Human Rights & Equity Studies wrote an article for �Ѳ��𲹲�’s about her time living in Greenland while researching her honours thesis on climate change. While Greenland has been portrayed by President Trump and some media simply as a territory that is rich in resources, she explains that Greenland is much more than this and has a rich, thriving culture and engaged citizens. She describes the experiences she had and the people she met, and how this differs from what is portrayed about the country in the media.

Su is a specialist in forced migration, climate change-induced displacement and queer migration. She has worked extensively with vulnerable communities in Southeast Asia and Latin America and the Caribbeans including refugees, asylum seekers, undocumented migrants, trans sex workers, indigenous communities and 2SLGBTQIA+ folks.

Read the full article in .

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Researchers from the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies awarded Partnership Development Grants by the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada

efulton — Fri, 08 Aug 2025 19:40:59 +0000

Faculty from across �첥��Ƶ have been awarded Partnership Development Grants by the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), including three professors from the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS). The grants were awarded to existing research partnerships and projects that aim to create impact in both academic and non-academic communities.

The following LA&PS researchers were awarded funding as part of the 2024 competition:

Johanne Jean-Pierre, Department of Sociology
Project: Inspiring adolescents to become first-generation university students through bilingual short films
Funding: $199,384

Joan Judge, Department of History
Project: Vernacular medicine and modes of knowing in China: historical and global contexts
Funding: $199,329

Yvonne Su, Department of Equity Studies
Project: Sanctuaries of Hope: Co-Creating Knowledge, Policies, Workshops and Participatory Films on South-South Queer Migration with Bogotá’s LGBTQ+ Houses
Funding: $198,360

Congratulations to the grant recipients.

Read the full story in YFile.

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Assistant Professor from Department of Human Rights & Equity Studies discusses the evolution of Pride Toronto on CBC’s Here and Now

efulton — Tue, 18 Mar 2025 18:48:48 +0000

Dr. Tom Hooper, assistant professor in the Department of Human Rights & Equity Studies, was recently interviewed on CBC Radio’s Here and Now after three corporate sponsors removed their funding from this year’s Pride Toronto. In the interview, Hooper reflects on the early, grassroots days of Pride Toronto and argues that Pride organizers should reconsider its direction as the event has now become increasingly corporate within its governance committee.

Dr. Tom Hooper holds a PhD in History from �첥��Ƶ. His work has explored topics such as the bathhouse raids, the construction of queer historical narratives and the misuse of heritage grants donated to 2SLGBTQ organizations. His research specialisms include human rights, law and justice and 2SLGBTQ history.

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Equity Studies assistant professor discusses discrimination against international students in The Conversation

Sanja Begic — Wed, 15 Jan 2025 21:04:22 +0000

Dr. Yvonne Su, assistant professor in the Department of Equity Studies and Director of the Centre for Refugee Studies at �첥��Ƶ, has written an article for The Conversation about the ways in which international students are facing discrimination in Canada because of the 2024 announcement which capped international student numbers. She says that as a result of the government decision to cap the number of international students in Canada, international students are experiencing discrimination and violence towards them, while the government avoids important conversations about underlying societal and systemic problems.

Dr. Su is a specialist in forced migration, climate change-induced displacement and queer migration. She has worked extensively with vulnerable communities in Southeast Asia and Latin America and the Caribbeans including refugees, asylum seekers, undocumented migrants, trans sex workers, indigenous communities, and 2SLGBTQIA+ folks.

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Prof Tom Hooper discusses the 1981 Toronto bathhouse raids on an episode of Global News’ What Happened to….?

Sanja Begic — Fri, 08 Dec 2023 14:31:40 +0000

Left to Right: Murray Rankin, Ron Rosenes, Tom Hooper, Gary Kinsman.

On February 5, 1981, Toronto Police launched Operation Soap. Officers ambushed four Toronto bathhouses in a series of coordinated raids. The raids followed a six-month investigation, which led to almost 300 patrons being arrested on the street.

Murray Rankin was an MP. Ron Rosenes was arrested and convicted in the 1981 bathhouse raids. Professor Tom Hooper is a historian of the bathhouse raids and Gary Kinsman was a queer activist at the time of the bathhouse raids.

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Yvonne Su - How COVID-19 is affecting the Refugees

Sanja Begic — Tue, 03 Aug 2021 16:41:22 +0000

Refugees are at high risk of COVID-19 infection, but low priority for vaccines This article was originally authored by Assistant Professor Yvonne Su and published on The Conversation, an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis, and commentary from academic experts. Disclosure information is available on the original site. Read full story on National Post.

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Professor Visano featured in Toronto Star article about reducing poverty

Sanja Begic — Tue, 24 Nov 2020 18:55:58 +0000

On Oct. 25 2020, the Toronto Star reported that Toronto's gun and violence problems can't be solved with existing solutions.

According to �첥��Ƶ sociologist Livy Visano, these existing solutions are rooted in social and economic systems where wealth and power are cemented in unequal proportions and perceptions of crime are cast unfairly on the downtrodden.

Some experts suggest that reducing poverty will reduce crime. But the link between impoverishment and crime is more complex than many imagine, Visano says.

Certainly, Visano says, gun and gang crimes are largely products of poverty—where the acquisition of goods, respect, education and power is limited by economic status. However, Visano questions the strength of this link: "[w]e have a tendency to look at this (poverty-crime) relationship and not question what crime is.”

Visano says there are three broad categories of crime — crimes of pathology (or mental illness) crimes of passion and those of profit.

“Crimes of pathology (such as) serial killers straddle all classes, crimes of passion staddle all classes,” Visano says. “But crimes of profit—this also involves all classes—but the manifestations seem to be quite different. But for the more disadvantaged communities we see more visible forms, more obvious forms … in the more public and visible space,” Visano says.

Visano contends, however, that the most important tools for reducing violence and street crime may rest within disadvantaged communities themselves, where the vast majority of people have knowledge of street and gang life, but shun it.

Read the

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Community Message on Black Lives Matter

Sanja Begic — Mon, 09 Nov 2020 19:15:00 +0000

The Department of Equity Studies stands in solidarity with Black Lives Matter in Canada, USA, and the world demanding an end to anti-Black state racism. Students, staff, and faculty members of the Department of Equity Studies (DES) collectively decry the violence of white supremacist inaction and, the maintenance of white privilege across institutions and public spaces. Anti-racism and racial justice work reveal themselves not by slogans, platitudes, or statements, but by direct action to dismantle all forms of racism, settler colonialism, and white supremacy. We urge fundamental transformative changes in our society. We are committed to ending the historical and current violence of silence in thought and action and join forces with BLM in mobilizing communities into action.

During this time of worldwide protest against anti-Black racist violence, we need to be reflective and reflexive of our own racism and biases. Anti-Black racial harassment, racial profiling, and violence against Black students at �첥��Ƶ, and the deplorably low representation of Black faculty members are social justice issues that require immediate attention.

As the department that houses the Human Rights and Equity Studies (HREQ) degree program and the Certificate in Anti-Racist Research & Practice (CARRP), we pledge to:

develop more specific courses on anti-Black racism, and
prioritize the hiring of Black faculty members to teach our courses and to reflect our student body.

In this regard, we fully support the recent recommendation by the Joint Sub-Committee on Employment Equity and Inclusivity (JSCEEI) which has called for six targeted hires of Black faculty this year, along with a range of other recommendations for retaining Black faculty members and mentoring Black students.

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Yvonne Su-Accorded Special Initiative Grant of $24,961

Sanja Begic — Wed, 23 Sep 2020 18:34:54 +0000

Yvonne Su, Department of Equity Studies, is awarded $24,961! SSHRC PEG COVID-19 Special Initiative grant in the June 2020 round for a project
on the impact of COVID-19 on Venezuelan LGBTQI and asylum seekers in Brazil.

Congratulations to Yvonne Su on this achievement.

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