Dear friends of Massey College, chers collègues,
Massey remains open for summer rentals and there are a few spots remaining. If you have family, friends or colleagues visiting Toronto this summer, be sure to let them know. Check for availability here.
The Governing Board of Massey College has elected five new members: Nora Gillespie, Jillian Kohler, Akaash Maharaj, Elizabeth Riddell-Dixon and Alexie Tcheuyap. Thank you for stepping up to help Massey College.
I’m pleased today to announce that Astra Taylor will deliver The Age of Insecurity, the 2023 CBC Massey Lectures.
These days, everyone feels insecure. We are financially stressed and emotionally overwhelmed. The status quo isn’t working for anyone, even those who appear to have it all. What is going on?
In this urgent cultural diagnosis, author and activist Astra Taylor exposes how seemingly disparate crises—rising inequality and declining mental health, the ecological emergency, and the threat of authoritarianism—originate from a social order built on insecurity. From home ownership and education to the wellness industry and policing, many of the institutions and systems that promise to make us more secure actually undermine us.
Mixing social critique, memoir, history, political analysis, and philosophy, this genre-bending book rethinks both insecurity and security from the ground up. By facing our existential insecurity and embracing our vulnerability, Taylor argues, we can begin to develop more caring, inclusive, and sustainable forms of security to help us better weather the challenges ahead. The Age of Insecurity will transform how you understand yourself and society—while illuminating a path toward meaningful change.
ASTRA TAYLOR is a filmmaker, writer, and political organizer, born in Winnipeg, MB, and raised in Athens, GA; she currently lives in New York. Her latest book is Remake the World: Essays, Reflections, Rebellions, and her other books include the American Book Award winner, The People’s Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age. She regularly writes for major publications, has directed two documentaries, toured with the band Neutral Milk Hotel, and co-founded the Debt Collective.
The CBC Massey Lectures is a partnership between CBC, House of Anansi Press and Massey College, providing a forum where contemporary thinkers can explore important issues of our time:
- Tuesday, Sept. 5: Winnipeg – Prairie Theatre Exchange
- Friday, Sept. 8: Halifax – Neptune Theatre
- Wednesday, Sept. 20: Whitehorse – Yukon Arts Centre
- Friday, Sept. 22: Vancouver – York Theatre
- Saturday, Sept 23: Vancouver – York Theatre – Massey lecturers discussion
- Tuesday, Sept 26: Toronto – Book Launch at Massey College [Calendar link drafted]
- Wednesday, Sept 27: Toronto – Koerner Hall Tickets on sale July 17
Tickets for the cross Canadian lecture tour will go on sale July 17th, and you can preorder The Age of Insecurity from booksellers across the country.
COMMUNITY NEWS
Awards
Omayra Issa created and produced CBC’s Black on the Prairies: Place Edition with a wonderful team. They received two Digital Publishing Awards and an honourable mention.
Gold – Best Digital Design: The Prairies got something to say
https://www.cbc.ca/newsinteractives/features/the-prairies-got-something-to-say Gold – Best Online Video Feature: Arrival https://www.cbc.ca/newsinteractives/features/arrival
Honourable Mention – Best Digital Editorial Package: Black on the Prairies: Place Edition
https://www.cbc.ca/newsinteractives/features/editors-letter
Senior Fellow Anita McGahan was honoured with the 2023 recipient of the Sumantra Ghoshal Award for Rigour and Relevance in the Study of Management. Read about it here.
News
Acting College Librarian Chana Algarvio became one of the grant recipients of the Consortium of European Research Libraries (CERL) to work with CERL’s Retrospective National Bibliographies Working Group. Chana will be using the connections she makes to incorporate relevant books from the Robertson Davies Library into the records of the national bibliographic databases.
More information here: https://www.cerl.org/collaboration/internship)
Senior Fellow Akwasi Owusu-Bempah interviewed on TVO’s the Agenda. Watch it here.
Senior Fellow Sylvia Bashevkin published “Explaining Feminist Movement Impact: Provincial Abortion Policies in the
Wake of Decriminalization, 1988-2018″ in CJPS (June 2023). Read it here.
I look forward to seeing you at Astra’s Book Launch and at the lectures at Koerner Hall,
