Alexa Zulak

U of T's Centre for Ethics launches Oxford Handbook of Ethics of AI

Christopher.Sorensen — Wed, 22 Jul 2020 20:03:24 +0000

U of T's Centre for Ethics launches Oxford Handbook of Ethics of AI

Christopher.Sorensen Wed, 07/22/2020 - 16:03

Cutline

Markus Dubber, the director of U of T's Centre for Ethics, co-edited the nearly 900-page handbook, which examines the evolving field of AI through an interdisciplinary and international lens (photo courtesy Faculty of Law)

Alexa Zulak

Topic

Global Lens

Artificial Intelligence

Centre for Ethics

Faculty of Arts & Science

Faculty of Law

Faculty of Medicine

Global

From smart cities and autonomous vehicles to facial recognition software and digital assistants standing by to answer questions, artificial intelligence (AI) is quickly becoming an important part of everyday life – and it’s only the beginning.

But the AI revolution also brings with it important ethical questions about the technology’s impact on people and society – questions that Markus Dubber, director of the University of Toronto’s Centre for Ethics, is delving into with the release of the Oxford Handbook of Ethics of AI, a first of its kind globally.

Launched earlier this month, the nearly 900-page handbook examines the ever-evolving field of AI through an interdisciplinary and international lens, exploring 44 topics, including fairness and bias, race and gender, AI and consent, the ethics of automating design and more.

“I like these Oxford handbooks because of the opportunity to define the canon of the field and also shape it,” says Dubber, a professor in the Faculty of Law and co-editor of the handbook. “We can include approaches, perspectives and feature scholars who perhaps hadn't been thought of as central to the scholarly enterprise.”

Building on the centre’s “Ethics of AI in Context” initiative – an interdisciplinary workshop series launched in 2017 – Dubber worked with co-editors Sunit Das, an associate professor in U of T’s Faculty of Medicine, and Frank Pasquale of the University of Maryland, to create a handbook that was interdisciplinary. They wanted to broaden the conversation around the ethics of AI to include perspectives from the humanities, social sciences, law, medicine and engineering.

Read a Q&A with Markus Dubber about the handbook project

“AI now touches every aspect of everything we do individually, politically, communally, socially. So, all disciplines should be part of this conversation,” Dubber says.

“It's exciting to see the range of people participating: engineers, philosophers, political scientists, lawyers and cognitive scientists. Some didn't necessarily think of themselves as being part of this discipline at the beginning, but now they do.”

And while Dubber is no stranger to Oxford Press handbooks – he has co-edited several law handbooks – the ethics of AI did come with its own unique challenges.

“There’s no handbook for the handbook,” he says.

“The discipline is so fast moving – not just the tech but also the ethics. Anytime there's a new tech development, there will be some new ethical issue. So, it's not just that the technology keeps evolving, the ethics – the reflection on the normative dimensions of the technology – will change, too.”

But Dubber says the Centre for Ethics, an interdisciplinary unit from the onset, was the perfect place to take on this challenge – and it allowed him to involve his students from the centre in the project.

Graduate and undergraduate students in the centre’s cross-divisional Ethics of Artificial Intelligence in Context course, along with research assistants and student affiliates of the centre’s Ethics of AI Lab, collaborated in pulling together an annotated bibliography to act as an open-access online companion to the handbook.

“It was fun to see the students take charge and produce something of first-rate quality that, as far as I know, is the only one of its kind anywhere,” Dubber says. “This is a comprehensive annotated bibliography of more than 800 sources covering 44 different subjects in the ethics of AI, ranging from smart cities to the singularity to European AI policy.”

What does Dubber want readers take away from the handbook? He hopes people to realize they don’t have to be experts in AI to think critically about the ethical issues surrounding the field.

“Instead of being overwhelmed by this accumulation of expertise across the world and across disciplines, they can see these are all important approaches and perspectives,” he says. “Ultimately, it's up to each one of us to decide what role AI – or technology generally – should play.”

For Dubber, ethics is a great equalizer.

“You don't need a degree in ethics to have an ethical view of anything,” he says. “You don't need a degree to have a sense of what's right and wrong and to think things through.”

'Give your curiosity free rein': U of T grad Michael Bol offers words of wisdom to incoming students

Christopher.Sorensen — Thu, 11 Jun 2020 15:30:36 +0000

'Give your curiosity free rein': U of T grad Michael Bol offers words of wisdom to incoming students

Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 06/11/2020 - 11:30

Cutline

Michael Bol, a member of Victoria College, says his interests led him to co-found the South Sudan Development Club and be involved in a number of other organizations and associations (photo courtesy of Michael Bol)

Alexa Zulak

Topic

Our Community

African Studies

Faculty of Arts & Science

Global

Human Geography

Victoria College

Michael Bol speaks from experience when he offers a piece of advice to incoming University of Toronto students: Get involved.

The Victoria College member — who graduated with an honours bachelor of arts degree this week — co-founded the South Sudan Development Club, aimed at creating a safe space for South Sudanese students and working with marginalized South Sudanese communities to create lasting social change.

He also chaired New College’s Swahili Cultural Showcase, an event celebrating the diversity and rich culture of the Swahili language, and served as an executive member of the East African Student Association and was also an active member of both the Black and African Student Associations.

Bol joined U of T as a World University Service of Canada (WUSC) student. The non-profit development organization, which focuses on education, employment and empowerment for youth around the world, provides post-secondary education opportunities for refugee students on Canadian campuses through its student refugee program. He also served as a WUSC refugee student representative at Victoria College.

Arts & Science News writer Alexa Zulak spoke to Bol about his academic interests – he majored in geographic information systems and minored in human geography and African studies – and what, if anything, he’d do differently if he could go back to first year.

What did you study and why?

I was drawn to geographic information systems (GIS) and human geography during my first year. A few of my friends spoke about the role of GIS and remote sensing and it really appealed to me. However, it wasn’t until after my second year that I began to develop a highly specific interest in GIS, spatial analysis and remote sensing.

What’s inspiring about GIS is that it’s a computer system designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage and present a variety of spatial and geographical data. GIS is used in a variety of industries to help in planning and monitoring.

What advice would you give your first-year self?

One of the first things I noticed about being a U of T student is that everything moves quickly – professors, instructors, TAs, students and time. I used to find this frustrating, trying desperately to rush through my assignments at a breakneck speed and throwing myself into activities without really thinking.

If I could go back, I would allocate my time more effectively, with a more flexible mindset. I would also try to engage more with colleagues, attend more campus and career talks and make good use of school facilities.

What have been some of your most memorable experiences at U of T?

My experiences have been amazing. I have learned and experienced so many new things in such a short period of time – it has gone by so fast and I’m still discovering all the opportunities that U of T offers.

The freedom to choose my major, my friends and what I do with my time have been memorable. Also, exploring different clubs, associations and becoming involved with things that I’m interested in was amazing.

What would you say to someone considering U of T and Victoria College?

Slow down. Things are going to be thrown at you and it can get overwhelming. Breathe, ground yourself and look at doing the things you really want to do – don’t do things for the sake of it.

Group up. The work is likely going to be hard. Find a group of people to study with. With each person participating a bit, you will get things done.

Be intentional with your time and energy. Track what you do, review the results and adjust accordingly. Be open to unfamiliar surroundings, take advantage of the resources and opportunities at Victoria College and find ways to engage.

Above all, explore, give your curiosity free rein and don’t let your program confine you.

Can you tell us a little bit about what you're planning for the future?

A few of my future goals include leading an entrepreneurial team in some capacity, starting my own company and getting involved in learning as much as I can until I eventually take on a leadership role. I prefer to work with others and I believe that I could thrive as a leader if given the chance.

First-year course at U of T explores U.S. history through the lens of Hamilton

Christopher.Sorensen — Thu, 13 Feb 2020 21:46:15 +0000

First-year course at U of T explores U.S. history through the lens of Hamilton

Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 02/13/2020 - 16:46

Cutline

The hit musical Hamilton is introducing audiences to early American history in a unique way, but a U of T course focused on the phenomenon reminds students to view pop culture through a critical lens – even if they're big fans (photo by Joan Marcus)

Alexa Zulak

Topic

Our Community

Faculty of Arts & Science

History

U.S.

Undergraduate Students

University College

Victoria College

With 11 Tony Awards and a Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the smash hit musical Hamilton is a juggernaut that’s introducing early American history to new audiences in a unique way – and historians at the University of Toronto are taking note.

Shira Lurie (left), a University College post-doctoral researcher in the department of history in the Faculty of Arts & Science, is exploring early American history through the lens of Hamilton in her new course: Hamilton: Musical and History.

“The class gives students the opportunity to discuss the musical and also think about early American history, issues of historical representation in popular culture and the benefits and challenges of adapting history for the stage,” says Lurie.

Offered as a first-year foundations seminar, Lurie’s course puts students in a small class setting – usually capped at 30 students – where they can meet fellow first-years, have more one-on-one time with professors and gain seminar experience early in their academic careers.

“Everyone in the class loves Hamilton, but that’s pretty much the only thing the students have in common,” says Lurie. “They’re from different disciplines and the diversity of perspectives makes for vibrant class discussions.”

Lurie says the show’s extreme popularity has led to students coming to class with specific questions about the era and the cast of characters portrayed in the show.

“I think the show has definitely increased curiosity about early American history, especially among Canadian students who may not have been familiar with this period before the show became a hit,” says Lurie. “But a major part of my job is also to fill in all of the history that the show leaves out.”

For Lurie, there’s at least one significant gap.

“I find it troubling that you can leave the show and not know that George Washington was a slaveholder,” says Lurie. “In fact, I believe the entire place of slavery in the show – or lack thereof – is a major flaw.

“One of the things we discuss in the class is what it means to have people of colour portraying slaveholders – is this an empowering way to reclaim history, or is it an erasure of the Black past, the horrors of the institution and the central place of slavery in the founding of the United States?”

The course, Hamilton: Musical and History, is a first-year foundations seminar that's capped at about 30 students to allow for more interaction with professors and a seminar-style experience (photo by Diana Tyszko)

Lurie says she hopes her students come away from the course with a more critical perception of how pop culture represents history.

“Part of being a critical thinker is being able to criticize the things we love. Some students have been hesitant to think critically about Hamilton and I’m hoping that the course helps them realize that the best art is worthy of scrutiny,” says Lurie.

Katherine Jung, a first-year life sciences student and member of Victoria College, says she was interested in the course because she loves Hamilton, but had never studied American history or world history before.

“I was surprised to learn Alexander Hamilton was anti-immigration, especially in his later years when he was brutally vocal about it,” says Jung. “It’s shocking since the musical has a pro-immigration message and is seen as an immigrant success story with very strong ‘work hard and achieve the American dream’ undertones.”

It’s a sentiment shared by classmate Phyllis Scully, a first-year student and member of University College, who says she was only aware of America’s founding era through the Hamilton cast recording.

Scully says she’s been enjoying the opportunity to dig deeper into the founding era.

“I love the collaborative aspect of this course,” says Scully. “Everyone is very insightful and doing the readings for this course is actually fun.”

As for Lurie, she says combining her interest in early American history and theatre has been a treat.

“I was a musical theatre fan long before I was a historian of early America, so the chance to chat with students for two hours a week about both of my passions is an absolute thrill,” she says.

After studying women role models, Tokyo 2020 hopeful Gabriela DeBues-Stafford became one herself

Christopher.Sorensen — Fri, 06 Dec 2019 13:46:16 +0000

After studying women role models, Tokyo 2020 hopeful Gabriela DeBues-Stafford became one herself

Christopher.Sorensen Fri, 12/06/2019 - 08:46

Cutline

U of T alumna Gabriela DeBues-Stafford is quickly becoming one of Canada’s greatest middle-distance runners, but she says juggling track and her studies was far from easy (photo by Don Voaklander)

Alexa Zulak

Topic

Our Community

Alumni

Faculty of Arts & Science

Subheadline

'Eventually, just working hard and being resilient translated to some pretty crazy results'

Gabriela DeBues-Stafford is having a good year.

The University of Toronto alumna, who graduated from the Faculty of Arts & Science with a degree in psychology earlier this spring, is quickly becoming one of Canada’s greatest middle-distance runners.

“I wasn't a young phenom when I started running, but I always wanted to get the most out of myself with every race,” says DeBues-Stafford, who was a member of Victoria College. “Eventually, just working hard and being resilient translated to some pretty crazy results.”

Those crazy results?

Breaking five Canadian records in a single season – more if you count the multiple times she broke the 1,500-metre record this season alone – and becoming the first Canadian woman to run 1,500 metres in under four minutes.

Most recently, DeBues-Stafford finished sixth in the women’s 1,500 metres at the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar, shattering her own Canadian record with a time of 3:56.12.

Canada's Gabriela Debues-Stafford (left) and Great Britain's Laura Muir after the 1,500 metre women's final at the IAAF World Championships in Doha, Qatar (photo by Martin Rickett/PA Images via Getty Images)

While the performance didn’t earn her a medal, it did land her the 21st spot on the IAAF’s all-time 1,500-metres list, a plethora of media coverage and even a nomination for the Canadian Sport Awards’ People’s Choice Award for Performance of the Year, where she went up against tennis champ Bianca Andreescu, among others.

Being in the spotlight for her accomplishments is something Debues-Stafford understands intimately, particularly after completing her undergraduate thesis on women as role models in sports.

Working alongside Poppy Lockwood, an associate professor in the department of psychology and vice-dean, academic planning in the Faculty of Arts & Science, DeBues-Stafford explored the tendency of athletes to select same-gender athletic role models and the extent to which gender-matching influences an athlete's motivation.

“What’s fun about social psychology research is that we’ll notice a trend out in the world, like the lower visibility of female athletes in the media, and then we’ll ask questions surrounding the importance of same-gender role models, which we can then test empirically in the lab,” DeBues-Stafford says.

“Being part of the process of designing an experiment and collecting data and seeing what we find is really interesting and exciting.”

For Lockwood, watching DeBues-Stafford’s career take off in such a “spectacular way” has been exciting to watch.

“Gabriela is a great role model for aspiring women athletes and U of T students both,” says Lockwood. “She illustrates the kind of achievements that are possible for women athletes in Canada.

“I watched her recent run in the IAAF 1,500 metres final with my two daughters and think it’s great for them to think about their own future possibilities. They were also really excited that their mom knows someone famous.”

DeBues-Stafford says the research taught her about the importance of seeing women in sport highlighted in the media more often.

“Having visible female role models in sport is important for women because it provides an exemplar of what girls and women can achieve,” says DeBues-Stafford.

Gabriela DeBues-Stafford competes in the first round of the women’s 1500 metres at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (photo by COC/David Jackson)

She says that media coverage often leads to increased public interest, noting that after the success of the Toronto Blue Jays’ 2016 season, youth baseball registration in Toronto rose 25 per cent.

And she says it’s something we’ll likely see in Canadian tennis next spring thanks to Bianca Andreescu.

“How many Canadian girls do you think are going to try tennis now?” asks DeBues-Stafford. “I'd bet a lot. And given that young girls are at a higher risk of dropping out of sport, some of those girls who are inspired by Bianca to try tennis may have stopped being active otherwise.

“Women succeed in sports all the time, they just don't usually get the same kind of airtime as men.”

As for DeBues-Stafford’s time at U of T, she says balancing athletics and schoolwork wasn’t always easy.

“I wish I could say that I was a master planner and had everything under control, that I got straight As while nailing workouts and races, eating well and getting enough sleep. But the honest answer is that I struggled to balance my athletics and my academics.”

While DeBues-Stafford says there were not enough hours in the day to do everything she wanted as well as she wanted to, being able to take summers off from classes allowed her to focus solely on the track during what she calls the most important and busiest part of the track year.

“Somehow, I managed to do well in both my studies and my running as a student at U of T, but I certainly wouldn't say it was thanks to balance – more like really bad juggling,” says DeBues-Stafford.

But even with that juggling, DeBues-Stafford made her Olympic debut in 2016 while still an undergraduate and has quickly become a role model in her own right on the road to Tokyo.

“I take the role very seriously and strive to be a positive and authentic role model and only promote positive and healthy messages – not only surrounding sport but also surrounding greater issues,” says DeBues-Stafford, who often takes to social media to talk about social issues.

As for what advice she has for first-year students just starting their academic careers, DeBues-Stafford says to surround yourself with people who encourage and inspire you to be the best version of yourself and be a good friend in return.

“Prioritizing the important relationships in one's life is key to being happy and fulfilled.”

First-year U of T course shines a light on language-based discrimination

Christopher.Sorensen — Thu, 05 Dec 2019 17:16:52 +0000

First-year U of T course shines a light on language-based discrimination

Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 12/05/2019 - 12:16

Cutline

Most consider race, gender, religion or sexual orientation to be sources of discrimination, but U of T's Nathan Sanders teaches first-year students that language is also a "major factor in unjust social structures" (photo by Diana Tyszko)

Alexa Zulak

Topic

Our Community

Academics

Faculty of Arts & Science

Linguistics

New College

Trinity College

Undergraduate Students

Victoria College

When you think of social justice, you’re likely thinking about how some people are discriminated against because of their race, gender, sexual orientation or religion.

But you may not realize how language fits into these dynamics.

“A major factor in unjust social structures is language,” says Nathan Sanders, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Arts & Science’s department of linguistics at the University of Toronto.

“If you speak a prestigious – or even a neutral – variety of the local dominant language, you’ll have an easier time accessing various aspects of society than other people generally will.”

In Canada, this means someone who speaks “Torontonian English” may have better luck finding a job, getting help or being taken seriously than someone who might have a strong Newfoundland accent, someone who recently immigrated to Canada with only a few years of English under their belt or someone who communicates with American Sign Language.

The connection between language and society is something Sanders explores in his first-year foundations seminar on language and social justice this semester.

“Social justice is a broad term that covers a variety of ways of dealing with unjust social structures, from identifying what they are and how they work to educating people about them and working towards eliminating those unjust structures,” Sanders says.

He adds that language is not immune to those unjust structures.

“Languages and dialects are not all treated equally. Some are elevated to such a high degree that they’re taught in schools and give their speakers increased social power, while other ways of using language are denigrated, ridiculed, oppressed or even wiped out through cultural genocide,” he says.

“As linguists, we recognize the validity of all languages and the people who use them, so language-based social justice is a core tenet in linguistics.”

For Sanders, introducing these concepts to first-year students can help them challenge language-based injustice they come across in the world.

“First-year students often come into university with a lot of common misconceptions about how language works,” says Sanders. “These misconceptions often form the basis for justifying how language is used to construct and reinforce unjust social structures. So catching them early, when they are still developing as adults, helps them question these misconceptions and hopefully helps reduce language-based injustice in the world.”

Armed with knowledge from his seminar, Sanders says he hopes students will challenge language-based injustice they come across in the world (photo by Diana Tyszko)

With first-year foundations seminar classes capped at 25 students, courses like Sanders’s give new undergraduates the opportunity to experience fascinating – and sometimes controversial – subjects in small class settings that encourage analytical thinking and course participation.

For Dania Ahmed, a first-year student at New College, the course opened her eyes to new ways of thinking about language and its relationship to social justice.

“I’ve learned an immense amount in this class,” says Ahmed. “Our second class was one of the most eye-opening for me, shedding light on sign language and life for Deaf individuals. I had some prior knowledge of Deaf culture, but this class allowed me to see how inaccessible the world is. It infuriated me, but at the same time caused me to self-reflect and recognize many of the opportunities I take for granted.”

It's a sentiment echoed by Ahmed’s classmates.

“I never really considered language and linguistics as a factor affecting social justice,” says JH Han, a first-year student at Victoria College. “I thought of social justice in more of a racial, gender or status sense. But the name of the course made it sound that much more enticing to take.”

For other students, the class discussions have been equally thought-provoking.

“The class is really empowering, fascinating and has incredible group conversations,” says Micah Kalisch, a first-year student at Trinity College. “I’ve really enjoyed the content, readings and conversations about language and how it’s taught and shared.”

At the end of the day, Sanders hopes his students take away one lesson from his class.

“They shouldn’t use someone’s language as a reason to be a jerk,” he says.

“Society at large has mostly come to a collective understanding that we shouldn’t discriminate against someone because of their race, gender, religion, etc., but language-based injustice is still prevalent – even among progressive-minded people who care about social justice.

“It's not quite at the same level of awareness as some of these other categories, so I'm hoping that courses like this will help raise that awareness so that language-based discrimination can ultimately be viewed as equally pernicious as any other form of discrimination.”

U of T computer scientist named NSERC/Autodesk Industrial Research Chair in Human-Computer Interaction

noreen.rasbach — Thu, 14 Nov 2019 13:52:28 +0000

U of T computer scientist named NSERC/Autodesk Industrial Research Chair in Human-Computer Interaction

noreen.rasbach Thu, 11/14/2019 - 08:52

Cutline

“We'll be looking at how modern interactive technologies, such as wearable devices, augmented reality, collaborative robots and mixed-initiative systems, will allow people to work and learn in ways that were never before possible," says Tovi Grossman

Alexa Zulak

Topic

Our Community

Advanced Manufacturing

Ontario Impact

Computer Science

Faculty of Arts & Science

Research & Innovation

Technology

The manufacturing industry is changing. Jobs that once relied on individuals to carry out manual labour are increasingly turning to automation because of the growing power of machines and computing systems.”

But humans still need to know how to work with the technology – and where they fit in.

“These rapidly evolving technologies are forcing individuals in impacted industries to work in new and unfamiliar ways, creating new human-computer interaction challenges,” said Tovi Grossman, an assistant professor in the University of Toronto’s department of computer science, in the Faculty of Arts & Science.

“It’s critical to our future that new interactive systems are developed to allow users to work efficiently with these automated design and fabrication systems and to support their learning, training and retraining, to keep pace with the rapidly changing needs of their skill base.”

It’s a challenge Grossman is dedicated to helping find a solution for as the new NSERC/Autodesk Industrial Research Chair in Human Computer-Interaction.

The five-year appointment – for early-stage researchers demonstrating exceptional promise – will allow Grossman to focus on developing human-computer interaction approaches to support hybrid interactive systems in the design and fabrication sectors. These systems help workers create efficient work patterns and maintain their agency while they perform tasks alongside automated technologies.

“Specifically, we’ll be looking at how modern interactive technologies, such as wearable devices, augmented reality, collaborative robots and mixed-initiative systems, will allow people to work and learn in ways that were never before possible,” said Grossman.

An expert in human-computer interaction with a focus on understanding and improving human learning in complex scenarios, Grossman joined U of T in 2018 after working as a distinguished research scientist in Autodesk Research’s User Interface Research group.

“I’m very excited to have been named the NSERC/Autodesk Industrial Research Chair in Human-Computer Interaction,” said Grossman. “As someone who recently transitioned from working in industry to working in academia, this position will give me the best of both worlds.”

The position builds upon U of T’s longstanding relationship with Autodesk, a leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software. NSERC acknowledged the partnership with a Synergy Award for Innovation in 2011, recognizing the collaboration as a model of an effective partnership between industry and higher education.

The partnership has led to a number of research publications, numerous highly skilled computer scientists and many patents and awards. Several employees of Autodesk have joined U of T as graduate students and faculty members, including Grossman himself.

“The partnership with Autodesk will provide me and my students the unique opportunity to transfer research solutions into real-world products that reach millions of users,” said Grossman.

Computer science's Interim Chair Marsha Chechik is proud to recognize Grossman’s success.

“His research often reaches beyond the boundaries of computer science, with collaborations from engineering, architecture and even anatomy,” said Chechik. “His current collaboration with Autodesk is a primary example of a partnership between academia and industry for creating solutions to real-world problems.”

The appointment will also allow Grossman to mentor the next generation of computer scientists, while working on challenging and innovative academic research problems with far-reaching implications in diverse areas, like the education, manufacturing and construction industries.

“Funds for this program will train and prepare a new cohort of computer scientists and give our graduate students in computer science the opportunity to apply their research to real-world problems – putting new technologies into the hands of real people.”

U of T's Dimitry Anastakis makes history 'tangible and real for students'

noreen.rasbach — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 20:00:00 +0000

U of T's Dimitry Anastakis makes history 'tangible and real for students'

noreen.rasbach Thu, 10/03/2019 - 16:00

Cutline

“A lot of my courses are around destroying the myth that Canadian history is boring," says Dimitry Anastakis, a professor of history at U of T (photo by Diana Tyszko)

Alexa Zulak

Topic

Our Community

Canadian History

Faculty of Arts & Science

History

Humanities

Rotman School of Management

Dimitry Anastakis is searching for diamonds on Amazon Prime.

Actually, he's looking for cubic zirconia that he can pass off as diamonds to his class later this week.

The professor in the University of Toronto's department of history, who specializes in the intersection of business, the state, politics and globalization in post-1945 Canada, is teaching a course on commodities called Going Global from Coffee, Rubber, Diamonds and Furs to Oil.

“You’ve got to make it tangible and real for students,” says Anastakis, who joined the Faculty of Arts & Science as the newly appointed L.R. Wilson/R.J. Currie Chair in Canadian Business History earlier this summer and is cross-appointed to the Rotman School of Management. “It’s not all about some guy in front of them talking.”

Anastakis has been bringing something tactile to class each week to complement his lecture on that commodity’s connection to Canadian history.

So far, his students have seen a 100-year-old beaver fur top hat – a status symbol for the young up-and-coming businessmen of the 18^th and 19^th centuries – that has now found a home on one of his jam-packed bookshelves.

He also has a Hudson's Bay Company point blanket stashed under his desk. He brings it out and quickly indicates that the black lines – or points – stitched into the blanket once signified how much it was worth in beaver pelts.

It’s all about making history accessible to his students.

“The one remark I get far more often from students is that they didn't realize how interesting Canadian history was,” says Anastakis. “A lot of my courses are around destroying the myth that Canadian history is boring.

“When you shift your perspective and look at Canadian history in an interesting and engaging way, you realize it's actually fascinating.”

Anastakis’s own interest in Canadian history started at an early age. He says being the child of Greek immigrants made him look at Canada differently.

“I was always interested in how it functioned and why it functioned. I wanted to understand Canada better because I saw it through the eyes of a newcomer.”

And while some told him he should be focusing on Greek history instead, it simply didn’t interest him as much as the Canadian story.

“I always felt, not that Canadian history was neglected, but that there was enough history of the rest of the world,” says Anastakis. “So maybe we should all chip in on this stuff.”

Chipping in has led to Anastakis publishing nine books and edited collections about Canadian history, including three on the Canadian automotive industry, which he says is funny since he’s not all that interested in cars.

“I’m not a gearhead or anything,” says Anastakis. “Like, if your car breaks down on the side of the highway, don’t call me.”

But the issues around public policy, political economy and the intersection of the state, business and industry drew him to the Canada-U.S. Auto Pact of 1965 when he started working on his PhD, kickstarting his career as an expert on the Canadian automotive industry and the impact of cars on Canadian life.

It’s a field that has seen a lot of change over the years as Canadian auto manufacturing plants have begun to shutter throughout the country in the transition from the third industrial revolution to the fourth – that is, a shift towards artificial intelligence, robotics and automation.

But Anastakis says it’s not all bad. “I don't want to be all doom and gloom about the auto industry, because while it's challenged, there's still a really large footprint here. And it's such an important footprint that as long as Canadians, Canadian policy-makers and the auto companies themselves recognize the importance of the industry for Canada, it will maintain itself in Canada to some degree,” says Anastakis.

Anastakis’s research into the Canadian auto industry will continue during his time at U of T as he works to finish a book he’s been writing about New Brunswick’s infamous Bricklin SV-1 – a two-seater sports car known for its DeLorean-like gull-wing doors. In the 1970s, the New Brunswick government lost $25 million as a result of its support for the Bricklin.

After that, he’ll take on two new projects.

One will explore the emergence of neoliberalism in Canada, specifically free trade from the election of 1911 to the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement in the 1980s. The other will build upon his existing work to examine the last 30 years of the Canadian auto industry – its evolution from free trade to the present.

Beyond his own research, Anastakis will also take on the mandate of advancing Canadian business history as the newly appointed L.R. Wilson/R.J. Currie Chair in Canadian Business History.

Working with the Canadian Business History Association, an organization he helped create in 2015, Anastakis is planning business history conferences, launching a book series exploring themes in business and society and working to promote other projects like the Canadian Business History Association Book Prize.

“It's all about advancing Canadian business history and getting academics and scholars, especially historians who don't think of themselves as business historians, to think of themselves in some way as business historians,” says Anastakis. “Because everything deals with business.”

“It’s important to get people to realize that business history really touches upon all kinds of different aspects within the historical community.”

As for what Anastakis hopes students take away from his classes, it’s simple: the importance of history.

“History gets a bad rap. It's always Professor Binns, the ghost at Hogwarts teaching history,” says Anastakis of the history of magic professor from the Harry Potter series known for his less-than-thrilling lectures. “But in fact, that's the exact opposite of what history is all about. History is about the now and it's really about the future as well. It’s about understanding the world and the context of the world right now.

“And history is the best tool to do so.”

K-pop, fandom and the BTS boys: U of T researcher brings ‘Korean Wave’ into classroom

Christopher.Sorensen — Thu, 29 Aug 2019 17:32:07 +0000

K-pop, fandom and the BTS boys: U of T researcher brings ‘Korean Wave’ into classroom

Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 08/29/2019 - 13:32

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BTS perform onstage during the 2019 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas earlier this year (photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for dcp)

Topic

Faculty of Arts & Science

Global

South Korea

If you’ve tuned into a late night show, listened to the radio or logged onto Twitter lately, it’s likely you’ve heard of Korean boyband BTS, or at least come across the name.

The K-pop darlings have performed on Saturday Night Live, sold out New York City’s 40,000-seat Citi Field and topped the Billboard charts – all while inspiring a devoted, global and cross-cultural fan base.

So it’s no wonder that Michelle Cho, an assistant professor in the University of Toronto’s department of East Asian studies in the Faculty of Arts & Science, is captivating students with her courses on Korean film, media and popular culture.

“The really unique thing about East Asian studies is that it’s interdisciplinary by design,” says Cho. “You have students coming from all across the arts and sciences. My courses attract students who have an interest in Asian pop culture.”

It’s not only students who are interested. North Americans in general have demonstrated a growing interest in Korean pop culture in recent years, part of the global “Korean Wave.”

In her courses exploring fandom and transmedia – storytelling across multiple platforms – Cho allows her students to bring their own expertise as fans to the classroom, which she says has been useful as a researcher of fandom culture.

At its most basic level, the term “fandom” is used to describe a subculture or community formed around a collective love of something in the pop culture sphere. Whether it’s a sports team, TV show, book series, movie franchise or band, fandom is a shared love of something that builds community – often online – and becomes a significant part of a person’s identity.

Michelle Cho is an assistant professor in U of T’s department of East Asian studies (photo courtesy of Michelle Cho)

Cho’s research addresses a phenomenon that’s becoming more engrained in our modern lives.

“You see fandom culture becoming much more important in the way that people define themselves in a media landscape that can seem very fragmented,” says Cho. “In a way, everybody has their niche little worlds online, or on media platforms.”

It’s the idea of finding likeminded people online that makes way for fandoms to blossom.

“We have this sort of infinite seeming choice of what kind of media we consume. I think it makes a lot of sense that the communities that form around those choices become much more significant,” Cho says.

“Fandom helps people to find a form of collective identity that seems more open and expansive than the kinds of group identities that are ready-made like national identity or generational identity.”

While the stereotypes of fans haven’t changed much since the days of Beatlemania – think hysterical young women and geeky young men – Cho says K-pop fans are more diverse than you might think. And she says it’s even more surprising that they tend to be self-reflexive in a way that contradicts what’s been understood historically about fandom.

“Reflexive awareness is thought to make you less emotionally invested and more neutral,” says Cho. “So self-critical consumers of popular culture should be a completely different group than the fangirls and teens swooning at concerts, right? But they're not. They're the same group.

“I’m really interested in looking at how self-reflexivity makes fans more invested in their love object.”

Cho also looks at the types of media technologies that enable K-pop fans to communicate with others in their community, as well as feel a sense of intimacy with their idols – even if that intimacy doesn’t really exist.

Take, for instance, V Live.

It’s a popular app – and one that the members of BTS use regularly – that mimics Apple’s FaceTime or other livestreaming apps that create a kind of digital intimacy between users.

Except unlike FaceTime, there’s no back-and-forth conversation. It’s a way for K-pop stars to open their lives up to their fans in a way that makes them seem ordinary and approachable, even if they’re not.

The tactic is used outside the world of K-pop as well.

Cho says you can even see U.S. politicians following suit by using their social media channels to create a sense of intimacy with followers.

U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is one high-profile example. The young Democratic congresswoman – known for her progressive views – made headlines during her first months in Washington for talking directly to her 3.2 million followers on Instagram Live while assembling IKEA furniture, making chili and drinking wine.

It’s that direct-to-camera intimacy – feeling like you’re chatting with a friend – that Cho says K-pop stars have become known for when it comes to fan interaction.

As for whether we have K-pop stars like BTS to thank for Korea’s increased visibility in the North American zeitgeist, Cho says they certainly play a part.

“I think that the rising interest in Korean language, culture and history – and just Korean studies in general – is coming from the increased visibility of Korean pop culture,” said Cho. “When I was growing up in the U.S., and even in college, a lot of people didn't actually know that Korea was a separate country from Japan or China, which is hard to believe now.

“But that just says something about Korea’s visibility. And the fact that it's in people's consciousness, whether or not they have anything to do with Asia or know any Koreans. It has a lot to do with media representation.”

While Cho’s research into K-pop fandom will continue, this year she’s returning to her research roots by teaching a course on Korean cinema, as well as a first-year foundation seminar that explores how media producers and fans engage with media worlds in East Asia.

U of T's Sylvia Bashevkin researches foreign policy leaders who are women

noreen.rasbach — Wed, 21 Aug 2019 19:16:16 +0000

U of T's Sylvia Bashevkin researches foreign policy leaders who are women

noreen.rasbach Wed, 08/21/2019 - 15:16

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“I think a lot of the research we undertake that really compels us is driven by curiosity,” says Sylvia Bashevkin, a professor of political science, about her book 'Women as Foreign Policy Leaders' (photo by Diana Tyszko)

Alexa Zulak

Topic

Global Lens

Faculty of Arts & Science

Global

Political Science

Research & Innovation

United States

If you open a newspaper, turn on the evening news or log on to any social media platform, you’ll be hard pressed to find a news organization that doesn’t have something to say about a woman in a position of political power.

But they haven’t always been recognized for their contributions by the public, journalists or scholars – something that piqued the curiosity of one University of Toronto researcher.

“The U.S. produced four really interesting women leaders since the 1980s,” said Sylvia Bashevkin, a professor of political science in U of T's Faculty of Arts & Science, citing a dearth of research on them. “So I thought, let’s see how we can till this untilled field.”

Tilling the field led to Bashevkin’s book Women as Foreign Policy Leaders, a comparative look at women’s leadership in American foreign policy. The book won the 2019 Canadian Political Science Association Prize in International Relations.

Focusing on four U.S. trailblazers, two appointed by Democratic and two by Republican presidents, Bashevkin examines the impact of women foreign policy leaders – Jeane Kirkpatrick, the U.S.’s first woman ambassador to the United Nations; Madeleine Albright, UN ambassador and secretary of state; Condoleezza Rice, national security adviser and secretary of state; and Hillary Clinton, secretary of state.

“What drew me was curiosity about what they had accomplished and what limitations they confronted,” said Bashevkin, highlighting the gaps in existing coverage of these women’s careers and lives. “I think a lot of the research we undertake that really compels us is driven by curiosity.”

And while comparing four leaders who seem to be vastly different might seem daunting, Bashevkin was ready to take on the challenge.

“Because I had done a lot of comparative work before I did this study, I had a sense that there were some continuities and important parallels,” said Bashevkin. “It wasn’t as unmanageable as it appeared.”

Bashevkin, who recently won the International Studies Association’s 2019 Bertha Lutz Prize for conducting the highest quality public writing and research on women in diplomacy for Women as Foreign Policy Leaders, explores the ways in which these leaders shaped U.S. foreign policy, while also debunking key assumptions about what it means to be a woman in a position of power.

This includes the myths that foreign policy leaders who are women are likely to be less aggressive when it comes to international relations and are guided by feminist ideals above all else.

“I’m still fascinated by all four of the women I studied and am still full of curiosity about the ones who have come after them – both in the U.S. and elsewhere,” said Bashevkin.

And these days, exploring the role of women in politics seems more pressing than ever before, particularly to those outside the academic realm.

“There isn’t a week in my year that goes by without my working with community groups, the media or universities outside U of T,” said Bashevkin.

Whether it’s speaking at an International Women’s Day event at the British Consulate in Toronto, moderating panel discussions with esteemed women leaders, being interviewed for podcasts or talking to young leaders at events organized by groups like Equal Voice and Samara Canada, Bashevkin has seen an increase in public interest surrounding women in politics.

“I started working in this field as a graduate student in the 1970s when there was almost no interest in it whatsoever, or it was really episodic,” said Bashevkin. “But there’s a lot of public interest now. It isn’t just in the classroom; lots of people are curious about what’s going on.”

Connecting across borders: U of T commerce students explore Latin America's financial hub

noreen.rasbach — Wed, 31 Jul 2019 04:00:00 +0000

Connecting across borders: U of T commerce students explore Latin America's financial hub

noreen.rasbach Wed, 07/31/2019 - 00:00

Cutline

Rotman Commerce students at U of T took part in an experiential learning opportunity in Mexico City (photo by Lesley Mak)

Alexa Zulak

Topic

Global Lens

Experiential Education

Faculty of Arts & Science

Undergraduate Students

University College

Twelve Rotman Commerce students in the University of Toronto's Faculty of Arts & Science took part in an experiential learning opportunity in Mexico City to gain an on-the-ground perspective of the Mexican market and economy – the first experience of its kind for the undergraduate program.

Developed collaboratively with the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) in Mexico City, the international study tour in the spring gave students the opportunity to learn about the key industries, trade relationships and business culture of one of Canada’s most significant trading partners.

“We were looking for ways to differentiate the types of international experiences available to our students to reduce barriers to participation and increase international engagement,” said Lesley Mak, associate director, academic program services at Rotman Commerce.

With Rotman Commerce having previously engaged with ITESM, including hosting students from the institute for an international roundtable event after the Puebla earthquake in 2017, Mexico City was the perfect place for this experience.

“Our students were intrigued by Mexico City’s economy and history,” said Tricia Patel, an academic adviser at Rotman Commerce. “They were able to learn about global business strategy and social innovation. ITESM emphasized a strong entrepreneurial culture and sense of social responsibility as key to doing business in Mexico.”

Alongside a cohort of undergraduate business students from ITESM, Rotman Commerce students attended lectures, visited international companies, banks and government offices and participated in activities to learn about the history and culture of the region.

“It was great to see many of Mexico City’s financial centres,” said recent Innis College grad Ibraheem Aziz, who completed a Rotman Commerce management specialist and minor in economics in June.

“Mexico City is the financial hub of Latin America. We visited and toured the Mexican Stock Exchange and Central Bank of Mexico, two institutions that play an instrumental role in the regional economy through investment and trade.”

For many students, the trip was the first time they had the chance to take part in an intensive international learning experience to complement their academic work.

“The trip was an opportunity to apply the tools that we had learned in the classroom to a real-life setting in a completely foreign context. Not only that, it forced us to be critical, open-minded and combine our skills to make the most of the trip,” said Eri Kimura Meguro, a fourth-year New College student who is double majoring in Rotman Commerce’s management specialist and international relations with a minor in economics.

And for Meguro – who hails from Mexico City – the trip was also a homecoming. “I was so excited to show everyone around the city and share the facts or history I had learned over my lifetime. I was also looking forward to being able to see my home through my friends’ eyes and represent U of T and Rotman Commerce in Mexico City.”

The experience also allowed students to deepen intercultural learning, communication and interpersonal skills to build connections with other students and industry professionals in Canada and abroad.

“The bonding that took place between the Rotman Commerce students and staff during the trip was so valuable,” said Brenna Hamel, a fourth-year University College student in Rotman Commerce with a specialist in public accounting.

“I feel like this trip enhanced my student experience, my personal and professional networks, and my relationships with our academic advisers. I would 100 per cent recommend this experience to other students.”

Student interest in the study tour was incredible, Patel said. “We received 111 applications for 12 spots. The candidate pool was very strong with many candidates whose interests in the region were strongly aligned with their personal, professional and academic goals.”

For Rotman Commerce, the trip was all about giving students access to valuable insights and skills that would serve them well as business students and global citizens.

“Rotman Commerce is a global community,” said Patel. “The exposure to diverse perspectives that challenge the status quo will no doubt contribute to our students’ success as strong and innovative leaders who are equipped to connect across borders and address global issues.

“Our students have returned with a tremendous sense of self-awareness and purpose, embracing an expansive definition of community that is global in scope.”