October 5th 2011: Theme- what is the new urban environment? This seminar enabled participants to conceptualize and come into agreement about the meaning of and key characteristics that form new urban environments. Reading: Lipman, P. (2011). The new political economy of urban education: Neoliberalism, race, and the right to the city. New York, Routledge. Seminar lead: Dr. Angela Stienen, then visiting scholar to York U’s city Institute, led the seminar.
November 22, 2011: Theme- The making of new urban subjects & spaces. The seminar was designed as a workshop in order to promoted active conversation with and amongst youth. Attendees of this seminar included: youth (16-24 years) from different areas of the GTA, educators, and representatives from youth-focussed community organizations. The workshop invited youth to define the new urban environment, learn how youth see themselves in it and get insight into the ways that youth identities are shaped by, and are shaping this environment.
Seminar & retreat- December 2– 5, 2011: to consolidate the information garnered from the different seminars and from individual scholar activities, partially supported by JA and YARS resources, a 2-day post-seminar retreat was held at Millcroft Inn. Core seminar members submitted draft chapter ideas, in the form of abstracts, sample sections, and bullet-point form notes on the chapter’s themes.
