Disability, more than the Wheelchair

Our December blogger is Xin Sun, a recent Queen’s graduate and an active member of the Queen’s & Kingston communities as a Disability and Social Justice Advocate. In her piece, she discusses the importance of unlearning narrow understandings of disability and accessibility

The International Symbol of Access (ISA) has over 50 years of history. The symbol was originally designed in the 1960s by Danish design student, Susanne Koefoed. The sign is commonly seen as a white icon of a person in a wheelchair, against a blue background. This symbol is used as an indication that a facility is accessible to people with disabilities. For instance, the ISA can be spotted in accessible parking lots, accessible entrances, and accessible washrooms, etc. In recent years, a proposal was put out by a group named The Accessible Icon Project, to redesign the symbol, and came up with the Dynamic Symbol of Access, Continue Reading »

Eight “Good Practices” for Engaging in Courageous Conversations

Our November blogger, Andrew B. Campbell, Adjunct Assistant Professor at Queens University, shares with us a set of recommendations to navigate the difficult conversations that lead us to positive change

After being involved in a number of conversations at workshops, conferences, and in classrooms, I wish to share eight of my personal principles. Five are postures and positions I have developed throughout my practice over the years, and the other three are from Singleton & Linton (2006).

Share Your Story

Black people, like myself, visible minorities, LGBTQ, Indigenous and the “othered” who do this work, often feel the need to be careful and cautious, often doing this work within predominant white spaces. Story telling of others and self are powerful tools. Our lived experiences are valued. We live our stories. Often, our stories are situated and shared in deficit ways. Continue Reading »

We See the World as We Are

In this blog, our contributor Kevin Collins, the Student Development Coordinator at Queen’s, writes about the importance of understanding our own identities in order to learn how to navigate differences respectfully

This year’s blog theme is unlearning and relearning. My career has given me the opportunity to try my hand at these things. It’s a process that I feel fortunate to have regular opportunities to engage in.

My background is in international and comparative education. Through living and teaching overseas, I’ve been able to see how different educational systems work based on cultural context. As a teacher in South Korea and Sweden, I felt that I was learning about how different educational systems work. What I didn’t realize at the time was that I was viewing things through my own lens based on my culture and identity. When I saw students in Korea attending school on Saturdays, Continue Reading »

Learning, Unlearning and Relearning

In the first blog of the year, Lauren Winkler, a Kanien’keha:ka student at Queen’s, talks about her journey relearning to love herself in the different roles of her life: daughter, sister, niece, grandchild, and friend

“Education is what got us here, education is what will get us out.” – Senator Murray Sinclair

When I think of university, or post-secondary education, or life for that matter, one word comes to mind: opportunity. Coming to Queen’s I was excited about the opportunity to live on my own, to make new friends, to find myself (because at the time I thought that was something that would just happen… I only wish), and to learn. Sure enough, I have thrived living in my independence, made lifelong friends, and gained a better sense of who I am. What I did not anticipate were the challenges to my own way of thinking that would come from my professors and peers, Continue Reading »

Entering our fifth year!

Another school year starts and with it our new cohort of bloggers for 2019-2020! Thank you to all the collaborators that invested their time and knowledge to make this blog possible year after year.

For our 5th year, the blog will be focusing on unlearning and relearning. Our contributors will talk about the learnt attitudes, behaviours and feelings we have to change in order to foster a truly inclusive campus. We will hear about individual instances of learning, unlearning, and relearning, and about the much needed systemic change that is necessary to remove barriers of access and participation for equity-seeking groups.

As we update this blog, don’t forget that YOU are part of this conversation as well. Together We Are all part of the Queen’s and broader Kingston community, and therefore, your comments and feedback are welcome.

The future of gender will change Queen’s for the benefit of everyone

In this post, Dr. Lee Airton, Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Education, talks about how future students will drive change on our campuses, as they will expect the availability of gender and sexual diversity content and supports

The Queen’s community will change a great deal in the coming decades, in part due to changes in how gender (and sexuality) are lived. In ten years alone, Queen’s will have welcomed and graduated several cohorts of students who have grown up with the highest degree of familiarity with gender and sexual diversity – both individuals and cultural phenomena – that has ever been seen among the general population. Attitudinal studies have shown that knowing a queer or transgender person has a causal relationship with expressing less homophobic or transphobic attitudes, so we can expect a student body with far more exposure and lay-person expertise. Continue Reading »