Category: Graduate

M.C. Cruz’s Art

Component Exploration: M.C. Cruz’s Art A Series of Paintings by M.C. Cruz M.C. Cruz (they/them) – Artist’s Statement and Reflections M.C Cruz is a child of Chilean immigrants. Born, raised and currently based in Toronto, they also lived two years in Chile and more recently completed an Artist Residency in Morocco and Spain. They attended …

Component Evaluation: Gallery Text

Component Evaluation: Gallery Text Time: 60 minutes; flexible Format: In-Class; online Begin with a short lesson on elements of clear writing and successful exhibit writing. This could include going over visitor expectations, different types of exhibit labels, and clear language. Have students work either in small groups or on their own, have them write object …

Mad Artists’ Gallery

Mad Artists’ Gallery Takeaways Appreciate the importance of art-making and creative self-expression as a healing practice for racialized mad people who often have adverse experiences in the traditional mental health system Understand art as a form of activist engagement with, and critique of, interlocking systems of oppression Recognize the value of art-making as a medium …

Component Evaluation: Reimaging Sites of Care

Component Evaluation: Reimaging Sites of Care Timing: 60 minutes; flexible Mode: In-class; Online Disability justice scholars have theorized and dreamed up ideas around care work and communities. Care is understood as relational and involving feelings, practices, and labour that connect people together. In disability circles, care is about collectivity and resistance to the ableist structures …

Component Exploration

Component Exploration – Claiming Space Timing: 30 Minutes Mode: In-Class; Online Namitha is a racialized young woman with a disability. The first component presented is her poem “O,C,D.”. The second component is an excerpted set of Namitha’s thoughts on her work as a spoken word artist, navigating mental health differences in her family, her experience …

‘Claiming Space’

The ‘Claiming Space’ Unit Takeaways Analyse the diverse experiences of oppression and exclusion that exist for mad people across race, gender, class, culture and sexuality. Understand the importance of equitable political and community engagement and representation.  Explore how power affects racialized youth’s experiences of mental distress in a range of contexts and the importance of …

Component Evaluation: Language and Visualization

Component Evaluation: Language and Visualization Timing: 35 minutes; flexible Mode: In-class OPTION 1: In groups of 2-4 have students write down the word capitalism on a blank sheet of paper. Ask them to visualize the connections between capitalism, oppressions, and mental health that are discussed in Cheers to Capitalism. Once those connections are established, encourage …

Component Exploration 2

Component Exploration 2: Jane Doe Timing: 30 Minutes Mode: In-Class; Online Kiran Shoker is a young South Asian Canadian woman. The first component presented is her poem “Jane Doe,”  is about the South Asian female body as a colonialized entity. The second component is an excerpted set of Shoker’s thoughts on her poem taken from …

Component Exploration 1

Component Exploration 1: “Cheers to Capitalism” Timing: 30 Minutes Mode: In-Class; Online C.J. is a young Asian-Canadian woman. The first component presented is her poem “Cheers to Capitalism,” which is about the racial and gender stereotyping she has experienced in the workforce. The second component is an excerpted set of C.J.’s thoughts on her poem …

Disappearing Completely

Disappearing Completely Takeaways Understand how the intersecting oppression of racism and sanism within mental health systems and in the community affect racialized people experiencing mental distress Analyze the intersections of race, gender, citizenship and mental distress for racialized people in Canada Appreciate the impacts of cultural expectations, stereotyping, and racism on individuals’ experiences of mental …