Consortium Events

Oznur Yardimci. in conversation with York Hope Consortium.

Over the last decade, authoritarian regimes in different parts of the world have been mobilizing increasingly incommensurable citizenship regimes based on explicit boundaries demarcating the desired citizens. Since the 2010s, Turkey has been a showcase where citizenship has been reformulated as a privilege granted on the basis of political/ideological loyalty and alliances, rather than rights. This created new forms of exclusion that contradict market-led hierarchies as some ‘profitable’ individuals and groups also faced alienation. Within this context, this paper will explore the growing exodus of metropolitan and politically liberal middle-class individuals from Turkey due to feeling socio-spatially entrapped amid the rising authoritarianism. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with Turkish-speaking migrants who recently settled in London, the paper will examine how these individuals engage in a self-changing journey in search of hope contributing to a deeper insight into new avenues to reconstruct citizenship futures.

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Remi Joseph-Salisbury and Laura Connelly in conversation with Alice Nah and Melissa Williams.  

For this instalment, we will be joined by the brilliant Dr Remi Joseph-Salisbury and Dr Laura Connelly to discuss 'Hope' in the context of their book 'Anti-Racist Scholar-Activism'.

The book, Anti-racist scholar-activism raises urgent questions about the role of contemporary universities and the academics that work within them. As profound socio-racial crises collide with mass anti-racist mobilisations, this book focuses on the praxes of academics working within, and against, their institutions in pursuit of anti-racist social justice. Amidst a searing critique of the university's neoliberal and imperial character, Joseph-Salisbury and Connelly situate the university as a contested space, full of contradictions and tensions.

Drawing upon original empirical data, the book considers how anti-racist scholar-activisms navigate barriers and backlash in order to leverage the opportunities and resources of the university in service to communities of resistance. Showing praxes of anti-racist scholar-activism to be complex, diverse, and multi-faceted, and paying particular attention to how scholar-activisms grapple with their own complicities in the harms perpetuated and perpetuated by Higher Education institutions, this book is a call to arms for academics who are, or want to be, committed to social justice. 

Claire Chambers (York) chaired an exciting hybrid event and workshop ‘Imagining New Worlds: Critical Thinking and the Power of Writing now’. The Consortium was joined by author Emeritus Professor of Modern and Contemporary Literatures, Susheila Nasta, who talked the audience through her essay reflecting on ‘hope’ in addition to her book Brave New Words: The Power of Writing Now.

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York Hope Symposium were delighted to have poet, translator and academic Kaiser Haq join us to reflect on conceptualisations of ‘hope’. His work includes Pariah and Other Poems, Published in the Streets of Dhaka: Collected Poems 1966-2006 and Black Orchid. In an event chaired by Claire Chambers (York) Kaiser talked the audience through his excellent written piece ‘Reflections on Hope’. 

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Ian Foxley in conversation with Melissa Williams.  

There are fewer times of uncertainty than when discovering some form of deep wrongdoing and wondering what to do about it. Do you disclose your findings and who to? Will you be heard? What will the response be? How will it impact your future and those around you? Join PhD student Ian Foxley for the third installment of the 'Hope and Social Change' Symposium Series.

This seminar will look at three stages:

1. Hope in the disclosure phase: what are the sources of hope throughout this uncertain process? What positive elements can be found to support the individual throughout the whistleblowing process? What is it that drives the individual onwards to secure a voice, gain a response and ensure that an effective remedy is put in place? 
2. Hope in the response phase: how does the individual gain a positive response from those in power and the organisation as a whole? How do we ensure that the messenger can deliver the (unwelcome) message without getting shot in the process? What sources of hope can we offer that protection will be afforded to those who have the courage to speak truth to power?
3. Hope in the outcome phase? What hope do we have that an effective remedy will be implemented that will bring about lasting change? What hope can we offer others who may speak up in the future?  

The seminar explores examples of collective action, social movements and civic solidarity that construct hope in the whistleblowing sphere through a combination of individual presentations and panel-based discussions.

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Phil Roberts, Joao Nunes, Ricardo Severo and Gabriela Di Giulio in conversation with Rodrigo Campos.

The 2010s saw a period of great political instability in Brazil, in what anthropologist Rosana Pinheiro-Machado aptly described as a shift from “hope to hate” with the election of Jair Bolsonaro to the presidency in 2018. Four years later, Bolsonaro’s office has been marked by corruption scandals, weakening of democratic institutions, and mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic, which are all likely to affect his ability to sit for another term as a national election approaches later this year. This event, organised under the framework of the “Talking About Hope” project, will investigate the legacy of Bolsonaro’s office in different areas of public policy and reflect on the challenges that it poses to progressive politics beyond the electoral cycle. Are we observing a reversal shift from ‘hate to hope’ or has the far-right laid deeper roots in society and culture?

For this instalment, the Consortium was joined by author Annie Zaidi to reflect on conceptualisations and manifestations of ‘hope’ in our social worlds and publications. The event was chaired by Claire Chambers (York).

Annie also wrote a beautiful piece ‘Seven Notes on Hope’ for the Consortium, which can be found here: Seven Notes on Hope.

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Simon Parker, Carole Gayet and Suryakant Waghmore in conversation with Indrajit Roy.

We were joined by colleagues from the ‘Citizenship Futures- Politics of Hope’ project, to explore their reflections on ‘Hope’ and ‘Hope making’ based on their ongoing research. The project ‘Citizenship futures’ invites you to reflect on the ways in which hopes for the future remain central to the political imaginations of socially excluded people.

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Benjamin Walker, Mwai Makoka, Sally Smith. Chair- Harvey Kwiyani

We were joined by Benjamin Walker (The Anglican Diocese of Leeds), Mwai Makoka (World Council of Churches) and Sally Smith (WHO) to discuss the intertwining of Hope and Health that has been clearly visible during the Covid19 pandemic. However, these interconnections have always been important, creating a range of important community and institutional connections, as the continued governmental inability to provide equitable access to healthcare required interventions from within societal formations that worked across international, national and sub-national settings. Faith-based Organisations have played an important role in this context over time, in the colonial and post-colonial periods in high, middle and l contexts. Such services plugged important gaps in health provision, even as complex cultural, and class- and race-related issues, required careful negotiation by all involved. They also propped up - and continue to support - major international and global initiatives. This conversation, held on the world health day 2022, examined the many facets of these contributions and engagements. This event was chaired by Harvey Kwiyani (Global Connections, UK network for world mission).  

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Claire Chambers (York) chaired this instalment of the ‘York Hope Consortium Symposium Series’ with author Leena Dhingra. We were delighted to be joined by Leena, who reflected on the concept of ‘hope’ the context of the history of Partition, her works and her lived experience. Leena also kindly wrote a piece for the Consortium, whereby she reflected on ‘imagining hope’ in the process of writing her book ‘Exhumation: The Life and Death of Madan Lal Dhingra’.

The piece can be found here: Imagining Hope.

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York Hope Consortium was joined by author and associate professor Tabish Khair to discuss ‘hope and the imagination’ in an event chaired by Claire Chambers (York). Tabish has published several books, including, Where Parallel Lines Meet, The Gothic, Postcolonialism and Otherness: Ghosts from Elsewhere, The New Xenophobia and The Body by the Shore.

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Claire Chambers (York) was joined by author Oana Aristide to discuss Oana’s new novel Under the Blue, drawing upon themes of pandemics, climate change and ‘hope’. The novel involves a ‘road trip beneath clear blue skies and a blazing sun whereby a reclusive artist is forced to abandon his home and follow his sisters across a post-pandemic Europe in search of a safe place’.

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Indrajit Roy. and Harsh Mander with Natasha Badhwar.

Senior lecturer of Global Development Politics and co-director of the Interdisciplinary Global Development Centre at the University of York, Indrajit Roy, and human rights and peace worker, writer, columnist, researcher and teacher who works with survivors of mass violence, hunger, homeless persons and street children, Harsh Mander are in conversation with documentary film-maker, columnist and author, Natasha Badhwar.

Tune into this exclusive podcast exploring the politics of hope amid growing anxieties, and questions about the future of democratic citizenship in India.

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Abdul Kalam Azad, Maureen Grant and Jacqui McKenzie in conversation with Melissa Williams.  

York Hope Consortium was joined by Abdul Kalam Azad (Virjie University) former visiting fellow at the University of York CAHR, Maureen Grant former Assistant Trust Secretary at Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust and Jacqui McKenzie (Partner- Leigh Day) and chair Melissa Williams (York) to discuss the concept of 'Hope' in the context of Citizenship Deprivation and Statelessness. The event featured a discussion with individuals who work on, and some who have experienced, citizenship deprivation in Assam and Britain, followed by a Q and A where audience members asked participants about their conceptualisations of 'Hope' in the terrifying contexts of Citizenship Deprivation and statelessness.

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Indrajit Roy. Dmitry Kochenov, Jessica Omukuti and Sarath Davala.

Senior lecturer of Global Development Politics and co-director of the interdisciplinary Global Development Centre at the University of York, Indrajit Roy in conversation with Dmitry Kochenov, Jessica Omukuti and Saratha Davala.

The worldwide crisis in citizenship is well-documented. the concept of citizenship can no longer be taken for granted. Ever larger numbers of people traverse national boundaries to

live, love and labour in lands different from where they were born. Artificial intelligence challenges recognisable forms of human personhood. Climate change endangers the lives and

livelihoods of millions of people. Unprecedented prosperity coexists with growing inequality. Religious and ethnic polarisation jeopardises the hard-won gains by movements for social

justice in recent decades. Just when we thought things couldn’t get any worse, the COVID19 pandemic struck, changing our world in ways that few other events in recent memory have.

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Tudor Silva, Vinya Ariyaratne, Sudharma Weerakkody Chair: Suranga Dolamulla

We were joined by Tudor Silva (University of Peradeniya), Vinya Ariyaratne (Sarvodaya Shramadana Sangamaya), and Sudharma Weerakkody (University of Birmingham) under the aegis of the York Hope Consortium, the “Hope and Health policy dialogues” dialogues that aimed to elaborate understandings of health and hope across local, national, and global scales. The discussions elaborated on how the Sri Lankan Buddhist community faced the pandemic. This event answers some very important questions like how does the experience of the pandemic shape perspectives of hope across local, national and global scales? How do multilateral organisations, national and sub-national governments, religious institutions and community organisations think about hope? This event was chaired by Suranga Dolamulla (University of York).

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Erik Cardona-Gomez (York) in conversation with Lauren Avery.

Hope in the Time of Settler Colonialism: Indigenous Demands of Justice and Multicultural Political Theory. For the second event in our 'Hope and Social Change' Symposium Series, we were joined by Erik Cardona-Gomez, to explore 'Hope in the time of Settler Colonialism'. Erik was born and raised in Mexico city and recently passed his viva with minor corrections. He is based within the Politics Department at the University of York and is interested in comparative political theory, identity and historical injustice.

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Joseph Gascogine (York) in conversation with Melissa Williams.

Both Jo and Mel have been closely involved with the 'Citizenship Futures- The Politics of Hope' Project, a global collaboration convened by Dr Indrajit Roy. Throughout the presentation, Joseph and Mel explore political constructions of 'hope'- What does hope mean? What is the political importance of hope? What are sources of hope in seemingly 'hopeless' times? The discussion was followed by a Q and A, where the audience was given the opportunity to ask Joseph and Mel about their interpretations of 'Hope' and how it may have been shaped through their work on this seminal, global project.

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