Articles tagged with: Student Collaboration

  • Exhibit: The Body is Home: In Motion

    Brock Library thanks Asha Edwin, Research Assistant at the IDEAS Research Lab, and PhD student in Applied Health Sciences for this exhibit and blog post. Visit Asha’s display in the Matheson Learning Commons until May 9.

    The Body is Home Initiative explores the feeling of being at home in our bodies through movement and community. Through this project, we reflect on how we perceive ourselves through movement, how various sports and spaces impact our identity and how we cultivate and strengthen our communities through movement and sport.

    The exhibition includes photography by two Black women photographers, Chrris Lowe and Britney Holung. The photography captures visual representations of Black women runners in Toronto as counter-narratives to Black women’s representations and experiences. The research and photography took place over the summer and fall of 2024, documenting the women’s running journeys.

    The exhibit also has an interactive component where observers can participate in individual and collective imaginings of healing, health and wellness. We are currently only accepting online submissions at this time. To participate, please can scan the QR code at the end of the exhibition or use this form to submit a response online.

    Ryan Antooa, Creative Director at Form, designed the initiative’s branding.

    Project I – Run to You
    The Body is Home’s first project with Hill Run Club followed the experiences of 15 Black women runners in Toronto. Two creatives worked on the project to visually capture and represent the women’s unique stories.

    IDEAS Research Lab Project
    The Body is Home Initiative is a project facilitated by Dr. Janelle Joseph’s IDEAS Research Lab.

    Exhibition Curator
    As creator of the Body is Home, Asha Edwin started it as a passion project based on her experience with movement and community. Wellness has always been a prioritized practice for Asha, and her experiences as a yoga teacher and runner allowed her to develop a deeper and more intimate connection with herself and, through her work, others. Yearning to learn more about what it means to be at home in our bodies and how movement and community impact herself and others, she birthed the Body is Home. Since its inception, the Body is Home has evolved into a research initiative focusing on the experiences of Black, racialized and marginalized groups and their experiences in reimagining healing, health and wellness.

    Asha Edwin is an interdisciplinary Black Feminist researcher. She is currently a student and research assistant at the IDEAS Research Lab, where her work primarily focuses on Black women’s wellness. Asha is passionate about community engagement and individual and collective well-being. She is a twice-certified yoga teacher with additional somatics training and enjoys music, culture, travel and art.

     

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    Categories: Learning Commons, Main

  • Exhibit: Community Organizing 101

    Brock Library thanks Dorothy Sierra-Gutierrez, Social Issues Researcher at Future Black Female, and fourth-year Sociology student for this display and blog post. Visit Dorothy’s exhibit at the Thistle entrance to the Matheson Learning Commons until May 9.

    Discovering the Heart of Organizing

    When I first heard the phrase “community organizing,” I wasn’t quite sure what it meant. I was completely unaware of the key foundations of labour studies and organizing. That changed when I took LABR 4P21: Social Justice Organizing instructed by Dr. Simon Black, that introduced me to the history and important work that is organizing.

    My introduction to organizing was both academic and personal. Through course readings, discussions, and reflections, I came to understand that community organizing is about building collective power to address systemic injustices. It’s about shifting from isolated frustration to strategic, people-powered change. Referencing the work of Marshall Ganz, organizing isn’t just about leading others—it’s about helping communities recognize the power they already have.

    Ganz’s concept of the “public narrative” resonated with me deeply. He encourages organizers to share their “story of self, story of us, and story of now.” This structure helped me articulate why I care about justice, connect with others over shared values, and envision how change can happen in the present. It’s a tool that turns personal experience into collective action—and it became a core inspiration for my project.

    What I Learned in the Classroom

    The class offered a strong foundation in both theory and practice. We explored frameworks from Progressive Community Organizing by Lori Pyles (2009), which emphasized the importance of intersectionality, long-term community commitment, and disrupting systems of oppression. Pyles explained that community can be built through shared identities or shared goals, but either way, the goal is the same: to dismantle oppressive power structures and uplift the voices of those most affected by them.

    We also examined key concepts of power through the work of scholars like Frances Fox Piven and Joan Kuyek. Piven’s theory of “disruptive power” was especially important to me—it reframes power not as something that’s held by the elite, but as something ordinary people can wield through collective action. Kuyek, meanwhile, introduced the distinctions between “power-over” and “power-with.” These terms helped me understand how organizing should always center empowerment and solidarity rather than hierarchy.

    Intersectionality at the Center

    A critical theme in my work is intersectionality—the idea that systems of oppression overlap, and that we need to address racism, sexism, colonialism, and other forces together. The Combahee River Collective Statement (1977) shaped my thinking here. Their Black feminist perspective emphasizes that liberation must be inclusive and that movements must be built by and for those most impacted by injustice. This intersectional lens isn’t just a framework—it’s a commitment to justice that informed every page of my booklet.

    Visit My Display!

    For my final project, I created a photo booklet that explores community organizing through an intersectional lens, using visuals and text to highlight key theories and practices I engaged with during the course. The photographs—shot on 35mm film—were taken during a Black Lives Matter protest, capturing moments of resistance, solidarity, and collective action. The project was a way to combine my academic learning with creative expression, and to document a powerful moment in the fight for racial justice.

    If you’re at Brock, I invite you to visit my display at the Brock University Library and engage with the materials I’ve curated. Whether you’re new to organizing or already involved in social justice work, I hope it offers you new insights and inspiration. As Jane McAlevey (2016) and Astra Taylor (2016) argue, we must move beyond performative activism and into the slow, meaningful work of building movements from the ground up!

    Community organizing is not just an academic topic—it’s a way of building the world we want to live in.

     

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    Categories: Learning Commons, Main

  • Exhibit: What does self-care mean to you?

    Brock Library thanks the Psychology and Beyond Club for this blog post. 

    Self care today means many things, such as taking the time to allow yourself to recharge, tending to your community ties and friendships, or cultivating your individual interests through hobbies or feel-good activities. It is also a powerful form of protest, choosing to reject a status quo that demands productivity and progress with no limits or pauses for wellbeing.

    This January, the Psychology and Beyond Club at Brock would like to promote and encourage self-care as the Brock community returns to campus for the winter semester. This display aims to educate our community on the value of self care and provides tips and inspiration through a colourful and cozy display. It is designed to be interactive so that anyone can scan the QR code and share their own tips and interpretations of the phrase, demonstrating the individual nature of self-care practices. The display also explores how the meaning of the phrase “self-care” has been changed or is often forgotten in today’s modern world, and has deep roots in social and political activism which stem from the writing of Audre Lorde.

    Genuine self care has wonderful benefits for the mind, body, and community!

    If you’d like to learn more about the Brock Psychology and Beyond Club, join us on Experience BU and follow us on Instagram (@brockpsychology_beyond).

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    Categories: Learning Commons, Main

  • New exhibit features student artwork to highlight the vital role of pollinators 

    Butterflies, moths, and bees are the feature in latest Brock Library exhibition, located in the Learning Commons display cases. Displaying a number of vibrantly coloured pinned specimens, the exhibit aims to highlight the role pollinators play in sustaining our local ecosystems and encourages onlookers to help promote and protect pollinator populations. 

    The exhibit is curated by Brock Studio Art and the History of Art and Visual Culture (double major) student Mari Brint and Library Engagement Assistant Sara Nixon, displaying insect specimens and artwork prepared and created by Brint.  

    Inside of an exhibit display case. On display are pinned, taxidermy butterflies and moths presented on canvas panels. The background features a colourful field of flowers and interpretive text panels.

    The exhibit features a collection of pinned moths and butterflies prepared by Brock student, Mari Brint.

    Mari has always had an interest in insect taxidermy and bug pinning when visiting museums and butterfly conservation gardens, but only recently took up the practice,After my final studio courses, I felt that I needed to take a step away from my traditional and preferred medium of painting and try something new to branch out and explore new creative mediums. During that time, I discovered the processes involved with preparing moths and butterflies for pinning and display, and began researching the ways in which I can help with the conservation efforts of insects”, says Mari.

    Participating in the Brock University Seed Library is just one way that community members can get involved with pollinator conservation efforts. The Seed Library offers free access to seeds to grow gardens at home, including several varieties of flowers that help sustain pollinator habitats, and subsequently support increasing populations of butterflies, bees, and moths.  

    Anyone can “borrow” from the Seed Library, free of cost. Interested community members can visit the Ask Us Desk on the Main Floor of James A. Gibson Library to browse the seed catalogue to select up to five packets of seeds (per person, per day). Ideally, participants will harvest seeds and return them to the Seed Library after a bountiful season of growing.  

    Growing gardens of pollinator-friendly plants, no matter the size, can help local pollinator populations thrive. “Butterflies and moths are not only a beautiful part of the natural world but one that needs our help in the cultivation and protection of their habitats,” says Mari. 

    To learn about growing your own pollinator gardens, the Library has also curated a featured book collection as a compendium to the exhibit. The Featured Collection, which can be found both online and at the book display case by the Ask Us Desk, offers hardcopy and e-book titles that dig deeper into the topics of pollination, gardening, growing food, as well as our relationships to plants and bugs, and more. 

    There are lots of ways to get involved in protecting our local pollinators here at the Library! Be sure to visit the Learning Commons this spring to view the exhibit, borrow the Plants and Pollinators book collection, and borrow from the Seed Library. 

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    Categories: Learning Commons, Main

  • Student Spotlight: Taking the First Step: Using 3D modeling to enhance learning

    One of our Brock Library Makerspace champions shared a bit with Ultimaker about her journey to becoming proficient in 3D modeling and printing.

    View the blog to learn more.

    Ultimaker Blog

     

     

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    Categories: Makerspace, Testimonials

  • Experiencing the Makerspace

    A big thank you to the library and the staff at the Makerspace. Their knowledgeable staff was able to help me learn how to design and print a 3D model, as well as various other projects. I would recommend this highly innovative space to anyone at Brock looking to try something new, and get creative.

    Ryder Damon – 3rd Year, Biological Sciences

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    Categories: Makerspace, Testimonials