“The right to the city is [the] right to change ourselves by changing the city more after our heart’s desire. It is, moreover, a collective rather than an individual right, since changing the city inevitably depends on the exercise of a collective power over the processes of urbanization.” — David Harvey
The Scarborough Studies Collective is an interdisciplinary and intergenerational collective of local scholars, artists, community organizers, and residents from various fields and knowledge backgrounds.
Vision
The Collective’s vision is to create a space for critical and creative dialogue about Scarborough, by Scarborough, in Scarborough. We recognize Scarborough as a site of local knowledge and social change, and we are committed to an ethical practice of developing and preserving local knowledge.
“People from Scarborough deserve a place at the bigger table. The rich diversity in Scarborough isn’t a social experiment. It is the way we live.”
— Hon. Mitzie Hunter
“[Scarborough Studies] is a constellation of insight.”
— David Chariandy
“UTSC is an incredible resource for students and for the city as a whole, and we hope that as their alumni grow up and have a greater impact on the world around them, they can continue to renew Scarborough.”
— Jennifer McKelvie
“Scarborough Studies looks at what happens between the urban/rural divide [and] what gets lost is the spaces outside the core.”
— Prof. Lily Cho
Mandate
Our purpose is to bridge the UTSC and Scarborough communities, by:
- Convening an interdisciplinary and intergenerational collective of students, scholars, artists, community organizers, and residents from various fields and backgrounds to critically explore local (his)stories
- Creating community engagement opportunities that foster ethically responsible ways of (re)telling stories and uncovering local knowledge
- Promoting local citizenship through experiential learning and community engagement
- Supporting the development of local arts, media, and scholarship, for and by the Scarborough community
