York University Professor Muna-Udbi Ali is highlighting the power of multi-university collaborations through an innovative Black geographies course and a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)-funded project, built upon working together with professors across Southern Ontario.
Not long after Ali joined York University's Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change as assistant professor in 2021, she got to talking to friends who had also recently become university educators.
Muna-Udbi Ali
York alum Shaunasea Brown at Wilfrid Laurier University, York alum Juanita Stephen at University of Windsor and Cornel Grey at Western University were connected in several ways: they were all members of the growing field of Black geographies; they all were part of recent Black cluster hiring initiatives meant to help institutions further develop Black studies programs; and they all wanted to bring their resources, experiences and perspectives to a multi-university collaboration.
The latter is what they had started talking about soon after joining their institutions. In particular, they shared a desire to make and teach Black geography classes. So with similar interests, Ali recalls them posing the question: "why not do it together?"
With the goal of finding a different approach to teaching the subject, the group decided on the creation of cross-institutional Black geographies courses that would share a curriculum. A key component would involve in-person and virtual tours of geographical sites throughout southern Ontario, where students would learn known and undiscovered stories around, as Grey notes, "questions of space, place, movement, identity, culture and history across Ontario." He adds: "We felt it was an exciting opportunity."
"Black geographies encourage us to uncover other stories and spaces that go beyond what traditional maps and cartographies show us," says Ali. For example, she notes that "A hair salon in Little Jamaica is never just a hair salon; it's much more than that. It's a space for the community to gather, share stories, collaborate and Black geographies help unearth these stories."
Ali and Grey are currently collaborating on Black geographies courses at their respective institutions, focusing on locations in Toronto and London, On. At York, the course is currently home in the Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change, and counts among recent initiatives to expand Black Studies at the University, including the launch of a major in the subject in Fall 2026.
Students from the Black Geographies course taking a walking tour of Little Jamaica, hosted by Black Urbanism TO.
In addition to the tours, Ali and Grey are sharing syllabi as well, with diverse reading materials for students that include memoirs, children's books, podcasts, interactive virtual maps and other texts that extend beyond scholarly literature. Both classes will come together for guest lectures by thought leaders from both institutions, including York University historian and president of the Ontario Black History Society, Natasha Henry-Dixon, and Department of Humanities Professor Ola Mohammed.
Ali greatly values the collaborative process of course development and is optimistic about its future potential. "This year marks just the beginning, but we hope to expand the course significantly in the future," she reflects. "We're still envisioning what it could look like in a few years, particularly when we secure the funding to take students to places like London, Windsor, Waterloo and beyond to explore Black geographies." She adds, "It's exciting to imagine the possibilities for this course and the extent to which we can evolve it."
The Black Geographies course isn't the only way Grey and Ali are pursuing cross-university collaboration; they are also working together on a SSHRC Insight Development project, along with Stephanie Latty, an assistant professor in criminology at Toronto Metropolitan University. The project explores the impact of Black faculty cluster hires at Canadian universities. The group will analyze how post-secondary institutions went about Black cluster hiring, what those initiatives did for diversifying faculty and challenging anti-Black racism, as well how institutions are supporting retention and mentoring of Black faculty.
"We're really interested in finding ways to support Black faculty," says Ali, noting there is often work that goes unseen and can lead to burnout. "The goal is for institutions to recognize this and create plans for supporting our retention - both through funding and by understanding our experiences."
Ali and her colleagues are collaborating not just with each other, but on behalf of and with the many faculty the SSHRC project aims to benefit. For Ali, these partnerships underscore the value, and importance, of academics working together across institutions for wider impact.
"It's crucial that we work collaboratively, rather than in competition with one another," Ali says. "This is not only fundamental to Black studies, but also essential to reshaping our universities and rethinking critical pedagogy and public education as a whole."
This story was originally featured in YFile, York University's community newsletter.
