On Thursday March 19, the Department of Sociology hosted the 15th annual Dr. Agnes Calliste African Heritage Lecture in the Schwartz Auditorium. Dr. Krystal Batelaan, Assistant Professor of Sociology at StFX, delivered a lecture titled, "'You Become Numb to Death and Suffering': A [raced] look at prison labour in Canada."
The annual lecture series honours the legacy of the late Dr. Agnes Calliste. A StFX faculty member for nearly 30 years, Dr. Calliste's ground-breaking scholarship focused on the complex interaction of work, race, ethnicity, and gender in Canada. This year's event was organized by Department Chair, Dr. Stephen Marmura, Dr. Katie Aubrecht, Janice Munroe, and Donna MacDonald.
"To give the lecture in celebration of Dr. Calliste's legacy and all the brilliant speakers who have given a talk previously is truly an honour," said Dr. Batelaan. "The support and enthusiasm from the StFX community in my first year here has also been a great way to connect with more students and community members over shared research and social justice interests."
Dr. Batelaan's lecture examined the racial politics of incarcerated labour in Canada, with a particular focus on CORCAN, the federal prison program meant to provide inmates with job skills. She argued that the use of prison labour should be understood as a racializing process that reproduces anti-Black racism within Canada's prison system.
This was the first time that a faculty member from within the Department of Sociology has delivered the Dr. Agnes Calliste African Heritage lecture. Speaking about the opportunity to do so, Dr. Batelaan noted that Dr. Calliste's work and legacy have shaped her own research and approach to racial and social justice in many ways. "[Dr. Calliste's] focus on centering the voices of those she advocates for and finding racial/cultural focused solutions is something that has informed my own work," Dr. Batelaan said.
Recognizing outstanding Black student leaders
The evening also included a ceremony to recognize the recipients of the CABSS Black Student Leaders Awards. The annual awards recognize outstanding Black students at StFX for their leadership, community impact, and academic achievements.
The four student leaders Emma Borden, Jennifer Desmond, Latitia Pelley-George, and Ariel Robinson were introduced and presented their awards by Lorraine Reddick, Manager of the Dr. Agnes Calliste Academic and Cultural Centre.
CABSS Black Student Leaders Award Recipients, Emma Borden and Jennifer Desmond, pictured with Lorraine Reddick, Manager of the Dr. Agnes Calliste Academic and Cultural Centre, Elizabeth Yeo, VP of Students, Dr. Krystal Batelaan, and Dr. Michael Steinitz, Professor Emeritus. Not pictured: Latitia Pelley-George and Ariel Robinson.
About Dr. Krystal Batelaan
Dr. Batelaan is a critical theorist who uses a socio-criminological lens to examine colonial violence (particularly various manifestations of anti-Black racism within the CJS), with a focus on Canada's prison system and prison labour practices in Canada. In both research and teaching, Krystal uses a theoretical lens to make sense of the everyday sociological phenomena that shapes one's lived experience through a deeper understanding of power, social order, and society.
About the Dr. Agnes Calliste African Heritage Lecture Series
The lecture series is organized by the StFX Department of Sociology in honour of the legacy of Dr. Agnes Calliste. As noted in the Canadian Sociological Association's 'In Memoriam' following her death Fall 2018: "[Dr. Calliste's] scholarship focused on the complex interrelation of work, race, ethnicity and gender in Canada. Her ground-breaking research with African-Canadian railway porters and Caribbean-Canadian nurses explored previously unexamined dimensions of our social history. Dr. Calliste studied not only the institutionalized oppression of such communities, but also their organized resistance." The Department of Sociology proudly hosts this lecture in partnership with StFX's Academic Vice President and Provost, Associate Vice President Research, Graduate and Professional Studies, Deans of Arts, Science, Business, and Education, Brian Mulroney Institute of Government, President's Action Committee on Anti-Racism, Human Rights & Equity, Black Student Advising, Dr. Agnes Calliste Academic and Cultural Centre, and the Canada Research Chair Health Equity and Social Justice.
