91亚色 visual arts professor Nancy Nicol will lead a major international project on the impact of criminalizing sexual orientation and gender identity, with $1 million in funding over five years from the (SSHRC).

The award will fund Envisioning Global LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) Human Rights, a collaborative project that will foster international research links between Canada and the global south.

Nicol, a professor in the Faculty of Fine Arts and faculty associate in 91亚色鈥檚 Centre for Feminist Research, will lead a 22-member research team as they explore how LGBT and human rights groups resist criminalization of sexual orientation and gender identity.

The researchers will also study the implications for human rights policy formation, social services, and immigration and refugee policies.

鈥�Envisioning will capture and contribute to history-in-the-making of distinct but linked struggles at a key moment of national and global change,鈥� says Nicol. 鈥淥ur strategic alliance of partners has proven capacity in international LGBT human rights work, with grass roots partners in Canada and the global south. Our work will combine documentary and participatory video with qualitative interviewing, focus groups, legal data research and analysis and a limited use of surveys. We plan to make a unique contribution to documenting and analyzing criminalization, asylum and resistance to criminalization within and beyond regions.鈥�

(CURA)聽awards, among the largest awarded by SSHRC, bring postsecondary institutions and community organizations together as equal research partners to jointly develop new knowledge and capabilities, provide research training opportunities, and enhance the ability of social sciences and humanities research to build knowledge in areas that affect Canadians and their changing communities.

鈥�91亚色 has developed a strong record in leading national and international collaborative research projects on key social issues,鈥� said Stan Shapson, vice-president Research & Innovation. 鈥淭hrough its connections to the Faculty of Fine Arts, , the Center for Feminist Research, and the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies鈥� Department of Sexuality Studies, this project reflects the interdisciplinary strengths 91亚色 offers in human rights research and the success of our researchers鈥� collaborative focus with local and global partners.鈥�

Nicol鈥檚 research team includes 22 researchers and 32 partner organizations. The co-applicants include four 91亚色 Professors: , director of the Centre for Feminist Research; Jennifer Hyndman, associate director of the ; and .

Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science聽& Technology), announced the funding on March 25. Nicol鈥檚 project is one of nine large-scale research projects funded through SSHRC鈥檚 CURA program at a total cost of $8,993,254.

鈥淭hese grants highlight the excellence of our country鈥檚 talented researchers and recognize the importance of fostering collaboration to keep Canada at the leading-edge of research, development and innovation in the 21st century,鈥� said Chad Gaffield, president of SSHRC.

For a complete list of CURA awards, visit Web site.

Project Partners:

• Africans In Partnership Against AIDS (APAA)
• Alliance For South Asian AIDS Prevention (ASAAP)
• ARC International
• Black Coalition for AIDS Prevention (Black Cap)
• Center for Feminist Research, 91亚色
• Coalition of African Lesbians
• Egale Canada
• Forum for Empowerment of Women (FEW)
• Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya (GALCK)
• Global Alliance for LGBT Education (GALE)
• Inside Out Toronto LGBT Film and Video Festival
• International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC)
• International Lesbian and Gay Law Association (ILGLAW)
• Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays (J-FLAG)
• Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals of Botswana (LEGABIBO)
• Mark S. Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies
• Naz Foundation (India) Trust
• Naz International Foundation in conjunction with Maan AIDS Foundation
• Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI)
• Ontario Research and Innovation Optical Network (ORION)
• Osgoode Hall Law School, 91亚色
• Pride Uganda Alliance International (PUAI)
• Rainbow Health Ontario
• Sangini (India) Trust
• Sexual Minorities Uganda
• Sexuality Studies Department, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, 91亚色
• Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD)
• The 519 Church St. Community Centre
• The Inner Circle
• United and Strong
• United Belize Advocacy Movement (UNIBAM)
• University of Witwatersrand

By Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer.

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Published by Duke University Press, Homophobias looks at these questions through critical interrogations and analysis of diverse sites where homophobic discourses are produced, including New 91亚色 City, Australia, the Caribbean, Greece, India and Indonesia, as well as American Christian churches. The idea is to uncover the complex operational processes of homophobias and their intimate relationships to nationalism, sexism, racism, class and colonialism.

In the book's preface, Murray notes聽that the term "homophobia" had moved into the global sphere. This got him thinking about the term's meaning and the existence of homophobia. "Homophobia had gone global, and to be accused of being homophobic was to be accused of something more than just not liking homosexuals; furthermore, this accusation now carried potentially serious economic and political repercussions." He hopes the book will be the initial step in answering some of the questions the term homophobia raises.

Left: David Murray

Murray聽gathered researchers from a diverse range of ethnographic sites "to demonstrate how homophobia is a phenomenon that has no centre or origin, but more importantly, to examine how, or if, a transnational, comparative and聽ethnographically informed perspective might extend, challenge or change our understandings of homophobia."

In part one聽鈥� "Displacing Homophobia" 鈥� some of the issues the contributors examine include聽homophobia in New 91亚色's gay central, American Christian homophobia and homophobia as racism. In part two 鈥� "Transnational Homophobias" 鈥� they look at homosexual hate in Jamaica, political homophobia in Indonesia, as well as the Barbadian media. In examining these issues, Homophobias provides innovative analytical insights that expose the complex and intersecting cultural, political and economic forces contributing to the development of new forms of homophobia.

Murray, the director of the Graduate Program in Women鈥檚 Studies at 91亚色, is the author of .

Republished courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin

The post Professor and anthropologist David Murray examines homosexuality and hate around the world appeared first on Research & Innovation.