Migration | The Harriet Tubman Institute

Cyrus Sundar Singh

rebsl — Mon, 04 May 2026 18:34:06 +0000

dr. Cyrus is a multidisciplinary scholar/researcher, filmmaker, musician, author, poet, and changemaker. From arriving as a fresh-off-the-boat 10 year-old from India, to a professional musician touring across North America, to a documentary filmmaker, to a migration scholar and assistant professor, Cyrus has consistently curated stories and scholarship promoting social justice, equity, and engagement in amplifying diverse voices. From the National Film Board of Canada’s Gemini Award-winning documentary debut Film Club (2001) to the genre-bending nascent live-documentary world premieres: Brothers In The Kitchen (2016) and Africville in Black and White (2017/18), Cyrus’ outputs of scholarly research, publications, and creative productions have taken him around the world including the Faroe Islands, Haiti, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Portugal, India, Jamaica, and South Africa.

Since 2020, as a Research Fellow with CERC in Migration at Toronto Metropolitan University, Cyrus mentored over 54 Indigenous and non-Indigenous graduate students across three nationwide multimedia cohorts. From coast to coast, these participants individually and collectively unpacked senses of identity and belonging across this land we call Canada, and produced compelling narrative-driven creative works. This new scholarship and its accompanying educational learning resources will greatly assist the next generation of students. From music to verse, lectures to performances, the collected wisdom that Cyrus shares in the classroom reflects the journey of successes, failures, and the scars earned.

Keywords: Migration, Refuge, Creative, Story, Documentary, Narrative, Multimedia

Sheba Abena Wiafe

rebsl — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 20:57:47 +0000

Sheba Abena Wiafe is currently completing her PhD at 91��ɫ in the Social and Political Thought Program. Her research focuses on investigating the migratory movements of African women to Europe against the histories of the trans-Saharan and trans-Atlantic slave trade through Black critical theoretical and psychoanalytic approaches. Her written work is forthcoming with The Black Lexicon edited volume, and she is currently guest editing a special issue of SAQ focusing on the intellectual interventions of Christina Sharpe’s first monograph Monstrous Intimacies.

Keywords: Black Critical Theory, Migration, Slavery, Psychonanalysis, Continental Africa

Boniface Ifeanyi Orji

rebsl — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 16:44:22 +0000

Orji Boniface Ifeanyi, Ph.D, is a member of the Economic History Society, United Kingdom, Historical Society of Nigeria (HSN) and Lagos Studies Association (LSA). He has a Ph.D in History and International Studies, University of Ilorin, Nigeria. He has won academic distinctions, prizes, and awards, including the coveted Osaka University Nakashima Centre Essay Award (2010) and University of Ilorin Departmental Prize for Best Academic Result for the 2010/2011 academic session. Orji is currently a faculty at the Department of History and International Studies, Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo. He has been involved in a series of high-profile national and international research projects over the years, and his interest spans Migration and Diaspora Studies; Economic and Social History, Igbo/Lagos Studies and Environmental Conflict. He has published widely in Peer-Reviewed Indexed Journals and Publications, including notable Chapters in scholarly books.

Keywords: Migration, Diaspora, Economic Development, Economic History, Igbo Studies

Mary Uhunoma Isibor

rebsl — Tue, 16 Sep 2025 16:12:56 +0000

Mary Uhunoma Isibor, PhD is a Lecturer in History and International Studies at the University of Benin, Nigeria. Her research spans gender and economic history, entrepreneurship, migration and diaspora studies, socio-cultural history, and peace and conflict studies, with current work examining the resilience of African and Black women entrepreneurs in Toronto and across the diaspora.

Keywords: gender, entrepreneurship, migration, diaspora, resilience, African and Black women

Sylvia Esther Gyan

rebsl — Tue, 16 Sep 2025 15:47:22 +0000

Sylvia Esther Gyan (PhD) is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Ghana and a visiting Professor at the Department of Sociology, 91��ɫ, with over a decade of experience in teaching and research. She teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses and actively mentors and supervises students. From December 2018 to November 2023, she was an Affiliate Assistant Professor at the College of Public Health, University of South Florida. In 2019, she was named an African Studies Association Carnegie Corporation of New 91��ɫ Scholar.

Sylvia’s research focuses on the Sociology of Health, with emphasis on adolescent sexual and reproductive health, maternal health, and child marriage. Her broader academic interests include Family Demography, Gender Studies, Climate Change, Ageing, and Migration. She has contributed to several notable projects, including serving as Co-Principal Investigator on "Utilising AI to Promote Sexual and Reproductive Health Outcomes for Adolescents with Disabilities in Ghana," funded by IDRC through the Infectious Disease Institute’s HASH program (Feb. 2023 – July 2024). She currently leads a project funded by the Horizons Institute Pump-prime Fund, University of Leeds, titled “Co-Creating Resilient Communities for Female Adolescent Migrants (‘Kayayei’) in Ghana.” This project integrates sociological methods and participatory visual art approaches to explore the lived experiences of girls under 16 who migrate from northern Ghana to Accra to work as head porters. Sylvia has also conducted research on sexual behaviours among older adults in Ghana, addressing a critical gap in global health literature. While most studies in this area originate from the Global North, her work brings much-needed focus to the sociocultural dynamics of ageing and sexuality in sub-Saharan Africa, a topic often considered taboo.

Her expertise and research continue to inform and influence discussions on health, gender, and development both within Ghana and beyond. Her research has been published in high-quality international journals, including Current Sociology, Archives of Sexual Behaviour, and Journal of Biosocial Science.

Beyond academic scholarship, Sylvia is deeply committed to collaborative research that addresses pressing societal challenges. Her work frequently centres on women in vulnerable situations, to inform policies and interventions that enhance their well-being.

Keywords: Africa, Ghana, Adolescent, Health, Migration, Climate Change, HIV, Intimate Partner Violence, Gender

Roshnie Anita Doon

rebsl — Thu, 26 Jun 2025 14:50:43 +0000

Dr. Roshnie Doon (she/her/hers) is the Secretary of the Caribbean Academy of Sciences (CAS) Regional Executive at The University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago. In this role, she oversees all chapters across the Caribbean, including those in Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Jamaica, Guadeloupe, Antigua and Barbuda, and Barbados. Additionally, she is a research affiliate with the Global Labor Organization (GLO) in Essen, Germany, where her primary area of expertise lies in Labor Economics.
Dr. Doon earned her PhD in Economic Development Policy, MSc in Economics, and BSc in Economics from UWI, St. Augustine, Trinidad & Tobago. She also completed a PhD Masterclass in International Business at the Henley Business School at the University of Reading, United Kingdom (UK). She has received several prestigious awards throughout her academic career, including the Mannic Bissoon Memorial Scholarship, the UWI Postgraduate Scholarship, and the Undergraduate Bursary. Dr. Doon has also benefited from various research grants, such as the Campus Research and Publication Fund at UWI St. Augustine and the Knowledge Unlatched (KU) Publication Fund in Berlin, Germany.
Dr. Doon serves on the editorial boards of several publications, including the International Journal of Law and Policy, Discover Global Society, and the International Journal of Applied Business and International Management. She is affiliated with numerous prestigious institutions, such as the International Science Council (ISC) in Paris, France, the Inter-Academy Partnership (IAP) in Trieste, Italy, and the Industrial Engineering and Management (IEM) and the Technological Transfer Management (TTM) Research Cluster in St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago.
Dr. Doon currently leads six research clusters focused on Labor Economics, Social Policy, Migration, COVID-19, Climate Change, and Industry 4.0. She has published several research journal articles and books in these fields. Additionally, she has presented her research findings at various conferences around the world, including locations in Iceland, Italy, Australia, Pakistan, the United States, the United Kingdom, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Barbados.

Keywords: Applied Econometrics, Labor Market Outcomes, Educational Mismatch, Gender and Wage Inequality, Economic Policy and Development, Higher Education Instruction, Economic and Social Implications of COVID-19, Environmental Justice and Climate Change, Social Policy, Migration, Industry 4.0

Yayo Vuni

rebsl — Wed, 18 Jan 2023 17:22:29 +0000

I completed my bachelor’s degree at Acadia University where I graduated with honours, double majoring in Sociology and Political Science. My honours thesis focused on the ‘’Impact of South Sudanese Cultural Marriage Practices on Women's Pursuit of Post-Secondary Education in Canada.” My research interest includes social justice in education and the contribution of African women to the field of development in Africa.

James Simeon

rebsl — Tue, 05 Apr 2022 22:45:24 +0000

Dr James C. Simeon is the Head of McLaughlin College and Associate Professor in the School of Public Policy and Administration (SPPA), Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, and a former Director of the SPPA, and a former Acting Director and Deputy Director at the Centre for Refugee Studies at 91��ɫ. Prior to joining the faculty at 91��ɫ, James served as the first Executive Director of the International Association of Refugee Law Judges (IARLJ), now the International Association of Refugee and Migration Judges (IARMJ). He is currently an Associate Member of the IARMJ and serves as the Coordinator of its Inter-Conference Working Party Process. He is also one of the founding members of the IARMJ America Chapter. He is the immediate past President of the Canadian Association for Refugees and Forced Migration Studies (CARFMS), a member of the International Association for the Study of Forced Migration (IASFM) and the Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC).

Fanny Teissandier

alexall5 — Sun, 06 Mar 2022 01:56:07 +0000

I am a Master's student in Social Anthropology, focusing my thesis on the activism of Malian undocumented migrants in the Paris region. My work hopes to shed light on migrants' experiences of state violence and practices of resistance. In particular, I will be studying the political discourses that emerge from migrant collectives, which tie contemporary structures of state racism to France's historical and ongoing colonialism on the African continent. I will also pay close attention to how police repression shapes an urban sensorium that targets migrants and racialized people through technologies of violence such as random police checks, surveillance, verbal and physical harm, and even chemicals (tear gas). My analysis of resistance strategies will similarly highlight the multiple sensory dimensions of migrant activism, notably in the artistic expressions of music, dance and urban art.

Mary Goitom

rebsl — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 15:11:40 +0000

Mary Goitom is an Associate Professor at the School of Social Work, 91��ɫ. Dr Goitom’s research explores migration, mobilities, diasporic connections, transnational processes, and social relations. Her work is centered on community-based research and is grounded in Ethiopian epistemologies and larger African traditional knowledge systems. Dr Goitom’s work explores transnational social fields in relation to the constitution of settlement, citizenship, well-being, agency, resilience and identity making.