Welcome to the redesigned Nathanson Centre website. Our aim in refreshing the site is to increase the visibility of the various activities we pursue at the Centre, as well as to showcase the exciting and important work being conducted by Nathanson members, affiliates and fellows.
This marks the beginning of a new chapter at Nathanson, as we help advance a series of initiatives focusing on a core idea: reducing inequality. It’s an issue that has come to the fore through a series of recent events, from the Covid pandemic – which has had disproportionate impacts on individuals – to the police killing of George Floyd, to the global ramifications of the war in Ukraine. Reducing inequality is also a unifying theme in how we interpret the three pillars of the Nathanson Centre’s mandate: transnational human rights, crime and security. And it guides new thinking in our community of scholars on related areas such as climate change and human trafficking, among many others.
The launch of our new website also reflects the Centre’s revitalization as a research hub. Over the years, we’ve hosted a wide array of experts speaking about everything from the treatment of minorities by the justice system to the influence of digital journalism on social and political change. Moving forward, the Centre will also serve as a home for research conferences; as a repository of research material related to our mandate; as a training ground for undergraduate and graduate students; and as a venue linking researchers at Osgoode, York University and beyond. Indeed, one of our chief goals is to build new research relationships across York and throughout the globe. Both individual researchers and the Centre as a whole will benefit from these collaborative efforts, particularly those that are interdisciplinary.
We’re going to use this site to feature the research work of our members, affiliates and fellows – inviting them to contribute succinct, easy-to-digest blog posts (like this one) summarizing their investigations and sharing their findings with a wider audience. This will also be the online rallying point for upcoming themed research conferences, as we post calls for papers and provide venue information. We’ll be archiving all conference papers, as well as any minutes or photographs, so that attendees, presenters and other researchers can access them after the event – and into the foreseeable future.
Lastly, our redesigned site serves as an open invitation to anyone interested in the Centre’s work to reach out and build a relationship with us. You may want to attend one of the regular events we host. Perhaps you’re interested in joining us as a visiting researcher or fellow. Or it may be as simple as connecting through the Centre with other researchers working in your field of interest. We know there are like-minded scholars around the world exploring vital topics in our sphere of inquiry, and we want to bring more of you together.
Thanks again for your interest in the Nathanson Centre. Please get in touch if you want to learn more about our various activities – and how we can potentially collaborate.