Political Science Weekly Digest for Friday, October 17, 2025
October 17, 2025
We acknowledge and respect the Lək̓ʷəŋən (Songhees and Xʷsepsəm/Esquimalt) Peoples on whose territory the university stands, and the Lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ Peoples whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day.
POLITICAL SCIENCE ANNOUNCEMENTS
POLI SESSIONAL POSTING FOR 2026-27
Deadline: Monday, November 3
Full posting details here
VICTORIA COLLOQUIUM: PROF YANN ALLARD-TREMBLAY
“’A Cursed Line of Mestizos and Tremendous Whores’; the Underside of the Politics of Indigenous Realness”
Friday, October 25, 2:30-4 pm, Fraser B261
Abstract: In this chapter, we investigate the gendered politics of who is to be considered a ‘real’ Indigenous person, which we refer to as ‘Indigenous Identity Politics’ (IIP). We argue that across settler colonial contexts, the question of ‘realness’ is inflected by settler colonial eliminatory logics, such that mixity and, a fortiori, those who are mixed or cause mixing, are repeatedly framed as threats to Indigenous authenticity and existence. We refer to and investigate this recurrent forsaking of mixity, and the harm it causes to those who are cast off, as the underside of the politics of Indigenous realness. We conclude that IIP is unavoidable in settler colonial contexts, and so must be carefully negotiated in full awareness that its underside tends to inevitably cast some as the ‘cursed mestizos’ and ‘tremendous whores,’ recalling an early 17th century attack on Indigenous mixity.
2025-26 POLI WORKS IN PROGRESS: SEASON 2, EPISODE 1
Tuesday, November 4, 2:30-3:30 pm, DTB A357
David Miller: "Ontological Terror, Nihilism in Bad Faith, and the Resurgence of White Supremacy"
Discussant: Owen Bortolon
Abstract: It is becoming increasingly apparent that we are witnessing a global resurgence in white supremacy. Yet, while this global re-emergence of white supremacist ideology is not entirely divorced from the long social and institutional history of white supremacy, recent scholarship on white supremacist violence and mobilization indicates that contemporary manifestations of overt or “extreme” white supremacy differ significantly from past instantiations, making it necessary to study the particular factors driving this current resurgence. This paper will aim to examine and explain the current resurgence of overt white supremacist movements as a function of what the author will call nihilism in bad faith; or a widespread condition of nihilism that both acknowledges and attempts to flee the existential meaninglessness of contemporary reality.
Bio: David Miller is a PhD candidate in the departments of Political Science and Cultural, Social, and Political Thought at the University of Victoria. He holds an MA in Theory & Criticism from the University of Western Ontario’s Centre for the Study of Theory and Criticism where he researched the affective politics of guilt in relation to neoliberal economies of debt. His current academic interests include: anarchism, post-anarchist theory, philosophies of life and anti-life, queer and feminist theories of subjectivity and the body, the politics of friendship, utopianism/dystopianism, centaurs, judgement, responsibility, the philosophy of art and aesthetics, continental and existential philosophy, and the intersections between these areas (among others), with a particular focus on the transition from theory to practice in the political field through ethical frameworks.
About the POLI Works-in-Progress Series: This workshop series (now in its second year!) features faculty and grad student work in our department in its intermediate and final stages before publication—such as PhD dissertation chapters and drafts of in-progress research. Each workshop will provide significant time for discussant comments and an audience Q&A. This workshop series aims to provide ongoing space for graduate students to learn and practice research presentation and discussion skills, and articulate and respond to feedback, while also providing the exciting opportunity to hear about soon-to-be-published chapters and articles across the department. Everyone is welcome to attend and participate whether you have read the paper beforehand or not. The paper will be sent out 10 days in advance of the workshop, and the main arguments of the paper will be presented by the author. The workshop aims to give plenty of time for discussant comments and audience Q&A participation. We look forward to seeing you there!
UVic ANNOUNCMENTS
5 DAYS OF ACTION: October 27-31
5 Days of Action: 365 Days of Commitment is a week-long event (Oct. 27–31) to amplify the work across different areas of campus to create a more inclusive and equitable campus and community throughout the year. Join in UVic’s shared commitment to end discrimination, harassment, sexualized violence and oppression of all kinds. Take action by attending our keynote event with Angela Sterritt, sign up for a workshop or visit our 5 Days of Action activity hub. Learn more
BOOK PANEL WITH JORDAN STANGER-ROSS & ERIC M. ADAMS
Challenging Exile: Japanese Canadians and the Wartime Constitution
Wednesday, November 5, 10:30 am, UVic new Law Wing, Sky Room B261 or Online via Zoom
Join us to discuss the new book Challenging Exile: Japanese Canadians and the Wartime Constitution', by Past Wrongs, Future Choices Director Jordan Stanger-Ross and Eric M. Adams. How did Japanese Canadians navigate the challenges arrayed against them? Eric M. Adams and Jordan Stanger-Ross detail the circumstances and personalities behind the proposed exile. They follow the lives of families facing government orders that forced them from their homes, stripped their livelihoods and possessions, and deprived them of fundamental rights. And they analyze the constitutional framework of the court case in which lawyers and judges grappled with the meaning of citizenship, race, and rights at a time of change in Canadian law and politics. This event will also include a panel of four guests: Neilesh Bose (Uvic History), Matt James (UVic Political Science), Viktor Ramraj (UVic Law/CAPI), and Mary Ann Vallianatos (UVic Law). Co-sponsored by the Centre for Global Studies, Past Wrongs, Future Choices, the Centre for Asia-Pacific Initiatives, the Department of History, the Faculty of Law and the Victoria Nikkei Cultural Society.
CAFÉ HISTORIQUE: “What if… the Ottoman Empire had not entered the First World War”?
Martin Bunton and Andrew Wender
Wednesday, November 5, 7-9 pm, Hermann’s Jazz Club, Doors at 5:30 pm. Reserve your seat
Though the Ottoman Empire’s rivals had long dismissed it as a “sick man”, and saw the Ottoman front in World War I as a mere sideshow, this talk considers how formidable an opponent the Ottomans proved, and how different the region, and the world, would be had Ottoman leaders not decided to enter the War on the side of Germany. Please note that Café Historique is First-Come-First-Served seating. We cannot accommodate requests to reserve tables. Doors open at 5:30pm, with talks beginning at 7pm. Don’t forget $5 cash for your entry fee. Looking forward to seeing you all on Wednesday November 5!
ASRI DISTINGUISHED LECTURE SERIES: SOPHIE ESCH
“War as a Multispecies Contact Zone: Perspectives from Africa and Latin America”
Thursday, November 6, 9:30-11 am, Online via Zoom
Contrary to common conception, war is always a more-than-human event with far-reaching implications for life worlds. This talk proposes to conceive of war as a multispecies contact zone to make visible the forced, accidental, or voluntary imbrications of the earth’s many species in what is known as human warfaring. This talk highlights in particular how writers and artists from two highly biodiverse countries with long-lasting conflicts (Mozambique and Colombia) grapple with the manifold and highly asymmetrical interspecies interactions that happen in the context of armed conflict. Sophie Esch is Associate Professor of Latin America Literature and Culture at Rice University in Houston. She writes and researches the intersection of literature, politics, war, and the environment in the Global South. Her first book, Modernity at Gunpoint (2018) dealt with the meaning of firearms in Mexico and Central America and her second, forthcoming book examines multispecies narratives of war and revolution in Africa and Latin America.