Fawcett Smith, Kimberly

Photograph of Kimberly Fawcett Smith

Kimberly Fawcett Smith

Doctoral Student

She/Her

BA (Carleton) | M. Architecture (U of Manitoba) | MA International Affairs (King's College London, UK)

Political Studies

Doctoral Student

k.fawcettsmith@queensu.ca

Mackintosh-Corry Hall, B304

Supervisors: Wayne Cox and David Haglund

Research Interests

International Security, Great Power Politics, Canadian Defence and Foreign Policy, China/Russia Relations, Arctic Region, Diplomacy

Brief Biography

Kimberly is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Political Studies at ŸĆĐăֱȄ specializing in International Relations and Comparative Politics.  She graduated with merit from King's College London, UK with an MA in International Affairs (Espionage and Surveillance).   Kimberly is focusing her research on the emerging power conflict in the Arctic.

Awards

2024 R. Samuel McLaughlin Fellowship

2024 ŸĆĐăֱȄ Graduate Award

2024 Faculty of Arts and Science Dean's Award for Social Justice

Eden, Zachary

Photo of Zachary Eden

Zachary Eden

Doctoral Student

He/Him

BAH Political Science (Laurentian, 2019) | MA Political Studies (Queen's, 2020)

Political Studies

Doctoral Student

zachary.eden@queensu.ca

Mackintosh-Corry Hall, B308

Supervisors: David Haglund and Joel Sokolsky

Brief Biography

Zachary is a first year PhD student in the Department of Political Studies. He completed his honour’s B.A. at Laurentian University in Political Science and Religious Studies (2019), and his M.A. at Queen’s University in Political Studies (2020). During his time at Queen’s University, he participated in two exchange programs. His first exchange was with the Royal Military College of Canada (2019) where he focused on American Defense Policy. His second exchange was with the UniversitĂ€t der Bundeswehr MĂŒnchen in Munich, Germany (2020) where he focused on International Relations. More specifically, his research focused on the role of Military Power in International Relations and the Psychology of Violence.

Research Interests

Zachary’s current research interests are the Liberal International Order (LIO), Canada-US Relations, Defense Studies, and Russia and China in International Security.

Awards

​â¶Ä‹â¶Ä‹â¶Ä‹â¶Ä‹â¶Ä‹â¶Ä‹Queen’s Graduate Award (2024)

R. Samuel McLaughlin Fellowship (2024)

UniversitĂ€t der Bundeswehr MĂŒnchen Scholarship (2020)

Queen’s Graduate Award (2019-2020)

Huntington Bursary (2018)

Thorneloe Bursary (2018)

Teaching

Teaching Assistant:

POLS 261 – International Politics (Fall 2019) – Queen’s University

SOCI 1015 – Understanding Society (2018-2019) – Laurentian University ​â¶Ä‹â¶Ä‹â¶Ä‹â¶Ä‹â¶Ä‹â¶Ä‹

Afzaal, Maham

Photograph of Maham Afzaal

Maham Afzaal

Doctoral Student

she/her/hers

MPP (2024), Hons. B.A. (2023)

Political Studies

Doctoral Student

18ma15@queensu.ca

Mackintosh-Corry Hall, C311

Supervisor: Yolande Bouka

Brief Biography 

Maham Afzaal is a doctoral student in the Department of Political Studies at Queen’s University studying International Relations. She received an MPP in Digital Society and an Hons. B.A. in Economics (Specialist) with a minor in Political Science from McMaster University.

Maham’s previous research drew from Foucault’s conception of the panopticon to explore the socio-political implications of employing proctoring AI technologies in undergraduate and secondary school settings, focusing on how potential racial and gendered biases in AI impact students belonging to minority groups. She is currently interested in researching critical security issues in schools informed by historical, decolonial, and feminist frameworks.

Research Interests

Critical security studies, Childhood studies, Historical injustice, Race, Gender, Philosophy of technology, AI ethics, Research ethics, Critical pedagogy, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, Education policy 

Awards

Queen’s Graduate Award (2024) 

Outstanding Student Performance Award in Digital Governance (McMaster, 2024)

Outstanding Student Performance Award in Product Management (McMaster, 2024) 

Outstanding Student Performance Award in Architectures of Digital Ecosystems (McMaster, 2023) 

Graduate Entrance Scholarship (McMaster, 2023) 

International Student Career Trek Honorarium (McMaster, 2022) 

Undergraduate Student Research Award (McMaster, 2022) 

Undergraduate Student Research Award (McMaster, 2021) 

Teaching Experience

TA:

POLS 284 (Queen’s, 2024) 

POLSCI 1AA3 (McMaster, 2023) 

2024 Political Studies Graduate Students Association (PSGSA) Graduate Conference

Date

Wednesday June 26, 2024
9:00 am - 4:00 pm

Location

The Department of Political Studies Graduate Students Association (PSGSA) present:

The 2024 PSGSA Graduate Conference

"Navigating New Realities in a Changing Global Landscape"

Wednesday, June 26th | 9:00AM – 4:00PM
Mackintosh-Corry Hall (68 University Avenue, Kingston) Room B201 OR via Zoom
*Lunch provided

This event is co-sponsored by the Department of Political Studies.  

The turn of the century brought on a wave of new and complex problems that the international community must face. From advancements in technology that have moulded and reshaped domestic political spheres; to leaps in communication that have enabled the rise of powerful non-state actors; to the digitalization of the finance world and the introduction of crypto currencies, we have seen change across virtually every channel of interaction.

Being able to understand these changes and conduct meaningful research to uncover their impacts are essential to a peaceful and cooperative future.

“New Realities” can be considered through many lenses. Understanding the effect evolving social change can have on national or international organizations is bound to change the way the organization operates. The international implications of the ongoing War in Ukraine, or the Israel-Hamas War, have the power to reshape and restructure the security situations in Europe, the Middle East, and beyond. The rise in domestic right-wing support in many regions of the world, or the risks following the possible re-election of Donald Trump, could have the power to challenge many government’s operational and fiscal “status-quos”. And an increase in uprisings and coups, more specifically in the West African region, have regressed democracy to a point that concerns regional security and opens the door to global humanitarian crises.

These are all situations and dimensions of the global landscape that are undergoing change, and therefore creating a new reality the international community must confront.

The conference will be in a hybrid format. Participants can either join in-person at Queen’s University or online via Zoom.

Department of Political Studies Class of 2024 Spring Convocation Reception

Date

Friday June 21, 2024
12:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Location

Department of Political Studies Class of 2024 Spring Convocation Reception!

All POLS Spring 2024 graduates and their guests are invited to attend this luncheon reception on Friday, June 21st from 12:00pm to 3:00pm.  Cynthia MacIntosh, Undergraduate Assistant, will send an email, including a reception invitation and RSVP information, to the finalized list of Spring 2024 POLS graduands.  Please RSVP to this invitation using the registration form.    

Friday, June 21st | 12:00 – 3:00PM

Holiday Inn Kingston - Waterfront | Bellevue Ballroom 

2 Princess Street, Kingston 

A buffet lunch will be served

Class of 2024 graphic

Online Course :: The Ethics of Biomedical Enhancement

Date

Monday April 22, 2024
5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Location

Online via Zoom
ŸĆĐăֱȄ Faculty of Education presents:

The Ethics of Biomedical Enhancement :: An Online Course

Dates & Time:

(Mondays) April 22, 29, May 6, 13

5 - 7 pm

Cost: Free!
Course description:

Recent advances in biomedical knowledge and innovation- such as sequencing of the human genome, gene therapy and genome editing, the biology of aging, behavioral genetics, etc.- raise the prospect that science could be utilized to “enhance” our biology rather than simply search for treatments for specific diseases. In his book Beyond Humanity? (Oxford University Press, 2011) the philosopher Allen Buchanan defines biomedical enhancement as “a deliberate intervention, applying biomedical science, which aims to improve an existing capacity that most or all normal human beings typically have, or to create a new capacity, by acting directly on the body or brain”. This course will introduce students to both the science and ethics of biomedical enhancement, covering a range of topics like eugenics, genetics, the therapy/enhancement distinction, procreative liberty, aging, and memory modification.

Instructor: Colin Farrelly

Colin Farrelly (he/him) is the Sir Edward Peacock Professor of Political Theory in the Department of Political Studies at Queen’s University and is cross appointed with Philosophy. He has held academic appointments at universities in England, Scotland, the United States, TĂŒrkiye, and Canada. Recent publications include two books on the ethics of the genetic revolution and a series of journal articles on the science of aging in venues like the British Medical Journal, The Journals of Gerontology, Aging Cell, Royal Society Open Science, and the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. Colin is also the organizer of the local Philosophy Meetup (Kingston), which brings local residents into pubs and parks to discuss philosophical topics in ethics, science, politics, and psychology.

Click for more information about the Ever Scholar program

 

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS for the 2024 Political Studies Graduate Students Association (PSGSA) Graduate Conference

Date

Sunday May 5, 2024
9:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Location

2024 Political Studies Graduate Students Association (PSGSA) Graduate Conference | June 26, 2024

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS | Deadline: Sunday, May 5, 2024 


Navigating New Realities in a Changing Global Landscape

The turn of the century brought on a wave of new and complex problems that the international community must face. From advancements in technology that have moulded and reshaped domestic political spheres; to leaps in communication that have enabled the rise of powerful non-state actors; to the digitalization of the finance world and the introduction of crypto currencies, we have seen change across virtually every channel of interaction.

Being able to understand these changes and conduct meaningful research to uncover their impacts are essential to a peaceful and cooperative future.

“New Realities” can be considered through many lenses. Understanding the effect evolving social change can have on national or international organizations is bound to change the way the organization operates. The international implications of the ongoing War in Ukraine, or the Israel-Hamas War, have the power to reshape and restructure the security situations in Europe, the Middle East, and beyond. The rise in domestic right-wing support in many regions of the world, or the risks following the possible re-election of Donald Trump, could have the power to challenge many government’s operational and fiscal “status-quos”. And an increase in uprisings and coups, more specifically in the West African region, have regressed democracy to a point that concerns regional security and opens the door to global humanitarian crises.

These are all situations and dimensions of the global landscape that are undergoing change, and therefore creating a new reality the international community must confront.

We are inviting submissions from graduate students on topics that address the complexities of the “new reality” the world is beginning to navigate. The conference will be in a hybrid format. Participants can either join in-person at Queen’s University or online via Zoom. The keynote speaker has not yet been determined.

Some Proposed Themes / Subtopics:

  • International Security and the Impact of Conflicts Around the Globe
  • Threats and Challenges Concerning Human Rights & the Environment
  • International Concerns Through a Gendered Lens
  • Regional Regressions of Democracy and Their Impacts on the World
  • Emerging Technologies and the Risks They Pose for Global Governance
  • The Growing Threat and Influence of Social Media and Digital Currencies
  • Major Changes to Electoral Systems, or Election Results, and Their Impacts on the World

Please submit an abstract of no more than 250 words to: psgsa.grad.con@gmail.com

2024 Honours Thesis Colloquium

Date

Friday April 5, 2024
10:00 am - 2:40 pm

Location

Please join us for the Department of Political Studies 2024 Honours Thesis Colloquium!

Friday, April 5, 2024 

10:00am - 2:40pm

Robert Sutherland Hall | Room 202

Light lunch served

Event poster

Agenda

10:00-10:05 AM â€“ Opening Remarks | Kaitie Jourdeuil, coordinator

Panel 1 | 10:05-11:05 AM 

  • Emily Wilson: â€œThe ‘First Victim,’ and the ‘Noble Reconciler,’: National myths, memory, and misremembrance in Austria and Canada”  Discussant – Jana Walkowski
  • Sarah Hamm: â€œUnited Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, Nearly twenty-five years later: Where are the women now?”  Discussant – Shola Ogunnubi
  • Sadie McIntosh: â€œAssessing the Role of Human Security in Africa’s Natural Resource Governance: An Agential Constructivist Approach”   Discussant – Shola Ogunnubi

11:05-11:10 AM – Break (light refreshments served)

Panel 2  | 11:10 AM - 12:10 PM

  • Ameila Gordanier: “Evolving Narratives of Indigeneity: A Discourse Analysis of Linguistic Changes in Newspaper Media”   Discussant – Shola Ogunnubi
  • Ella Granger: "Genocidal Processes in Authoritarian and Democratic States: the Indigenous vs the Kurds"   Discussant – Jana Walkowski
  • Leonie Saint-Arnaud: "The Proto Genocide of the Uyghurs: In Conversation with Members of the Uyghur Diaspora"   Discussant – Jana Walkowski

12:10-12:30 PM - Lunch (light lunch served)

Panel 3 | 12:30-1:30 PM

  • Lauren Oswald: â€œUnderstanding Variations in the Global War on Terror”   Discussant – Ă‰mile Lambert-Deslandes
  • Isabela Rittinger: â€œLGBTQ2S+ Genocide: The Failure of International Law”   Discussant – Cindy Cruz
  • Greg Brown: “Carl Schmitt’s Critique of Liberalism”   Discussant – Yerin Chung

1:30-1:35 Break (light refreshments served)

Panel 4 | 1:35-2:35 PM

  • Maddy Ritter: “Reimagined Pathways: Exploring the Role of the Third Sector in the Canadian Basic Income Movement”   Discussant – Chelsea Dunn
  • Adrienne Cross: â€œNavigating Motherhood in Canada Amidst and Beyond COVID-19's Impact on Social and Economic Realities: Has COVID-19 shattered the contemporary perception of motherhood in Canada by imposing heightened burdens and barriers on mothers' social and economic standings?”   Discussant – Cindy Cruz
  • Jessica Meleca: â€œA Gendered Analysis of Canadian Childcare Policy Through Media Perspectives”   Discussant – Chelsea Dunn

2:35-2:40 PM – Closing remarks | Kaitie Jourdeuil