Biography

Christiana Abraham is Senior Lecturer in Communication Studies at Concordia University. She holds a Ph.D in Communication Studies from McGill university. Her teaching and research specialties are in Black Media and Cultural Studies, visual representations and culture, de/post-coloniality and gender, race, ethnicity and media, rural and development-communications and transnational and Global South media practices. A scholar, media practitioner and independent curator, her scholarship is interested in the radical re-thinking of archives, community and orality as forms of grounded grass-roots activism that critically reclaims and re-narrates established aesthetics, canons and cultural knowledges. She is the author of several academic articles and book chapters whose writing have been featured in The Journal of Critical Race Inquiry, Atlantis, Topia, Journal of Curatorial Studies among others. She has been a member of Concordia University’s Task Force on anti-Black racism for the past 4 years where she led the sub-committee on Concordia History and Relations with Back Communities. She currently sits on the Advisory Committee for the implementation of the Task Force report as well as on the Board of the Journal Atlantis. 
        Prior to her appointment at Concordia, she held the position of Lecturer in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus. Dr. Abraham brings to academia extensive experiences in media practice and development- communications. As a development-communications specialist, she coordinated several United National funded rural-communications projects in the global South. She also worked as a television news anchor, journalist and talk show host in the Caribbean, and was Features Editor of an international lifestyle magazine in Canada.

She is also an independent Curator of the exhibition entitled: Protests and Pedagogy: Archival Afterlives and the Sir George Williams Affair. Other recent exhibitions include, From the Archives to the Everyday: Caribbean Visualities and Meanings.  
        
 

Academic/Researcher skills

Lecturer, Researcher, Writer 

Independent Visual Curator

Development Communication/Rural Communication Specialist

Community Activist

Journalist 

Media practitioner, Producer

Education

Ph.D:  Communication Studies,  McGill University

MA: Media Studies, Concordia University

BA: Communication Studies,  Concordia University

Teaching and Research Specialization

Black Media and Cultural Studies

Critical Race Pedagogies  

Decolonial, Post/neo-Colonial Representations & Visualities

Gender & Development Communication  

Rural Communications

Media and Propaganda Studies

Media of the Global South

.

 Selected  Publications:

Abraham, Christiana. “Radical Curating, Black Community Archives and the Sir George Williams Affair”, Journal of Curatorial Studies Vol. 12 Issue 2, Oct. 2023, pp. 206-230 https://intellectdiscover.com/content/journals/10.1386/jcs_00093_1

Abraham Christiana, Robertson Kirsty, Smith Sarah (Eds) Special Issue Section, (Guest editorial) Radical Curating in Journal of Curatorial Studies, Vol. 12 Issue 2, Oct. 2023, 

https://intellectdiscover.com/content/journals/jcs/browse

Abraham Christiana, Robertson Kirsty, Smith Sarah E.K. ‘Leaving the Museum: The Case for Radical Pedagogy’ Journal of Curatorial Studies, Vol 12/ Issue 2. Oct. 2023, pp. 199-204 https://intellectdiscover.com/content/journals/10.1386/jcs_00092_2

Jasor O. Cummings R.  Mohabir N. Abraham C.  ‘Towards a Post-Apologetic University’ TOPIA, Vol 47.  Pp. 243-244. (Fall, 2023) https://utpjournals.press/doi/full/10.3138/topia-2023-0036

Abraham, Christiana. “I won’t take bail until we all get it” Gender, Black Power, 1960s Student activism and the Sir George Williams Affair: An interview with Brenda Dash TOPIA: Journal of Cultural Studies, Special Issue: The Sir George Williams Affair, Vol. 44, (Spring: 2022) pp. 47-66 https://utpjournals.press/doi/full/10.3138/topia-2021-0019

Abraham, Christiana. “Critical Curating as Decolonial Practice: 'Protests and Pedagogy’: Representations, Memories and Meanings Anatomy of an Exhibition” TOPIA: Journal of Cultural Studies, Special Issue: The Sir George Williams Affair, Vol. 44, (Spring: 2022) pp 67-93

https://utpjournals.press/doi/full/10.3138/topia-2020-0018

Abraham, Christiana. (2021) “Toppled Monuments and Black Lives Matter (BLM) Racial in/Justice: Race, Gender and Decolonization in the Public Space; An Interview with Charmaine A. Nelson”. Atlantis: Critical Studies in Gender, Culture and Social Justice. (Spring: 2021) Vol 42.1 pp. 14-31

https://journals.msvu.ca/index.php/atlantis/article/view/5552

Abraham Christiana. “A Trial to Remember: Memories of the Sir George Williams Court Trials - An interview with Judge Juanita Westmoreland-Traoré” in The Fire That Time: Transnational Black Radicalism and the Sir George Williams Occupation (Eds. Ronald Cummings, Nalini Mohabir) Montreal: Black Rose, 2021, pp. 47-68

https://blackrosebooks.com/products/cummings_mohabir-the-fire-that-time

Abraham, Christiana. “Visualities of ‘Difference’: De-constructing gendered ‘Third World’ subjects in Representations of Canadian International Aid” (Chapter 11) in Towards an African-Canadian Art History: Art, Memory, and Resistance (Ed. Charmaine Nelson) Captus Press, Concord, Ontario, 2018  

https://info.captus.com/Catalog?BookNumber=1276

Abraham Christiana. “Race, Gender and Difference: Representations of ‘Third World Women’ in International Development”, Journal of Critical Race Inquiry, Vol. 2, No. 2 (2015) pp. 4-24  

https://jcri.ca/index.php/CRI/article/view/4723

Abraham Christiana. “Feminism, Postcolonial” In The Encyclopedia of Political Science, edited by George Thomas Kurian. Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2011. http://library.cqpress.com/teps/encyps_579.1 

Curating and Research Creation:

Curator: “Protests and Pedagogy: Archival afterlives and the Sir George Williams University Affair” Black Studies Institute, Dalhousie University, Halifax NS,  Feb 21-March 26, 2024

Curator: “Protests and Pedagogy: Archival afterlives and the Sir George Williams University Affair” Congress 2023 & The Archives of Ontario; May 27 - September 2023

Curator; “Protests and Pedagogy: Representations, Memories and Meanings: The Student Press in Dissent”, Pop-up archival exhibition, Media Gallery, Dept of Communication Studies March 14-28, 2019

Curator; “Protests and Pedagogy: Representations, Memories and Meanings”,

Archival exhibition on the 50^th Anniversary of the Sir George Williams University 4^th Space, Concordia University, Jan 29- Feb 18, 2019

Curator; (with CIDIHCA) Invited Exhibition: “From the Archives to the Everyday: Caribbean Visualities and Meanings” Harriet Tubman Institute for Research on Global Migrations and African People, York University Ontario, Canada, June – October 2018

Curator; Invited Exhibition: “From the Archives to the Everyday: Caribbean Visualities and Meanings”. The Canadian Association of Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CALACS) Annual Scholarly Conference (May 16-19, 2018), UQUAM Montreal. 

Curator; Exhibition: “From the Archives to the Everyday: Caribbean Visualities and Meanings”. This photographic exhibition explored the meaning of (CIDIHCA) archival photographs of the Caribbean. The exhibition utilized an innovative research approach that prioritized perspectives of meaning interpretants.   Webster Library, Concordia University (February 01 - March 28, 2018) 

Committies Advisory Boards, Research Collectives:

Advisory Committee Member: President's Taskforce on Anti-Black Racism, Concordia University, Implementation of Taskforce recommendations
https://www.concordia.ca/provost/initiatives/task-force-anti-black-racism.html

 
Editorial Board Member: Atlantis, Critical Studies in Gender, Culture and Social Justice 
https://journals.msvu.ca/index.php/atlantis

Invited Presentations:

March, 28, 2024, Artist talk Protests and Pedagogy: Archival afterlives and the Sir George Williams University AffairDalhousie, University

February, 23, 2024 presentation: ‘Introducing Protest and Pedagogy Exhibit’. 

Symposium on Black Methods in Science, Technology and Innovative Research in Canada and beyond, Black Studies Institute, Dalhousie University, Halifax NS. 

September 22, 2023, Presentation: Archival afterlives and Black lives: Critical Curating as Decolonial Practice” Toronto Metropolitan University, Conference, Mobilizing Ontario’s Black Archives (MOBA).

May 30, 2023, Curatorial talk: “Archival afterlives and Black lives: Critical Curating as Decolonial Practice”. Archives of Ontario, (Open programing), Congress 2023

May 31, 2023, Round table discussion: “1969: Visualities of a Protest” Archives of Ontario, (Open events) Congress 2023

May 06, 2022, presentation “The Windrush and the children left behind: Invisible narratives of migration, recognition and belonging at ‘The post-Windrush Generation- Black British voices of Resistance’ colloquium, Cambridge University UK, May 6-7, 2022

May 06, Participant: Round table discussion:  Narratives of Windrush and migration. At The post-Windrush Generation- Black British voices of Resistance’ Cambridge University United Kingdom, May 6-7, 2022

May 27, 2021: Round table discussion: “Critical Curating, Decolonial Practice: Protest and Pedagogy and the ‘Sir George Williams Affair” special round table on curating at opening of Center for Sustainable Curating launch, Western University, (Special Invited Presentation)

October 24–26, 2019:  Paper: “Critical Curating as Performative Intervention” and Decolonial practice:  Anatomy of an exhibition - the 1969 Sir George Williams Student Protest” in Conference:  Decolonization, Social Movements and Performance in the Caribbean and Canada 1968- 1988.  York University.  Special Invited Presentation

January 29, 2019:  Talk: “Protests and Pedagogy: Representations, Memories and Meanings”. Presentation to opening ceremonies:  Curatorial Introduction to archival exhibition.

October 2008: “Implications for Proposed Broadcasting Act, Trinidad and Tobago”.  University of the West Indies Forum on Broadcasting, UWI, St. Augustine, Trinidad

Conference Presentations:

October 22, 2021:  Conference presentation Radical Curating Panel: “Critical Curating, Decolonial Practice: Protest and Pedagogy and the ‘Sir George Williams Affair’” University Arts Association of Canada (UAAC) Annual Conference, Online Format, 2021 

June 01 2021: Conference presentation: “Race, Gender, Media and the Production of ‘Difference’: Third World Women in International Development Representations” (Panel: CommunicationsSoWhite#:  Canadian Style: Colonial Technologies of Power in Canadian Communication association annual congress #COMS So White. Online format, Annual Congress of the Social Sciences and Humanities

June 02, 2022, Round table discussion participant: #CommunicationsSoWhite# II: Canadian Style: Erasing Race inCanadian Communication Association (CCA) annual congress.  Online format, (Annual Congress of the Social Sciences and Humanities).

May 16-19, 2018:  Paper: “Not Without My Radio: Radio and Hurricane Maria in Dominica” The Canadian Association of Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CALACS) Annual conference May 16-19, 2018, UQUAM Montreal.

May 16, 2018: Talk: “From the Archives to the Everyday: Caribbean Visualities and Meanings”.  Oral presentation, Opening Ceremony. The Canadian Association of Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CALACS) Annual conference May 16-19, 2018, UQUAM Montreal.

November 13, 2016:  Paper “De/Colonizing Gendered Embodiment in Heritage Tourism.” National Women’s Association Annual Conference (Decoloniality). Montreal, Quebec, Canada

May 2014: Paper: “Performing Indigenous Culture through human displays: Colonial Imaginaries and Post-colonial meanings in Dominica’s ‘Carib Village’.  Canadian Association for Latin American and Caribbean Studies annual Congress, University of Laval, Quebec City, Quebec 

April 2013: Paper: “‘Difference’ and Development: Racialization and ‘third world’ women in Representations of Canadian International Development.

Simone de Beauvoir Anniversary conference, “Rethinking Race and Sexuality: Feminist Conversations, Contestations, and Coalitions”, Concordia University, Montreal Quebec, Canada, 

November 2012: Paper: “Visualities of ‘Difference’: De-constructing Gendered ‘Third World’ Subjects in Representations of Canadian International Aid”.  

University Art Association of Canada (UAAC-AAUC) Annual Conference, Concordia University, Montreal  

May 2010: Paper: “Violence in Black and White: Representations of Violence in Trinidad's News Frames”.   Caribbean Studies Association, Annual Conference, Barbados. 

October 2009:  Paper: “Race and Representation in HIV/AIDS Public Service Announcements in the Caribbean”. Rethinking the Mangrove, University de Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. 

November 2008: Paper: “Images of Third World Women: Race and Gender in CIDA Development Representations”. Critical RACE and Anti-colonial Conference ‘Racing Hegemonies, Resurging Imperialisms, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 

November 2007:  Paper: “Images of Development: Challenging Difference and Disjuncture through Discourses of Representation”

Centre for Gender and Development, University of the West Indies, Lunch time series, UWI St. Augustine, Trinidad

June 2006: Paper: “Images of Development:  Third World Women, and Development: Race, Difference, and Disjuncture through discourses of representation”. Canadian Communications Association, (CCA) York University, Toronto, (Annual Congress of the Social Sciences and Humanities).

September 2002:  Paper: ‘Panache Magazine: The Politics of Displacing the Legacy of the Savage Woman’. Conference: “Color, Hair and Bone: The Persistence of Race in the twenty-first century” Bucknell University, Bucknell, Pennsylvania, USA