IGNITE Book Club

IGNITE Book Club is designed with and for racialized faculty to allow for the exploration and discussion of memoirs written by renowned racialized authors.

Designed to open up space and stimulate dialogue and discussion around race and leadership, IGNITE is one of several key initiatives that recognize and embrace the diversity of our faculty community, and provide an intentional space for racialized faculty to share their experiences.

Join us for a special evening as we create joy and IGNITE change. IGNITE Book Club is organized and hosted by Minelle Mahtani, senior advisor to the provost on racialized faculty, with support from the UBC Equity & Inclusion Office.

Upcoming Events

Please check back soon for more events.

Past Events

On June 30, Dr. David Chariandy, award-winning author of ‘Brother’, will be in conversation with Dr. Ayesha S. Chaudhry about her new book, ‘The Colour of God’. By revisiting a series of pivotal moments in her life, Dr. Chaudhry examines the colonial, racialized, and gendered beliefs and ideals with which she was raised. Braiding together Western, South Asian and Quranic storytelling styles, Chaudhry weaves her personal experiences with social commentary, and invites us to reimagine our ideas of self and family, state and citizenship, love and loss. This final IGNITE! event of the year is not to be missed.

Hosted by: Dr. David Chariandy, Dr. Ayesha S. Chaudhry

Watch the recording of the event.

Joining Dr. Dallas Hunt in conversation with Dr. Jenny Heijun Wills, author of the award-winning memoir, “Older Sister, not Necessarily Related.” This powerful memoir tells a beautiful, haunting story about transracial adoption: a brilliant, courageous and poetic tale of race, gender, and sexuality.

Hosted by: Dr. Dallas Hunt, Dr. Jenny Heijun Wills

Watch the recording of the event.

Join Desmond Cole, author of The Skin We’re In, for an evening of discussion and connection.

Hosted by: Candis Callison, Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Journalism and in the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies

Join Annahid Dashtgard, author of Breaking the Ocean: A Memoir of Race, Rebellion, and Reconciliation, for an evening of discussion and connection

Hosted by: Shirin Eshghi, Head of UBC Asian Library

Join Randy Boyagoda, author of Original Prin, for an evening of discussion and connection

Hosted by: Ian Williams, Assistant Professor at UBC Creative Writing

Join Tessa McWatt, author of Shame on Me, for an evening of discussion and connection

Hosted by: Annette Henry, David Lam Chair in Multicultural Education in the Faculty of Education at UBC

Join us for a virtual engagement with Eternity Martis as she discusses her book They Said This Would Be Fun: Race, Campus Life and Growing Up.

Martis' work provides a clear-eyed, powerful depiction of racism on Canadian campuses, opening up a timely dialogue on what it means to be an IBPOC individual in academia. Hosted by Minelle Mahtani, UBC's senior advisor to the provost on racialized faculty.