The University of Toronto’s Kinesiology and Physical Education Graduate Society (KPEGS) held its annual Bodies of Knowledge (BOK 2022) conference on May 17, 2022.
About the Conference
BOK is a conference run by graduate students, for graduate students, covering a broad spectrum of inter and multi-disciplinary issues related to health, sport, and physical activity. All subject areas are encouraged to submit an abstract. BoK’s purpose is to provide early career researchers an opportunity to share research and engage in important conversations relevant to the field of kinesiology, sport, and physical education.
This conference theme for 2022 was “Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion - Reflexive Considerations for Research Practice and Design”. The objective of centering BoK around this theme was to foster the continued growth of our field towards innovative, impactful research that strives for excellence and challenges systemic inequities and exclusion within and beyond the field of kinesiology. The 2022 conference featured discussions on decolonization and equity, diversity, and inclusion in research practice and design. This included consideration of factors including, but not limited to race, disability, ethnicity, gender identity, age, sexuality, and culture.
To accomplish this objective and foster reflexive awareness, the conference featured keynote speakers and student panelists specializing in decolonization, equity, diversity, and inclusion in research and innovation.
Who Should Attend?
The 2022 BOK conference was open to all graduate students (research and professional) and researchers. Programmers, policymakers and others are also encouraged to attend.
There was no cost to register. In 2022, the registration fees are covered by the gracious support of the Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education, the U of T KPE Graduate Society, and Dr. Jo Ann Wilton.
Conference Programme
conference schedule
Morning Sessions
| Time | Item | Details | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8:30 - 8:45 a.m. | Welcome Remarks | Dean Gretchen Kerr, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education, University of Toronto Access: https://utoronto.zoom.us/j/87049486660 Passcode: 570152 |
|
| 8:45 - 10 a.m. | Presentations Session #1 | Session 1.1 Physical Cultural Studies A Access: https://utoronto.zoom.us/j/82388138756 Passcode: 308329 |
|
| 10 - 11 a.m. | Keynote #1 | Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) in Research and Innovation: Methodologies and Best Practices Access: https://utoronto.zoom.us/j/87049486660 Passcode: 570152 |
|
| 11 - 11:15 a.m. | Break | ||
| 11:15 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. | Presentations Session #2 | Session 2.1 – Physical Cultural Studies B Access: https://utoronto.zoom.us/j/82863764496 Passcode: 943957 |
Session 2.2 – Biophysical & Behavioural Studies A Access: https://utoronto.zoom.us/j/88069487221 Passcode: 408375 |
| 12:30 - 1 p.m. | Lunch Break | ||
Afternoon Sessions
| Time | Item | Details | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 - 2 p.m. | Keynote #2 | Decoloniality and Anti-racism in Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation Access: https://utoronto.zoom.us/j/87049486660 Passcode: 570152 |
|
| 2 - 3 p.m. | Student Panelist Question & Answer |
Strategies for inclusive and equitable research in kinesiology, sport and physical education from graduate student perspectives Access: https://utoronto.zoom.us/j/87049486660 Passcode: 570152 |
|
| 3 - 3:15 p.m. | Break | ||
| 3:15 - 4:30 p.m. | Presentations Session #3 | Session 3.1 Biophysical & Behavioural Studies B Access: https://utoronto.zoom.us/j/84757129326 Passcode: 610657 |
Session 3.2 Biophysical & Behavioural studies C Access: https://utoronto.zoom.us/j/87836418338 Passcode: 875275 |
| 4:30 - 5 p.m. | Closing Remarks | ||
| 7 - 10 p.m. | Student Social | Join us in person at Madison Avenue Pub 14 Madison Avenue, Toronto, ON M5R 2S1 |
|
Keynote speakers and presentations
Dr. Nicole Kaniki is the inaugural Director of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Research and Innovation at the Office of Vice-President Research and Innovation at the University of Toronto. In her role, she examines, advocates and advances EDI in all aspects of U of T research, innovation and entrepreneurship. That includes serving as an advisor and resource to researchers at all levels, leading workshops, developing training programs and contributing to U of T’s EDI goals more broadly.
Dr. Kaniki is the former Special Advisor on Anti-racism to the President of Western University and has over six years of experience in research administration and EDI roles in academia. She holds a MSc Kinesiology, and a PhD Health and Rehabilitation Sciences from Western University.
More recently, she completed a MA Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies at Western doing research in Black Feminist Narratives in the Academy. Dr. Kaniki has a passion for social justice and uses an anti-racism and decolonization framework in her EDI work.
Dr. Janelle Joseph is the inaugural Critical Race Scholar in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education at the University of Toronto. Dr. Joseph is an award-winning scholar and the Founder and Director of the Indigeneity, Diaspora, Equity, and Anti-Racism in Sport (IDEAS) Research Lab.
She is a current holder of a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Insight Development Grant, an editorial board member for the Sociology of Sport Journal and a Director at Large for the Academy of Leisure Sciences. She is the Director of Research for several organizations including Race Equity Consulting and Training also known as REACT, and the Black Canadian Coaches Association, also known as the BCCA.
She has authored and co-edited three books. Her most recent text is Sport in the Black Atlantic: Cricket Canada and the Caribbean Diaspora. Dr. Joseph’s research focuses on decolonizing sport studies, anti-racism movements among athletes and educators, intersectionality within African diaspora physical cultures, and imposter phenomenon.
Keynote Presentations
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in Research and Innovation: Methodologies and Best Practices
This session will provide a foundational understanding of what equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) is as it relates to the research environment and research practices. We will discuss how you can embed EDI in your research process from inception, development, implementation, and knowledge mobilization, and look at examples of EDI in sports and movement science research.
Objectives
1. To be able to define and understand the foundational concept of EDI and how it relates to the research environment
2. To understand how to embed EDI considerations and best practices in research methods and methodologies
3. To discuss current case studies of how EDI has been excluded from research in sports and movement sciences
Decoloniality and Anti-racism in Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation
This session will provide a foundational understanding of (de)coloniality as it relates to post-secondary education, the study of Kinesiology, and the practices and administration of sport and recreation. The session will explore how to challenge racism and expose the dominant epistemology as only one way of understanding human movement across the many sub-disciplines of kinesiology.
Objectives
1. To define and contrast coloniality and decoloniality
2. To recognize and challenge colonial patterns and practices in sport and recreation and their research
3. To celebrate the ways racism is resisted through the movement cultures of many racialized communities
Get in touch
For additional updates, please visit the Kinesiology and Physical Education Graduate Society’s (KPEGS) Facebook page or Instagram.
Questions? Looking to get involved?
Please e-mail BOK Coordinators, Maggie Chen (magg.chen@mail.utoronto.ca) or Melissa DeJonge (melissa.dejonge@utoronto.ca).