Karie Liao
Assemblage: As theorized by philosophers Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, assemblage may be a composition of living things and objects (full or partial) to create a whole—albeit one that is liable to shift and re-compose. Theodore (ted) Kerr adopts this process-oriented definition of assemblage in his ongoing research practice that links media artifacts, objects, and histories with the present. Assemblage may also be used as a framework to describe diverse things: photographs (Kerr); media rhetoric (Ahadi in SDUK07.2); or the operations of a gold mine (Halpern, SDUK06).
Bodymind is a linguistic sleight most often used by disability justice scholars to reinforce the inseparability of embodiment and cognition. This phrasing rebuffs the Enlightenment-era dualism which sought to elevate the human mind over the body; in merging them, experiences of disability, trauma, gender, sexuality, and psychology are engaged on different terms. See “Holding the Door Open for Change” for reflections on embodiment in gender-inclusive healthcare.
Correspondence: the act of communication through exchanging letters, phone calls, text messages, or emails. While telecommunications and the internet have increased the speed and frequency of correspondence, printed postcards and handwritten letters continue to be useful for disseminating research (see Kerr), as well as maintaining personal relationships despite isolation or distance (see Eng and Li; see also ephemera).
With etymological “roots” in agriculture, cultivate has come to mean all kinds of improvement by labour, care, study, or encouragement. Cecily Nicholson’s poetry engages the term’s original meaning, through turns of phrase that critically link settlement agriculture to Canadian nation-building. In Amanda Huynh’s contribution, cultivation is doubly evoked through the literal growth of Indigenous foods, and the metaphoric growth of diasporic bonds through cooking.
Though scholars debate whether diaspora exists as an imagined community or a coherent social group, the term commonly refers to a transnational group identity or community of people who have moved or been dispersed from their homeland(s). Diaspora carries shared consciousness, or emotional attachment to culture and land despite generational differences or places of residence (see Huynh; Kurd). The lasting effects of resettlement can include emotional struggle, loss of cultural and familial history, traditions, language, or knowledge (see Kahil, Omar, Maghbouleh).
From invitations, trading cards and tickets, to pamphlets and zines, to bottle caps, cigarette cartons and candy wrappers—ephemera refers to any printed matter bearing text that is not a bound book. Ephemera are often transient everyday items produced for specific and time-delimited use. Often posted in public space, ephemera can be used for communication, outreach, and making emotional or spiritual connections. Art and activism have a shared history using ephemera to challenge or transgress dominant narratives and official histories (see Kerr).
Exile: Forced or voluntary displacement from one’s home or nation. Historically used as a form of punishment, exile most often refers to the widespread effects of geographic displacement and loss (see also diaspora). Beyond its physical implications, exile is an affective and psychological state resulting from geopolitical conflict (such as colonialism or border enforcement; see Nazzal and Kurd on the forced exile from Palestinian homelands). In Chak’s illustrations, exile is seen to be a liminal state resulting from prolonged barriers to citizenship (see also status).
Fatigue: Physical or mental exhaustion (see Nicholson); a military uniform; or indifference caused by repeated exposure (as in donor, voter, or compassion fatigue). Sustained fatigue can be caused by social determinants of health, including race, class, disability, or trauma (see Nazzal). As determinants of health are better understood to include these factors (among others), fatigue is increasingly recognized as a chronic effect of overwork, anxiety, and structural oppression.
Fugitivity: Fleeing captivity and seeking freedom from persecution. In US history, the meaning is linked to Fugitive Slave Laws (1793, 1850) which implied that an enslaved person was acting criminally to escape bondage. While the term emerged from conditions of slavery, Black and Indigenous scholars and activists are reclaiming the word to describe disengagement from structural racism, state oppression, and settler-colonialism (see Nicholson; refusal).
Grammar: The classification system of a language, largely focused on structure and relationships between words. With linguistic education often prioritizing grammar, Eng and Li discuss how an over-investment in correct grammar causes unwarranted disapproval or shame (see also Chun and Dion Fletcher in SDUK10; and hegemony). Grammar can also refer to a set of principles; see Mohamed (SDUK10) for social norms (or “grammars”) challenged through protest and song.
Businesses and institutions that provide healthcare for profit compose a network called the medical-industrial complex (MIC). Related to the military- and prison-industrial complex—terms used to describe profit-driven militarism and incarceration—MIC refers to the increased privatization of healthcare, and its regressive implications on public policy and medical practice. As Griffith asserts, the MIC prioritizes profit and disproportionately excludes marginalized, disabled, and gender-diverse bodies from adequate care.
From the Latin nutrire, “to feed, nurse, foster, support, preserve," to nourish is to provide sustenance. To be nourishing is to encourage strength, good health, or growth in living beings, such as water’s energizing force on humans, animals, and plants (see Olive in SDUK01; Murphy, SDUK02). Grappling with the uncertain future of food security, Amanda Huynh finds physical and emotional nourishment from food through the making of Diasporic Dumplings.
First used in reference to dial-up internet, offline has come to mean disconnection from everyday media: being off the internet, away from cellphone service, or not checking email (see also data; algorithm). Theodore (ted) Kerr uses “offline” to discuss his relational and archival research into histories of HIV/AIDS. In this context, offline research is necessitated due to gaps and errors in historical records; but equally, it’s a methodology to bridge past and present with care (see also oral history).
Resettlement: Government-funded programs designed to support displaced people through financial, educational, and cultural resources. Often navigating unfamiliar and traumatic experiences, resettled refugees face innumerable socio-economic challenges. Kahil, Maghbouleh, and Omar share the experience of Syrian mothers as they resettle their families in Canada, while preserving their home language and traditions (see also Liao).
Security: A sense of protection from possible harm or depletion; or barriers to freedom, for example through access control, military defense, surveillance, and identity management. Tings Chak reflects on the securitized spaces of prison and migrant detention centres as sites of exclusion. For social costs of security and data securitization, see Cochrane and Halpern in SDUK06.
In immigration law, status describes a set of privileges or limitations given by a governing body, such as their legal freedom of movement or action. Non-status holders—whether by omission, revocation, or an overstayed visa—are often criminalized by the state, and thereby face threats of detention or deportation (see Chak). Self-organized migrants including farm workers, care workers, international students, and their allies mobilize communities to demand full and permanent status for all refugees and migrants (see Liao; migrant justice).
A textile is a woven fabric or cloth. Textiles communicate messages about individuals and groups of people; their materials, patterns, weaving styles, and images bear connection to the community in which they are made (see Amiri). Since textiles can be easily transported, weaving has emerged as a way to retain and reclaim cultural knowledge for diasporic communities (see Kurd; diaspora).