R. Cassandra Lord (on sabbatical until January 6, 2025)

Associate Professor

Phone: 416-946-0292

Areas of Interest

Black/feminist theory
Queer studies
Transnational feminism
Critical geography of race, space and place
Critical race studies

Biography

Dr. R. Cassandra Lord is an Assistant Professor Sexuality Studies in The Department of Historical Studies, Women and Gender Studies Program at UTM, with a graduate appointment in WGSI.

Lord earned her  B.A. (Hon) (Visual Arts and Women and Gender Studies, University of Toronto),  her M.A. (Sociology in Education, OISE, University of Toronto)  and her Ph.D. (Sociology in Education and Women and Gender Studies, OISE, University of Toronto) . She has received a number of awards for her service and teaching within the university, and in recognition of her organizing in queer communities in Toronto. Lord specializes in black queer diaspora (Canada/US and the Caribbean), black/feminist theory, queer studies, transnational feminism, critical geography of race, space and place, and critical race studies.

Lord is presently working on her book manuscript tentatively titled “Performing Queer Diasporas: Friendships, Proximities and Intimacies in Pride Parades” which examines the public performance of “Pelau MasQUEERade,” a Caribbean queer diasporic group that participates in the annual Toronto Pride Parade. The group insists on new ways to belong by reaching out transnationally to the Caribbean and other diasporic sites as a way to envision how kinship, forged out of queer diasporic practices of affiliation, can be used as a model to build community from various vantage points.

Education

B.A. Hons, University of Toronto (Visual Arts and Women and Gender Studies)

M.A., University of Toronto (Sociology in Education)

PhD, University of Toronto (Sociology in Education, Women and Gender Studies)

Teaching

Undergraduate Courses:

Theories of Sexuality

Fundamentals of Research in Women and Gender Studies

Graduate Courses:

Queer of Colour Critique