Welcome
My name is Jamilah Dei-Sharpe. I am a PhD candidate in Sociology and a University Instructor. I specialize in Race and Gender Relations in Canada, focusing on Black Canadian Studies, Masculinities and Decolonial Studies, and I am invested in educational and policy reform. I am an SSHRC Joseph Armand Bombardier Award recipient for my doctoral research on the role of Black men in race and gender-based advocacy in Canada. I am also a critical pedagogue, expressed through my roles as a sociology instructor of Qualitative and Quantitative Methods, Gender and Race courses, an educational consultant, and the founder of the Decolonial Perspectives and Practices Hub. My work on Black masculinity is forthcoming (2024) in The Forgotten Realities of Men (University of British Columbia Press). My work on decolonizing and transformative education is forthcoming (2024) in Feministing in Political Science (Alberta Press), the Handbook of Crises and Transformative Leadership in Higher Education (Bloomsbury Press), Handbook on Equity-Oriented, Discipline-Based STEM Education Research (Springer Nature Group).
About Me.
I am a passionate Ghanaian-Jamaican-Black-Canadian, an emerging Canadian Sociologist, a researcher, scholar and educational consultant. I support students, educators, institutions, and organizations that value Black lives, marginalized knowledge and sustainable approaches to equitable learning.
I am journeying to mobilize my sociological specialization and passions to foster recognition and connectivity among Black scholarly communities. Black feminist, Afrocentric, critical race, anti-colonial and decolonial principles are the bedrock of my research orientation. With my empirical findings and epistemology, I am developing a theoretical framework dedicated to Black male expressivity and creating learning environments that celebrate expertise by racialized people in higher education.
For my doctoral project, “Black Masculinities in Canada: Multimedia Research on Black Men and Gender Advocacy.” I prioritize the voices and agencies of Black men to join Black feminist efforts in eradicating the colonial dehumanization of African bodies racialized, enslaved, and exploited as “Black.” I intend to uncover that diverse men, racialized as Black within Canada, in their daily lives, elevate themselves and empower society. I am ultimately countering the perpetual demonization and marginalization of Black men in western scholarship and mainstream media.
I appreciate your interest in my work.
My Projects & Community Work.
Board of Director (2022-2024)
American Men's Studies Association
AMSA develops the critical studies of men and masculinities globally through the advancement of feminist-informed scholarship. AMSA’s goal is to provide a forum for teachers, researchers, students, artists, and practitioners to collaborate and support one another in a mutually empowering environment.
Lead Researcher (2022-Present)
Decolonizing on Campus
A qualitative research project investigating decolonial perspectives and practices within the academy. Summer 2023 completion date. In collaboration with Dr. Katja Neves.
Co-Founder (2019-2021)
The National Black Graduate Network
The NBGN is an online platform for Black graduate students and students of Black studies to collaborate, share resources, receive mentorship and build solidarity across the country. The NBGN offers the connectivity my colleagues and I have longed for in our academic careers.
Research Analyst (2017)
City of Mississauga
City of Mississauga received platinum status as a Youth Friendly Community from Play Works – a group of provincially recognized youth organizations that work together to encourage communities to open doors and reinvest in youth play. The City was awarded the platinum designation after successfully meeting all 16 key criteria established to obtain the Youth Friendly Community designation.
Guest Speaker (2023)
John Abbott College
An introduction to the history of Black feminism in Sociology to showcase its historical breadth and longevity within North America and how its early identification of race-based sexism, heterosexism, Black male exceptionalism, and white female privilege has had a long-lasting impact on how we understand race, gender, and sexuality today.
Project Manager (2021-2023)
The Anti-Racist Pedagogy Project
The Anti-Racist Pedagogy Project is a video library that showcases pre-recorded talks by local community activists, students and educators in Montreal and Canada and transforms them into anti-racist educational resources for the classroom.
Executive Member (2020-2021)
Black Canadian Studies Association
The Black Canadian Studies Association (BCSA) is a nationwide academic association of scholars, students, artists, and community members who are committed to supporting, engaging in, and furthering the development of Black Studies in Canada to maintain a culture against anti-Black racism and towards Black enrichment, multidisciplinary and cross-human care on a national scale.
Founding Director (2019-Present)
The Decolonial Perspectives & Practices HUB
The DPP Hub is a mobile space and community advancing decolonial pedagogy within higher education with the mission to promote global perspectives and tools to research and learning that make knowledge inclusive, accessible, and respectful of all.
Educational Consultant (2022 Conference)
SALTISE
SALTISE is a professional learning community made up of post-secondary instructors, educational researchers, educational/faculty developers, and instructional designers brought together because of their shared goals of advancing evidence-based pedagogies and educational technologies.
Coordinating Member (2019-2021)
Black Studies Collective at Concordia
The Black Studies Collective at Concordia has been galvanizing multi-stakeholders to institutionalize Black Studies at Concordia University. We co-design conferences and events and mobilize students, faculty, and staff to celebrate and share their contributions to Black Studies.
Features & Media.
Decolonization is not a metaphor
February 24, 2022
McGill’s first panel on Decolonizing Approaches to Research tackles important questions and presents methods for liberating research from colonial theory and practice
ANTI-RACIST VIDEOS HELP TEACHERS DISMANTLE RACISM AND COLONIALISM IN THE CLASSROOM
January 14, 2022
Jamilah A.Y. Dei-Sharpe, gave a closing presentation at Intercollegiate Ped Day 2022 on Jan. 14 and presented her Anti-Racist Pedagogy Project as a tool for educators who want to dismantle colonial and racist systems in the classroom. About 100 people attended the event.
A new network by Black graduate students, for Black graduate students, launches this week
September 2, 2020
With the unveiling of its website on September 4, the National Black Graduate Network officially starts its work to connect and support Black graduate students across Canada
Rap and Modern Love: The Expression of Intimate Masculinity in Mainstream Rap
June 17, 2019
To enliven inquiry into the intimate lives of black men I conducted a qualitative, thematic analysis of the non-hypermasculine expressions of black men toward women in mainstream rap songs.
UTM in the community: Sociology symposium showcases student research
April 5, 2017
Students from U of T Mississauga’s sociology, criminology and law and society courses showcased their research at an experiential learning symposium
‘Decolonizing Approaches to Research’ tackles whitewashing and Eurocentrism in research
February 22, 2022
Dei-Sharpe detailed the predatory relationship that often exists between researchers and racialized participants. She referenced “dehumanizing and exploitative [research] practices”
2021 SWAAC GRADUATE AWARD OF MERIT WINNERS
May 17, 2021
Awarded annually to the women graduate students who have demonstrated outstanding leadership in the university or general community while maintaining exemplary academic records.
Concordian Jamilah is recognized for her role in creating the National Black Graduate Network
July 3, 2020
Black scholars have been demanding equitable space within academic institutions for decades — and the most recent wave of protests against anti-Black racism has brought a renewed focus to this ongoing struggle...
The Rest of the Story
March 20, 2018
Jamila[h] DS shares with us how a professor influenced her life course and her multiple past research experiences concerning minority youth, postpartum depression groups, racial identification and minority status in different multicultural settings
ANTI-RACIST VIDEOS HELP TEACHERS DISMANTLE RACISM AND COLONIALISM IN THE CLASSROOM
January 19, 2022
Our classrooms can mirror oppressive structures in our society. Those who wish to build an anti-racist future can work toward including more narratives, histories and teaching methods in their classrooms.
LAUNCHED: A database of anti-racist educational videos and learning materials
April 19, 2021
PhD student Jamilah Dei-Sharpe’s project addresses the lack of resources tackling systemic racism and discrimination in schools
Faculty Among Thousands Calling for Action on Anti-Black Racism at Concordia
June 16, 2020
A statement demanding Concordia take action on systemic anti-Black racism at the university has been signed by nearly 7,000 Concordians...
Where are the Mothers' Groups? A Pilot Study in Toronto
May 14, 2017
This article examines mothering groups from a sociological perspective by surveying
their intended and unintended effects on society.