Call for Graduate Student Researchers to support joint Faculty of Music/Ethnography Lab Research Project in Kensington Market

The Faculty of Music and the University of Toronto Ethnography Lab would like to hire one or two graduate student researchers to support the joint research project “Keeping Kensington “Kensington”: Value and Affordability in Toronto’s Kensington Market,” supported by the Connaught Community Research Partnership Program.

This two-year collaborative project between Ethnomusicology and the Anthropology Department’s Ethnography Lab aims to meet the needs of resident-led activist organization Friends of Kensington Market (FOKM) and the Kensington Market Business Improvement Area (KMBIA) for research on the complex interplay of value, (un)affordability, and culture that challenge this distinctive Toronto neighborhood. Faculty and graduate students in ethnomusicology and anthropology will conduct team ethnographic research and work collaboratively with FOKM and KMBIA to (1) document what community members consider to make their neighborhood unique, valuable and worth defending; (2) identify and contextualize the forces that support or threaten that uniqueness; (3) create innovative forms of knowledge that represent the complex stakes of the changes facing Kensington Market; and (4) persuasively communicate those stakes and values to city representatives and other local decision makers in ways that lend themselves to actions, events, processes and relationships that advance the organizations’ goals.

This community-university partnership develops and galvanizes already-existing relationships initiated through the Ethnography Lab’s ongoing Kensington Market Research Project (KMRP) and Dr. Farzaneh Hemmasi’s SSHRC-funded research on music, sound, and noise in Kensington Market. The positions begin in late January/early February and runs to August 2021, with a possible extension through Summer 2022.

Duties and Responsibilities: The Graduate Student Researcher will be responsible for:

• Reading and comprehending the history and background of Kensington Market in a timely manner
• Compiling bibliographies of relevant media documents and academic and policy materials relevant to processes unfolding in the Market
• Preparing for and participating in occasional methods workshops and reading group meetings
• Conducting ethnographic research in/on Kensington Market
• Participating in regular consultations with community partners
• Participating in creating and presenting innovative forms of knowledge that serve the goals of community research partners
• Participating in producing a project archive as well as updating and uploading documents to the KMRP Dataverse digital archive

Qualifications: The candidate for the Graduate Student Researcher will have the following qualifications:

• Be enrolled in a doctoral program in sociocultural anthropology or a similar discipline at the University of Toronto
• Previous experience with conducting and reading ethnography
• Be an enthusiastic learner with strong organizational skills
• Ability to work independently and meet deadlines
• Ability to collaborate with others

Assets: Candidates with the following traits will be considered an asset:

• Interest in issues of urban gentrification and community/neighbourhood activism
• Familiar with or a resident of Kensington Market or the surrounding area
• Experience with working collaboratively on team research projects
• Experience with engaged research and/or with community organizations
• Interest in or experience with multi-modal and/or non-academic forms of research communication

Remuneration: Payment will be $35.00/hour + vacation & benefits, in accordance with UofT employment rules. Applications for the Graduate Student Researcher position are due January 15th, 2021 at 6pm. Shortlisted candidates will be contacted on January 18th.

Applications must include:

• CV
• Short bio (100 words)
• A paragraph (max. 250 words) explaining your qualifications for the position.

Send all inquiries and application documents to Ethnography Lab Senior Researcher Andrew Gilbert at andrew.gilbert@utoronto.ca and project PI Farzaneh Hemmasi farzaneh.hemmasi@utoronto.ca.