Migrant activism in digital spaces and in real-life: contesting far-right anti-immigration rhetoric
Faculty Member's Name: Ethel Tungohan
Faculty Member's Email Address: tungohan@yorku.ca
Department/School: Department of Politics
Project Title: Migrant activism in digital spaces and in real-life: contesting far-right anti-immigration rhetoric
Description of Research Project
The goal of this project is to track, via digital platforms and in physical spaces, the diffuse types of migrant mobilization taking place in Canada, in the United States and transnationally. Given heightened political rhetoric against immigrants, migrants and refugees, migrant activists have had to reconfigure their modes of activism in order to be more responsive to the emerging needs of migrants while at the same time also using different, more covert forms of resistance to evade surveillance. The DARE student will coordinate with the supervisor and will devise a project that will lead to a creation of a database that analyzes different forms of migrant activism in the present day, the tactics that they have used, and the coalitions that they form.
Undergraduate Student Responsibilities
Write an annotated bibliography and a literature review tracking different scholarship on migrant activism.
Create a database identifying different migrant organizations, they advocacy pursuits, and their coalitions.
Undertake participant observation of various forms of migrant mobilization, including the upcoming International Migrants Alliance (IMA) migrants' tribunal to be held in Toronto in May 2026.
If needed, conduct one-on-one interviews with migrant activists.
Qualifications Required
The student should be in 3rd or 4th year, have knowledge of immigration policies in Canada, and be familiar with various digital platforms including TikTok and Instagram.
Interested in this project posting?
Submit your resumé and unique cover letter for this projects to the faculty supervisor. Deadline: February 6, 2026 by 4 p.m.