The Robarts Centre is home to multiple research clusters covering a diverse range of topics that contribute to the field of Canadian studies.
Current research clusters include:
Black Canada provides a space for an integrated examination of the historical, cultural and various expressive productions of people of African descent in the Americas through the lens of Black Canada and four specific humanities and fine arts approaches: cultural studies, history, literature and music.
The Borealis Council provides leadership on scholarly Northern research and educational activities occurring within/at York University. The council focuses on “northern” regions, particularly those in the Canadian Arctic and Subarctic; to foster and facilitate northern scholarship and research through mentoring and supporting external research grant applications.
CIVIS: Urban Governance & Citizenship
Bringing together scholars and members of the community who are actively engaged in the consideration of urban governance in Canada.
CYPIRN (Children and Young People Interdisciplinary Research Network)
We bring together scholars and members of the community who are actively engaged in research and scholarship with and pertaining to young people in Canada.
Diaxporas: Migration Memory Research Collective
Diaxporas is composed of a group of scholars based at York University, public historians, archivists, librarians, and community members who produce and disseminate knowledge of Canada's migrant and diasporic communities’ histories, memories, and interactions with one another and with the general society.
The Environmental Research Group brings together graduate students and faculty at York University studying aspects of the Canadian environment from a broad range of disciplinary perspectives including sciences, social sciences, humanities, fine arts, health, and engineering.
International Higher Education: Ethics, Politics, Labour
This cluster is an interdisciplinary collective of scholars and educators interested in the ethical and political landscapes of international higher education, with a specific focus on how Canada and the USA shape the dynamic global movement of bodies, ideas, practices and infrastructures pertaining to higher education. The cluster is currently in its early days but hopes to open membership to researchers and scholars from other postsecondary institutions.