R. Cassandra Lord

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.

Research Interest

Black queer diaspora, black/feminist theory, Caribbean studies, critical geography of race, Critical race studies, Diaspora studies, Queer studies, space and place, Transnational feminism