We are pleased to announce that Professor Kamari Clarke has been appointed as Director of the Centre for Criminology and Sociolegal Studies, effective January 1, 2024, until December 31, 2028. Professor Clarke was awarded her PhD in Anthropology by the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1997. After holding academic positions at Yale, UPenn, Carleton and UCLA, she joined the University as Distinguished Professor of Transnational Justice and Sociolegal Studies in 2020. She conducts research on issues related to legal institutions, human rights and international law, religious nationalism and the politics of race and globalization.
Professor Clarke has previously served as general secretary of the Association of Africanist Anthropology within the American Anthropological Association, the Associate Editor for Cultural Anthropology of American Anthropologist, the Chair of the Yale Council on African Studies and the Co-Founder of the Yale Center for Transnational Cultural Analysis. She is currently the interim Director of the Center for Diaspora and Transnational Studies. Read the full announcement from the Office of the Dean at the Faculty of Arts and Science, and learn more about Professor Clarke’s academic and professional background here.
“I look forward to serving as the next Director of CrimSL and taking on this leadership role at the University. I look forward to continuing the excellent work that my predecessor, Audrey Macklin, has done and building on it. And with the recent release of the University’s International Strategic Plan, it’s a good time to engage in the implementation of some of the University’s expansive priorities and to continue to expand what is possible around educational pedagogy, student learning and research support and priorities.”
“I’m committed to many of the expected priority areas - student funding, moving to a new building, hiring new faculty to accommodate ongoing teaching needs, and supporting faculty and student diversity alongside the expansion of critical pedagogy," Professor Clarke shares. "However, I still have some time before my terms starts and many have been here much longer than I have so I look forward to spending the necessary time speaking with students, faculty, and staff to hear what they think that I should prioritize over the next five years.”
In addition, Professor Audrey Macklin’s appointment as Director of the Centre for Criminology and Sociolegal Studies has been extended until June 30, 2023. Professor Audrey Macklin (BSc. (Alberta), LLB (Toronto), LLM (Yale) is Professor of Law and Chair in International Human Rights Law at U of T. She teaches, researches, and writes in the areas of migration and citizenship law, gender, multiculturalism, business and human rights, and administrative law. Professor Macklin began her career at Dalhousie Law School and has held visiting positions at the European University Institute, Hebrew University, and University of Erfurt.
Through her scholarship and personal participation, Professor Macklin’s body of work addresses academic and non-academic legal audiences, interdisciplinary scholarly networks, and both governmental and non-governmental organizations inside and outside Canada. Professor Macklin is a frequent commentator in Canadian and international print, radio, and television media, and appears in the documentaries Continuous Journey and The Secret Trial Five. From 1994-96, Professor Macklin was a Member of Canada's IRB, where she adjudicated refugee claims. She was an observer for Human Rights Watch at the Military Commission proceedings against Mr. Khadr in Guantánamo Bay and represented Human Rights Watch as an intervener before the Supreme Court of Canada in two Khadr appeals. Professor Macklin has served as the Director of the Centre for Criminology and Sociolegal Studies since January 2017.
Please join us in welcoming Professor Clarke to her new role and congratulating Professor Macklin on the extension of her appointment.