Lisa Ariemma

Lisa Ariemma (she/her) is a third-year PhD student at the University of Toronto’s Centre for Criminology & Sociolegal Studies, with a collaborative specialization at the Centre for Diaspora and Transnational Studies. Her work focuses on solidarity, mobility and citizenship issues – particularly in the Mediterranean space – and applies a de-colonial, interactive and horizontal approach. Published in journals such as the American Journal of International Law Unbound and Research in Social Movements, Conflicts and Change, she was a Fellow at the University of Toronto's Evasion Lab and is on the Advisory Committee of the Research Cluster for the Study of Racism and Inequality. Lisa has conducted lectures at the Balsillie School of International Affairs, the PEGASUS Institute and McGill University Summer School and at the University of Toronto’s Centre for Criminology and Sociolegal Studies, Centre for Diaspora and Transnational Studies and Department of Gender Studies. She has participated in conferences and festivals in Europe, North America, North Africa and West Asia, has led transnational advocacy campaigns and managed Mediterranean youth cultural initiatives. Lisa devotes volunteer hours assisting people on the move in border areas.

Selected Publications

• Ariemma, L., Bailliet, C. & Torres-Salas, N. (2025). Solidarity as a Shared Goal, Human Right or Direct Action. American Journal of International Law Unbound. 119:30-35.
• Ariemma L. & Burnside-Lawry. (2016). Transnational Resistance Networks: New Democratic Prospects? The Turin-Lyon railway and No TAV movement. Protest, Social Movements and Global Democracy Since 2011: New Perspectives, Research in Social Movements, Conflicts and Change. 39:137-165.
• Burnside-Lawry, J. & Ariemma L. (2015). Global governance and communicative action: a study of democratic participation during the planning for the Lyon-Turin rail link. Journal of Public Affairs. 15(2):129-142.

Presentations

• “Aspirations, Borders & Freedom of Movement: Solidarity Stories,” guest lecture, Borders seminar course, Centre for Diaspora & Transnational Studies, University of Toronto, March 2026.
• “More-than-Human Factors & Migration in the Mediterranean Space: Silent Accomplices?” 7th Annual Socio-Legal Studies Graduate Student Symposium, York University, April 2025.
• “First Night on the Border: Migration in the Mediterranean Space,” guest lecture, Migration, Mobility, and Displacement in Contemporary Africa seminar course, Department of Gender Studies, University of Toronto, March 2025
• “Theoretical and practical legacies of Fanonian thought today”, panel discussant, Alienation, Violence and Migration in North African Post-colonial Society,  Sousse, Tunisia, February 2025.
• “Organized Crime and the No TAV Movement,” Organized Crime and Corruption seminar course, Centre for Criminology and Sociolegal, University of Toronto, November 2024.
• “Solidarity as a Shared Goal, Direct Action, or Human Right?” panel member, Solidarity, Migration & Law Workshop, New York University, May 2024.
• “Silent Accomplices in the Mediterranean Space,” 12th Annual Justice, Crime, and Deviance: Graduate Research and Networking Conference, Wilfred Laurier University, Brantford, Canada Campus, April 2024.
• "Aspirations, Borders and Freedom of Movement: Mobility & Notions of Citizenship in the Mediterranean Space — The Case of the French-Italian Alpine Border," seminar (conducted in English & Spanish), Summer Institute in Peace, Health and Sustainability Hosted by PEGASUS Institute and McGill University Summer Institutes, online, 6 June 2023.
• "Risking Your Life for a Better Life," Librissimi: Toronto Italian Book Festival, Toronto, ON, 7 May 2023.
• "Aspirations, Borders and Freedom of Movement: Mobility & Transnational Solidarity in the Mediterranean Space," seminar, Centre for Criminology & Sociolegal Studies, University of Toronto, 11 October 2022.
• "Aspirations, Borders & Freedom of Movement: Mobility in the Mediterranean Space," seminar, Balsillie School of International Affairs, University of Waterloo, 4 October, 2023.
• "Results of the Our Mediterranean Campaign" (conducted in French), Forum des Mondes Méditerranéenne," Marseilles, France, 7 February 2022.