Aaron Hughes – författare

This book provides the first historical examination of the study of religion in Canada. While secular departments of religious studies would not emerge in Canada until the late 1960s, the teaching of religion under the guise of divinity, theology, the Bible, and moral philosophy has been omnipresent for much of the country’s history. The gradual transformation from the teaching of religious truths at denominational theological colleges to the non-denominational and secular study of religion at universities was a lengthy and complicated one.From Seminary to University examines this transformation against a much broader backdrop. It is not simply the history of individual departments scattered across the nation. Instead, the story reveals the many non-academic forces that made those departments possible, such as the creation of the United Church of Canada, the adoption of multiculturalism, and the introduction of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In recounting this transformation, From Seminary to University illuminates an important part of Canadian history.

Islam: A Canadian Story amplifies the voices of those Muslims who have helped shape Canada over the past 150 years and beyond – and argues that, amid all these diverse voices, we nevertheless witness the creation of a distinctly Canadian version of the religion.Far from being recent arrivals, Muslims have lived in Canada since the mid-nineteenth century, if not before, arriving alongside other early immigrant communities such as Jews, Germans, and Ukrainians. Like these groups, they have put down roots, built institutions, and contributed to the country’s social, cultural, and religious life. This book asks: Who are Canada’s Muslims? When and why did they first come, and why do they continue to arrive? Where have they made their homes, and, perhaps most importantly, how have they understood and practised their religion in a Canadian context?Drawing on rich historical sources and lived experiences, Islam: A Canadian Story offers a sweeping account from the first recorded Muslim settlers in the nineteenth century to today’s diverse communities. It situates Muslim stories within the broader history of religion in Canada, challenging assumptions about belonging and reminding readers that Islam is not foreign to Canadian soil – but firmly rooted in it.

Accompanying the exhibition curated by artists Ginsburg and Hughes, this book brings together artwork and writing by torture survivors, artists, and scholars.Remaking the Exceptional: Tea, Torture, & Reparations | Chicago to Guantánamo, published on the occasion of the exhibition at DePaul Art Museum, brings together activists, artists, poets, and torture survivors to investigate and resist the ecosystems of violence that connect Chicago to the US military prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Edited by artists and co-curators Amber Ginsburg and Aaron Hughes with Aliya Hussain (Center for Constitutional Rights) and Audrey Petty (Illinois Humanities), Remaking the Exceptional features new pieces of investigative journalism on the connections between military and police torture by Kari Lydersen (Medill School of Journalism) and Maira Khwaja (Invisible Institute), Spencer Ackerman’s 2015 Guardian exposé “Bad Lieutenant,” reflections on struggles for justice and reparations by Aliya Hussain, Alice Kim, and Aislinn Pulley, essays on art and resistance by Mansoor Adayfi, Marc Falkoff, and Tempestt Hazel, as well as interviews with Chicago and Guantánamo torture survivors. The richly illustrated catalogue is interspersed with poetry and artwork pairings by former and current imprisoned artists creating a virtual dialogue across carceral systems. The aim of the publication is to uncover moments of beauty, poetry, and shared humanity within and despite the traumas of state violence.