Chris Campbell
CHRIS CAMPBELL
UWinnipeg Alumni
Christopher Campbell (he/him) is an alumni of The University of Winnipeg, having completed his BA(Hons) in English and Philosophy (2010) and his MA in Cultural Studies (2011). He is currently a PhD candidate in Education at the University of Manitoba, focusing on 2SLGBTQ+ topics in the context of education reform.
He has worked for over 10 years as a research coordinator for Dr. Catherine Taylor’s RISE Research Program on 2SLGBTQ+-expansive education (www.uwinnipeg.ca/rise). During that time, Chris worked on several national, large-scale projects focusing on 2SLGBTQ+ topics in education, including the Every Teacher Project on LGBTQ-inclusive Education (2011-2017), and the National Inventory on School System Interventions (2013-2016), the RISE Project on 2SLGBTQ+-expansive Teacher Education (2016-2021), and he was co-investigator on the Second National Climate Survey on Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia in Canadian Schools (2018-2021). He also works as a research assistant for Dr. Robert Mizzi’s CRC in Queer, Community, Diversity in Education. Until April 2021, he worked as a research assistant with Dr. Rusty Souleymanov’s Village Lab on the Manitoba 2SGBQ+ Men’s Health Study.
What is your favourite dance tune?
Maybe it’s cliche, but it always gets me going (and it’s perfect to sing-shout along to): Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody.” I absolutely love (and miss) the House of Gold Diamonds dance parties and can’t wait for them to return!
What book/novel/play/poetry collection/textbook would you recommend everyone to check out during Pride Week, or any other week of the year?
One of my most and least favourite questions… I am a voracious reader and love books, so I always have trouble picking one. The book that leapt to mind first when reading this question was A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. It’s not the most comfortable book to read, and (despite the question) it’s not for everybody and there have been some valid criticisms about some triggering content in it. There is something about it that has stayed with me for years though. There’s a sensitivity to the characters and they develop slowly, change and grow, and it felt like being part of someone’s life.
I’m also currently reading Stephen Ball’s Foucault, Power, and Education for my doctoral research, and finding some very interesting discussions about how Foucault’s power/knowledge concept can be applied to educational policy and legislation — something that is particularly salient given the proposed Bill 64, The Education Modernization Act currently being contested in Manitoba.
What podcasts do you enjoy?
I’m not a huge podcast guy and I mostly save them for road trips, but I really enjoyed S-Town when I listened to it a couple years back and I always try to make time to listen to The Secret Life of Canada.
What film(s) or television show(s) feature stories that have resonated with you?
I’ve been watching an incredible amount of television during the pandemic, and I’ve realized that it’s shows about making connections with others, making family, and finding purpose that really stand out for me right now. I absolutely adore Star Trek: Discovery and I recently rewatched the entire series for the sheer comfort and adventure of it.I’ve also loved watching Pose and got completely swept up in it because it so beautifully depicted the vibrancy and resilience of the ballroom scene and the importance of family. I’ll also give a shout out to Hacks, a brand new one that I just finished and that is lingering in my thoughts; it’s a comedy and a drama, lots of heart.