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Faculty Spotlight: Liz Canfield

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canfieldRecognized for her heroism and the pursuit of a better society, Assistant Professor of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies Elizabeth Canfield plays many roles – large and small – in the LGBTQ community and beyond. In spite of her modest tone and cool demeanor, it seems there is not a social organization in Richmond she has not touched or improved in some way through her hard work and positive attitude.

Since 2011 she has taught a course in the Richmond City Jail that bridges writing, art and community-based theorizing to equalize the intellectual marketplace for the incarcerated, and free, people of the city. The course is part of OPEN MINDS, a program co-sponsored by the Richmond City Sheriff’s Office and VCU that offers dual enrollment classes held at the Richmond City Jail. These classes challenge all students, incarcerated and free, to think critically about the social problems surrounding crime.

“All of our cultural production is around critical and creative things that we’re reading and looking at that deal with issues of gender, economy, politics, and race.” Her course includes a writing workshop, music, and visual arts.

“Because art and activism are so much a part of my life, the more traditional academic lifestyle doesn’t appeal to me.”

She recently won the Presidential Award for Community Multicultural Enrichment from VCU’s Office of Multicultural Student Affairs for her work in the jails, as well as her activism within the LGBTQ community on and off campus. Liz is also co-chair of VCU’s Lavender Graduation, bringing attention to the achievements of the student LGBTQ population. She is a faculty adviser to Queer Action at VCU, a student a group devoted to providing resources to the community as well as partaking in both activist and social events.

Canfield believes activism can take any number of forms, and to see it oftentimes involves looking in the right places and making oneself vulnerable in new ways. “Is it nonexistent or am I just unable to see it? If I just shifted my view a little bit, would it already be there? There’s some really gorgeous stuff, if you’ll just look for it.”

One example is The Cluster Project, founded by Kinetic Imaging faculty member Bob Paris, to eliminate cluster bombs. The project’s activism includes artwork highlighting the disconnect of public consciousness from drone warfare.

“It’s really robust and gorgeous, but it’s not like a few thousand people in the street. So where does this activism take place and how effective is it? I think these are questions that folks are asking themselves across the board.”

She also works with the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance focusing on what the anti-violence movement needs to do to accommodate LGBT people. Action Alliance is the group responsible for the Red Flag Campaign of posters around campus encouraging people to speak up when they see “red flags” in friends’ relationships – signs of abuse, isolation, and other forms of domestic harm.

Liz forges close relationships with many of her students. She says her students are engaged, passionate people, and she has hope for the younger generation. “What I see in students is a whole lot of passion and a whole lot of emotion. What I see is a lot of folks not knowing where to direct that stuff. The greatest thing about learning is when you get pissed off about the fact you didn’t know about that before! That’s a very exciting moment.”

Written by James Galloway


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