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Arts & Entertainment

In conversation with Linda Gaboriau

by Jonathan Giammaria on

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In the world of prestigious literary awards, writers of fiction and poetry often occupy most headlines across major media platforms. Many awards, however, broaden their focus to more accurately capture contemporary literature’s breadth of exciting work. Alongside drama, non-fiction, and young adult literature, Canada’s prestigious Governor General’s Awards features the category of literary translation. 

Linda Gaboriau claimed this top honour with her translation of Wajdi Mouawad’s play, Tous des oiseaux this year. Translated into English from its original French under the title Birds of a Kind, the family drama focuses on the issues of heritage and identity within the heated context of modern-day Israel. Having collaborated with the playwright for over 15 years, Gaboriau has translated several of Mouawad’s previous works, with many of them tackling controversial explorations of interpersonal conflicts within topical contexts. 

Born in Boston, Gaboriau moved to Montreal in 1963 to pursue French Language and Literature at McGill, where she obtained both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in the subject. In an interview with The McGill Tribune, Gaboriau spoke about how she had not always considered that literary translation could be a profession to pursue. 

“I had not thought of being a translator [….] I had one course in translation. It was so deadly boring,” Gaboriau said. 

Gaboriau has since translated over 125 pieces of fiction, most of them novels and plays, and has also undertaken a profession as a dramaturg. Gaboriau noted that the collaborative nature of translation stimulated her work and eventually changed her initial judgement on the discipline.

“The most meaningful, appealing thing about [translation] is to work that closely, that intimately, with writers,” Gaboriau said. “I really feel that writers […] are the witnesses of our time. They’re people who really take the time to look more deeply into what’s going on in human nature or in the political [and] social world around us. To be working side-by-side with people who have taken that risk of trying to raise their voices in the wilderness [is] fantastic. It’s a great privilege.”

This will be Gaboriau’s second Governor General’s Award in collaboration with Mouawad, having previously won the same honour for Forests. Gaboriau noted why his work in particular excited her: In addition to her respect for the source material, she shared the interesting reason why Mouawad wanted Tous des oiseaux translated to begin with. Gaboriau explained that, though Mouawad wanted to write his play in French, he didn’t want it to be performed in French. 

“[Mouawad] was going to write the play in French so that he was writing the story he wanted to tell,” Gaboriau said. “But it would then be performed in English, German, Arabic, and Hebrew, with French subtitles for the production in Paris.” 

Whether the work is groundbreaking or more humble in ambition, Gaboriau stressed the importance of maintaining the integrity of a text. The danger of reinterpreting a text comes from diluting its tone or meaning in the process of translation. Even after over 35 years of work, Gaboriau admitted that she sometimes doubts the accuracy of her translation. Gaboriau explained that, just as with any artist, translators obsess over tiny changes that could improve their material, even years after its publication. Nevertheless, Gaboriau noted that the meticulous nature of her work is what makes her work so fulfilling.

“What I love about translation is that it’s very exacting, it’s like lacework,” Gaboriau said. “It’s really like a very delicate handicraft. You’re alone in your study and you’re focusing on language and you’re weaving it.”  

Ask Ainsley, Private, Student Life

Ask Ainsley: Coming home for the holidays

by Ainsley on

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Dear Ainsley,

I’m dreading going home for the holidays and seeing my family again, and this fear has been hanging over me since midterms. My parents can be really strict and critical, especially about my weight, grades, and struggles with my mental health. The prospect of seeing them again and facing that criticism is daunting, especially since the holidays are already unusually stressful and triggering for me.

How should I cope with this while studying for finals, and how can I prepare emotionally for being back home?

Sincerely,

Not So Sweet Home (NSSH)

Dear NSSH,

It is natural to feel anxious when awaiting the judgement of your family. After all, they are likely very important to you, and their opinion will always matter. Remember  that because they are critical, your parents may focus on the negative. However, you shouldn’t let reminders of your errors make you forget your successes.

If you are worried about your parents putting pressure on your academic performance, a good strategy is to remind parents of your achievements. Start conversations with anecdotes about the courses you were passionate about or extracurricular activities you excelled in. At the end of the day, your parents want to know what you enjoyed about your university experience, so let them know how you made your time at school worthwhile.

It can be very difficult when parents are critical of weight. Firstly, it is important to remember that your parents have not seen you in a long time, which means any bodily changes may come as a surprise. Recognize that any comments will most likely be exaggerations. Additionally, bear in mind that  you are still growing. It is natural to grow into your late teens and 20s—in fact, some medical professionals consider adolescence to last until 24. Finally, embrace any changes. Try your best to be confident with your body and acknowledge that there is nothing wrong with a change in weight. With holidays coming straight after finals, your stress levels could cause temporary weight gain, and this fluctuation is normal.

Finally, criticisms of your struggles with mental health can be especially triggering. As with anything that requires a high level of empathy, it is important to be in constant communication with your family about how you feel. Nobody should trivialize your mental health struggles. If your parents do not understand your challenges, confront them if you feel safe to do so. When in doubt, speak to your peers; you may find that you are not alone in your situation, and there are others who are suffering similarly. You may find comfort in the fact that mental health struggles are common at university: According to the American Psychology Association, 41.6 per cent of college students suffer from anxiety, and 36.4 per cent suffer from depression. Tell your parents about how specific reactions make you feel, and how these feelings can sometimes be overwhelming. If you have the resources, seeking professional help can be useful to give your parents insight into your mental health struggles. 

Ultimately, your family should always want the best for you. Keep in communication with them and let them know how you feel. Try to get their support. However, sometimes your parents may be too critical, and that is not your fault.

Good luck!
Ainsley

McGill, News

Lecture on Alberta energy demystifies fears of western alienation

by Pascal Hogue on

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The 2019 Canadian federal election might have highlighted a political divide between Alberta and the rest of Canada on issues like the environment and energy; however, as visiting Eakin Fellow Melanee Thomas noted in a lecture at the Faculty Club on Nov. 21, Albertans are not that different from other Canadians. Her talk, “Balancing ‘Competing’ Interests: How Albertans Think About Energy Transition” was organized by the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada (MISC).

Thomas’ research shows that 59 per cent of Albertans believe that the province should move away from oil and gas and 86 per cent believe in a shift towards renewable energy.

Thomas, who was born and raised in Lethbridge, Alberta, is a professor at the University of Calgary. She drew on her personal experiences and her perspective as a political scientist to sketch a nuanced portrait of political attitudes in the province. She presented the results of a study her research group completed after the federal election about Albertans’ views on climate change and oil and gas, which focussed particularly on demographics, political attitude, and the effects of colonialism. Her research yielded surprising results that demonstrate that, while Albertans believe in human-caused climate change, fewer are worried by its effects.

“It’s interesting that the association between believing that climate change is anthropogenic and being worried about it is not […] a guaranteed one,” Thomas said. “What’s more interesting is that for people who believe that people are causing [climate change], [there are many] who are not worried at all. So, for me, belief is maybe not necessarily the most important thing, it’s the ‘so what?’.”

Thomas highlighted the complex and often counter-intuitive attitudes held by different socio-demographic groups of Albertans. Socially-conservative Albertans, for example, tend to support parties that endorse environmental protection initiatives.

“In parts of rural Alberta the Green Party does reasonably well, because [they are] about [environmental] conservation,” Thomas said. “There is something about the type of person who would [oppose] issues like abortion and equal marriage and LGBTQ rights, [and] about how […] that also makes them more open to [other progressive ideas like] conserving nature.”

During her lecture, Thomas remarked how Albertans are not as ideologically different from other Canadians as the popular perception might suggest. She noted that sentiments of western alienation and support for Albertan separatism, known as #Wexit, are shared by only a minority of people in the province.

“The elite discourse, I don’t think its is a good representation [of our province],” Thomas said.

For Nathan Collett, U2 Arts and Science, Thomas’ findings were surprising and informative.

“The idea that social conservatives [might be] more supportive of conservation efforts is kind of a weird idea that I’d never thought of before,” Collett said.

Francis Lee, U2 Arts, explained how the lecture forced him to re-evaluate his perceptions of Alberta.

“I thought that the only thing they cared about was oil and gas and that they hated climate change [and] renewable energy sources,” Lee said. “But as it turns out, […] a lot of people do care about the environment and the community they live in. [Once they realize that oil and gas] can hurt their communities, they’re willing to change their opinions, and [that] gives me a lot of hope [for] Canada’s future.”

Off the Board, Opinion

Lessons from my hometown

by Kevin Vogel on

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I grew up in a trailer park in Upstate New York. Having moved several times throughout my early childhood, I remember moving into the trailer with my mother and brother as an exciting moment: Even though I had to share my bedroom, it was the largest one that I had ever lived in. However, that naïve enthusiasm did not last. Floods in 2006 and 2011 devastated the region, and during the 2016 presidential election most Upstate counties, including Broome County where I lived, voted for Donald Trump. Living in one of the most economically downtrodden parts of the state, many of my high school friends and I dreamed of getting as far away from our hometown as possible.

If someone asked me what the area I grew up in is like, I would probably tell them how while New York is generally a blue state, Upstate has a distinctly conservative culture. I went to church on June 28, 2015—the Sunday after the Supreme Court declared bans on same-sex marriages in the United States unconstitutional: I remember my local pastor giving a fire-and-brimstone sermon about how Barack Obama and the courts intended to destroy the moral framework of “our” country. Further, many people in the area uncritically ignore the fact that Broome County has the highest incarceration rate in the state and profits off of the prison-industrial complex.

During my first year of university, my mom moved to a different town, my brother joined the Army, and I settled in Montreal full-time. Over my breaks from school, I worked various jobs instead of going back home. Outside of the occasion visit  for Christmas, I have virtually no more ties there. I have never met a single person from my town at McGill.

However, despite my general apathy about the area and its conservatism, I do have fond memories of growing up there. While my hometown is still far from perfect, it has things that a city such as Montreal can never fully offer: I miss buying corn and pumpkins from my friend’s family farm, walking around in nature, eating wild berries, and seeing a full sky of stars at night. While Taylor Swift’s “You Need to Calm Down” music video, and mass media more generally might depict a neighbourhood like mine as full of “trailer trash” and write off poor white communities as beyond saving, growing up in this environment taught me otherwise. My experiences not only made me who I am today, but also give me hope that things can be better.

My time in the trailer park taught me how important it was to show solidarity with those in need. When I started working for the first time, I did not think it was unusual that some of my paychecks went to my mom to help her pay the bills. Similarly, in 2011 when remnants of Storm Lee brought 12 inches of rainfall and flooded the upper Susquehanna River basin, I remember community members coming together to help out the thousands of people displaced by the floodwaters. Some volunteered at shelters, and others set up grills to feed anyone in the neighbourhood who needed a meal. These circumstances illustrate the resiliency of people living in Upstate.

Given this tenacity, I find hope that the Upstate area is not doomed to remain in a state of perpetual malaise. The prejudices and conservatism that turned me away from the region do not exist in a vacuum—the compassion shown by the community throughout my life suggests a potentially more inclusive future. While I doubt that I will ever return there, to simply write off my hometown serves no purpose. Taking the lessons in generosity I learned growing up there into my adult life is the least I can do.

Research Briefs, Science & Technology

Big discoveries from tiny rodents

by Zoe Karkossa on

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In the past decades, the field of neuroscience has made astounding progress toward unravelling the intricacies of the human brain, but much of how it functions remains terra incognita. Adrien Peyrache, a researcher at the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) and Canada Research Chair in systems neuroscience, studies how brain structures that control navigation are linked to long-term memory storage, and how sleep plays a role in both of these important functions. 

Peyrache mostly conducts his research on mice. They are surprisingly intelligent creatures with exceptional navigational skills that allow them to maneuver as easily in darkness as in broad daylight. When mice roam around, visual and spatial orientation information is sent to specific neurons deep in the brain known as head-direction (HD) cells. At a population level, these cells function like the needle of a compass: Specific neurons are activated when the head is facing a certain direction. As the mouse turns, other nearby neurons activate, and the compass needle turns. The brain’s navigation system integrates this compass with other inputs, such as the animal’s travelling speed. It then encodes its position in a ‘cognitive map’ located in the mouse’s hippocampus, a region of the brain associated with memory. 

During sleep, the brain does not simply turn off; rather, many regions are surprisingly active.  The movement of a mouse’s brain ‘compass’ during rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep is almost identical to when it is awake. The ‘needle’ of the compass spins at the same speed as if the mouse were actually roaming freely. 

“It’s like the cortex doesn’t know it’s asleep,” Peyrache said. 

The same structures that are involved in spatial navigation are crucial for consolidating long-term memory, since both involve encoding movement through time and space. How exactly this relationship functions is still unknown, but Peyrache is confident that the data his team have collected so far confirm an important link. His work suggests that, while this phenomenon may occur because inactive neurons quickly die, there could be a link with memory consolidation.

Many complementary methods are used to study mouse brains. One of the main techniques is electrophysiology, which consists of using electrodes to record single neuron firings. Arrays of these electrodes are implanted in the brains of mice, who are then free to roam painlessly while data is collected.

Mice are a useful study subject for many reasons, including the similarity of their brains to other mammals, their small body size, and the vast array of tools that have been developed to study them. Research conducted on rodents can also lead to important human applications. Peyrache has been striving to make this transition in his work for many years, most recently in collaboration with the human electrophysiology unit at the MNI.

“[Our work] is basically bridging the gap between human and animal electrophysiological research,” Peyrache said.

Although electrophysiological technology is quite invasive, there is already a human population set up to further such research. For example, certain patients with epilepsy have electrodes implanted in their brains for clinical purposes, namely to identify the region in their brain responsible for their epileptic episodes. Peyrache compares the human brain to a building to describe how these electrodes work: Electroence (EEG) lets researchers hear a murmur through the walls, intracranial electrodes allow them to listen to conversations through the door, and macroelectrodes let them listen to a single person speaking. If the researchers hear someone speaking nonsense, then they have found the damaged population of neurons.

Peyrache’s work is at the forefront of research regarding single-neuron recording for the brain. Although his planned research on humans is not yet at the stage of ethical approval, it carries great potential. He expounds the virtues of both theoretical and application-driven scientific research.

“Science is not an easy world, but it’s also fantastic and inspiring,” Peyrache said.

McGill College Ave. at Christmas (Melanie Simon / McGill Tribune)
Commentary, Opinion

Scrooge was right

by Makena Anderson on

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Although no consensus exists on what marks the beginning of the holiday season, I believe it occurs sometime between the first snowfall and the release of Starbucks seasonal drinks. The season marks the end of the year, and for students, a highly anticipated winter break. Though celebrated by many as a time of love, joy, and peace, not everyone welcomes the holidays with such enthusiasm. In fact, traditional festivities can serve to exacerbate feelings of stress and anxiety throughout the month of December for many people. The taxing nature of the holiday season is detrimental to some and offers reasons for abandoning traditional perceptions of the holidays this year.

 Dubbed ‘the most wonderful time of year’, there is immense pressure to live up to an impossibly high standard of joy during the holiday season. The reality of winter break is seldom full of as much holiday cheer as one is led to expect. In reality, people generally have overly ambitious expectations leading up to events and, as a result, will often be disappointed when their expectations are not met. Unfortunately, social media does little to inhibit this bias. Instagram feeds full of picture-perfect decorations, gingerbread-house building, and laughing families further inflate expectations and increase the pressure to emulate that joy.

McGill schedules only two weeks without classes or exams, which inherently advantages certain students over others. While the break period at McGill allows some students the time to return home, for others, the short break doesn’t offer enough time to travel long distances, especially when travel costs peak during this time of year. While some services exist in residences, such as the Holiday Hosting program, McGill ultimately does little to support students who are unable to return home during the holidays.

 The spirit of the holidays is pervasive in Christmas songs, cheesy holiday movies, and the umpteenth cup of eggnog, further increasing pressure to be jolly. Yet seldom do these holiday tokens encourage one to relax or de-stress. Instead, the holidays have become synonymous with stress-inducing trips to the mall, endless strings of tangled lights, and pine needles covering the living room in the case of Christmas. While it may not be necessary to part from long-standing traditions entirely, it is important to acknowledge the consumptive nature of the holiday season and the associated impacts it can have on one’s mental health. The modern holiday season aims to please the consumer, yet these habits are financially and environmentally unsustainable, and are likely to lead to increased stress levels in shoppers.

 Besides the pressure to enjoy oneself and balance the dichotomy of tradition versus sustainability, people experience the December blues for other reasons as well. General feelings of stress and anxiety are common. In fact, a 2006 study revealed that 61 per cent of participants experience stress often or occasionally during this time. Some contributing factors include increased financial strain, anticipating intrafamilial dynamics, and maintaining personal health habits.

 For many, the holidays mean balancing limited time between various family groups. With a finite amount of time, students with large or disjointed families are forced to fill their schedules with brunches, lunches, and dinners to ensure they make time for everyone. The short break does not allow all students to take the necessary time to relax and instead may be a substantial source of additional stress.

 Instead of attempting to enjoy the holidays at all costs, one should acknowledge feelings of stress and anxiety in themselves and their peers this December and take time to relax when needed. For students, winter break should be a time to rest and refresh for another upcoming semester. It is time to abandon the conventional image of the holidays and acknowledge that winter break can’t always be full of eggnog, ice-skating, and gifts. In the end, the holidays are not the end-all and be-all, in fact, they are only another season.

Sports

An open letter to female sports fans

by Zoe Babad-Palmer on

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Dear fellow female sports fans, 

It has been a mixed couple of decades for us. We’ve seen the enactment of Title IX and the success of Bianca Andreescu. Interest in sports is growing among younger women: In 2014, 48 per cent of women under 50 reported being interested or very interested in sports, compared to 36 per cent of women over 50. Gender distribution among NFL fans is almost equal, with 47 per cent of viewers being female.

I am inspired to see female sports fans work together and lift each other up. When I first got into sports, I was lucky enough to find a group of women online with whom I was comfortable talking, and that made a huge difference for me. 

But, at every turn, and with every instance of progress, our position with the sporting world has been called into question. If we follow women’s sports, we are told that no one cares, that there will never be an audience, and that they are not as entertaining, so we should watch real (men’s) sports. If we follow men’s sports, we are incessantly badgered with demands to prove that we are “real fans.” Do we only follow them because of our fathers? Our boyfriends? Do we only care about the attractive players? 

We keep watching, though. We support women’s leagues, even when the arenas are tiny and the players only have time to practice in between working their full-time jobs. We put up with patronizing pink merchandise from our favourite teams. We gather our friends and go to games, ready to wield memorized rosters, statistics, and historical facts in case we need to demonstrate that we fit men’s definitions of a “real fan” and win their approval.

Every woman who loves sports has faced opposition, and it breaks my heart to think about all the women who have stopped interacting with online fan communities because they grew tired of misogynistic slurs. And, when I think of the women who are hounded for daring to criticize a beloved player and are then told that they have to either be a girl or a sports fan, that heartbreak turns into rage.

Besides the harassment that we put up with both in person and online, we also have to live with the knowledge that there are athletes in our favourite leagues with histories of domestic violence, that male fans often do not care about. Abuse from famous athletes flies under the radar because a case was dropped for lack of evidence, or a settlement was reached outside of court, or the victim was afraid for her life. The knowledge that violence against women is treated as a speed bump in a player’s career is enough to make most women want to change the channel.

Even if you do not find the same community as I did, do not let that deter you from watching your favourite teams and supporting your favourite players, because you do not owe it to anyone to explain or defend your position as a sports fan. And, remember that there are other women in the same position, sharing the same experiences. 

So, with all that said, keep being amazing, (female) sports fans. I have a feeling that it’s only going to get better for us.

McGill, News

TEDx McGill holds annual conference on theme of ‘pushing the envelope’

by Kate Addison & Magdalena Nitchi & Jackie Lee & Tasmin Chu on

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TEDxMcGill’s annual conference was held on Nov. 16 and featured nine presentations from students, innovators, and business leaders notable for their actions that tested the limits of possibility. 

Emma Lim 

Emma Lim is a climate change activist and U0 Science student at McGill. As an organizer of Climate Strike Canada, Lim has been striking from school for climate justice since November 2018. Since then, she has become well known for her #NoFutureNoChildren Pledge, whereby she states that she will not have children until the government takes greater action to combat climate change. Lim talked about how Canada is currently not on track to meet acceptable greenhouse-gas emissions levels. 

“Canada isn’t […] on track to meet our Paris Climate Agreement goals, which would be just a 30 per cent reduction [in] emissions below early–2000s levels. Instead, we declared a national climate emergency and, less than 24 hours later, announced the purchase of a $4.4 billion pipeline expansion project.” 

Lim called on activists to go beyond making environmentally friendly changes in their own lives and pressure corporations that contribute to climate change. 

“The most impactful and powerful thing you can do as a young person, or even an older person, living in our society is to point your finger. Point your finger at the people who are responsible for this crisis,” Lim said. 

Tristan Surman

Tristan Surman is a U2 Arts student and filmmaker who has been planning events with the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) since the age of 15. After working as a multimedia editor for The McGill Tribune Surman moved on to a position in Johannesburg creating documentaries about local education.

Surman talked about how his organization, My Media Creative, works with artists to develop multimedia campaigns and provide learning experiences.

“There are so many tools that are way more accessible than ever, and if we actually want to empower young people to change discourses, to create innovations, […] we need to empower them with the tools that will actually get [their ideas] into people’s heads,” Surman said. “We need to expand the toolkit so [that] we can help people become more motivated students. [But] when we are empowering people with these communicative and creative skills, we need to adopt a different method of learning.”

Surman urged schools to break from the current mainstream method of teaching, incorporate more diverse ways of learning into their curricula, and provide more purpose-driven opportunities to students.

“How do we provide the conditions so [that] people can learn and do?” Surman said. “If we make sure people are empowered [with a tool set, provide] them a little bit of structure so [that] they can execute something, and link their learning to [a] purpose, [then we can make sure] that people can keep on doing great things and learn while doing them.”

Viveca Lee

Viveca Lee is a U2 Science student at McGill who is passionate about normalizing conversations about mental illness. Having recovered from anorexia nervosa as a teenager, Lee hopes to destigmatize the societal perception of eating disorders. In addition to her community outreach work, Lee holds a position as a research assistant at the Biopsychosocial Examination of Eating Patterns (BEEP) Lab.

Lee explained that despite eating disorders’ high mortality rates, these conditions remain insufficiently understood in our society.

“People with eating disorders are blamed for their condition,” Lee said. “They often get told things like, ‘Stop doing this to yourself.’ […] But eating disorders are not a choice. They are serious mental illnesses that affect at least one million people in Canada alone. […] When I had anorexia, it felt like my body was possessed by a demon that was constantly controlling my thoughts and actions.”

According to Lee, the behaviours that patients display are attributed to their disorder, and not their personality.

“I was in denial [that I had an eating disorder],” Lee said. “And denial is a common, characteristic symptom of anorexia nervosa. […] Although there isn’t a clear understanding of what exactly causes this lack of awareness, [research] suggests [that] starvation induces this defective information processing. […] These research findings […] validated my feelings of worthlessness and confusion for not being able to control my thoughts and actions.”

Aren Bezdjian 

Aren Bezdjian is a PhD candidate in Experimental Surgery at McGill’s Faculty of Medicine. He is internationally recognized as one of the few to have published 30 peer-reviewed scientific articles before the age of 30. 

The first section of his talk discussed the issue of incorrect interpretations of data from scientific studies. News outlets and social media platforms often take information out of context and draw false conclusions to receive public attention.

“Just because you find a correlation doesn’t mean [that] you can make a [false statement],” Bezdjian said. “A cursory reading of the abstract and title [of a scientific study] is not sufficient to make conclusions.” 

In the second half of his talk, Bezdjian explained how sound travels through the human body via bone conduction and emerging applications of this knowledge, discussing his work developing innovative hearing implants for deaf children. 

“Through these implants, [we have] allowed children to connect with the sound of their mother’s voice,” Bezdjian said. “This has [had] huge benefits in their development and quality of life.” 

Bezdjian concluded by advising the audience to remain critical of the information they consume and to take advantage of the brain’s neuroplasticity to continuously learn and improve. 

“Seek, and you will find answers to the ‘how’ and the ‘why’ [of the world],” Bezdjian said. “Passion is not innate. It is developed through life experiences [that] wire and rewire the brain.” 

Album Reviews, Arts & Entertainment

Highly Suspect misses the mark in experimenting with new sounds

by Tatianna Sitounis on

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In a world where most rock heroes are either aging or have already passed away, it is hard not to get excited when a promising young rock band like Highly Suspect appears. After the success of their first album, Mister Asylum, which landed the band two Grammy Nominations (Best Rock Album and Best Rock Song), it seemed like they had the music industry in the palm of their hand.

The promise of the band’s earlier work is one reason why it pained fans so deeply when Highly Suspect’s third studio album, MCID, turned out to be a disappointment. Of course bands evolve, as does the ambition that goes into creating a unique album. In this case, the band’s vision of a completely new sound was poorly executed, especially considering the sound and success Highly Suspect has already achieved. 

The album is inconsistent in its overall sound, with each song pulling the listener into completely different genres: From hip hop on “Tokyo Ghoul,” which features Young Thug, to “16,” which reflects the band’s former rock/groove sound. Throughout the album, there are intermittent, lo-fi tracks such as “Tetsuo’s Bike” and “Juzo,” which bring the listener, once again, into a different soundscape.

Frankly, the album is difficult to sit through. It lacks coherence and the lyrics are often rudimentary, even cringey. Take, for example, the opening track, “Fly,” wherein the last quarter of the song, the lead singer, Johnny Stevens, gives random shoutouts: “Shout out to Pam the cat / Shout out to Jolene the dog,” not adding anything to the music or the sound. 

Sadly, MCID is a confusing, poorly executed attempt at bridging gaps between genres. Although this album sorely missed the mark, listeners shouldn’t give up on Highly Suspect just yet. Their past work proves that the group is capable of bringing more to the table in the future.

1.5 out of 5 stars

McGill, News

Award-winning Harvard University professor Maya Jasanoff presents at McGill

by Deisha Paliwal on

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Harvard history professor Maya Jasanoff drew a crowd of over 100 attendees to the McGill Faculty Club on Nov. 13, where she delivered the annual Cundill Lecture. Jasanoff, who serves as the Coolidge Professor of History at Harvard, received the 2018 Cundill History Prize for her book The Dawn Watch: Joseph Conrad in a Global World. Established in 2008 by McGill alumnus F. Peter Cundill, the prize is awarded to one book annually on the basis of its profound literary, social, and academic influence in the field of history. In her lecture, Jasanoff detailed the journey of her novel and its subject, Polish-British writer Joseph Conrad. 

Christopher Chanco, a PhD student in the Department of History & Classical Studies, introduced the audience to the broad scope of Jasanoff’s writing.

“In her writing, Dr. Jasanoff has been exploring the global through the granular, finding the historical in the literary, and answering the big questions about global and social change through the lives of nomads and artists,” Chanco said. 

Jasanoff’s lecture was guided by the question, ‘How do you tell a history?’ She began by presenting a set of headlines that one might find in present-day newspapers, such as “Bomb goes off in London: Maybe terrorism.” She was quick to disprove the audience’s hunches. 

“If this looks like a history of our times, let me [correct] you,” Jasanoff said. “Each of these statements is really a description of something that also happened a century ago in a work of fiction; a novel, written by Joseph Conrad.” 

Jasanoff then criticized the common linear approach that historians adopt when trying to understand Conrad’s influences. At first, she also took on this approach, studying the archives of the University of Oxford’s Rhodes House in detail. 

“There, I realized I was looking at literature as a repository of period detail,” Jasanoff said. “I was trying to string together histories without a real purpose to the fiction.”

Jasanoff proceeded to link Conrad to his historical context, placing him in a world with growing colonialism, imperialism, and globalization.

“As I got to know him, I discovered that Conrad did not merely witness the step change of the scale and range of globalization,” Jasanoff said. “He, in certain ways, embodied it in his own global and transcontinental life.” 

In her exploration of Conrad, she found discrepancies between his narrative writings and his historical accounts, as well as a general lack of information. Jasanoff went on to explain that only four per cent of his collected work concerns his life before 1895.

“Conrad left very little documentary trace of the part of his life which would then go on to inform that fiction he spent the rest of his life writing about,” Jansanoff said. 

This posed a problem for Jasanoff, which she navigated by reading around the gaps that he left. 

“Though I cannot reliably get inside anyone’s head, using the tools of a historian, I can begin to figure out the conditions under which a person is operating,” Jasanoff said. 

Jasanoff’s strategy involved comparing her knowledge of Conrad’s environment to how he depicted it in his writing. This method gave her insight into the factors that informed his fiction. Seeking to further understand how Conrad concocted his stories, Jasanoff followed in his path and sailed across the Indian Ocean, where she came to a realization. 

“It was on board this ship that I realized that I was not writing a history of the British Empire,” Jasanoff said. “I was writing a history about globalization, because these ships still take the routes that Conrad took.” 

Yael Halevi-Wise, Associate Professor of English and Jewish Studies at McGill, delivered the closing remarks.

“Maya Jasanoff has shown more broadly that Conrad lived and wrote at the dawn of an era that we [now] recognize as a time of rushed, globalized movements and identities,” Halevi-Wise said. “[She] has compelled us to listen differently, court opportunities for unconventional dialogue, and above all, to [resist] homogeneity.”

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