Gruszka, Kaira

Kaira Gruszka

MA Candidate | Experiential

BAH Anthropology, University of Guelph

Sociology

Queen's University

Currently my research interests relate to examining transformative justice as a way to address female offending. While transformative justice is not a new concept, its popularity has been steadily increasing in recent years as a means to reduce criminal behaviour through addressing the root cause of criminality, alternatively to state-sanctioned punishment. With debate surrounding its effectiveness in successfully repairing harm and reducing recidivism, I would like to explore how using the lens of transformative justice has the potential to reduce and prevent crime through a nuanced understanding of the social and structural conditions which allow it to persist.

Knowledge in the Making: Understanding Social Complexity

Date

Tuesday April 7, 2026
9:00 am - 4:00 pm

Location

Mackintosh-Corry Hall, B201

The Sociology Graduate Student Association (SGSA) warmly invites you to join us for our Annual Sociology Graduate Student Conference, Knowledge in the Making: Understanding Social Complexity, taking place on April 7 from 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM in Mackintosh-Corry Hall, B201.

This conference will feature presentations from graduate students across the department, showcasing a wide range of sociological research and perspectives. It will be a great opportunity to engage with emerging scholarship, support our graduate researchers, and connect with colleagues in the department.

Light refreshments and lunch will be provided for participants and guests.


Agenda

9:00-9:20 am | Coffee & Chat

9:20-9:30 am | Opening Remarks

9:35-10:30 am | Session 1 - Crime, Policing, and Corrections: Practice and Policy

10:35-11:50 am | Session 2 - Diverse Experiences of Knowledge Production and Consumption

11:50-12:50 pm | Lunch

12:50-1:45 pm | Session 3 - Time and Temporality

1:50-2:55 pm | Session 4 - Digital Media, Technology, and Experiences

3:00-3:45 pm | Session 5 - Work and Labour

3:45-3:50 pm | Closing Remarks

In/Access and Mobile Cartographies of Social Justice

Date

Friday March 27, 2026
11:00 am - 5:15 pm

Location

Robert Sutherland Hall, Room 202 & Mackintosh-Corry Hall, Room A311

Criminology & Socio-Legal Studies Conference 2026: Systems, Individuals, and Publics

Date

Friday April 10, 2026
8:30 am - 12:00 pm

Location

Mackintosh-Corry Hall, room D201

Join us for the 2026 Criminology & Socio-Legal Studies Conference, a dynamic gathering of scholars and students exploring the complex relationships between systems, individuals, and the publics they shape, chaired by Associate Professor, Victoria A. Sytsma, PhD.

Conference Schedule

  • Panel 1: 8:30am-9:30am - Criminal Justice: Systems, Data, and Actors

  • Panel 2: 9:45am-10:45am - Interpersonal Violence, Social Disadvantage, and Supports

  • Keynote Speaker: 11:00am-11:45am - Professor Emeritus Vincent Sacco, Policing Disorder or Disorderly Policing: Crime in Large Social Gathering

Coffee and treats will be provided. This event is open to all »ÆÉ«ÊÓÆµ staff and students. 

The Fatal Nexus between incarceration and mental health: The tragic story of Soleiman Faqiri

Date

Wednesday March 4, 2026
12:30 pm - 2:30 pm

Location

Robert Sutherland Hall, Room 202

Film Screening and Fireside Discussion hosted by Dr. Nicole Myers

YUSUF FAQIRI is an advocate within the Justice System for vulnerable Canadians who suffer from Mental Illness. In 2016, he founded the Justice for Soli Movement, a Grass Roots National Based Organization, after the tragic death of his brother Soleiman Faqiri in a Canadian Prison. He is fluent in English, French, Farsi and Arabic. He has had significant media presence in Toronto and Montreal in both English and French, and appeared often on CBC, Radio-Canada, CTV, Global News, City TV, CTV, CP24, Canadian Press, Toronto Star as a Mental Health Advocate. He has been published several times in both the Globe and Mail, Toronto Star and Policy Options.

PhD candidate Hannah Walsh co-publishes new article in Critical Criminology

PhD candidate Hannah Walsh has co-authored a new peer-reviewed article titled “‘Stop the Spread’: Criminalizing Physical Recreation During the COVID-19 Pandemic†in the journal Critical Criminology, exploring how public health measures intersected with legal responses to everyday activities during COVID-19.