Oct. 19, 2020
For Immediate Release

Waterloo – Wilfrid Laurier University will be hosting the third in its Inspiring Conversations webinar series, Inspiring Conversations: The Ways U.S. Political Conversations Impact Canadians, on Oct. 29 at 12:30 p.m.

The hour-long webinar will feature Andre Perrella, associate professor of Political Science and past director of the Laurier Institute for the Study of Public Opinion Policy, and Jasmin Zine, professor of Sociology and Muslim Studies. The panel will be moderated by Mike Morrice, founder of Sustainable Waterloo Region and Green Economy Canada. Morrice was also Kitchener Centre’s Green Party Member of Parliament candidate in the 2019 federal election.

“I invite the Laurier community to join us in this important conversation happening less than a week before the American election,” said moderator Mike Morrice (BBA & B.Sc. ’08). “At a time when political discourse in the United States is increasingly affecting our own, this speaker series offers a timely opportunity to lean on local experts to better understand the implications for us as Canadians.”

Zine is an expert on racism and Islamophobia. She will be speaking about the role of American political discourse in the spread of Islamophobia and the rise in right-wing populism and white nationalism in the U.S. and in Canada.

Perrella is an expert in voting, elections and political participating. He has provided media commentary on both Canadian and American politics and will be speaking about the role of political communications and participation.

The Inspiring Conversations series was launched in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to showcase topical research and expertise from faculty, staff and alumni.

The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required.