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Kelly Train

Contract Lecturer
EducationBA (York University, Political Science), MA (University of Toronto/OISE, Education), PhD (York University, Sociology)
OfficeJOR-322
Phone416-979-5000 x554853

Areas of Expertise

race and ethnicity; diaspora; immigration and nation-building; Jews; whiteness; feminism and gender; families; work; sexualities; Jews of colour and the concepts of authenticity and belonging

Research

Dr. Train’s research focuses on how the concept of authenticity is used to regulate notions of belonging and membership within Jewish community construction.  In particular, she explores the experiences of Arab and Indian Jews and how they negotiate their identities within the broader Jewish community in Toronto. In 2010, Dr. Train was awarded the Dr. Stephen Speisman – Ontario Jewish Archives Award for this research project.  She is currently working on a number of large projects, including a book exploring the marginalization of the voices of Sephardi, Mizrahi and Jewish women of colour within Jewish feminist thought, and a book examining the experiences of Arab and Indian Jews in the Toronto Jewish Community.

Pedagogical Approach

Dr. Train’s pedagogical approach focuses around the application of sociological theory and methodology to how the study of society is relevant in students’ everyday lives and professional practice.  She practices inclusive learning by emphasizing a critical feminist, anti-racist, anti-homophobic, queer perspective that interrogates common sense assumptions of race, class, gender, sex and sexuality, and highlights the subjugated knowledges, histories, experiences and contributions of women, racial, ethnic and religious minorities.

Courses

Community Activities

Dr. Train is the Unit 1 VP for CUPE Local 3904, representing sessional and part-time Contract Lecturers at 91ε, and the former VP Campaigns for CUPE Local 3904.  Dr. Train was the Lead Negotiator for CUPE Local 3904 for the 2024-2027, 2021-2024 and 2017-2021 Unit 1 Collective Agreements and a member of the bargaining committee for the 2014-2017 Unit 1 Collective Agreement.  She has been invited to act as a reviewer for a number of journal editorial boards, including Journal of Modern Jewish Identities, Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power, Canadian Jewish Studies, Diaspora, Indigenous and Minority Education, Journal of Family Issues, Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, Journal of Education and Training Studies, Journal of Mundane Behavior and Social Problems, and has been invited to assess book proposals for scholarly publishers such as Pearson Education and Nelson Education, as well as grant proposals for the Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).  She has been a member of the Jews and Multiculturalism research working group since 2009, as well as the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Research Centre at 91ε since 2014, and has been invited to speak at various scholarly and academic conferences as well as community organizations on issues of diversity (race, ethnicity, gender, sexualities and class).

Recent & Key Publications

Train, K.A. In progress. “Indian Jewish Communities in Canada.” In Jews of Colour: Histories & Futures, edited by S. Mehta & S. Imhof. Philadelphia, PA: Jewish Publication Society.

Train, K.A. 2024. In The Jewish Family in Global Perspective, edited by H. Hartman (pp. 269-91).  Charn, SUI: Springer.

Train, K.T. 2023. “Indian Jewish Experiences and the Creation of Congregation BINA (Ontario 1979).” In (pp. 430-4), edited by A. Brodsky & L. Leibman. New York: NYU Press.

Train, K.T. 2021. International Journal of Child, Youth and Family Studies 12(1): 143-57.

Train, K.T. 2018. “” Canadian Jewish Studies 26: 31-55.

Train, K.T. 2016. “East Meets West: Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews in Canada and the United States.” In edited by B. Stiefel & H. Tesler-Mabe. Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier University Press.

Train, K.T. 2016. American Jewish History, Special Issue on Jews of Colour 100(1): 1-23.

Train, K.T. 2016. “Breadwinner Role,” “Divorce Law,” “Household Labour,” and “Judaism and Families.” In edited by C. Shehan. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Train, K.T. 2013. Diaspora, Indigenous and Minority Education: Studies on Migration, Integration, Equity and Cultural Survival, Special Issue on Rethinking Jewish Education 7(1): 6-20.

Train, K.T. 2012. “Anti-Semitism,” “Canadian Minority Communities,” and “Immigration to Canada.” In The Twenties in America, edited by C. Rollyson. Pasadena, CA: Salem Press.

Train, K.T. 2011. “Immigration to Canada,” and “Jews in Canada.” In The Thirties in America, edited by T. Lewis. Pasadena, CA: Salem Press.

Train, K.T. 2010. “Immigration to Canada,” “Jews in Canada,” and “Refugees in North America.” In The Forties in America, edited by T. Lewis. Pasadena, CA: Salem Press.

Train, K.T. 2006. “Carving Out a Space of One’s Own: The Sephardic Kehila Centre and the Toronto Jewish Community.” In edited by C. Teelucksingh. Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier University Press.

Train, K.T. 2002. “As Long As It’s Not in My Backyard: September 11th and Other Apocalyptic Events.” Journal of Mundane Behavior 3(3): 337-349.

Train, K.T. 2000. “Whiteness, White Otherness and Jewish Identity.” Journal of Mundane Behavior 1(2): 135-142.

Corsianos, M. & K.T. Train (editors). 1999. Interrogating Social Justice: Politics, Culture and Identity. Toronto: Canadian Scholars' Press.

Train, K.T. 1999. "The Crime of Authenticity: Regulating Boundaries of Identity Around Jewish Community Through the Image of Russian Jewish Criminality." In Interrogating Social Justice: Politics, Culture and Identity (pp. 143-54), edited by M. Corsianos & K.T. Train. Toronto: Canadian Scholars' Press.

Train, K.T.
1996. "AIDS, Race and the Construction of Jewish Community: Ethiopian Jews in Israel." Response: A Contemporary Jewish Review 66: 51-55.