This Wasn't on the Syllabus: Stories from the Frontlines - by Addy Strickland & Emma Kuzmyk (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

THIS WASN'T ON THE SYLLABUS illuminates the courageous stories of campus activism against sexualized violence in Canada, uniting over three decades of personal accounts and resistance in a powerful call to prioritize and amplify the voices of student activists worldwide.

This Wasn't on the Syllabus: Stories from the Front Lines of Campus Activism Against Sexualized Violence is both a record and an act of protest, progress, and survival located within Canada's post-secondary landscape. The collection features personal accounts which articulate not only the prevalence of sexualized violence on campus, but how these acts inspire students to activism. The book is a call to value and prioritize the voices of student activists, who are often among those most impacted by sexualized violence, and who are key participants in driving change.

Stories which have until now existed precariously in news clippings--or been passed on through whisper networks--are now permanently inked. Connecting stories that span more than three decades, this anthology draws on collective memory to resist the cyclical nature of campus activism and is a testament to the solidarity of those who have fought, and continue to fight, against sexualized violence on campus.

While This Wasn't on the Syllabus is written from a Canadian perspective, sexualized violence is prevalent around the world, and the call to activism knows no geographic boundaries.

Content Warning: the collection focuses on sexualized violence, but each piece contains a specific content warning if applicable.

Review Quotes

"This Wasn't on the Syllabus is an urgent and deeply compelling collection of narratives that Strickland and Kuzmyk have so compassionately compiled. This collection is both a moving read and a powerful call to action against sexualized violence on university campuses."--francesca ekwuyasi, author of Butter Honey Pig Bread

About the Author

Addy Strickland (she/her) is a writer, artist, and facilitator based in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. She graduated from St. Francis Xavier University in 2021 with a degree in Development Studies and English, through which she concentrated her studies on art and storytelling as tools for community development. She also recently completed a certificate in publishing from Toronto Metropolitan University. While at StFX, Addy was deeply involved in protesting sexualized violence. She co-founded the StFX Peer Support Program, facilitated sexualized violence prevention training, and helped coordinate numerous protests and collective actions alongside fellow activists. Since graduating, she's remained involved in anti-sexualized violence activism by volunteering with Students for Consent Culture Canada--contributing to the organization's podcast and supporting other ongoing initiatives. Currently, Addy works in the fields of community development and youth engagement, and enjoys finding ways to bring art into her facilitation practice--continuing to merge art and activism in each new chapter of her life.

Emma Kuzmyk (she/her) is a writer and coffee-enthusiast based in Kjipuktuk (Halifax), the traditional and unceded territory of the Mi'kmaq people. She graduated from St. Francis Xavier University in 2021 with a degree in English. While at StFX, Emma was a student-athlete, students' union executive, and involved in various activities aimed at ending sexualized violence. She's proud to have played small roles in different sexualized violence awareness campaigns on campus, at the Antigonish Women's Resource Centre, in the development and facilitation of Waves of Change bystander training, and in the founding of the StFX Peer Support Program. Believing in the activist capabilities and responsibilities of art, in all its forms, Emma has attempted to blend the two by helping to illustrate prevention programs, sharing spoken word poetry at marches, rallies, and protests, and in telling stories grounded in creating images of the future to which we can aspire. Currently, Emma is pursuing her Masters of Fine Arts in Fiction, and plans to continue dreaming about and expanding on visions of utopia and the many ways we might work towards it.