Esra Bengizi

Esra Bengizi is a Doctoral Candidate in the Department of French at the University of Toronto, where she is also part of the collaborative doctoral program at the Women and Gender Studies Institute (WGSI). She completed her B.A. and M.A. at McMaster University and participated in a study abroad program at Université Lumière Lyon 2. Her research explores the intersections of postcolonial and political violence in North Africa, with a particular focus on Algeria. Esra investigates how women both experience and respond to violence, as victims and as political actors, in contexts shaped by French colonialism and the Algerian Black Decade. Central to her work is the study of women’s political testimonies in fictional literature, where these literary productions emerge as forms of resistance, testimony, memory and survival. Esra has over seven years of teaching experience; she previously taught as a lecturer at Université de Paris-Nanterre, was a Visiting Scholar at Université Sorbonne-Nouvelle, and is currently a Course Instructor in the Department of French. She works under the supervision of Professors Alexie Tcheuyap and Atiqa Hachimi, and serves as President of the Canadian chapter of Women of Colour Advancing Peace and Security (WCAPS).

Dissertation

Title: “Violence and Revolution; The Black Decade & Algerian Feminist Literature”

Committee: 

• Prof. Alexie Tcheuyap (co-supervisor)
• Prof. Atiqa Hachimi (co-supervisor)
• Prof. Julie LeBlanc
• Prof. Morgan Faulkner

Awards

Flight 302 Legacy Award – Universities Canada: $10,000 competitive award involving a multi-step interview process, recognizing academic excellence, leadership, and commitment to community service. March 2025.

Conferences and Presentations

Invited Speaker

• Symposium: Arab Canadian Studies in the Shadow of Gaza
• Invited Speaker, Panel: Rights on Paper: International Law, Domestic Practice, and Arab Canadians, McMaster University & University of Toronto, October 24–26, 2025.
• “Unleashing the Power of Communal Leadership in the Humanities; Fostering Equity, Collaboration and Continuous Learning”, SAMLA; South Atlanta Modern Languages Association, Atlanta, GA, USA. November 9^th, 2023. 
• “Political Instability in Libya and Climate Change”, Global News Canada, September 13^th, 2023.  
• “Redefining National Security; Justice, Borders & Transnational Movements” CDSN (Canadian Defense & Security Network) & Carleton University the Year Ahead Conference, Carleton University, Ottawa, December 9th, 2022. 
• “Women’s Right in Libya”, 218TV, January 12, 2022. 
• “Sharing Space and De-Centralizing Power in the Humanities Classroom”, Innovations in Education Conference, McMaster University, December 9th, 2021. 
• “Islamophobia and National Security” CDSN (Canadian Defense & Security Network) & Carleton University the Year Ahead Conference, Carleton University, Ottawa, December 4th, 2021. 
• “21st Anniversary: with 21st Century Dialogue on Women, Peace and Security”, Anniversary of 1325 Resolution on Women, Peace, and Security, WCAPS (Women of Colour Advancing Peace and Security) and United Nations, October 26th, 2021. 
• “Multilateralism in the Age of Global Threats to Peace & Security Including Pandemics, Climate Change, Bioweapons, Cyberthreats and Automation”, Black Diplomats Academy Global Youth Summit. Virtual. September 21, 2021. 

Peer-reviewed Conferences

• “From Resistance to Reclamation: Gendered Knowledge, Memory, and Critical Adult Education in Postcolonial North Africa”, International UNESCO Chair Conference in Critical Adult Learning and Education Conference 2025, Università ta’ Malta, Malta, November 6^th-9^th, 2025.
• “Voices Unveiled: Postcolonial and Decolonial Agency in Algerian Feminist Literature During The Black Decade”, Decolonial Dialogues Conference, Flic-En-Flac, Mauritius, June 2024.
• « Penser la Violence en Afrique », APFUCC Colloque de l’Association des professeur.e.s de français des universités et collèges canadiens, Montreal, Québec, Canada. June 2024.  
• “Maghrebi Women’s Resistance and Feminist Nation Building; Algerian Women and the Black Decade”, MESA; Middle Eastern Studies Association, Montreal, QC, November 4^th, 2023. 
• « Revendiquer l’identité féminine par la violence » dans Le Châtiment des Hypocrites de Leïla Marouane, APFUCC, Congres of the Humanities and Social Sciences, May 30, 2023. 
• « Témoignages fictionnels au féminin: entre violence et émancipation dans Sans Voix de Hafsa Zinaï-Koudil », SE SERRER LES COUDES / STICKING TOGETHER, La sororité dans l’écriture des femmes Sisterhood in Women’s Writing, University of Calgary, September 29, 2022.
•  « Exploration du traumatisme et de l’identité dans L’amour la fantasia d’Assia Djebar », APFUCC Colloque virtuel de l’Association des professeur.e.s de français des universités et collèges canadiens, Virtuel. Mai 2021. 
•  « Les espaces du pouvoir dans L’amour la fantasia d’Assia Djebar », Annual Graduate Student Conference, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, May 2019.
• « La représentation de la femme dans la littérature nord-africaine : identité, lutte, et oppression », Causeries Littéraires, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, February 2019.
• “Enhancing teaching & learning at McMaster”, Fourth Annual Student Partnership Symposium for MacPherson Institute, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, April 2019.
• “Race, Racism and Racialization at McMaster University”, President’s Advisory Committee on Building an Inclusive Community, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, April 2018.

Non-refereed Conferences

• WGSI PhD Research Seminar “Violence and Revolution : The Black Decade and Algerian Women’s Literature”, Women and Gender Studies Institute, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, April. 2025.
•  « La Conférence de Paris », Forum Économique International des Amériques, Paris, France, November 2019.