–written by Andrew Gayed, MA Art History candidate
Last winter I was invited by Oxford University to talk about Middle Eastern Contemporary Art and the political work that is being produced by artists from the North American Diaspora. Being asked to speak at Oxford for the March 2014 Refugee Voices conference certainly came as a surprise, especially when I was only in my first year of my master’s degree. Specializing in Middle Eastern contemporary art, the opportunity to travel and meet like-minded scholars, who are interested in issues of race and representation, made it feel like I hit the jackpot. As a graduate student, it was a privilege to engage in dialogue with senior researchers, and develop new and cutting-edge theoretical ideas that were a result of unpublished papers and current research projects. Spending two days with these scholars also created a social environment that helped us network and get to know one another on a more personal level, allowing many of us to foster friendships and deep relationships over the course of the conference. 
With this incredible research trip still fresh in memory, I have been asked to speak again at Oxford for the 7th annual Global Diaspora conference in the summer of 2014. As the second time returning to Oxford, I will be discussing Queer Middle Eastern identity as it is presented in photographic art. Rather than presenting polished conference papers, this annual conference has the format of a think-tank more so than a traditional conference. Presenters from all over the globe will gather for three days to develop new and complex ideas of what it means to be a part of a diasporic community, and better understand issues of gender, race and sexuality in a complex web of identity and nationhood.
While being a graduate student and art historian can mean traveling the world, these research trips have been made possible due to the tremendous support of both the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs, as well as the generosity of Carleton University’s Art History department in their School for Arts and Culture. Being supported both financially by the department as well as emotionally and professionally by my thesis supervisor, Ming Tiampo, I was able to make research trips such as these a reality. I look forward to continuing this journey, a journey that stemmed from the most enriching graduate career I could have hoped for.