Introduction

My Full name is Muhammad Enamul Huque. I am a Toronto-based Bangladesh-born Canadian communication researcher and visual artist. My research works follow the tradition of cultural studies and are inspired by the principle of social justice; they encompass: (i) street-mediated mass communication; and (ii) informal education through public discourses involving cultural expressions and the inclusive and participatory aspects of citizenship. My art works are presented in the form of hybrid installation in gallery settings and utilize multiple media to raise public awareness about social issues.

My doctoral thesis titled Belonging through Participation: An Exploration of Caribana, Pride, and Santa Claus Parades in Toronto, 1998-2004 helped me to identify the major components of the aforementioned parades and understand the ways through which they work as educational catalysts for spectators thus enriching the cultural aspects of citizenship by generating a sense of belonging. My research questions were framed within a context that saw the lack of a sense of belonging as an impediment (among others) to the realization of full citizenship for minority groups in Canada.

An expansion of my doctoral work is being planned to include a set of street happenings and exhibits such as scheduled and spontaneous events, billboards, monuments, street names, and noncommercial posters of Toronto along with that of another city (yet to be determined). Collectively, street spectacles make an important contribution to the civic discourses of respective cities and help develop a sense of participatory citizenship for their inhabitants through a form of lifelong learning known to educators as "informal education." By critically examining these events and exhibits I hope to augment the scholarship which is aimed at making the Canadian public sphere more inclusive. Such improvements are expected to happen through the increased participation and visibility of marginalized citizens, and thereby strengthen one of the four pillars of education known as "learning to live together," identified and promoted by the UNESCO for the 21st Century.

The stake holders associated with such events, educators, social justice activists, policy makers, artists, and producers of cultural festivities, who wish to facilitate civic participation and social cohesion among people to enrich the socio-cultural dimensions of citizenship in Canada and elsewhere, may use the findings of my studies as empowering knowledge in their tasks for designing, evaluating, managing, and improving the civic contributions of these events and exhibits.

Education

Awards, grants, honours, and scholarships

Selected research presentations

Selected exhibitions

Videography

Selected publications, references, and documents

Community and professional involvement

Other images of art works and research subjects

Design and photographs © Enam Huque, 2008