What if vulnerability is the point? Rethinking the state's role in structural exploitation

The Department of Political Studies Corry Colloquium Speaker Series presents:

Monique Deveaux - University of Guelph

"What if vulnerability is the point? Rethinking the state's role in structural exploitation" 

Thursday, February 27, 2025 

2:30-4:00 PM

Robert Sutherland Hall | Room 448

Light refreshments served

About the talk:

In public discourse, the exploitation of workers is thought to be a violation of labour laws, typically the outcome of actions by unscrupulous employers. Much labour exploitation, however, happens within larger legal and political structures widely seen as legitimate — notably, immigration regimes and employment programs. Focusing on the plight of migrant workers, I examine the role that states play in deliberately producing and sustaining systemic conditions of structural vulnerability. Reflecting on current political and legal challenges to Canada’s temporary migrant labour programs, I discuss key reforms that advocates seek, despite the knowledge that the vulnerability of migrant workers is intentional. I also consider whether recent legal approaches to holding states accountable for contributing to structures of exploitation can deliver transformational change.

Biography: 

Monique Deveaux is a Professor in the Department of Philosophy and a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Ethics & Global Social Change at the University of Guelph.