How do you speak out when public protest can put your life at risk? Ann Komaromi explores the memoirs of Soviet dissidents who challenged state repression through uncensored writing and networks built on trust. From texts passed secretly between readers to Andrei Sakharov repeatedly rewriting a manuscript seized by the KGB, their stories reveal how ordinary people documented their lives, defended human rights and imagined a more democratic future. Ann was a 2025-26 JHI Faculty Research Fellow.

What can art make possible when a government tries to dictate who you are and who you can become? Curator Qanita Lilla reflects on growing up under apartheid in South Africa, where artists created spaces that challenged state-imposed ideas about race and identity. From a childhood art lesson to underground networks that circulated banned calendars, she explores how creativity, community and trust offered ways to imagine a different future. Qanita was the 2025-26 JHI New Media and Public Humanities Postdoctoral Fellow.

With Opened Mouths
https://agnes.queensu.ca/digital-agnes/audio-file/with-opened-mouths-the-podcast/

With Opened Mouths: Threnody for the Khoisan with Garth Erasmus
https://agnes.queensu.ca/digital-agnes/audio-file/threnody-for-the-khoisan/

Buy Threnody for the KhoiSan through Bandcamp
https://gartherasmus.bandcamp.com/album/threnody-for-the-khoisan

Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/3XjlBt1YemeHTUEoCLFuTE

What happens when an oil company builds not just an industry, but an entire community? Historian Luis van Isschot traces the rise of Standard Oil's company towns in Colombia and Peru, where coveted jobs, housing and social services came with tight corporate control over everyday life. His research explores the workers and communities who challenged that power, and the lasting connections between oil extraction, inequality, violence and environmental harm. Luis was a 2025-26 JHI Faculty Research Fellow.