This session will encourage reflection on what it means to center community. Community leaders will share their perspectives on the experience of being centered (or not) and the impacts that has on their communities. Dr. Karim-Aly Kassam joins Community Voices and participants in this webinar.
“The word ‘individual’ cannot be defined without the existence of ‘community’. An individual is the least divisible part of community. The individual cannot achieve freedom to act and seek knowledge on their own. Freedom depends on the knowledge that is co-created from a complex web of relationships in community. Community supports innovation which is then passed down as cumulative knowledge across generations. The role of a scholar is not to exist in a self-centered universe but to live and thrive in a universe-centered self. Research and teaching are possible because of contributions from the taxpayer and collaboration with civil society, private, and government institutions. Therefore, the first audience of most research should be the community from where the scholar came, where they undertook research, and to whom they are ethically responsible and financially accountable. The ultimate purpose of knowledge is freedom for humanity, as a whole, to self-actualize.” Karim-Aly Kassam, April 7th, 2026
Kassam, Karim-Aly S., and Wisdom J. Tettey
This article provided by Dr. Kassam highlights how university–community partnerships with Indigenous communities drive impactful interdisciplinary research and support community development.
Dr. Kassam provides this resource, edited by Michael Keren and Richard Hawkins, that examines how public intellectuals speak truth to power by using digital tools to communicate broadly, challenge dominant narratives, and foster public engagement.
Kassam, et al. 2023
This special issue of GeoHealth is a transdisciplinary articulation of a methodology of hope to confront the multiple injustices of the Anthropocene.
Kassam, 2025, for The Cornell Daily Sun
A reflection on how struggle, responsibility, and action help students find meaning amid today’s social, political, and environmental challenges.
