Phil Henderson, PhD

I am a Postdoctoral Fellow in Political Science at the University of Toronto, I also work as the Research and Project Manager for the Infrastructure Beyond Extractivism Partnership Grant based at YorkU. Since 2024 I have been appointed as an Adjunct Research Professor in the School of Canadian Studies at Carleton University, where I teach several graduate seminars as a Contract Instructor.My first book, On the Shores of Anger: Canadian Colonialism and Settler Resentment, is due out with Fernwood Publishing in 2025. And my second book, Institutionalizing Canadian Imperialism: A Social Theory of Settler Statecraft is under contract with UBC Press. This work emerges from my dissertation, "In and Against Canada" (2022), which investigated contemporary theories of anti-colonialism and anti-imperialism.My current research program investigates the interrelations between Indigenous land/water defenders and (self-)organized workers in what's presently known as Canada. As part of this research I am acting as lead editor on an in-progress volume, The Work of (Anti-)Colonialism: Organized Labour and Indigenous Struggles in Canada, which emerged from a Connections Grant funded project of the same name.My teaching expertise is situated at the intersections of Canadian Politics, Political Theory, Indigenous Politics, and Labour Studies, with particular foci on the methods of both studying and engaging politics 'from below.'Presently, I am a board member for Peace Brigades International--Canada, the Canadian Association of Work and Labour Studies, and the Society for Socialist Studies. As Programming Chair, I coordinated the Socialist Studies 2024 Conference under the theme "Sustaining Socialist Futures."

Education and qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, Political Science, University of Victoria (2022)

  • Graduate Certificate in Indigenous Nationhood, University of Victoria (2018)

  • Master of the Arts, Political Science (specialization in Cultural, Social and Political Thought), University of Victoria (2016)

  • Bachelor of the Arts, Political Science (Hons.), University of Western Ontario (2014)

Single-Author Articles

  • "With Allies Like These...: Promises and Pitfalls in the Anti-Colonial Theories of 'Ally Toolkits.'" Native American and Indigenous Studies Journal (in-revision).

  • "Who Needs Decolonization? Theorizing Anti-Colonial Worldmaking through Movement Memos." New Left Review (submitted and in-review).

  • “Federalism and Settler Imperialism: Racial Regimes, Whiteness and Conquest in Canadian Constitutionalism.” Canadian Journal of Political Science 57, no. 2 (2024), 466-487.

  • “Diremption’s Demons are in the Details: A Commentary on Nichols’ Theft is Property!” Journal of World Philosophies 6, no. 2 (Winter 2021), 181-187.

  • “The Poetics of Settler Fatalism: Responses to Ecocide from within the Anthropocene.” Pivot: Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies and Thought 7, no. 1 (2019), 5-32.

  • “Imagoed Communities: The Psychosocial Space of Settler Colonialism.” Settler Colonial Studies 7, no. 1 (2017), 40-56.

  • “A Tale of Two Hamlets: Emergence of the Carnivalesque at the Keady Market.” The Journal of Narrative Politics 1, no. 1 (September 2014), 97-113.

  • “The Weakening of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.” E-International Relations (26 May, 2014).

Contributions to Edited volumes (linked)

Instructor of record

Course titleInstitutionCourse CodeSemester/Year
Decolonizing Canada? Theories for Decolonization and Anti-Colonial PoliticsCarletonCDNS 5501Fall 2023; Winter 2025
Labour, In and Against the Settler ColonyCarletonPECO 5501Summer 2024
Settler-Indigenous Relations in Present-day CanadaUVicPOLI 363Winter 2020
Introduction to the Politics of Indigenous Peoples and of Canadian ColonialismUVicPOLI 263Fall 2019

Leadership Roles
(selected)

  • Chair, Errol Sharpe Book Prize Committe, Society for Socialist Studies (2024-Present)

  • Equity Officer, Canadian Association of Work and Labour Studies (2024-Present)

  • Executive Member-at-Large, Society for Socialist Studies (2023-Present)

  • Board Member, Peace Brigades International - Canada (2022-Present)

  • 2024 Conference Programming Chair, Society for Socialist Studies (2023-2024)

  • Recording Officer and Member, Anti-Racism and Decolonization Working Group, Canadian Association of Work and Labour Studies (2021-2022)

  • Research Agent, Reconciliation Committee, Canadian Political Science Association (2021-2022)

  • Vice-President and Bargaining Team Member, Component One, Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 4163 (2019-2020)

  • VP Communications, Component One, CUPE 4163 (2018-2019)

Canadian Studies - New Books Network Podcast (most recent)

Distinctions and Awards (Selected)

TitleYear(s)
SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship2022-2024
UVic President's Fellowship in Research-Enriched Teaching2019-2020
UVic President's Research Scholarship2016-2019
Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship2016-2019
Jarmila Vlasta Von Drak Thouvenelle Graduate Scholarship2019
Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship2015-2016

Photo by Phil Cox

Major Event Coordination

Current Professional and Research Affiliations

  • Canadian Political Science Association

  • Canadian Association of Work and Labour Studies

  • Cedar Trees Institute, University of Victoria

  • Deparochializing the Political Theory Curriculum, Jackman Institute for the Humanities, University of Toronto

  • Global Labour Research Centre, York University

  • Global Marxisms, Jackman Institute for the Humanities, University of Toronto

  • Indigenous Research Workshop, University of Victoria

  • Institute of Political Economy, Carleton University

  • Canadian Studies Channel, New Books Network

  • Research for the Frontlines

  • Society for Socialist Studies

  • Western Political Science Association