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It is with great pleasure that the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research on Montr茅al (CIRM) welcomes Sam Victor, researcher in social anthropology and recipient of the 2022-2023 BMO postdoctoral fellowship!

Born in the United States, Sam Victor came to Montr茅al in 2008, a city which he now calls home. He holds a bachelor鈥檚 degree in French Studies (Concordia University, 2013), a master鈥檚 degree in Anthropology (Universit茅 de Montr茅al, 2018) and will soon receive his doctorate in Social Anthropology (Cambridge University). Sam is passionate about the ethico-moral and political dimensions of intercultural encounters. His research focuses on the reflexive and deliberative aspects of social relationships, especially the evaluative processes through which people determine what matters in their lives, as well as the suasive strategies they develop to communicate their values to others.听

What inspired you to study the dynamics of religion and social anthropology in Montr茅al?听听听听

I come from the United States originally and I was interested in studying anthropology and the relations between people from different cultural backgrounds. I was particularly interested in immigration and refugee resettlement, so I moved to Montr茅al for my master's to study in a lab at the Universit茅 de Montr茅al that focused on intercultural relations. In anthropology, you typically travel abroad when you do fieldwork, and coming to Montr茅al, I had to think of a project. So, I thought of my home in Tennessee. The public sector in Montr茅al, which is involved in refugee resettlement, is explicitly not religious. There are religious organizations, but it is a stark contrast to where I come from where the local government is totally absent in funding infrastructure for refugees and immigrant services. It鈥檚 all done by the civil society, and in the case of Tennessee, it is strongly religious and there are big networks of churches that fill that gap. I found that explaining this difference was interesting to a lot of people in Montr茅al who had a negative assessment of religious organizations that were involved in what should be an impartial service and they believed there would be problems with proselytizing. I wanted to explore this question because I had worked in different volunteer and internship capacities at refugee resettlement organizations in Tennessee. I found that people with strong conservative Christian religious convictions who were working in that space actually had serious reflections about wanting to provide impartial service and not wanting to impose on people. This dynamic opened larger questions on religion and the public.听听听

How do you think that your research project will reshape our understanding of religion and society in Montr茅al?听听听

I think the research project that Dr. Hillary Kaell and I are going to start will shed light on that question through an in-depth case study of a community that is trying to navigate what it means to be a religious organization with claims on public space in the secularized context that is Montr茅al. It will provide a new understanding of how religious organizations and secular institutions, like municipalities and cities, can communicate the social value of public spaces to each other. These spaces, being religious or religiously marked, do not necessarily prohibit people who are not from different religious backgrounds or who are not religious from interacting together and creating a pluralistic space.听听听

How has your time as a student in Montr茅al inspired your research and your academic trajectory?听听听

I came to Montr茅al to study French at Concordia, and I have developed other academic interests over time, but Montr茅al has always been really welcoming. I have met a lot of interesting people here and I have always found the social questions dealt with here to be intellectually stimulating, and they鈥檙e very different from where I grew up. Montr茅al also gave me the ability to explore too. At Concordia, I was mostly in an anglophone environment even though I was studying French language and when I went for my master's at Universit茅 de Montr茅al, on the other side of the mountain, it was my first real exposure to francophone Montr茅al. My experience as a student at both universities has allowed me to see the stark differences between two different worlds and the interesting interactions between people. It will be interesting to start my work at 看片视频, which is another anglophone institution in Montr茅al that I have not been to.听听听

What are your goals and expectations for your mandate as BMO Postdoctoral Fellow?听听

Conducting and building this research project would be the first thing. The other thing that attracted me was that CIRM is an interdisciplinary research centre and I think it would be a great opportunity to build a richer network of people to do research with as I move further in my career. To have the opportunity to recruit some students from different universities that can participate in research is also a really good experience for me pedagogically. It just seems like a really nice fit for this stage of my career.听听

How will your vision as our new postdoctoral researcher set a precedent for future academics conducting research either at CIRM or in Montr茅al in general?听听听

In terms of recruiting students who are interacting across different levels in academics, it could send a helping hand back down to other students. One of the things that has helped me through my process was being a research assistant with other professors or postdoctoral fellows during my studies. It was an indispensable part of my own pathway. I hope to extend an opportunity for researchers that might be interested in the topic or interested in learning something about our ethnographic research methods. I will be in a middle position as a junior academic who will be learning from a network of professors and other people that work at the CIRM. So, I will be able to reach back and bring new people up that direction as well.听听

Can you speak about the importance of preserving heritage churches and other sacred spaces in urban areas that are becoming increasingly secularized?听听听

What's interesting about this question is also one of the things that is interesting about studying this group of evangelicals in Montr茅al. They have a complex and critical discourse on the importance of heritage buildings, especially in a city that is growing, developing, and changing in a lot of ways, and that might lean at certain times towards commercial and private development and away from public and social interests. In a place like Montr茅al which has an architectural heritage that is mostly related to the Catholic Church, these buildings were conceived originally as having a public function, or at least an outward-facing one. It's interesting to track how people are trying to at least maintain its public function given the other kinds of developments going on in the city. There are also critical questions about how cities choose which properties are considered heritage and the advantages that are given to those properties. In a place that has such prominent European Christian heritage like Montr茅al in terms of the materiality of its heritage, it raises questions about the heritage status and privileged statuses of properties for indigenous people and new immigrant communities that are establishing religious communities. The overwhelming Christianity of heritage infrastructure is something that I keep a critical eye on, and it is also something that the people we are studying want to consider as well. It will be interesting to study people that are interacting with similar questions but very much from a different ideological perspective.听 听听听

In the context of your research on repurposing former sacred spaces, how would you reconcile the struggle between conservative religious denominations that often challenge pluralistic tendencies in a city like Montr茅al, which is often characterized by its strong sense of plurality and secularism?听听

A group that has theological ambitions of evangelism is not likely going to appeal to the pluralistic secular sensibilities of either a municipality or non- and other religious people. One of the things that interests me is how they still interact and want to have a positive impact on people that might disagree with them and how that is viewed in reverse. One theological concept that is important to the members of the church we are studying is the idea of 鈥渃o-consecration鈥�, which is the notion that they will not consecrate the space as being uniquely Christian but as one that can be open for multi-faith purposes or for completely non-religious purposes. People who do not consecrate or religiously dwell in a space are likely not going to perceive themselves as being part of that project necessarily. The question that I think is interesting is whether it matters to the people who are co-consecrating or to the people who are willingly interacting with a space knowing that co-consecration is happening but who don't see themselves as being a part of an explicitly religious vision. It seems like more conservative Christian groups would have this issue more than a progressive group that doesn't need to assert its identity as Christian or as different from the world around it, which is a common understanding for evangelicals.听听听听

In a few words, how would you describe the city to non-Montr茅alers?听听

Cold (temperature-wise). Exciting. Complicated. 芦 Joie de vivre 禄.听听听听

What is your idea of a perfect day in Montr茅al?听听听

I think a good activity would be to cycle on the Saint-Laurent. Bring some things to eat and drink at the park, just hang out on the grass and watch people.听听听

On Montr茅al鈥μ�听

Favourite neighborhood(s): Verdun.

Favourite book(s) on social anthropology and religious studies:听After Pluralism: Reimaging Religious Engagement (Courtney Bender and Pamela E. Klassen, 2010); The Metaphysical Club: A Story of Ideas in America (Louis Menand, 2001); Aesthetic Formations: Media, Religion, and the Senses (Birgit Meyer, 2009).

Essential symbol(s) and landmark(s):听The St. Lawrence River, Mount Royal, Gibeau Orange Julep, the universities and their campuses, the Main Deli.听