Canada, International Students, and Fragility: An Analysis of Òjà (The Talking Flute) As Counter-Narrative Project
Abstract
Canada expanded its cultural hegemony and increased its workforce through the invitation of international students, academics, and all kinds of skilled immigrants between 2014 and 2022. This invitation was part of a long history of romance with immigrants interspersed and sometimes overlapping with periods of intense hostility. Since 2023, international students have become a focal point of critique in political conversations and policies in Canada. This paper examines a counter-narrative that challenges the discourse of international students as invasive species. It focuses on Òjà (The Talking Flute) by Roland Samuel, highlighting international students’ complex ways of being and relating with Canada while critically raising awareness of the different ways that Canada and international students demonstrate fragility.
- Referencias
- Cómo citar
- Del mismo autor
- Métricas
“A Hundred Years of Immigration to Canada 1900-1999 (Part 2): A Chronology Focusing on Refugees and Discrimination Part 2: 1950-1999.” Canadian Council for Refugees, https://ccrweb.ca/en/hundred-years-immigration-canada-part-2.
“About Page.” Syilx Okanagan Nation, syilx.org/about-us/syilx-nation/. Accessed 30 Nov. 2025.
Achebe, Chinua. Home and Exile. Canongate Books, 2003.
—. Things Fall Apart. The African Trilogy. Everyman’s Library, 2010.
Adebayo, Sakiru. “Complex Implication: Privilege, Positionality, and Racialised Immigration in Canada.” Parallax, vol. 29, no. 3, 2023, pp. 282-302. Taylor & Francis Online, https://doi.org/10.1080/13534645.2024.2302664.
Akbar, Marshia. “Challenges Facing International College Students in Canada.” India Migration Report 2023, edited by S Irudaya Rajan, Routledge India, 2024, pp. 138-60.
Arendt, Hannah. The Origins of Totalitarianism. A Harvest/HBJ Book, 1973.
Bhabha, Homi K. The Location of Culture. Routledge, 1994.
Bingham, Russell. “Viola Desmond.” The Canadian Encyclopedia, updated by Eli Yarhi, 16 Apr. 2021, https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/viola-desmond, Accessed 21 Jan. 2026.
Campos, Gizane. “The 20 Easiest Countries to Immigrate to in 2026.” Global Citizen Solutions, 2 Dec. 2025, https://www.globalcitizensolutions.com/easiest-countries
-to-immigrate-to/.
Choi, Youjin, et al. “Early Earnings Trajectories of International Students after Graduation from Postsecondary Programs.” Economic and Social Reports, vol. 1, no. 2, Feb. 2021, pp. 21-23.
Clark, Campbell. “Kill a Fallacy to Save Immigration.” The Globe and Mail, 5 Aug. 2024, https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/opinion/article-kill-a-fallacy-to-save-immigration/.
Dua, Enakshi, et al. “Race, Racism, and Empire: Reflections on Canada.” Social Justice, vol. 32, no. 4 (102), 2005, pp. 1-10.
Dyk, Lindsay Van. “Shaping a Community: Black Refugees in Nova Scotia.” Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, 19 Nov. 2020, https://pier21.ca/research/immigration-history/shaping-a-community-black-refugees-in-ns.
Editorial Board. “The Right Question to Ask about International Students and Housing.” The Globe and Mail, 21 June 2024, https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/editorials/article-the-right-question-to-ask-about-international-students-and-housing/.
Elagin, D. P. “Conceptual Perspectives on State Fragility.” Вестник МГИМО Университета, vol. 14, no. 4, 2021, pp. 107-35.
Elnagar, Abdelhady, and Jon Young. “International Education and the Internationalization of Public Schooling in Canada: Approaches and Conceptualizations.” Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, no. 195, 2021, pp. 80-94. Érudit, https://doi.org/10.7202/1075674ar.
Gordon, Avery F. Ghostly Matters: Haunting and the Sociological Imagination. U of Minnesota P, 2008.
Hoffmaster, Barry. “What does Vulnerability Mean?” The Hastings Center Report, vol. 36, No. 2, 2006, pp. 38-45.
Igbani, Sophia. “Have You Heard of the Igbo Traditional Talking Flute, Ọjà?” Ogbono Blog, 19 Nov. 2024, https://ogbonoblog.com/education/have-you-heard-of-the-igbo-traditional-talking-flute-oja/. Accessed 20 May 2025.
Johnson, Tristan. “London’s Invisible Engineers: Why Our Most Educated Residents Can’t Get Hired.” Allarewelcomehere, 2 Oct. 2025, https://allarewelcomehere.ca/blog/2025/10/2/londons-invisible-engineers-why-our-most-educated-residents-cant-get-hired.
Keller, Tony. “On Immigration, the Canadian Economy Needs Less Quantity and More Quality.” Report on Business Magazine, 29 Oct. 2024. ProQuest, http://libaccess.mcmaster.ca/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/magazines/on-immigration-canadian-economy-needs-less/docview/3121467404/se-2.
Koc, Mustafa, and Jennifer Welsh. “Food, Identity and Immigrant Experience.” Toronto Metropolitan University, 5 Sept. 2023, pp. 46-48, https://doi.org/10.32920/24084654.v1.
Lee, Eunjung, et al. “Public Discourse, the Media, and International Education in Canada.” Qualitative Social Work, vol. 19, no. 5-6, 2020, pp. 845-63.
Marsh, John. “Kelowna.” The Canadian Encyclopedia, 14 Apr. 2022, https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/kelowna. Accessed 10 Feb. 2026.
Martin-Shields, Charles, and Diana Koester. “State Fragility and Development Cooperation: Putting the Empirics to Use in Policy and Planning.” IDOS Policy Brief, no. 8, 2024. IDOS, https://doi.org/10.23661/ipb8.2024.
McCartney, Dale M. “‘A Question of Self-Interest’: A Brief History of 50 Years of International Student Policy in Canada.” Canadian Journal of Higher Education, vol. 51, no. 3, 2021, pp. 33-50.
Neuman, Keith. “Canadian Public Opinion about Immigration and Refugees-Fall 2025.” Environics Institute, 16 Oct. 2025, https://www.environicsinstitute.org/projects/project-details/canadian-public-opinion-about-immigration-and-refugees–fall-2025.
Onyekwelu, Joe. “Oja: A Dynamic Musical Instrument East of the Niger. Possibilities and Challenges in the Global Musical Arts.” Journal of Music and Aesthetics (JOMA), vol. 1, no. 2, 2011, pp. 41-46.
Pirbhai, Mariam. Garden Inventories: Reflections on Land, Place and Belonging. Wolsak & Wynn, 2023.
Porter, Kate. “Colleges Could Struggle Further with Latest Lowered Cap on International Students.” CBC News, 6 Nov. 2025, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/colleges-could-struggle-further-with-latest-lowered-cap-on-international-students-9.6968440.
Question Period Watcher [@Question Period Watcher]. “Pierre Poilievre’s Response to ‘How Many Permanent Residents Do You Want to See Accepted in Canada?’” TikTok, 29 Aug. 2024, http://vm.tiktok.com/ZMSRoPwun/.
Razack, Sherene H. “Making Canada White: Law and the Policing of Bodies of Colour in the 1990s.” Canadian Journal of Law and Society/La Revue Canadienne Droit et Societe, vol. 14, no. 1, 1999, pp. 159-84.
Ricoeur, Paul. “Fragility and Responsibility.” Philosophy & Social Criticism, vol. 21, no. 5-6, 1995, pp. 15-22.
Said, Edward W. Culture and Imperialism. Vintage, 1994.
Samuel, Roland. Ọ̀jà (The Talking Flute). 2024. Courtesy of the artist.
—. The Oja Player: The Influence of Migration on International Students. ALLECC, June 2024.
She, Qianru, and Terry Wotherspoon. “International Student Mobility and Highly Skilled Migration: A Comparative Study of Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom.” SpringerPlus, vol. 2, no. 132, 2013, https://doi.org/10.1186/2193-1801-2-132.
Taleb, Nassim Nicholas. Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder. Vol. 3, Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2014.
“‘Temporary Workers Suppress Canadian Wages’: Harrison Faulkner Debates Dan Kelly.” YouTube, uploaded by Juno News, 21 May 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FyPMiW98os.
“Tuition in Canada: Modest Increases and Widening Gaps, 2025/2026.” Government of Canada, https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/250910/dq250910d-eng.htm. Accessed 6 Dec. 2025.
“About Page.” Syilx Okanagan Nation, syilx.org/about-us/syilx-nation/. Accessed 30 Nov. 2025.
Achebe, Chinua. Home and Exile. Canongate Books, 2003.
—. Things Fall Apart. The African Trilogy. Everyman’s Library, 2010.
Adebayo, Sakiru. “Complex Implication: Privilege, Positionality, and Racialised Immigration in Canada.” Parallax, vol. 29, no. 3, 2023, pp. 282-302. Taylor & Francis Online, https://doi.org/10.1080/13534645.2024.2302664.
Akbar, Marshia. “Challenges Facing International College Students in Canada.” India Migration Report 2023, edited by S Irudaya Rajan, Routledge India, 2024, pp. 138-60.
Arendt, Hannah. The Origins of Totalitarianism. A Harvest/HBJ Book, 1973.
Bhabha, Homi K. The Location of Culture. Routledge, 1994.
Bingham, Russell. “Viola Desmond.” The Canadian Encyclopedia, updated by Eli Yarhi, 16 Apr. 2021, https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/viola-desmond, Accessed 21 Jan. 2026.
Campos, Gizane. “The 20 Easiest Countries to Immigrate to in 2026.” Global Citizen Solutions, 2 Dec. 2025, https://www.globalcitizensolutions.com/easiest-countries
-to-immigrate-to/.
Choi, Youjin, et al. “Early Earnings Trajectories of International Students after Graduation from Postsecondary Programs.” Economic and Social Reports, vol. 1, no. 2, Feb. 2021, pp. 21-23.
Clark, Campbell. “Kill a Fallacy to Save Immigration.” The Globe and Mail, 5 Aug. 2024, https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/opinion/article-kill-a-fallacy-to-save-immigration/.
Dua, Enakshi, et al. “Race, Racism, and Empire: Reflections on Canada.” Social Justice, vol. 32, no. 4 (102), 2005, pp. 1-10.
Dyk, Lindsay Van. “Shaping a Community: Black Refugees in Nova Scotia.” Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, 19 Nov. 2020, https://pier21.ca/research/immigration-history/shaping-a-community-black-refugees-in-ns.
Editorial Board. “The Right Question to Ask about International Students and Housing.” The Globe and Mail, 21 June 2024, https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/editorials/article-the-right-question-to-ask-about-international-students-and-housing/.
Elagin, D. P. “Conceptual Perspectives on State Fragility.” Вестник МГИМО Университета, vol. 14, no. 4, 2021, pp. 107-35.
Elnagar, Abdelhady, and Jon Young. “International Education and the Internationalization of Public Schooling in Canada: Approaches and Conceptualizations.” Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, no. 195, 2021, pp. 80-94. Érudit, https://doi.org/10.7202/1075674ar.
Gordon, Avery F. Ghostly Matters: Haunting and the Sociological Imagination. U of Minnesota P, 2008.
Hoffmaster, Barry. “What does Vulnerability Mean?” The Hastings Center Report, vol. 36, No. 2, 2006, pp. 38-45.
Igbani, Sophia. “Have You Heard of the Igbo Traditional Talking Flute, Ọjà?” Ogbono Blog, 19 Nov. 2024, https://ogbonoblog.com/education/have-you-heard-of-the-igbo-traditional-talking-flute-oja/. Accessed 20 May 2025.
Johnson, Tristan. “London’s Invisible Engineers: Why Our Most Educated Residents Can’t Get Hired.” Allarewelcomehere, 2 Oct. 2025, https://allarewelcomehere.ca/blog/2025/10/2/londons-invisible-engineers-why-our-most-educated-residents-cant-get-hired.
Keller, Tony. “On Immigration, the Canadian Economy Needs Less Quantity and More Quality.” Report on Business Magazine, 29 Oct. 2024. ProQuest, http://libaccess.mcmaster.ca/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/magazines/on-immigration-canadian-economy-needs-less/docview/3121467404/se-2.
Koc, Mustafa, and Jennifer Welsh. “Food, Identity and Immigrant Experience.” Toronto Metropolitan University, 5 Sept. 2023, pp. 46-48, https://doi.org/10.32920/24084654.v1.
Lee, Eunjung, et al. “Public Discourse, the Media, and International Education in Canada.” Qualitative Social Work, vol. 19, no. 5-6, 2020, pp. 845-63.
Marsh, John. “Kelowna.” The Canadian Encyclopedia, 14 Apr. 2022, https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/kelowna. Accessed 10 Feb. 2026.
Martin-Shields, Charles, and Diana Koester. “State Fragility and Development Cooperation: Putting the Empirics to Use in Policy and Planning.” IDOS Policy Brief, no. 8, 2024. IDOS, https://doi.org/10.23661/ipb8.2024.
McCartney, Dale M. “‘A Question of Self-Interest’: A Brief History of 50 Years of International Student Policy in Canada.” Canadian Journal of Higher Education, vol. 51, no. 3, 2021, pp. 33-50.
Neuman, Keith. “Canadian Public Opinion about Immigration and Refugees-Fall 2025.” Environics Institute, 16 Oct. 2025, https://www.environicsinstitute.org/projects/project-details/canadian-public-opinion-about-immigration-and-refugees–fall-2025.
Onyekwelu, Joe. “Oja: A Dynamic Musical Instrument East of the Niger. Possibilities and Challenges in the Global Musical Arts.” Journal of Music and Aesthetics (JOMA), vol. 1, no. 2, 2011, pp. 41-46.
Pirbhai, Mariam. Garden Inventories: Reflections on Land, Place and Belonging. Wolsak & Wynn, 2023.
Porter, Kate. “Colleges Could Struggle Further with Latest Lowered Cap on International Students.” CBC News, 6 Nov. 2025, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/colleges-could-struggle-further-with-latest-lowered-cap-on-international-students-9.6968440.
Question Period Watcher [@Question Period Watcher]. “Pierre Poilievre’s Response to ‘How Many Permanent Residents Do You Want to See Accepted in Canada?’” TikTok, 29 Aug. 2024, http://vm.tiktok.com/ZMSRoPwun/.
Razack, Sherene H. “Making Canada White: Law and the Policing of Bodies of Colour in the 1990s.” Canadian Journal of Law and Society/La Revue Canadienne Droit et Societe, vol. 14, no. 1, 1999, pp. 159-84.
Ricoeur, Paul. “Fragility and Responsibility.” Philosophy & Social Criticism, vol. 21, no. 5-6, 1995, pp. 15-22.
Said, Edward W. Culture and Imperialism. Vintage, 1994.
Samuel, Roland. Ọ̀jà (The Talking Flute). 2024. Courtesy of the artist.
—. The Oja Player: The Influence of Migration on International Students. ALLECC, June 2024.
She, Qianru, and Terry Wotherspoon. “International Student Mobility and Highly Skilled Migration: A Comparative Study of Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom.” SpringerPlus, vol. 2, no. 132, 2013, https://doi.org/10.1186/2193-1801-2-132.
Taleb, Nassim Nicholas. Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder. Vol. 3, Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2014.
“‘Temporary Workers Suppress Canadian Wages’: Harrison Faulkner Debates Dan Kelly.” YouTube, uploaded by Juno News, 21 May 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FyPMiW98os.
“Tuition in Canada: Modest Increases and Widening Gaps, 2025/2026.” Government of Canada, https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/250910/dq250910d-eng.htm. Accessed 6 Dec. 2025.
Ikueze, S. (2026). Canada, International Students, and Fragility: An Analysis of Òjà (The Talking Flute) As Counter-Narrative Project. Canada and Beyond: A Journal of Canadian Literary and Cultural Studies, 15, 137–158. https://doi.org/10.14201/candb.v15i137-158
Most read articles by the same author(s)
- Zahra Tootonsab, Samuel Ikueze, Susie O'Brien, Editorial , Canada and Beyond: A Journal of Canadian Literary and Cultural Studies: Vol. 15 (2026): Overburden: Reading/Imagining Extra-Canadian Ecologies
+
−