The third day of the Summer School was dedicated to a field-based learning activity in the heart of Mexico City. Participants took part in a guided walking tour exploring feminist anti-monuments, following a route from the Angel of Independence to the Palace of Fine Arts.
The tour was led by Tania Islas, an ÉRIGAL faculty member, together with CERRUCHA, a feminist social practice artist. Throughout the walk, participants examined how anti-monuments transform public space into places of memory, political expression, and collective mobilization. They explored the history and significance of several of these urban interventions while reflecting on their role in denouncing gender-based violence, enforced disappearances, femicides, and the broader social inequalities that shape contemporary cities.
The activity also provided an opportunity to discuss the relationship between collective memory, the appropriation of public space, and urban citizenship. Through dialogue with the facilitators, participants engaged in comparative reflections on how social movements use the urban landscape to make visible demands and experiences that are often absent from official narratives and commemorative monuments.
By combining field observation, collective discussion, and critical analysis, the day offered participants a unique opportunity to connect the theoretical perspectives explored during the Summer School with the lived realities of Mexico City.
This Summer School brings together students, faculty members, and researchers from Canada and Latin America to explore key issues related to cities, inequalities, and urban citizenship. It is jointly organized by CÉRIUM, the Instituto de Investigaciones Sociales of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (IIS-UNAM), ÉRIGAL, and the Canada Research Chair in Participation and Citizenship.