res futura

res futura is a Toronto-based collective of workers, artists, and students.

res futura hosts Q&A, a weekly in-person educational forum.

res futura publishes online articles and a semiannual print issue.
Submissions are now open for Issue 2 of our journal.

Q&A is an educational forum. Every Thursday at Q&A, an expert delivers a lecture, then hosts an open discussion and question period. All our events are free. No background required.

Q&A meets every Thursday at 6 pm at the OISE Building (252 Bloor St. W). Please see below schedule for specific room number.

September 17 (Jonathan Russell): History and freedom from German Idealism to historical materialism. OISE, rm. 5150

September 24 (Nevada-Jane Arlow): “Dogs are liberals”: On Arthur Rimbaud and the advent of Modern poetry. OISE, rm. 5150

October 1 (Naseem Rine-Reesha | Topics in Psychoanalysis): TBA. OISE, rm. 5150

October 8 (James Yuan | Method and Rhetoric): TBA. OISE, rm. 8170

(Interested in more details? Subscribe to our mailing list.)

Current Q&A series

Topics in Psychoanalysis. Psychoanalytic theory lies at the root of modern forms of psychotherapy. It also remains an essential foundation for many contemporary therapists’ understanding of their vocation. But psychoanalytic theory is not only relevant to therapists: it has exerted—and continues to exert—powerful influence upon political, historical, philosophical, and literary thought. This lecture series will cover diverse topics in classic and current psychoanalytic theorizing, weaving together thinkers from psychoanalysis’s international traditions, including those inaugurated by Freud, Jung, Klein, Fairbairn, Lacan, and Laplanche. Lectures are led by Naseem Rine-Reesha, a psychotherapist and former university instructor.

Method and Rhetoric. The way we argue determines what we can argue. Contemporary thinkers have a daunting variety of ways to express their arguments: formal logic, mathematics, and deductive reasoning; scientific method and mathematical modelling; myth, narrative, and poetry; critique and dialectics; performance and play. In this series, lecturer and theorist James Yuan will present case studies of different methods of argument, examining how they shape and limit the works of philosophers, political theorists, scientist, and artists.

Seminars

Writing and Rhetoric. Begins January 2027. Check back for updates.

FAQ

I would like more info and updates about Q&A lectures. Subscribe to our mailing list.

How do I get in contact? General inquiries may be directed to q-and-a@resfutura.ca. Contact our Members Officer (members@resfutura.ca) for matters relating to Members and Executives of Res Futura, our Financial Officer (finance@resfutura.ca) for financial concerns, and our University Officer (university@resfutura.ca) for relations with students and student groups.

I would like to lecture at Q&A. The key criterion for our selection of lectures for Q&A is its relevance to the community that attends Q&A. Thus, if you are interested in lecturing at Q&A, we invite you first to learn about the community for whom you will be lecturing, by attending regularly at Q&A for a period of time. Talk to an Executive of Res Futura at Q&A to get the ball rolling on your own lecture.

Are there recordings/livestreams of Q&A lectures? We do produce recordings of Q&A, including both the lecture and the discussion period. Recordings are private, and may be shared with you on an individual basis with the lecturer’s consent. Email us to request a particular lecture recording. As a rule, we do not livestream Q&A sessions.

What are my donations at Q&A used for? Res Futura is an unincorporated not-for-profit association, which means that none of our revenues are used to pay our Executives. Lecturers are unpaid as a rule, but invited guest speakers may receive an honorarium. Donations received at Q&A, as well as proceeds from our journal sales, are used entirely to fund expenses associated with Q&A, as well as to support Res Futura’s journal.

How do I become a Member or Executive of Res Futura? View the rights and responsibilities of our Members and Executives, as well as our membership procedures, here.