Dr. Darcy Ballantyne

Darcy Ballantyne is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English. She teaches and researches in the areas of Black studies, Black Canadian literatures and cultures, city writing, Black memoir and critical mixed race theory. Darcy has published articles in TOPIA: Canadian Journal of Cultural Studies, MaComère: The Journal of the Association of Caribbean Women Writers and Scholars, A/B Auto/Biography Studies, and The Walrus Magazine. She is currently co-editing a special issue of Canadian Literature on the topic of Black life in a post-pandemic world and working on two book-length projects, including a literary memoir.  

Darcy holds a PhD in English Literature from York University, an MA in English Literature from Concordia University and a BA in English Language and Literature from the University of Waterloo. Her SSHRC-funded dissertation, A Poetics of the Contemporary Black Canadian City, examines depictions of the city by Black Canadian writers within the context of plantation theory. She has taught as sessional faculty in the Black Canadian Studies Certificate Program in the Department of Humanities at York University and in the Department of English at Ryerson University.

“I am excited at the prospect of collaborating with colleagues and students who share my interest in exploring Black life in Canada and the wider diaspora. Ryerson University’s diverse and activist student body and faculty, and its unique location in downtown Toronto make it an exciting space in which to continue my teaching and research on contemporary urban and Black issues and literature.”