colonialism
The grand history of the spice trade
December 20, 2025By: Noeka Nimmervoll, Staff Writer The modern world is full of magic if you take a minute to peek under the hood. One such thing that has struck me lately as absurd is owning a spice rack as a student in Canada. Cinnamon, allspice, ginger, nutmeg, these are spices that are native to countries all over the world: primarily India, Jamaica, China, and Indonesia, respectively. Since the Roman Empire (625 BCE to 476 CE), spices had been a major indicator of wealth up until the globalization of spices that occurred in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Silk Road and…
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SFYou: Dr. Shivaji Mukherjee
December 19, 2025By: Niveja Assalaarachchi Editor’s note: In the printed version of this article, The Peak mistakenly noted that Mukherjee is an assistant professor at SFU. This is incorrect, as he is an associate professor at SFU, and the piece has been…
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My journey infiltrating the country of Islam
November 11, 2025By: Zainab Salam, Sand Excavator Mission report: Desert Day 1 Subject: Bringing Civilization™ to the so-called Orient. “Girl, we going to Islam?” That is what I asked my adjutant upon dismounting the camel. He nodded gravely. Neither of us knew…
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Activists discuss the intersection between Palestinian liberation and disability justice
November 10, 2025By: Heidi Kwok, Staff Writer Content warning: mentions of genocide, forced sterilization, and embodied and psychological trauma. On September 12 at the Harbour Centre, the Disability Justice Network of BC and the SFU Centre for Comparative Muslim Studies (CCMS) hosted…
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Canada’s 2025 Express Entry system updates stall the government from solving its own problems
March 18, 2025By: Phone Min Thant, Staff Writer The government of Canada is no stranger to using immigration to exploit foreign labour and distract from the source of the country’s domestic woes. They have done it again with the new year’s changes…
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We are no better than our neighbours down south
January 13, 2025By: Yasmin Hassan, Staff Writer Content warning: mentions of the transatlantic slave trade, segregation, anti-Indigenous violence, and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. There’s a tendency to compare Canada and the US on the issue of police brutality, and…
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From Turtle Island to Gaza
June 27, 2024By: Yildiz Subuk, Peak Associate Content warning: mentions of genocide and residential schools. Orientalism by Edward Said, published in 1978, examines the way western society views “the Orient,” which was known as South Asia, East Asia, and the Middle East.…
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Dehumanization from the past to the present
January 10, 2024By: Sude Guvendik, Staff Writer Content Warning: Mentions of genocide, violence, eugenics, and rape. Dehumanization is a concept that justifies treating a group of people as inhuman, portraying them as “less than,” or even a criminal based on defined characteristics…
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SFU should revive their Latin American courses
October 13, 2023By: Michelle Young, Opinions Editor In 2020, SFU suspended their Latin American studies program. There was little explanation for this, and since it’s been three years, I can only assume they aren’t prioritizing its return. As someone who had been…
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Angela Sterritt discusses systemic violence against Indigenous women
October 10, 2023By: Karissa Ketter, News Editor Editor’s Note: This article was updated on October 13, to correct the title of the Haíłzaqv (Heiltsuk) Washing Ceremony. Also, to correct that Angela Sterritt investigated the cases of Ramona Wilson and Tina Fontaine in…
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