Canadian studies study tours, internships, conferences and events

"Thinking Canada" - EU-Canada Study Tour and Internship Programme 2011

"Thinking Canada" is an initiative of the European Network for Canadian Studies - a four-week study tour to Canada for European students that will take place from 4 September to 2 October 2011, followed for selected participants by two-month internships. The tour to Canada commences with three days of briefings in Brussels on the EU and EU-Canada relations.The aim of the study tour is to offer its participants a unique in-depth experience of Canada through an intensive programme of visits to major private and public institutions, government bodies, think tanks and NGOs. At each place, the students will receive briefings and have the opportunity to exchange views with representatives of these bodies, many of them leading experts in their fields. The tour will begin in Brussels, and travel to Ottawa, Québec, Montréal, Toronto, Vancouver and Victoria.

This immersion in Canada will offer a unique opportunity for an academic experience in a non-academic setting. The tour is focused on a number of themes, in particular cultural diversity (including the English/French relationship, the First Nations and multiculturalism), political issues (federalism, regionalism, the role of government), the environment (including Arctic issues), urban issues and economic topics (business, finance, trade). EU-Canada relations will also be covered and provide a recurring backdrop to the discussions. Two European academic advisors will be accompanying the tour to serve as resource persons and provide feedback.

In addition to the tour, eight two-month internships will be offered to participants immediately following the end of the tour.

For further information on the tour, its programme, internships, cost and how to apply, see the tour's website.

Deadline for applications: Wednesday 18 May 2011

 
Where is Here Now?  Canadian Literary Study in the 21st Century

The British Association for Canadian Studies Literature Group is pleased to announce that we will be hosting a symposium on 12th September 2011 at the Eccles Centre for American Studies at the British library. This one-day symposium will provide an opportunity for emerging and established scholars to situate developments and innovations in current Canadian literary studies in the UK and beyond.

We see this symposium as a chance to re-evaluate dominant modes of Canadian literary canon making and map out new ways of understanding Canadian literature's place and influence in and beyond Canada at the beginning of the new millennium. To this end, we invite papers aiming to look forward, focusing on emerging writers, as well as those offering fresh approaches to established writers and forgotten or marginalised writers who are due renewed critical attention. To help us with these productive re-evaluations we have invited two eminent, influential and innovative scholars and BACS members to give a joint plenary and lead the first discussion: Dr. Danielle Fuller (University of Birmingham) and Dr. Faye Hammill (Strathclyde University).


We suggest the following topics of interest, although contributors should not feel limited to these areas:

•Canada on the global stage
•Canada since 9/11
•Canadian literature and culture in the cyberage
•Canadian engagement with new literary genres
•Cosmopolitanism
•Re-assessing ideas of the postnational and/or transnational
•Multiculturalism and diversity
•Indigeneity and/or the absence of decolonization
•Canadian literary prize culture
•Rethinking the 'lit' in CanLit
•Changing materialities
•Interdisciplinary approaches to Canadian literature
•Comparative frameworks: postcolonial and/or hemispheric paradigms
•The institutional positioning of Canadian literature in the UK: Is it an 'Area Studies' subject? Should it be taught under World literatures or general contemporary literature?

We invite paper proposals for 5-10-minute position papers. All panellists will be required to submit a 2000 to 3000-word version of their paper, which will be posted for all delegates to read in advance on the BACS literature group webpage. Proposals of 300 words and brief biographical notes should be emailed to Catherine Bates, Fiona Tolan and Gillian Roberts.





CONFERENCE ON WAR OF 1812 - SENATE HOUSE, LONDON, 13-14 JULY 2012

A major conference marking the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812 is being arranged in London on Friday 13 and Saturday 14 July 2012. This will be the annual conference of the History and Politics Group of the British Association for Canadian Studies. Over 20 papers on the War of 1812 have already been received and one of the plenary speakers will be Professor Donald Hickey, who has written one of the main books on the subject. Further papers are invited, especially on the significance of the War of 1812 in Anglo-Canadian-American relations since then. If you are interested in attending or submitting a paper or would like more details about the conference please contact Tony McCulloch. Paper proposals (one or two paragraphs) plus a short bio should be submitted by 1 July 2011.

Canada's Special Relationships - SENATE HOUSE, LONDON, 15 JULY 2011

The 2011 Canadian Studies conference will be held on Friday 15 July and will be on the theme of "Canada's Special Relationships". If you would like to attend or submit a paper please contact Tony McCulloch. It is hoped that some funding for travel from Dundee and accommodation in London will be available for presenters and chairs.

It is intended that a selection of the papers will be published in a special issue of the International Journal. Possible topics include Canada's relationships - now or in the past - with Britain, the USA, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, NATO, the UN, the EU, the G8/G20, the Arctic, etc.***Extended Deadline: 5th May, 2011***