“The World Needs More Canada”? Changes and Challenges in Contemporary Canadian Culture and Society

From booksellers and rock artists to diplomats and the President of the United States, many people have echoed the sentiment that Canada has something important to offer to the world. The 150th anniversary of Confederation in 2017 represents an excellent occasion to consider and highlight current social, cultural and political developments and critically explore the ways in which Canada defines itself and its place in the world. Can Canada be a blueprint for the world? To what extent can Canadian policies and solutions be transferred to other continents and cultures? Does the world indeed need more Canada?

For more information, visit the conference website.

Call For Papers

With the election of Justin Trudeau, Canada seeks to move in different political, social and economic directions from the ones initiated and implemented by former Prime Minister Steven Harper. At the same time, the legacy of Harper and his predecessors, including Pierre Trudeau, needs to be (re)negotiated and adapted to the realities of the 21st century.

For this conference, we call for proposals that seek to critically examine Trudeau’s emphasis on change and the promise of revision. Specifically, we seek papers that explore continuities and discontinuities in Canada’s approaches to the following subset of themes: immigration, justice and security; issues of indigeneity; the theory and practice of Canadian multiculturalism and the ideal of the “inclusive society;” Canada in global perspective.

Proposals may include but are not limited to the following topics:

• New (transcultural) perspectives on Canadian national identity: still “our famous problem” (Northrop Frye)? Identity and issues of language, immigration and integration.
• Canadian multiculturalism: the legacy of Pierre Trudeau, (dis)continuities in Justin Trudeau’s present-day policies, theory and practice.
• Canadian culture: revision and change in the production, reception and study of Canadian literature, film, art and music, especially as related to multiculturalism and recent developments in transnational literary and cultural studies.
• Being indigenous in Canada Canada’s relation to indigeneity: First Nations and the world; the plans and policies of Justin Trudeau to wield change and bridge continuing social, economic and cultural gaps; “Idle No More” and related activist initiatives involving visibility, land claims and the protection of the environment; outcomes of and follow-ups to the Truth and Reconciliation Committee; contemporary indigenous literature, film, art, music.
• Canada and the world: Canada’s response to the international refugee crisis; CETA: curse or blessing? The Canadian North as conflicted space; Canada and the US; Canada and Europe: partners in peace?; The legacy of WWII: memory, memorialization, and the prospect of global peace.
• Canada and (inter)national issues of security, justice and human rights.

Please send your proposals (300 words) and a brief CV to the conference organizers Prof. dr. Hans Bak and Dr. Mathilde Roza at canadaconference@let.ru.nl by March 1, 2017