30th Annual Two Days of Canada Conference, 2 – 3 November 2017, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario (Canada)
People of Colour have already begun a body of writing and scholarship engaging with the meaning of Canada as a „queer place in Diaspora“ (Walcott 2005: 90). „Queer Canada“ will be a two-day conference of scholars, students, community members, artists, and activists at Brock University coming together to examine the various intersections between implications of nation-state identity and queerness. In 2016, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau marched in several Pride parades across Canada. This occurred against the backdrop of the „Black Lives Matter“ protest at Toronto Pride Parade as well as the decision of several groups not to march in Pride in Vancouver. Notably, there was also the mobilization of Alternative Pride events with aims of creating „a new kind of inclusivity“. Also, in 2016, in the wake of the Syrian refugee crisis, it was announced that the Trudeau government would accept 25.000 refugees into Canada, but only if they came as whole families, lone women, or children. Excluded were unaccompanied men as part of this resettlement, except for those who were gay, bisexual, or transsexual. These events demand that we revisit and reconsider the relationship between queerness and nation at our current historical juncture.
The organizers invite proposals for critical and creative presentations. Possible themes include, but are not limited to:
- writing and rewriting the nation
- queer diasporas
- homonationalism
- queer art and literature
- queer theatre in Canada
- politics and resistance
- queer histories
- archives and representations
- queer time
- queer space
- trans-subjectivities
- trans families, groups and affiliations
- queer indigeneity
- bodily transformation
- law and the body
- embodied queer thought
- utopias and dystopias
- decolonizing time
- queerness on TV
- philosophies and queerness
- queering feminism
- international and transnational connections and activism
- future visions
Proposals for individual papers, presentations, or panels from all disciplines, covering any aspect of Queer Canada’s past, present or future are welcomed. Abstracts should be no longer than 250 words and may be sent to Natalee Caple, Department of English Language & Literature before May 1, 2017. Please attach a 50-word biography to your submission.
Hardcopy proposals should be sent to:
Professor Natalee Caple
c/o The Department of English Language & Literature
Brock University
1812 Sir Isaac Brock Way
St. Catharines, ON
L2S 3A1