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CfP: Cartographies of Difference: A Critical Assessment of Keywords

Call for Papers, IRTG Diversity

Ostracized or celebrated, suppressed or embraced, difference is undeniably an object of both intensified and constant scrutiny in the contemporary world. To perceive, name and recognize it are all major issues replete with ambiguities manifested through the numerous social debates about it. Whether perceived as a problem or a solution, the various manners of addressing its manifold processes layer themselves, not without contradiction, in the fine weaving of the social fabric.

Academia is certainly caught within the same phenomenon as the multiplication of concepts called upon to capture such moving targets are the object of constant revision (most of the time, precisely in the name of a mishandled difference). While some are simply shunned and others amended, new concepts appear in order to highlight some of downplayed or devalued facets of the processes of differentiation.

This proposed volume thus envisions a critical incursion in the complex and multidimensional contemporary situation of the apprehension of difference. We will do so by assessing some of the key concepts directly linked to such efforts in order to: highlight current debates, render explicit some of what remains implicit within them and get a better grasp on the aporias and potentialities bared and expressed by the contemporary mobilization of such concepts.

The goal of such an interdisciplinary collection is to focus on both traditional or emergent ways of thinking and conceptualizing difference as they tend to deploy themselves today. We call upon critical and original reflections on the use (and abuses) of some the following concepts: alterity, authenticity, biodiversity, borders, culture, diversity, exoticism, forms of life, gender, heterotopia, hybridity, interculturalism, liminality, majority/minority, multiculturalism, ontologies, orientalism, pluralism, race and racism, religion, species, spirituality, stranger, translation, etc.

Such a variety of concepts will allow us to follow the numerous traces and historicities specific to the complex landscape of the conceptualization of difference. Some of the underlying questions of our inquiry can be formulated in this way: how, why and when is a chosen concept mobilized and debated? What are the conditions of its (re)emergence? What relations to difference tend to deploy themselves through the chosen conceptual mobilization? We invite authors to delve into current interrogations regarding the concepts of difference in order to question, on a more general level, how we think difference today and, what to think of our contemporary compulsion to think difference.

Propositions (400 words maximum) should be addressed, before July 30th 2016, to Phillip Rousseau – postdoctoral researcher IRTG Diversity, Université de Montréal. Authors will be advised if their propositions are selected on the 15th of August 2016. The length of the contributions should be between 6000 and 8000 words and will need to be sent by December the 15th 2016.

Papers in English, French or German will be peer-reviewed and the selected contributions published as part of the ongoing Waxmann (Münster / New York) publishing series entitled Diversity – Diversité – Diversität.

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CfP: 48th Algonquian Conference

Conference, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, October 13-16, 2016

This conference is an international meeting for researchers to share papers on Algonquian peoples. Fields of interest include anthropology, archaeology, art, biography, education, ethnography, ethnobotany, folklore, geography, history, language education, linguistics, literature, music, native studies, political science, psychology, religion, and sociology.

The conference will open on the evening of Thursday, October 13 with a welcome reception. Regular conference sessions will take place from Friday morning to Sunday noon.

If you are interested in making a presentation, please send a title and abstract of a maximum of one page to this e-mail address.

The subject line of your e-mail must read „Algonquian Conference“ and the text of your e-mail message must include your name, postal address, institutional affiliation and telephone number as well as the e-mail address of each speaker.

Please indicate your requirements for audio-visual equipment. The d eadline for submission of abstracts is September 1, 2016.

The following facilities will be made available to all participants through the Electa Quinney Institute: photocopier, computer, printer and telephone,

Registration information can be found here.

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CfP: Defining Canada, 1867 – 2017: values, practices and representations

International Conference/Congress of the French Association of Canadian Studies (AFEC), 14-16 June 2017, Canadian Cultural Center, Paris (France)

On July 1 2017, Canada will celebrate the 150th anniversary of Confederation. On this historic occasion, the FrenchAssociation of Canadian Studies, in conjunction with the Research Center on Anglophone Cultures (LARCA) of the Université Paris Dideor and the Canadian Embassy in Paris, will hold a conference to explore the evolution of Canada and what defines it. This conference intents to favor the historical perspective of the longue durée, by examining not only what defines Canada in 2017, but by comparing this with the way it was defined in 1867, at the time of Conferedation, as well as in 1967, at the time of the centennial. To do so, the conference will be organized around three guiding lines that correspond to the values, the practices and the representations through which Canada is defined.

 

1) Canadian Values and Principles

The 2015 federal election was marked by a fierce debate over Canadian values, with two opposed views of Canada. The Conservative view of Canada promoted by Stephen Harper was based on a defense of moral certainty and material values and the desire to make uncompromising choices. The Liberal view of Canada, defended by Justrin Trudeau, emphasized the values of kindness and respect for diversity, and the desire to promote inclusiveness through collaboration and compromise. Both views were inspired, to a certain extent, by Canada’s past: the Conservative vision was associated with a return to the monarchist and British atmosphere of Sir John A. Macdonald’s Canada, while the Liberal view recalled the golden age of Lester Pearson’s and Pierre Trudeau’s Canada. The conference will therefore invite exploration of the values of contemporary Canada, but also of past Canada, so as to assess their permanence and evolution. To this reflection on values, which often possess an emotional dimension, could be added a study of the theoretical principles that serve and have served as foundations of the Canadian identity. The conference will welcome proposals for papers that address one of these topics, among others:

  • What is the current state of research on the values and principles that persided to the invention of the Canadian nation, its difficult beginnings, its links with the British Empire?
  • What is the place of conservatism in Canada today, and how did conservatism in Canada evolve since the foundation of the nation in 1867, and its centennial in 1967?
  • What are the libearl values of Canada? How far did they shape the Canadian identity in the 20th century? Is Justin Trudeau’s victory a sign that they form the permanent core of Canada?
  • In the past, were Canadian values and principles a crucial element to differentiate Canada from the United States, and is it still true today? Is the trend today towards a great resemblance or a greater divergence of Canadian and American values?
  • To what extent have new values that were disregarded in the past become central in the early 21st century (such as concern from the environment, equal representation of men and women…)?
  • How are Canadian values (re)defined, (re)presented or challenged by various artistic or literary forms?
  • Could it be said that the indigenous question is at the heart of Canadiaan values today? To what extent does the evolution of Canadian values lead to the construction of an inclusive identity (First Nations, founding peoples, immigrants)?

 

2) Canadian Practices

Canadian values are expressed and translated into reality through political, institutional, social, economic, and cultural practices which have greatly evolved since 1867 or even 1967.The conference invites proposals that explore the evolution of Canadian practices in all fields, among others:

  • Politics, Institutions, National Unity: the evolution of Canada federalism (decentralization, asymmetrical federalism); the place of Quebec in the post-referendum era; the Charter of Rights, the Supreme Court and the judicialization of politics bwetween 1967 and 2017; the evolution of the Canadian democracy, from British-style parliamentary system to participative democracy; reform of the electoral system…
  • International Relations: does multilateralism remain the cornerstone of Canadian foreign policy? From Pearson to Axworthy, does Canada remain a key agent for peace in the world?
    Economy: evolution of the trade practices of Canada, from the National Policy to NAFTA; permanence of staple model, from the fur trade to the mining sector…
  • Environment and the Economy: from the Hudson’s Bay Company to the XL Pipeline, ahve Canadian priorities changed?
    Indigenous peoples and society: a key challenge of contemporary Canada is to enable the integration of the First Nations on an equal basis, as well as their reconciliation with non-indigenous peoples. We will encourage presentations of the practices that make this evolution possible, such as the judicial use of land claims; the creation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission; the creation of the territory of Nunavut; the legal obligation to consult indigenous peoples on development projects; the national inquiry into the murder or disappearance of indigenous women…
  • Language and Society: evolution of language policies and language practices. While Article 133 of the Constitution of 1867 did not officially establish bilingualism in Canada, it represented an almost revolutionary progress at a time when the institutional coexistence of two languages was at odds with received ideas of the link between language and the national identity. How has the relaitonship between the two official languages evolved since 1867? Do the language practices of speakers reflect this evolution? Is bilingualism a still valid concept in a society defined by multiculturalism?
  • Religions and Society: evolution of religious practices in Canada. Since 1867, the country has moved from religious practices that reproduced the European tradition of Catholicism, Anglicanism, Protestantism, and Judaism to an impressive pluralism that matched that of the United States. This was due to immigration but also tot he specific workings of religion in Canada.
  • Literature and the Arts: as early as the 1880s, the „Poets of Confederation“ started to build a Canadian poetic tradition and to contribute to the definition of the national identity. However, it is only since the 1960s that Canadian literature has moved apart from British and American literature. Where does it stand today? What relationship between literary practices in French and in English? Do they reflect similar evolutions?

 

3) Canadian Representations

Canada is also defined by the way it is represented, especially in the current era when branding has brcomse such an important concept. The conference will particularly encourage reflection on the representation of diversities in contemporary Canada, in comparison with the past. At the time of Confederation, Canada was often perceived as described as a binational state made up of two founding peoples, the French Canadians and the English Canadians. At the time of the centennial, the concept of a bicultural state was being replaced by the representation of Canada as a multicultural nation. Fifty years later, the representations of Canada seem to relfect a desire to encompass an ever-widening range of types of diversities, such as gender, religion, eexual orientation, physical handicap… Among these, the process of indigenization of Canadian identity that is barely beginning today may prove to be one of the most important changes in the future representation of Canada. The conference encourages proposals on the following topics, among others:

  • Does multiculturalism remain a central element in the representation of Canada today?
  • Is gender a key element of the representation of Canada today, in the fields of politics (gender equality in the Trudeau government), institutions (call to introduce gender-neural lyrics in the national anthem), arts (gender and sexual orientation as central themes in Xavier Nolan’s movies), literature….?
  • How the indigenous heritage of Canada is slowly being included in the national representtion through various processes of indigenization: greater visibility and consideration for indigenous languages; enhancement of indigenous artistic production; nomination of indigenous peoples at keyCabinet positions; showcasing the indigenous heritage as the official theme of the Vancouver Olympic Games; introduction of mandatory courses on indigenous cultures in Canadian universities…

Abstracts can be submitted individually or as a panel (group of 4 proposals around the same topic), in French or in English.

Deadline to sumbit abstracts (400 words) along with a short bio (100 words), preferably in Word format: August 1, 2016

Notification of acceptance: September 30, 2016.

Contact:
Dr. Laurence CROS
Associate Professor, Canadian Studies
Université Paris Diderot (Paris 7)
Mail

Selected papers from this conference will be published in the journal Études Canadiennes / Canadian Studies.

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DEADLINE EXTENDED! Call for Papers: Revisiting Suburbia – Revisiter les espaces périurbains

February 17-19, 2017, Grainau, Germany
38th Annual Conference of the Association for Canadian Studies in German-speaking Countries

Canada, over the last several decades, has become not only a highly urbanized country but, in fact, “an overwhelmingly suburban nation” (Bourne 1991: 25, emphasis added). There is little doubt that Canada’s urban experience in the early part of the 21st century is actually, in large parts, a suburban experience. And while suburbia as such is not a new topic for academia, suburban Canada has undergone massive changes over the last few decades. As the Canadian space economy has been restructured through processes of global economic change, the spatial structure of Canadian metropolises and the relations between centre and suburbs have been modified accordingly. Changing immigration and internal migration trends have had a notable impact not just on the traditional immigrant reception areas of the inner cities, but on the outer city as well, with an increase in ethnic diversity as well as the emergence of ethnoburbs. Socioeconomic polarization and poverty have taken root in the suburbs, just as new lifestyles and family arrangements have found spaces in suburbia, which today appears more diverse, more vibrant and less homogeneous than ever before. “We’re a long way from Levittown, Dorothy”, as Drummond & Labbé (2013: 46) succinctly put it. So…

  • How to make sense of the changing spatial structures and patterns of Canadian sub-/urbanisms?
  • What historical and current factors can explain the emergence of new suburban landscapes?
  • What drives economic restructuring, socioeconomic segregation, cultural and social innovation in present-day Canadian suburbia?
  • How do demographic and sociocultural values change impact on the politics of suburbia and city?
  • How is all of this reflected in cultural constructions of city and suburbia? And how do these cultural constructions influence value systems, moral codes, and political decision-making?
  • If suburbia becomes more elusive than ever – as space, as place, as utopia or dystopia – do we need new concepts and approaches to comprehend contemporary sub-/urban life in Canada?

Call for papers

The Association for Canadian Studies in German-speaking Countries aims to increase and disseminate a scholarly understanding of Canada. Its work is facilitated primarily through seven disciplinary sections, but it is decidedly multidisciplinary in outlook and seeks to explore avenues and topics of, and through transdisciplinary exchange. For its 2017 annual conference, the Association thus invites papers from any discipline that speak to the conference theme of “revisiting suburbia” with a Canadian or comparative focus. (Papers can be presented in English, French or German.) We are particularly – but not exclusively – interested in the following four main aspects:

1) Cultural production in and of suburbia
à investigating both the production of (changing?) cultural representations of Canadian suburbia, e.g. in literature, film, music, architecture or fine art, as well as the changing conditions of suburban cultural production themselves; addressing the overreaching question of how Canadian culture has been changed from and by the suburbs and their residents

2) Diversity, discrimination and inclusion in suburbia
à analyzing the processes of socioeconomic change in Canadian suburbia, their causes and rationales as well as their implications for social cohesion and political life; shedding some light onto the transformations of the social and their connections to other spheres of Canadian life

3) Post-suburban restructuring? Economics, governance, and sustainability
à exploring the intersections and connections between space, nature and the ecological, the political, the economic and the social, as they are configured within a wider, “post-suburban” landscape

4) Contesting (conceptual) boundaries: between city, (post-)suburbia and the rural
à focusing on the changing meanings and conceptual understandings of suburbia and the urban (and the rural) in general; charting possible new avenues for research on Canadian cities and suburban spaces in their various guises

Contact and abstract submission

Paper proposals/abstracts of max 500 words should outline:
– methodology and theoretical approaches chosen,
– content/body of research
– which of the four main aspects outlined above the paper speaks to (if any).
In addition, some short biographical information (max. 250 words) should be provided, specifying current institutional affiliation and position as well as research background with regard to the conference topic and/or four main aspects.

Abstracts should be submitted to the GKS no later than June 5, 2016 to the GKS Administration Office – which also acts as a general inquiry contact point.

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CfP: Mikinaakominis / TransCanadas Literature, Justice, Relation

Interdisciplinary Canadian Literatures in English Conference, University of Toronto (CA), May 25-27, 2017

Co-chairs: Smaro Kamboureli (University of Toronto), Larissa Lai (University of Calgary)

Canada’s Sesquicentennial anniversary of Confederation is an occasion that invites both
celebration and the need to take critical stock of how we have arrived at our particular
juncture. We currently inhabit a historical moment in which the colonial power of
English literary studies, though still present, is giving way to an English that circulates in
newly complex ways, especially in relation to global economic shifts, intensifications in
voluntary and involuntary human migration, and the rise of new or newly imagined
spiritualities and fundamentalisms. Literary study in English on that part of
Mikinaakominis (Turtle Island) that we call Canada has shifted from a colonial project
meant to build a settler nation to a project that was supposed to include marginalized
others, to, more recently, a project that must reckon with Indigeneity and the politics of
land. These and other related shifts take place within a cultural field that is also changing
with historical and geopolitical circumstances. Public culture and the idea of the public
have transformed through mutations in national space, economics, climate, lands, waters,
and even the air itself. Beside the changes in public space and our conceptions of them,
literature and writing in academic institutions are also transforming in response to
institutional and governmental politics. Further, within academia the humanities are
undermined in favour of knowledge mobilization designed to serve international capital
in (seemingly) pragmatic ways. This set of issues rises beside powerful and liberatory
Indigenous cultural and political resurgences and an accompanying imperative for non-
Indigenous people—imagined variously in racial and geo-political terms—to consider
anew responsibilities, respect, and strategies of cultural engagement as well as specific
contemporary and historical relationships to Indigeneity, land and movement.

What can literature and criticism be and do under these historical and spatial
circumstances? What can decolonization mean in its cultural and socio-political valences
now? What constitutes creativity, the imagination, experimentation, community, and
embodiment at the present moment? What kinds of activist and cultural labour can
criticism and creative writing perform? What forms might such criticism and creative
writing take? This iteration of the serial TransCanada conferences invites storytellers,
poets, novelists, creative non-fiction writers, critics, interdisciplinary practitioners and
activists to enter into newly imagined and innovatively structured forms of presentation
in order to re-build a vibrant, generative, re-productive, critical and creative community,
to ask the hard questions that need to be asked now, to attempt some provisional answers,
and to make story, poem and experiment together and apart.

Keywords to be addressed:
Affect • Activism & Activism as Performance • Asianness • Avant-Garde • Balance •
Blackness • Body • Coalition • Creative & Critical Practices • Cultural Economies •
Decolonization • Diaspora • Earth/ Water/ Air/ Fire/ Metal • Experimentation &
Experimental Writing • Forms (Literary, Cultural) • Forms & Politics / Forms in Relation
to Social Practices • The Humanities in Canada • Imagination • Indigeneity • Inheritance
/ Heritage • Institution • Justice • Kinships • Land • Literature & Activism • Migration •
Nation/ Nationalisms • New Materialisms • Neo-liberalism • Post-Humanism • The
Present • The Public • Reconciliation • Redress • Refugeeness • Relation • Transatlantic •
Transnationalism • Treaties • Writing as Practice

Submission Guidelines
Please submit proposals of up to 300 words for 20-minute-long papers that address any of
the above issues. Collaborative proposals for panel sessions that break the conference
mold in interesting and generative ways, as well as proposals for stand-alone
presentations (performances, films, videos, poster presentations, and other forms of
“demonstration”) will be most welcome.

We wish to extend a special invitation to Ph.D. students for the Plenary Session
especially designed for the presentation of doctoral research projects in the field of
Canadian literary studies. Doctoral students whose dissertation projects are nearing
completion of their program and who would like to be considered for this plenary session
should submit a proposal based on their dissertation project, along with a one-page
(single-spaced) dissertation abstract. Three to five such projects will be featured in this
plenary session, while other projects will be vetted for inclusion in the concurrent panel
sessions.

Deadline for all submissions: June 30, 2016
Notification of acceptance: by September 2016
Submission address: http://tinyurl.com/Mininaak-Trans

Guidelines for submission: Please submit your abstract via email as a Word document
attachment; ensure that your name and institutional affiliation don’t appear on the
abstract document; and use TC4-2017-abstract submission as the subject heading.

Proposals for panels should include the name/s of the panel convener/s, a brief rationale,
and abstracts by no more than three presenters.

For background information about the TransCanada conferences, please visit this website.