Kategorie: Aktuelles

Anthology planned for publication in Lang’s Canadiana book series

Ed. Stefan L. Brandt

Deadline for complete essays: December 31, 2016

In Cultural Studies, the concept of liminality has been used in various ways. Numerous scholars have dealt with the stage ‚betwixt and between,‘ as Victor Turner most famously described it. This anthology aims at re-mapping the field, focusing on liminality and the liminal within Canada.

Originally developed by cultural anthropologist Arnold van Gennep in his seminal study from 1909, and rediscovered by Victor Turner in the 1960s, the metaphor of ‚liminality‘ has become a keyword in contemporary cultural criticism to refer to processes of identity negotiation connected to experiences of transition. It has been used in connection with terms such as ‚border,‘ ‚frontier,‘ and ‚threshold,‘ and in opposition to the equally metaphorical concept of ‚marginality.‘ While marginality connotes ‚periphery,‘ and thus mainly focuses on exclusion from and by dominant discourses, liminality is concerned with the space of the borderline itself, with feelings of ambiguity and ambivalence.

Liminality can be experienced as challenging, uncomfortable, threatening, and disruptive, but also as subversive and powerful, as a stage facilitating creativity and change. In the context of Canadian Studies, liminality has been employed to discuss geographical frontiers such as the Niagara Falls, the St. Laurence River, the Rocky Mountains, the Canadian Prairies, British Columbia, Quebec, and the Arctic, as well as symbolic frontiers including migration, French-English relations, encounters between First Nations and settlers, and Northrop Frye’s ‚garrison mentality.‘ Liminality has also been examined as an aesthetic concept in its relation to the sublime and the uncanny.

As a theoretical concept, liminality can be of help for an analysis of the construcedness of Canada’s collective identity/identities as well as of individual processes of identification and change. These observations lead us to the following questions: How has the Canadian cultural imaginary fashioned itself with regard to the ‚boundariness‚ of its social and identificatory practices? Which role do symbolic ‚frontiers‘ play in Canadian discourses of self-representation (with respect to inner-Canadian border areas, but also in comparison to the U.S. American frontier)? How do ethnic, sexual, and other minorities position themselves in this nexus of liminal identities?

This anthology aims at bringing together scholars who wish to discuss Canadian liminal spaces and places, that is, in particular, fragmented and contradictory social, cultural, and political practices, real and imagines borders, contact zones, thresholds, and transitions in Anglo-Canadian literature and culture. Possible topics for essays may include, but are – by for – not limited to, the following:

• geographical and imagined borders
• spatial and temporal liminalities
• Canadian ‚frontiers‘
• the relationship between Anglophone and Francophone Canada
• the Canadian North
• the aesthetics and  poetics of liminality
• the liminal and the subliminal
• cultural encounters and First Nations
• queer cultural spaces
• transgender and intersex identities
• hybridity, multiculturalism, and transnationalism
• the figure of the trickster
• aspects of intersectionality, transgression, and normativity
• old age as a liminal stage

Complete essays of no more than 5.000 words, together with the name, institutional affiliation and a bio blurb (max. 150 words) should be sent to this email address. The closing date for submissions is Saturday, December 31, 2016.

Should you have further questions, please contact the editor of the volume, Univ.-Prof. Dr. Stefan L. Brandt.

Das Nachwuchsforum der Gesellschaft für Kanada-Studien e.V. sucht junge, engagierte Kanadist_innen, die sich aktiv im Leitungsteam einbringen und die Förderung von Nachwuchswissenschaftler_innen im Rahmen einer interdisziplinären Kanadistik unterstützen möchten.

Die Leitung des Nachwuchsforums setzt sich aus zwei Teams zusammen, die jeweils versetzt für zwei Jahre amtieren. Turnusgemäß wird das Team Wien auf der nächsten Jahrestagung der GKS, die vom 17. – 19. Februar 2017 in Grainau stattfinden wird, sein Amt abgeben.

Auf der Jahrestagung wird traditionell auch das zukünftige Team vorgestellt, das dann gemeinsam mit dem Team Konstanz/Regensburg die Leitung des Nachwuchsforums übernehmen wird. Das Team Konstanz/Regensburg setzt sich aus Alena Schmidt-Weihrich, Orla Flock, Ingrid Kaplitz, Eva Mendez, Jana Nürnberger, Bianka Gengler, Bettina Mack und Rene Reichert zusammen. Ausführlichere Informationen zum Nachwuchsforum und zu den Leitungsteams können der Webseite www.nachwuchsforum.net entnommen werden.

Das Leitungsteam ist für die Organisation des jährlichen Nachwuchspanels auf der GKS-Jahrestagung sowie für die Ausrichtung einer Graduiertentagung zuständig. In das Aufgabengebiet fällt außerdem die Vernetzung im deutschsprachigen Raum mit anderen Partnerorganisationen, akademischen Einrichtungen, Kanadazentren und den Vertretungen der Regierungen von Kanada und Québec. Hierzu gehören u.a. die Pflege und Aktualisierung der Webseite, das Erstellen eines vierteljährlichen Newsletters mit Informationen zu Konferenzen, Stipendien, Jobangeboten und weiteren Neuigkeiten im Bereich der Kanada-Studien sowie die Repräsentanz des Nachwuchsforums auf Social Media Plattformen (Facebook und Twitter). Die Arbeit im Nachwuchsforum verschafft einen aktiven Einblick in die Organisation von wissenschaftlichen Konferenzen, die Drittmittelbeschaffung, den Umgang mit neuen Medien und das Vernetzen der im deutschsprachigen Raum angesiedelten Kanadistik. Besonders im Hinblick auf die Ausrichtung und Finanzierung der jährlichen Graduiertentagung hat sich die institutionelle Anbindung des Teams an eine akademische Einrichtung bewährt.

Bewerber_innen sollten über gute Kenntnisse in mindestens einer der beiden offiziellen Amtssprachen Kanadas verfügen; es ist von Vorteil, wenn im Team sowohl die englische als auch die französische Sprache repräsentiert werden. Bewerbungen von interdisziplinär besetzten Teams, die ein möglichst breites Spektrum der Sektionen der GKS vertreten, sind besonders willkommen; Einzelpersonen, die das Nachwuchsforum ausdrücklich zu einer Bewerbung ermutigt, werden jedoch gleichermaßen berücksichtigt.

Das Team Konstanz/Regensburg freut sich über zahlreiche Einsendungen. Die Bewerbungen (Motivationsschreiben von max. 2 Seiten, Lebenslauf) sind bis spätestens zum 15. Dezember 2016 an diese E-Mail-Adresse zu richten. Alle Bewerber_innen werden bis Ende Dezember 2016 über die Entscheidung informiert.

Assistant Professor for Indigenous Studies, Department of Sociology, Ryerson University, Toronto, ON/Canada

The Department of Sociology at Ryerson University in the city of Toronto on the territory of the Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee peoples invites applications for a tenure-stream appointment at the rank of Assistant Professor. The area of specialization is Indigenous studies, with a focus on Turtle Island/North America reflected in a program of research that demonstrates a strong commitment to Indigenous knowledges and methodologies, a record of collaboration with Indigenous communities and organizations, and active engagement with anti-colonial struggles in North America. The successful candidate will be able to apply Indigenous perspectives to teaching in one of the following areas: introductory sociology, popular culture, or gender and sexuality, in order to teach Indigenous content courses as well as Sociology Program and Liberal Studies courses at the undergraduate level.

The position will commence July 1, 2017 and is subject to final budgetary approval.

The successful candidate must hold a Ph.D. or be close to the completion of a Ph.D. in Sociology or in a related discipline and will provide evidence of a strong research record or an emerging scholarly profile, demonstrate a high standard of teaching, in addition to a capacity for collegial service. Candidates must have a demonstrated commitment to and meaningful experience with the principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion and will be expected to demonstrate their ability to work with a diverse student population. The Sociology Department, consisting of 22 full-time faculty members, has a solid and growing reputation for high-quality teaching and excellent, innovative, and socially-relevant research. The Department is strongly committed to equity, diversity and inclusion, social activism, and community-engaged teaching, learning, and research. Our undergraduate degree program offers a curriculum that highlights the study and practical application of research methods, classical and contemporary social theory, and themes of diversity, inequality and social justice, popular culture, media, and contemporary urban experience.

Located in the heart of Toronto, the largest and one of the most cosmopolitan cities in Canada, Ryerson University is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion. The University is known for its innovative programs, built on the integration of theoretical and practically oriented learning. Both our undergraduate and graduate programs are distinguished by a professionally focused curriculum and strong emphasis on excellence in teaching, research and creative activities.

Applications should include a letter of introduction, curriculum vitae, two recent writing samples, institutionally-generated results of teaching evaluations, and three letters of reference. Applicants are asked to indicate in their application if they are a citizen or permanent resident of Canada. Please apply for this job online at www.ryerson.ca/jobs. For general inquiries, please contact Mr. Yu by email  or by phone at 416 979 5000 x. 2282. Confidential inquiries or questions of an academic nature may be directed to Dr. Alan Sears, Interim Chair of the Department of Sociology. The deadline for submission of applications is December 2, 2016.

This position falls under the jurisdiction of the Ryerson Faculty Association (RFA). The RFA collective agreement can be viewed on the RFA collective agreement page. A summary of RFA benefits can be found on the RFA benefits page. The RFA’s website can be found at: www.rfanet.ca.

Aboriginal candidates who would like to learn more about working at Ryerson University are welcome to contact Ms. Tracey King, Aboriginal HR Consultant, Aboriginal Recruitment and Retention Initiatives.