The 46th Annual Conference of the Association for Canadian Studies in German-speaking countries will focus on the North as a physical and human reality as well as a symbolic socio-cultural construct and a concept for theoretical and critical debate. True to a pluralistic and multidisciplinary understanding of Canadian Studies, the conference will approach the North as space and place at a multitude of scales, investigate the interaction of natural and human systems, and it will explore cultural and literary representations, historical (constructions of) significance of the North as well as contemporary dynamics and processes.
Canada’s North is a vast and variegated physical space, but also homeland to Indigenous peoples, for whom the North is filled with meanings, stories, and spiritual connections. Yet the perspectives and agendas of white settler colonialism have long dominated public discourse and activities in the Canadian North, primarily focusing on its resources and configuring the North as a development project. Political and academic debates have discussed the North’s importance for the Canadian national character and identity. Cultural and artistic discourse has centered on meanings and representations of the North, as artists of all genres made it a recurring subject of their creative works. As of late, the North has moved again center stage in Canadian Studies due to climate change, geopolitics, academic theories (such as post-colonial or more-than-human studies), and the relationship between Indigenous peoples and the Canadian state.
Thus, three sub-themes and perspectives, each one multidisciplinary in character, will structure the conference proceedings:
1 The nature of the North and nature-human interactions
2 The socio-political gaze at the North
3 The North as discursive formation.
The following themes could be addressed – among others, this is not an exclusive listing:
- the dynamics of climate change and the impact of environmental changes on natural environments, local (and Indigenous) communities, and traditional ways of life
- policies and technologies dealing with climate change as well as deindustrialization and remediation after exploitative practices
- the role of energy and mineral resources in configuring discourses on the North
- issues of environmental rights, justice and sovereignty and concepts of governance
- issues of Indigenous rights, Indigenous nationhood, and (self-)governance (e.g. co-management agreements, land use agreements)
- reconfigured issues of national sovereignty/national security in current times; circumpolar and cross-border cooperation, conflict, and governance
- different (settler colonial) policies and systems of governing the North (e.g. in Quebec vs. in Ontario)
- political discourses and ideologies and their use of narratives and representations of the North
- cultural production and representation of ideas of the North as well as environmental change and human adaptation in literature, storytelling, dance, films, visual arts, etc.
- academic constructs of the North in Quebec Studies, Canadian Studies, and different disciplinary contexts (in geography, history, politics, cultural and literary studies, etc.)
- voices of the North vs. writing etc. about the North
- - home and belonging – spaces, places, meanings in the North
Contact and Abstract Submission.
Paper proposals/abstracts of max. 500 words can be submitted in French or English and should outline:
- methodology and theoretical approaches chosen
- content/body of research
- which of the three sub-themes specified 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
- research background with regard to the conference topic and/or sub-themes.
Abstracts should be submitted no later than May 31, 2024, to gks@kanada-studien.de.