Canadian Studies Announcements

IN THIS ISSUE:

Upcoming event: Student Research Roundtable, April 21 (RSVP required)

Updated safety and travel resources from the Canadian Consulate

External Event Tomorrow: Covid-19 and the Northern Border (hosted by the Wilson Center, Washington, DC)

In the News: Faculty affiliate Beth Piatote interviewed by the Los Angeles Review of Books

UPCOMING EVENT

Student Research Roundtable

Colloquium | April 21 | 12:45 p.m. | Online | RSVP required

Learn about some of the fascinating student research Canadian Studies is fostering at UC Berkeley thanks to support from our donors. This live presentation will showcase projects from two recent fellowship recipients. Please RSVP at canada@berkeley.edu. If you require an accommodation for effective communication, please let us know with as much advance notice as possible.

Good Time, Bad Time: Socioeconomic Status and the Cultural Repertoires of Time Scarcity in Retirement

Boróka Bó, doctoral candiate in sociology and demography

We tend to think of retirement as a great equalizer when it comes to relief from the pernicious time scarcity characterizing the lives of many individuals in the labor force. Puzzlingly, this is not the case. Using established research, long-term participant observation, and in-depth interviews with Toronto residents, I show that socioeconomic characteristics are important determinants of retiree time scarcity. Neighborhood disadvantage gets under the skin via time exchanges that are forged by both neighborhood and peer network characteristics. For the advantaged, the experience of time scarcity is protective for well-being in later life, as it emerges from managing a relative abundance of choices. For the disadvantaged, the later life experience of time scarcity is shaped by cumulative inequality, further exacerbating inequalities in well-being. The final section of my talk offers an analysis and interpretation of my findings, putting retiree time scarcity in conversation with the broader literature on socioeconomic status and well-being.

Healing Through Language: Revitalization in the Wendat Confederacy

Fallon Burner, undergraduate history major

Language is at the core essence of identity. My honors thesis examines the history of the languages of the Wendat Confederacy (Huron), showing the vital role that language plays in the Indigenous community, how its history is tied to issues of erasure and survival, and the role that language revitalization projects have in addressing transgenerational trauma. The Wendat Confederacy straddles the US-Canada border with nations in Québec, Ontario/Michigan, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Distance and multiple language barriers provide challenges for language revitalizers.

There is a strong need in the field of history for narratives which are from an Indigenous perspective. This can be achieved through a methodology utilizing the languages themselves and oral histories. I spent the summer of 2019 conducting oral history interviews with Wendat and Wyandot(te) language revitalizers, in order to create an archive of Wendat perspectives on language revitalization. I also conducted archival research on the Wendake reserve in Québec, and had one-on-one language instruction in the Waⁿdat and Wendat languages. Part of my mission is to erase the erasure of Indigenous voices by contributing more Indigenous perspective primary sources to the historical narrative for future scholars.

From the Canadian Consulate:

COVID-19 Resources for Canadian Citizens

Last week, the Canadian Studies Program hosted a town hall with Consul-General Rana Sarkar of the Canadian Consulate in San Francisco-Silicon Valley, covering Canada’s response to the coronavirus pandemic and what it means for Canadians abroad. For those of you who couldn’t make it or wanted additional information, the consulate has shared these helpful tips to help Canadians living in the San Francisco Bay Area navigate this crisis:

TOMORROW: COVID-19 and the Northern Border (external event)

Panel | April 14 | 11:00 a.m. PT | Online

The Canada Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC will host an expert panel discussion tomorrow to give an update on the novel Coronavirus, and how Canada and the United States are working together during this crisis. In the wake of the novel outbreak, Canada and the United States agreed to temporarily restrict all non-essential travel across their shared border for the first time since September 11, 2001. This new agreement, enacted in order to protect the health and safety of their citizens, restricts travel for tourism and recreation and allows for the continuation of business travel crucial to our integrated supply chains.

Currently, $2.7 billion worth of goods crosses the Canada-U.S. border every day; yet, with markets plummeting, business closures, and an increase in unemployment, we may be headed for continued economic downturn. How is COVID-19 affecting businesses on both sides of the border? How long can we expect this to last? And what else can be done to maintain our strong economic ties? During the call, speakers will discuss the details of the temporary border agreement and the impact COVID-19 has on trade between the two nations. This event will be broadcasted via teleconference on the event’s website.

Learn more and RSVP for the panel here.

IN THE NEWS

“Language Is A Casualty of War”: Canadian Studies Faculty Affiliate Beth Piatote Discusses Her Writing and Indigenous Language Revitalization

Beth Piatote, a Canadian Studies faculty affiliate and professor of Native American studies at UC Berkeley, was featured in an interview in the Los Angeles Review of Books this week. Dr. Piatote, who is Nez Perce and is enrolled with Colville Confederated Tribes, published her début short story collection, The Beadworkers, last year. She is also involved in the revitalization of the Nez Perce language, and the stories, poems, and play included in The Beadworkers interweave Nez Perce language and form to tell the diverse stories of Native people facing conflicts that stretch back generations.

Read the full interview in the Los Angeles Review of Books.

Canadian Studies Program

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