Canadian Studies Announcements

In this issue:

New Hildebrand Fellow, Caylee Hong, Studies How Oil Well Bankruptcies Shape Cities

Canadian Studies is pleased to introduce Caylee Hong, the latest recipient of an Edward Hildebrand Research Fellowship. Caylee is a Ph.D. student in sociocultural anthropology with an emphasis on legal issues.

Caylee’s research examines the impacts of finance, including debt and bankruptcy, on infrastructure development and decommissioning. Her Hildebrand Fellowship will provide funding for her dissertation project, exploring how corporate bankruptcy law shapes oil and gas-producing cities. In particular, she examines the responses by diverse urban stakeholders to “orphan” oil and gas wells in California and Alberta, Canada – namely, wells that lack a known or solvent owner/operator.

Caylee received a bachelor’s in common law from McGill University and a master’s in law from the University of London School of Oriental and African Studies. She also holds a B.A. in interdisciplinary studies from the University College Utrecht. Prior to Berkeley, Caylee clerked at the Federal Court of Canada and worked as a project finance attorney in New York City.

Research Funding Opportunities with Canadian Studies

Deadline: May 7, 2021

The Canadian Studies Program is currently accepting applications for funding opportunities for both graduate and undergraduate students at UC Berkeley. Applications for AY 2021-22 will close next month, on May 7, 2021. Learn more and apply by clicking the links below.

The Edward E. Hildebrand Graduate Research Fellowship provides travel and research support for Berkeley graduate students whose work focuses primarily, or comparatively, on Canada. Fellowships typically range in the $5,000 – $10,000 range.

The Rita Ross Undergraduate Prize in Canadian Studies provides a cash prize of $250 to the Berkeley undergraduate who has produced the best research project engaging with a Canadian topic for a class or independent study program.

Please circulate this information to your students, peers, and networks!

In the News

Canadians Remember Prince Philip, Evaluate His Legacy

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh died last Friday at the age of 99. The Canadian government has organized an official commemoration page, with a memorial planned for April 17. Prime Minister Trudeau eulogized Philip as a man of “great service,” and “a dedicated leader in the areas of community engagement and philanthropy.”

Citizens across Canada are reacting to the monarch’s passing, and reflecting on what his legacy means for the country. Prince Philip was a frequent visitor to Canada and made over 70 appearances in the country over his lifetime. A lifelong conservationist and founder of the World Wildlife Fund, Philip would frequently use his visits to draw attention to local conservation issues, such as Saskatchewan’s endangered burrowing owls.

Indigenous Canadians, meanwhile, are reflecting on his “memorable, complicated” relationship with their people. For some, his position as a representative of the Crown made him a symbol of the complicated history between Indigenous peoples and non-native government. Philip was notorious for making gaffes over the years, including comments some declaimed as racist. However, other Indigenous people recall his personal good humour, and praise his strong promotion of environmental protection.

Ultimately, Philip’s passing has brought renewed attention to the future of the monarchy in Canada. With an imminent generational turnover in the royal family, how can the Crown adapt to the politics and realities of modern Canadian society, where fewer citizens identify with the country’s British heritage? And what role does the monarchy play in the identity of a nation that is explicitly multicultural and egalitarian?

Upcoming Event

Psychedelics, Eh? Canada’s Role in a Psychedelic Renaissance

April 27 | 12:30 p.m. | RSVP here

In the 1950’s, the Canadian province of Saskatchewan was on the cutting edge of research into hallucinogenic drugs. Under the province’s massive healthcare reforms, researchers received grants to pursue LSD treatments they thought could revolutionize psychiatry. What do these experiments say about Canada’s healthcare system and society at the time? And what can we learn from the program’s successes and failures at a time when psychedelics are attracting renewed scientific and public interest?

Erika Dyck is the Canada Research Chair in the History of Health & Social Justice at the University of Saskatchewan. She specializes in the history of psychiatry, and has written several books on the history of psychedelic research and eugenics in Canada. She is the author of Psychedelic Psychiatry: LSD from Clinic to Campus (Johns Hopkins University Press), which covers the complex history of LSD in North America.

Affiliate/External Events

Canada’s Implementation of UNDRIP Commitments:

What Will it Mean for Business and the Economy?

April 13 | 9:00 a.m. ET | RSVP here

Join the Wilson Center’s Canada Institute for a high-level dialogue on the changing nature of business practices as the implementation of The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) commitments is considered in Canada. Introduced to Canada’s Parliament on December 3, 2020, Bill C-15 would align UNDRIP with Canadian laws and would have a wide and far-reaching impact. This forum will examine the potential changes for business and economic relationships between industry and Indigenous peoples in North America.

The speakers will discuss the history of UNDRIP and Bill C-15 in Canada, the shift in corporate and public discourse related to indigenous engagement and reconciliation, and what the implementation of UNDRIP might mean for business and Indigenous-industry relationships. Business and Indigenous leaders will discuss expected timelines, changes still needed, and new areas of opportunity.

Book Talk: Bridging the Longest Border with Dr. Donald Alper

April 29 | 7:00 p.m. PT | RSVP here

As part of its 50th anniversary celebration, Western Washington University’s Center for Canadian-American Studies is sponsoring a talk by Dr. Don Alper on his new book, “Bridging the Longest Border”. The book is a story of how a handful of visionaries built a program at Western Washington University to educate students and community leaders about Canada. While not a history lesson, this book traces the journey of creating a place for developing knowledge about this important country just a stone’s throw away.

Dr. Alper is an emeritus professor of political science at Western Washington University, and the former director of Western’s Center for Canadian–American Studies and the Border Policy Research Institute. Known nationally for his advancement of Canadian Studies in the United States, he has taught courses on Canadian politics and Canada-U.S. relations for more than 40 years. Don Alper will be joined in conversation with Cat Wallace, journalism instructor at Whatcom Community College and editor.

Canadian Studies Program

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