Canadian Studies Announcements

In this issue:

Canadian Studies Welcomes Nicholas Fraser as New Sproul Research Fellow

Canadian Studies is pleased to announce that Dr. Nicholas A. R. Fraser will be joining our team as a John A. Sproul Research Fellow for Academic Year 2021-22, beginning September 1.

In his new role, Dr. Fraser will assist program director Irene Bloemraad in research measuring Canadians’ attitudes towards immigration. Friends of the program may remember him from a lecture he gave in March 2020, in which he explored variations in asylum recognition rates across several countries through the lens of bureaucratic culture.

Dr. Fraser received his Ph.D. in political science at the University of Toronto, with a specialty in comparative politics and public policy. He holds a B.A. in political science from the University of Calgary, as well as M.A.s in political science from the University of British Columbia and Waseda University in Japan. His research focuses on how states attempt to control and manage the long-term impacts of immigration; it also engages questions about how interest groups, agencies, and courts influence policy and public attitudes in these fields. He has received numerous previous research grants, including the SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship.

We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Fraser to Berkeley, and look forward to a productive partnership over the coming year.

Fall 2021 Events Calendar

Canadian Studies is pleased to announce our events schedule for the Fall 2021 semester. To address ongoing health concerns, ​all Fall events will be held virtually or in a hybrid in-person/virtual format using Zoom conferencing. Please note that campus policy requires all participants to have a Zoom account to join meetings. All times posted are Pacific. Event details are subject to change.

Elections Matter: The Politics of Coronavirus in Canada and the United States

September 14 | 12:30 pm | Online | RSVP here

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have wide-ranging consequences on North American politics. The effect of the virus on Joe Biden’s 2020 win remains debated; meanwhile, Justin Trudeau hopes to use the belated success of his vaccine procurement strategy to win his party a parliamentary majority in the September 20 federal elections. How has COVID-19 shaped electoral politics in Canada and the United States as it relates to crucial recent and ongoing policy choices? Political scientist Daniel Béland, director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada, will address this question while discussing the potential political and policy consequences of the upcoming Canadian elections.

Canadian Family Thanksgiving

October 9 | Information pending

Subject to public health conditions, Canadian Studies and the Digital Moose Lounge hope to welcome friends back for a special Thanksgiving celebration with the Bay Area’s Canadian community. Stay turned for updates!

Book Talk: Making Middle-Class Multiculturalism: Immigration Bureaucrats and Policymaking in Postwar Canada

October 12 | 12:30 pm | Online | RSVP here

In the 1950s and 1960s, immigration bureaucrats played an important yet unacknowledged role in transforming Canada’s immigration policy. Their perceptions and judgements about the admissibility of individuals — in socioeconomic, racial, and moral terms — influenced the creation of formal admissions criteria for skilled workers and family immigrants that continue to shape immigration to Canada. Migration expert Jennifer Elrick (McGill University) will discuss insights gained from her forthcoming book on the topic.

Studying Religious Symbols and Bias in Court Proceedings

November 9 | 12:30 pm | Hybrid | RSVP here

Canadian Studies’ new Sproul Fellow Nicholas A. R. Fraser will discuss some of his own research that examines bias within Canadian judicial procedures against religious minorities. Using his own experimental data, Dr. Fraser will use the example of courtroom oaths as a window into how Canadian cultural expectations can subtly affect an immigrant’s experience of “integration.”

Hildebrand Graduate Research Colloquium

December 7 | 12:30 pm | Hybrid | RSVP here

Learn about the research Canadian Studies funds through our Edward Hildebrand Graduate Research Fellowships, as recipients present short overviews of their projects. Participating scholars to be announced soon.

IN THE NEWS

Trudeau Calls Snap Elections for September; Announces Resettlement Plans for Afghan Refugees

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Sunday that he had requested the Governor General to dissolve Parliament, triggering a snap election scheduled for September 20. The move is calculated to bolster Trudeau’s Liberal Party, with polls suggesting that the party may capture enough seats to win a majority government. For the past two years, Trudeau has relied on the support of the opposition to pass his agenda. Some opponents have questioned the wisdom of holding a vote while Canada faces a new wave of COVID; however, federal officials insist the election will be held safely.

Separately, Trudeau reacted Monday to Taliban’s lightning takeover of Afghanistan by announcing that his government would resettle thousands of Afghan refugees in Canada over the coming weeks. Trudeau admitted that his government was surprised by the speed of the Afghan government collapse; nevertheless, in spite of a chaotic situation on the ground, he insisted that Canada will help evacuated over 20,000 Afghans in coordination with the United States and other allies.

Canadian Studies Faculty Affiliate Alison Gopnik Wins Prize for Science Popularization

Berkeley News announced last week that Canadian Studies affiliate Alison Gopnik, a research psychologist specializing in child development, has won the 2021 Carl Sagan Prize for Science Popularization. The prize recognizes researchers who have made a significant contribution to the public’s understanding of science.

Professor Gopnik is the author of several popular books, including The Scientist in the Crib and The Philosophical Baby. Her research explores how young children come to know about the world around them, using the framework that children are constantly testing theories about the world in much the way that scientists do.

Professor Gopnik was born in Philadelphia and raised in Montreal. She obtained her bachelor’s degree from McGill University, and her Ph.D. at Oxford. She taught at the University of Toronto before joining the Berkeley faculty in 1988.

EXTERNAL EVENTS

Meet the Artists: The Chaos Conversation x Primal Impacto

August 19 | 10 am | Webcast | RSVP here

The Consulate General of Canada in San Francisco invites you to attend a Connecting Perspectives “Meet the Artists” virtual event on Thursday, August 19, at 10 am PT.

Connecting Perspectives is a cross-border art initiative produced by the Toronto-based Social Distancing Festival and the Consulate General of Canada in New York. Drawing inspiration from the theme “Art Today,” 26 exceptional artists who identify as Black, Indigenous, and/or People of Colour in Canada and the U.S. were paired and funded to create 13 new, interdisciplinary, collaborative art.

This event will feature artist pairs Kimmy Katarja (Cleveland, OH) and Chancz Perry (Regina, SK), co-creators of The Chaos Conversation, and Deb Leal (Oakland, CA), and Josefina Rodriguez (Calgary, AB), co-creators of Primal Impacto. The event will be moderated by Tawhida Tanya Evanson, with remarks by representatives from the Consulates General of Canada in Detroit and San Francisco.

Royal Canadian Legion Branch 25 90th Anniversary Picnic

August 21 | 12 pm | Richmond, CA | RSVP here

After almost 18 months of virtual events, Royal Canadian Legion Branch 25, representing the San Francisco Bay Area, is hosting a picnic to celebrate their 90th anniversary. Chartered on 12 August 1931, the San Francisco Branch is the sole remaining branch of the 13 branches that once formed the Northern Zone of the Western United States Command of the Royal Canadian Legion.

The picnic will be held at the Marsh Hawk picnic area in the Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline Park. Attendees are asked to bring their own food. The branch will provide beverages for everyone, as well as something sweet and celebratory.

The picnic is open to the public, but guests are asked register in advance. For more information, please visit Branch 25’s website.

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