Canadian Studies Announcements
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In this issue:
- Happy Labo(u)r Day and Shanah Tovah!
- Next week: The Politics of Coronavirus in Canada and the United States
- Upcoming book talk: Making Middle-Class Multiculturalism
- Applications open: Mid-career international affairs fellowship in Canada
- External event: “Inuit: The Arctic We Want”
- External exhibit: Collective Memories: Stonecuts from Cape Dorset
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Happy Labo(u)r Day!
Today, Americans and Canadians celebrate the contributions of the labour movement to our societies. Originating in the worker’s rallies the late 19th century, cross-border activism achieved national recognition for the holiday in both the US and Canada in 1894.
Once celebrated with massive union rallies, parades, and picnics across North American’s major cities, the decline of labour in the US and Canada since the 1950s has eroded the holiday’s original working-class identity. Former Canadian Studies Hildebrand Fellow Barry Eidlin tackles some of the reasons for this decline in his recent book comparing the US and Canadian union movements. Nevertheless, millions of Americans and Canadians continue to enjoy a long weekend of rest and recreation, a lasting tribute to organized labour’s past successes. Image: Labour Day Parade in Toronto, 2011. (CAW Media/Wikimedia Commons)
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… and Shanah Tovah!
This evening also marks the beginning of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Starting at sunset and lasting through Wednesday, Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the High Holy Days and is a time to reflect on the past year and one’s hopes for the future. As home to the second- and fourth-largest Jewish communities in the world, both the United States and Canada have been profoundly shaped by the contributions of their Jewish citizens. To all those celebrating, shanah tovah from Canadian Studies!
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Elections Matter: The Politics of Coronavirus in Canada and the United States
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have wide-ranging consequences on North American politics. The effect of the pandemicon 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 will address this question while discussing the potential political and policy consequences of the upcoming Canadian elections.
Daniel Béland is James McGill Professor of Political Science at McGill University and director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada. His research focuses on public policy, political sociology, and federalism and territorial politics.
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Book Talk: Making Middle-Class Multiculturalism: Immigration Bureaucrats and Policymaking in Postwar Canada
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 influenced the creation of formal admissions criteria for skilled workers and family immigrants that continue to shape immigration to Canada. Bureaucrats emphasized not just economic utility, but also middle-class traits and values such as wealth accumulation, educational attainment, entrepreneurial spirit, resourcefulness and a strong work ethic. By making “middle-class multiculturalism” a basis of nation-building in Canada, they created a much-admired approach to managing racial diversity that has nevertheless generated significant social inequalities. Migration expert Jennifer Elrick will discuss insights from her forthcoming book examining the topic.
Jennifer Elrick is an assistant professor of sociology at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. Her research interests lie in the area of state classifications (in censuses and immigration policy) and their relationship to social stratification along the lines of race, gender, and social class. Her work is multi-national in scope, focusing on Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
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Applications open: International Affairs Fellowship in Canada
Launched in 2016, the International Affairs Fellowship (IAF) in Canada, sponsored by Power Corporation of Canada, seeks to strengthen mutual understanding and cooperation between rising generations of leaders and thinkers in the United States and Canada. The program provides for one to two mid-career professionals per year to spend six to twelve months hosted by a Canadian institution to deepen their knowledge of Canada. Fellows are drawn from academia, business, government, media, NGOs, and think tanks.
Applicants must be U.S. citizens, possess at least a bachelor’s degree, and demonstrate a strong record of professional achievement and a commitment to a career in foreign policy. The program awards a stipend of $95,000 for a period of twelve months (or a prorated amount if the duration is shorter) as well as a modest travel allowance. Please visit the link above to view full program details and submit an application.
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Inuit: The Arctic We Want
September 14 | 1 pm ET (11 am PT) | RSVP hereOn July 16-19, 2018, delegates from Alaska, Greenland, Canada and Chukotka (Russia) came together for the 13th General Assembly of the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC). Under the theme “Inuit – The Arctic We Want,” delegates discussed policies and developed strategies for the 2018-2022 Alaskan Chairmanship of ICC. The event culminated in the adoption of the Utqiagvik Declaration, which serves as a guide for the ICC’s work over the 2018-2022 term and as a reflection of Inuit priorities across Alaska, Greenland, Canada and the Russian Federation. Please join the Wilson Center’s Polar Institute as we welcome ICC leaders to share their perspectives on the Utqiagvik Declaration’s priorities, reflections on their implementation since 2018, and goals for the final year of the Alaskan Chairmanship.
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Exhibit: Collective Memories: Stonecuts from Cape Dorset
September 15 – December 12
In the 1960s, graphic arts flourished in the newly formed Cape Dorset (Kinngnait) arts co-operative on Baffin Island in Nunavut. The co-operative sought to encourage art making and craft as an income source for local Inuit residents transitioning from seminomadic camps to permanent settlements. The residents experimented with materials and techniques at the co-operative, inventing their own adaptation of woodcut printmaking through direct stencil and relief carving on stone.
The selected works in Collective Memories speak to the collaborative nature, both in technique and meaning, of cultural practices at the co-operative. They reflect the traditional migratory lifestyle, a way of life undergoing rapid change as outside cultural influences impacted day-to-day lives. Depictions of mammals, birds, and marine life bring forth legends, shamanistic practices, and mythologies that had been memorized and told from one generation to the next.
An exhibit opening celebration will be held on September 16 from 4-8 p.m.
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Canadian Studies Program
213 Moses Hall #2308
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Royal Canadian Legion, US Branch #25 