Monthly Archives: January 2025

No plans this weekend?

A newsletter from a fellow Canadian organization in the Bay Area.


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North Korean soldiers impress Ukrainian fighters

An item from the Legion Magazine.


Front Lines
Front Lines

A North Korean soldier takes aim at a Ukrainian drone.

North Korean soldiers impress Ukrainian fighters

STORY BY STEPHEN J. THORNE

Widely considered “cannon fodder” with “the opportunity to defect” foremost in their minds when they were deployed last fall, North Korean soldiers fighting alongside Russians against Ukraine have nevertheless impressed their opponents with their commitment, fitness and courage.

“They are young, motivated, physically fit, brave, and good at using small arms,” Lieutenant-Colonel Yaroslav Chepurnyi, a Ukrainian army spokesman, told Politico.

“They are also disciplined. They have everything you need for a good infantryman.”

READ MORE

Liberation! Canada And The WW II Fight To Free The Netherlands
Liberation! Canada And The WW II Fight To Free The Netherlands
The Briefing
The Briefing

Military historian David Borys specialized in studying the Canadian war experience and hosts the “Curious Canadian History” podcast. [David Borys]

Ted Barris talks Canadian airmen at the Battle of Britain

STORY BY ALEX BOWERS

In October 2024, award-winning author Ted Barris released his 22nd book, Battle of Britain: Canadian Airmen in Their Finest Hour. Detailing the 113 days in 1940 that became a turning point of the Second World War, Barris brings to life the experiences of some 300 Canadian airmen and groundcrew who, against all odds, contributed to an aerial victory that checked the German war machine.

Here, the Canadian writer reflects on his latest publication.

On why the Battle of Britain deserved another book

READ MORE

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Medipac

Academic opportunities for the new semester!

A newsletter from one of our fellow Canadian organizations in the Bay Area.


Canadian Studies Announcements

In This Issue:

Academic Opportunities

• Canadian Studies funding available to Berkeley grads & undergrads

• Call for papers: 2025 ACSUS Conference / Emerging Scholars Colloquium

Upcoming Events

• The “Illusion” of Childcare Reform: Childcare, Taxation, and Social Policy in Post-WWII Canada

External Events

• Learn to Curl Social with the SFBACC

• Rediscovering Édouard Roditi: The 20th Century of a Dazzling Mind

• Distant Early Warning: The Arctic Under Siege | Photographs by Louie Palu

ACADEMIC OPPORTUNITIES

Canadian Studies Funding Available to Berkeley Grads & Undergrads!

The Canadian Studies Program would like to remind subscribers that we offer generous research funding to support students engaged in Canadianist research here at Berkeley. Opportunities are available for both graduate and undergraduate students. Please forward this information to any friends, students, or colleagues who may be interested!

The Edward E. Hildebrand Graduate Research Fellowship

Amount: Up to $5,000 per semester

This fellowship funds direct travel and research costs for projects that contribute to knowledge about Canada and/or the Canadian-U.S. relationship. Applications are open to UC Berkeley graduate students in any discipline and of any citizenship.

The Rita Ross Undergraduate Prize in Canadian Studies

Amount: $300

This prize recognizes undergraduates who have written a superior research paper or other project on a Canadian topic. The competition is open to any UC Berkeley undergraduate student in good academic standing, in any college or discipline. Submissions must be an original paper or project produced in a UC Berkeley class or independent study during the 2024-2025 academic year.

Undergraduate Research Funding

Amount: Variable

Funding is available for undergraduate students interested in conducting organized research for a UC Berkeley class or as part of an independent study project. Awards are made at the director’s discretion.

Call for Papers: 2025 ACSUS Conference / Emerging Scholars Colloquium

Deadline: February 1

The Association for Canadian Studies in the United States (ACSUS) will host its 27th biennial conference, November 13-16, 2025, in Seattle, WA. The conference is open to all proposals with a significant Canadian focus. We welcome papers and panel proposals from students, professors, independent scholars, and practitioners on all critical perspectives related to the theme “Canada: Spaces of Change.”

How is Canada perceived and portrayed from outside its borders, and by the international community? What are the historical and present-day nuances of Canada-US relations and where are they going? How are the US and Canada changing? What role does the border have in creating or working against familiarity, or belonging? What roles do non-governmental agencies around the world play in shaping Canada’s relationships with the world? Finally, as a professional organization dedicated to the promotion of Canadian Studies, what is ACSUS’s role in these larger questions? Proposals that touch on these themes are encouraged though, as always, submissions on all subjects addressing Canada and Canadian-American relations are welcome.

Established scholars presenting papers at the conference must be ACSUS members in good standing.

Graduate and undergraduate students may submit papers to the ACSUS Emerging Scholars Colloquium. Colloquium participants will benefit from the opportunity to network with other students, as well as liaison and receive mentorship by faculty and senior scholars while attending portions of the ACSUS conference.

Emerging scholars accepted to the colloquium will receive guaranteed funding up to a maximum of $1,000 USD to help alleviate conference registration and travel costs.

To learn more about the ACSUS Conference and Emerging Scholars Colloquium, please click here. Prospective participants must submit an abstract of not more than 300 words (including a working title), along with a brief CV (2 pages maximum), no later than February 1, 2025.

UPCOMING EVENTS

The “Illusion” of Childcare Reform: Childcare, Taxation, and Social Policy in Post-WWII Canada

Tues., Jan. 28 | 12:30 pm | 223 Philosophy Hall | RSVP

The recent introduction of the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care program, known as C-WELCC, has brought renewed attention to the history of childcare policy and politics in Canada. Recognized as the culmination of decades of advocacy for universal, accessible, high-quality, and inclusive childcare, C-WELCC has been transformative for many Canadian families. The initial years of its implementation have also been tumultuous. Many ask how a “universal” program can be achieved or sustained when perplexing issues remain: what about the role of private operators? How can we ensure an adequate and qualified workforce when wages are not adequately addressed in the plan? How will capacity be created to deliver services to all who need it?

History reminds us that Canadian governments have often dealt with perplexing social policy issues by using the tax system. Indeed, critics of C-WELCC often insist that its challenges are insurmountable, and that it would be more effective to give parents more tax credits than to publicly fund a childcare system. But is it? This presentation, inspired by a need for informed debate about the future of childcare policy in Canada, looks backward to consider the relationship between the tax system and childcare policy in post-WWII Canada. It does so by focusing on the Child Care Expense Deduction (CCED), introduced in 1971. The CCED, while it is often relegated to footnotes in histories of Canadian childcare, had a significant impact on the childcare policy landscape in the decades after its introduction, and has a lot to tell us about the kind of childcare services that develop when policymakers lean on the tax system to deliver social policy objectives.

About the Speaker

Dr. Lisa Pasolli is an associate professor in the Department of History at Queen’s University, Ontario. Her research explores the history of childcare, women and gender, and social policy in 20th-century Canada. Her published works include the monograph Working Mothers and the Child Care Dilemma: A History of British Columbia’s Social Policy, published by UBC Press in 2015. She is currently one of the investigators on the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada-funded Partnership Grant “Reimagining Care/Work Policies”, a multi-year and multi-disciplinary program examining childcare policies as well as parental leave and employment policies.

If you require an accommodation to fully participate in this event, please let us know at least 7 days in advance.

EXTERNAL EVENTS

Learn to Curl Social with SFBACC

Sat., January 25 | 3:00 pm | Oakland, CA | Buy tickets

Join our friends from the Digital Moose Lounge for a fun-filled afternoon learning one of Canada’s most iconic sports. No experience or special equipment necessary! Expert instructors from the SF Bay Area Curling Club will safely teach you the basics of the game. This 90-minute class includes a brief introduction to the sport, guided instruction, and a mini-game. Use code “DML” to register: tickets are $40 for adults and $20 for students 21 and under.

Rediscovering Édouard Roditi: The 20th Century of a Dazzling Mind

Tues., February 4 | 5:00 pm | 4229 Dwinelle Hall

Dr. Robert Schwartzwald (Université de Montréal) and Dr. Sherry Simon (Concordia University) will discuss their recent publication, Worldwise: Édouard Roditi’s Twentieth Century. The book explores the life of critic, poet, translator, and essayist Édouard Roditi. Born in Paris, Roditi was a perceptive social analyst whose outspoken views irritated American, Soviet, and French authorities by turns. From his Jewish roots, his work as a translator for the Nuremberg Trials, French decolonization, contributions to LGBTQ culture, and essays on contemporary writers, Roditi’s writings are a unique account of a life lived at the flashpoints of history and at the margins of society, providing acute and unsparing observations of literature and political events.

This event is sponsored by the Department of French and is cosponsored by the Canadian Studies Program, the Jewish Studies Program, and the departments of English and History of Art.

Distant Early Warning: The Arctic Under Siege | Photographs by Louie Palu

Thurs., Feb. 6 | 6:00 pm | 121 North Gate Hall | RSVP

The Reva and David Logan Gallery of Documentary Photography proudly presents the opening reception and presentation of “Distant Early Warning: The Arctic Under Siege” by Canadian documentary photographer and filmmaker Louie Palu.

Palu has made over 40 trips to the Arctic since the early 1990’s, resulting in over 200,000 photographs, documenting the transformations taking place in this vast and isolated region. As polar ice melts, countries are scrambling to stake claims on untapped resources and new trade routes. With support from a Guggenheim Fellowship and National Geographic magazine, Palu examines the growing geopolitical tensions in the polar region and the changing life for Indigenous Inuit people amidst the warming of the planet. Read more about Palu’s challenges photographing the Arctic in GUP Magazine.

This event is sponsored by the Berkeley School of Journalism. An RSVP is required, and a suggested donation of $10 is requested from attendees.

Canadian Studies Program

213 Philosophy Hall #2308

WEBSITE | EMAIL | DONATE

Canadian Studies Program | Univ. of California, Berkeley 213 Philosophy Hall #2308 | Berkeley, CA 94720 US

Member Highlight: Joan Para Turns 101

Today Joan Para, Branch 25 (San Francisco) of the Royal Canadian Legion’s only remaining World War II veteran, turns 101 years old today.

Joan was born in 1924 in Lowestoft, England. She volunteered to serve in His Majesty’s Regular Forces at the age of 18 in June 1942.  Joan was sent to complete aptitude testing in Honiton, Devon, where the military determined which jobs volunteers would be best suited, where she would be assigned to Army Communications.  Joan then went on Bradford, near Leeds, for training and was eventually stationed in London, near Buckingham Palace.  During her service in World War II, she held the rank of Driver (DRV), which was equivalent to private, within the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS).  Joan was honourably discharged on May 3, 1946.

Branch 25 has been blessed with Joan’s active involvement since she joined the branch back in 2000.  Personally speaking, from the time I joined the branch Joan was a regular attendee of each of our monthly lunch meetings – and it was only the pandemic and the loss of our regular venue that we didn’t get to spend time with Joan each month.

Below are some previous entries where you can read more about Joan, her service, and her involvement with Branch 25 :