Category Archives: Canadian Studies Program UC Berkeley

Events & News, plus special coronavirus town hall with Consul-General Rana Sarkar

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A newsletter from a fellow Canadian organization in the Bay Area.  Pay particular attention to the town hall with our local Consul General, Rana Sarkar.
Canadian Studies Announcements
IN THIS ISSUE:
Special event: COVID-19 Q&A with Canadian Consul General, April 7 (RSVP required)
From the Canadian Embassy: COVID-19 safety and travel tips
Event: Student Research Roundtable, April 21
In the News: Berkeley faculty research on inequality in Canada
– SPECIAL EVENT –
Town Hall with Canadian Consul-General Rana Sarkar on Canada’s Coronavirus Response
Town Hall | April 7 | 12:45 p.m. | Online
Canadian Studies in pleased to host a special town hall forum with the Rana Sarkar, the current consul-general of Canada in San Francisco and Silicon Valley. Mr. Sarkar will discuss the Canadian government’s response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, with a special focus on issues affecting the Bay Area, such as the border closure and evacuation of Canadians from the Grand Princess.
To RSVP for this event, please reply to canada@berkeley.edu.
From the Canadian Embassy:
COVID-19 Safety Information for Canadian Citizens
Thank for your patience while we attempt to respond to the unprecedented demand for additional information and support. We have a created an information and resource page to answer some of the most frequently asked questions. Please check this page regularly for updates to allow us to focus on assisting Canadians requiring urgent assistance. If you require additional consular assistance, please contact us by email at ccs.scc@international.gc.ca. You can also follow our social media channels (Twitter, Facebook and Instagram) for ongoing guidance.
Returning to Canada
The Government of Canada has created a temporary financial assistance program to help Canadians impacted by COVID-19 return home. For more info, please consult the FAQ page for the Emergency Loan Program for Canadians Abroad.
All Canadians outside the country should register with the Registration of Canadians Abroad service, and make sure their contact information is complete and up to date. This will allow consular officials to contact you, provide updates and confirm your situation.
Staying in Touch through the Arts
In lieu of our planned film screening of Under Thin Ice, we’ve shared a Q&A with Canadian filmmaker Jill Heinerth. The full film is available to watch for free as part of the #DCEFF2020 online festival from March 17-31, 2020.
In Canada, the National Arts Center teamed up with Facebook to present #CanadaPerforms, an online concert series to support Canadian artists and musicians. Performances will be shared on the NAC’s Facebook page for audiences to watch and enjoy.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Student Research Roundtable
Colloquium | April 21 | 12:30 p.m. | Online
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: Fallon Burner, an undergraduate history major, and Boróka Bó, a doctoral candidate in sociology & demography.
IN THE NEWS
Is Income Inequality Increasing in Canada? Research by Berkeley Economist Emmanuel Saez Says “Maybe.”
New research by economists Emmanuel Saez of UC Berkeley and Michael R. Veall of McMaster University confirms that income inequality has risen in Canada since the 1980s; while the average Canadian income barely increased between 1987-2017, those in the top 1% doubled or even tripled their earnings. However, that’s not the whole story: in fact, overall inequality has decreased since the recession of 2009. The reasons behind initial surge – and its reversal – remain unclear, but have broad policy implications.
Read more about the research in Policy Options.
Canadian Studies Program
213 Moses Hall #2308 WEBSITE | EMAIL
Canadian Studies Program | Univ. of California, Berkeley, 213 Moses Hall #2308, Berkeley, CA 94720

 

Online colloquium now available!

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Note this creative alternative from one of our fellow Canadian organizations in the Bay Area.
Online Colloquium Now Available:
Meet Our Second Postdoctoral Finalist!
The Canadian Studies Program is excited to launch our first-ever online colloquium, featuring our second postdoctoral finalist, Dr. Rebecca Wallace. This special pilot event has two parts, so please read these instructions carefully.
The fist link below contains a ~45-minute recording of Dr. Wallace’s lecture, which can be viewed at any time. After watching the lecture, use the second link at our regular colloquium time tomorrow, March 24, at 12:30 p.m. (PT) to join us for a live Q&A with Dr. Wallace about her research. Please view the recorded lecture before engaging in the Q&A.
If you have any technical questions, experience trouble connecting, or would like to share comments on this format, please contact us at canada@berkeley.edu.
Framing Deservingness in Canadian News Media
Dr. Rebecca Wallace, Queen’s University
Lecture | March 23 | On-demand | Online
Research on the framing of social assistance in Canadian media suggests that news coverage is “race-coded”, whereby Indigenous and immigrant welfare recipients are frequently portrayed as more or less deserving than non-Indigenous, native-born Canadians across a number of deservingness criteria. What are the effects of these frames on public opinion toward social assistance recipients, and support for redistribution more generally? And how do these frame effects potentially differ based on the recipients’ assumed race or country of origin?
This presentation reports the results of a custom-designed framing experiment that aims to understand how news frames affect attitudes toward Indigenous and immigrant recipients of welfare. The findings indicate that while the frames can have a significant impact on perceptions of recipients’ deservingness, the effects are conditioned by the beneficiaries’ identity as an Indigenous or immigrant recipient. Results, implications, and future research will be discussed.
Rebecca Wallace received her Ph.D. in political studies at Queen’s University. She holds a B.A.H. (with distinction) and an M.A. in political studies from the same institution. Rebecca’s research focuses on Canadian politics, broadly examining welfare chauvinism toward different racial minority groups and its manifestation in Canadian news media. Rebecca is a doctoral fellow at the Institute of Intergovernmental Relations and a research assistant for the Canadian Opinion Research Archive, and held a Joseph Armand Bombardier CGS Doctoral Fellowship from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council (2016-2019).
Note: The linked video contains copyrighted material and should not be downloaded, reproduced, or shared without the author’s explicit permission.
Live Q&A With Dr. Wallace
March 24 | 12:30 p.m. (PT) | Online
Join Dr. Wallace for a live Zoom session where she will answer your questions about her research. This Q&A presupposes that you have seen her recorded lecture.
You do not need to have a Zoom account to join, but we recommend testing the link below five minutes before we start to check your connection. When you join the meeting, please mute your computer or phone microphone. We will use the chat and “raise hand” functions to collect question from video participants, and will call on those joining by phone.
Please note that the following link is for desktop/laptop computer use only. If you are connecting by mobile or would prefer to call in, please see below.
Other ways to join:
If you are using a smartphone, please use this one-tap mobile link (US only).
+16699006833,,531302352# US
To call in by phone, dial +1 669-900-6833 (US) or +1 778-907-2071 (Canada), and enter Meeting ID: 531 302 352.
If you are calling in from a country other than the US or Canada, please consult this list to find your local dial-in number.
Canadian Studies Program
213 Moses Hall #2308 WEBSITE | EMAIL
Canadian Studies Program | Univ. of California, Berkeley, 213 Moses Hall #2308, Berkeley, CA 94720

 

CAN Announcements

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A newsletter from a fellow Canadian organization in the Bay Area.
Canadian Studies Announcements
Spring Events Update:
Special Video Colloquium and Live Q&A, March 23/24
feat. Dr. Rebecca Wallace, Queen’s University
In compliance with public health directives, Canadian Studies has cancelled all in-person events until further notice. However, we are pleased to announce a pilot two-part online lecture next week, featuring our second postdoctoral finalist, Dr. Rebecca Wallace.
On Monday, March 23, you will receive an email with two links. The first will contain a recording of Dr. Wallace’s talk, which you will be able to watch on demand. We then invite you to use the second link on Tuesday, March 24, to join us for a live Q&A with Dr. Wallace regarding her research. We request that you view the recorded lecture before engaging in the Q&A.
Please note there is no colloquium tomorrow, March 17.
Further details on the talk are below; please contact us if you have any questions about this format or technical concerns.
Framing Deservingness in Canadian News Media
Dr. Rebecca Wallace, Queen’s University
Lecture | March 23 | Online
Live Q&A | March 24 | 12:30 p.m. | Online
Research on the framing of social assistance in Canadian media suggests that news coverage is “race-coded”, whereby Indigenous and immigrant welfare recipients are frequently portrayed as more or less deserving than non-Indigenous, native-born Canadians across a number of deservingness criteria. What are the effects of these frames on public opinion toward social assistance recipients, and support for redistribution more generally? And how do these frame effects potentially differ based on the recipients’ assumed race or country of origin?
This presentation reports the results of a custom-designed framing experiment that aims to understand how news frames affect attitudes toward Indigenous and immigrant recipients of welfare. The findings indicate that while the frames can have a significant impact on perceptions of recipients’ deservingness, the effects are conditioned by the beneficiaries’ identity as an Indigenous or immigrant recipient. Results, implications, and future research will be discussed.
Rebecca Wallace received her Ph.D. in political studies at Queen’s University. She holds a B.A.H. (with distinction) and an M.A. in political studies from the same institution. Rebecca’s research focuses on Canadian politics, broadly examining welfare chauvinism toward different racial minority groups and its manifestation in Canadian news media. Rebecca is a doctoral fellow at the Institute of Intergovernmental Relations and a research assistant for the Canadian Opinion Research Archive, and held a Joseph Armand Bombardier CGS Doctoral Fellowship from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council (2016-2019).
Big Give Results: Our Best Year Yet!
The numbers are in! Thanks to your efforts, Canadian Studies raised an amazing $54,205 in gifts and pledges from 34 donors. That’s money that will be used to support student research, host public lectures with leading experts, and promote cultural and academic exchange between Berkeley and Canada. We want to thank each and every one of you for your participation. Your support is the foundation of our continued excellence – we couldn’t do it without you!
Former Canadian Studies Speaker Dr. Michael Benarroch Named President of University of Manitoba
Canadian Studies sends our warm wishes to Dr. Michael Benarroch, who was recently named the 12th president of the University of Manitoba. Dr. Benarroch gave a colloquium at Berkeley in 2013 entitled “Weathering the Global Financial Crisis: The Canadian Experience”, where he explained how Canada avoided the sub-prime crisis in 2008.
Dr. Benarroch is an economist specializing in international trade and development economics. He has held leadership posts at several universities, most recently as provost and vice-president at Ryerson University in Toronto and as dean of the Asper School of Business at Manitoba.
For more information, please see the full UM press release.
Other Bay Area Events Cancelled
As part of the shelter-in-place order issued by the Bay Area regional authorities, all nonessential gatherings are now banned. Events which were previously advertised in this newsletter may have been affected; please contact the official event host if you have any questions.
Canadian Studies Program
213 Moses Hall #2308 WEBSITE | EMAIL
Canadian Studies Program | Univ. of California, Berkeley, 213 Moses Hall #2308, Berkeley, CA 94720

 

Important: All in-person events cancelled for March

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Please note this important announcement from one of our fellow Canadian organizations in the Bay Area.
All March Events Cancelled
Dear Friends of Canadian Studies,
As many of you are aware, due to the evolving situation with COVID-19, UC Berkeley has recommended that all programs reassess their activities to minimize the risk of infection. As a result, we have made the difficult decision to cancel all in-person events for the remainder of March.
This decision affects our colloquium event scheduled for this Tuesday, March 17th, featuring Dr. Rebecca Wallace. However, we are currently investigating an option to broadcast Dr. Wallace’s talk as Canadian Studies’ first-ever online colloquium; stay turned for further information.
We hope to resume normal operations soon. Until then, thank you for your understanding and continued support.
Sincerely,
The Canadian Studies Team
Canadian Studies Program
213 Moses Hall #2308 WEBSITE | EMAIL
Canadian Studies Program | Univ. of California, Berkeley, 213 Moses Hall #2308, Berkeley, CA 94720

 

Special CAN colloquium – Meet our postdoctoral finalists!

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An item from one of our fellow Canadian organizations in the Bay Area.
Special Colloquium Lecture:
Meet Our Postdoctoral Finalists!
As part of our mission to advance cutting-edge research on Canada, the Canadian Studies Program is excited to announce that we are close to hiring our first-ever full-time postdoctoral scholar. In a special invitation to our friends and supporters, we invite you to meet the first of our two finalists at a presentation next Tuesday, March 10.
Shared Heuristics: How Organizational Culture Shapes Asylum Policy, feat. Dr. Nicholas Fraser
Lecture | March 10 | 12:30 p.m. | 223 Moses Hall
What explains cross-national variation in asylum recognition rates? Refugee policy is unique in that it is the only form of migration policy that is codified into international law. Moreover, the United Nations High Commissioner actively monitors and guides implementation across the world. However, in many countries, bureaucratic agencies dominate the quasi-judicial process through which asylum-seekers are granted protective status.
Using a mixed methods approach that includes interviews with bureaucrats and refugee advocates in a variety of western and non-western developed countries, Dr. Fraser places Canadian asylum policy in a comparative perspective. Challenging conventional political science explanations of asylum policy that focus on international norms, party politics, or institutional rules, he shows that how bureaucratic culture accounts for patterns of very high or low recognition rates in jurisdictions where decision-makers enjoy a high degree of autonomy.
Nicholas A. R. Fraser recently completed his Ph.D. in political science at the University of Toronto, specializing 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. His research has been funded by various research grants, including the SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship.
Save the date – our second finalist presents Tuesday, March 17.
Don’t Forget: Big Give is next Thursday!
The Big Give, Berkeley’s annual day of giving, is almost here. On March 12, we hope you’ll show your support for Canadian Studies by making a gift of any size online. Your gift could help us win thousands of dollars in special contest prizes – at no extra cost to you!
You’ll get an email from us tomorrow with more details, but you can click here for a preview of the contests. We hope you’ll join us then!
Canadian Studies Program
213 Moses Hall #2308 WEBSITE | EMAIL
Canadian Studies Program | Univ. of California, Berkeley, 213 Moses Hall #2308, Berkeley, CA 94720