December 26, 2017
Greetings and happy holidays from Berkeley. As we celebrate Boxing Day, we thought we would reach out and let you know what we’ve been up to in 2017.
One area of particular focus this year has been supporting the work of our talented Hildebrand Fellows. They are Berkeley graduate students conducting research in Canada, or on Canadian topics, with the support of Canadian Studies. Two research roundtables were presented in the Fall 2017 semester. Gabrielle Goldstein (Health Policy), Jonathan Holmes (Economics) and Kimberly Richards (Theater, Dance and Performance Studies) spoke about their work in September. Julia Lewandoski (History), Daniel Suarez (Environmental Science, Policy, & Management) and Caitlin Tom (Political Science) shared their work at the Hildebrand roundtable colloquium in November.
Canadian Studies welcomed new Consul General Rana Sarkar in October. Consul General Sarkar spoke alongside Professor Irene Bloemraad addressing trade and immigration issues, including NAFTA and DACA.
Canadian Studies was delighted to partner with the Digital Moose Lounge to present Canadian Family Thanksgiving at Alumni House. Over 125 Canadians and friends of Canada gathered in early October to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving, network, hear a bilingual Canadian performance modeled after the musical Hamilton and enjoy Nanaimo Bars. The event was a smashing success and we look forward to our next opportunity to partner with the Digital Moose Lounge.
Last spring, our Program made further strides carrying on Tom Barnes’ tradition of Canadian Studies acting as a “Big Tent” and expanded our reach into the community of scholars in Linguistics. The 2017 Thomas Garden Barnes Lecture in Canadian Studies was delivered in February by Dr. Keren Rice, OC, of the University of Toronto. Dr. Rice spoke on Gots’udi ní̜dé Dene xedə́ t’áodéʔa: Indigenous Language Resilience in Canada. We were also pleased to host Sproul Fellow Inge Genee of the University of Lethbridge, who has recently completed a major project on Digital Resources for Blackfoot Language Documentation and Revitalization. In addition, we hosted a workshop on The Genesis of French Varieties Across North America. For more information see
canada.berkeley.edu/FrenchNorthAmerica.
Canadian Studies produced two documents with significant policy implications in 2017. The 2016-17 Rita Ross Undergraduate Prize in Canadian Studies was awarded to Evan Walsh for his research paper entitled “Addressing Vancouver’s Affordability Crisis” addressed to Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson. In April, we convened a group of Columbia River stakeholders including both First Nations leaders and scientists led by Prof. G. Mathias Kondolf to produce a policy paper entitled New Science Requirements In Support Of A Modernized Columbia River Treaty. It is influencing the ongoing renegotiation process of the now-expired 1964 international agreement. For more information see
canada.berkeley.edu/ColumbiaRiverTreaty.
Looking ahead, on February 13, 2018 we will host a special event on NAFTA in partnership with the Institute of Governmental Studies. And in April we will welcome Elizabeth May, MP, to deliver the 2018 Thomas Garden Barnes Lecture in Canadian Studies. (We are working with Ms. May’s staff to determine the exact date). We will be in touch with schedule details when the date is confirmed.
In the meantime, we wish you the happiest of holidays. Please know that we are grateful for your ongoing support of Canadian Studies at Berkeley. We couldn’t do it without you.
Sincerely,
Irene Bloemraad, Ph.D.
Thomas Garden Barnes Chair and Co-Director
Richard A. Rhodes, Ph.D.
Co-Director
Elliott Smith, MA
Program Manager
Royal Canadian Legion, US Branch #25 