Canadian Studies Announcements

In This Issue:

News from Canada

• Former prime minister Brian Mulroney dies at 84

Program News

• One week to Big Give! (March 14)

Upcoming Events

• Come from Away: Newfoundland and Labrador’s Food Security Dilemma

Academic Opportunities

• Call for papers: Florence Piron Day: Bridging Open Science and Local Knowledge
• Summer Hildebrand Graduate Fellowship applications now open

External Events

• Critical Understanding of Canada in the World: Breaking Through

NEWS FROM CANADA

Former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney Dies at 84

Brian Mulroney, who served as Canada’s 18th prime minister from 1984 to 1993, died Thursday after a fall at his Florida home. He was 84 years old. Prime Minister Trudeau announced that the premier will have a state funeral, as tributes poured in from leaders across Canada and around the world.

Mulroney’s tenure was marked by strong personal leadership and a tenacity that led him to great political highs and lows. The Globe and Mail eulogized him as Canada’s “last great prime minister“, noting that while the scope of his ambitions sometimes outran his abilities, he was nevertheless one of few leaders with a genuinely historic legacy. Mulroney oversaw a significant restructuring of the Canadian economy. A native of Quebec, Mulroney attempted to bridge the divide between French and English Canada at a time of heightened tension, expending significant political capital on failed constitutional reforms that ultimately brought down his government.

Among Mulroney’s most significant legislative accomplishments were his economic liberalisation programme and efforts to increase ties with the United States. He negotiated and passed bills that promoted free trade with the US, most importantly NAFTA. He also privatized major crown corporations such as Air Canada and Petro-Canada, and introduced the national goods and services tax.

Mulroney’s other successes include his strong environmental record. He passed national laws and secured international treaties to curb pollution, and created eight new national parks. He also advocated for strict international sanctions against South Africa’s Apartheid government. And in one of his final acts as Prime Minister, he signed the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, establishing a separate Inuit territory in the largest Indigenous land claim settlement in Canadian history.

The latter part of Mulroney’s premiership was consumed by his unsuccessful attempts to resolve long-simmering questions about Canadian federalism. When the Canadian Constitution was Patriated in 1982, the government of Quebec refused to sign, arguing that the Federal government did not address the province’s concerns. Mulroney attempted to resolve this standoff with the Meech Lake Accord of 1987, specifically addressing key Québécois objections. However, he failed to obtain unanimous approval from the other provinces before the ratification deadline. This rejection only increased Québécois separatism, and damaged Mulroney’s political standing.

Mulroney attempted to rectify this failure with the more comprehensive Charlottetown Accord in 1992, which would also have established Indigenous self-government and reformed the Senate. However, despite having this time obtaining unanimous provincial agreement on the proposal, Mulroney decided to hold a national referendum on the Accord, where it was soundly defeated by Canadian voters. This defeat marked the end of Mulroney’s political career.

Mulroney’s grand visions were reflected in his party’s political fortunes under his tenure. He led the Progressive Conservatives to a landslide victory in 1984, winning three-quarters of seats in Parliament, the second largest in Canadian history. He was also the first Conservative prime minister since John Macdonald to win a second majority government. However, the failure of his constitutional reforms and general economic malaise destroyed his popularity, which reached a record low of 12% by the end of his term. Mulroney resigned as prime minister just before a historic rout of his Progressive Conservatives in the 1993 election. The party suffered one of the worst electoral losses in history, keeping only two of the 169 seats they had won in 1988.

Nevertheless, while Mulroney’s legacy is mixed, it was inarguably transformative; and while subsequent governments were often keen to distance themselves from his policies, his most significant legislative accomplishments remain in place today.

PROGRAM NEWS

Big Give is Next Thursday, March 14!

In just ten days, the Cal community will come together for the 10th annual big Give, Berkeley’s annual fundraising extravaganza! Help us mark this milestone by showing your support for Canadian Studies. We’re a donor-supported program, which means your generosity will help fund our public lectures, undergraduate student research, and community events – even this newsletter! So if you believe in the value of Canadian Studies, mark your calendars to pledge your support next week!

UPCOMING EVENTS

Come from Away: Newfoundland and Labrador’s Food Security Dilemma

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

This presentation illuminates past and current complexities of Newfoundland and Labrador’s unique food system. Following confederation with Canada in 1949, the province’s once-abundant fisheries fed North America to the point of over-exploitation, creating both cultural and food system disruption. Currently, most food is imported into the province and transported by ferry, including produce from California’s Central Valley. Though hunting is prevalent in rural communities, high priced, pre-packaged, and processed food, rather than fish, are the dietary mainstay. Recent efforts to expand agricultural production within the province would improve local control over the food system. This would ostensibly be more expensive than most imported foods, given the province’s short growing season and relatively small, diffusely located population. Yet financially supporting such endeavors might be justifiable to facilitate a basic human right to access and produce food.

Note: The speaker will also share Newfoundland and Labrador artwork and handicrafts at the in-person presentation.

About the Speaker

Dr. Catherine Keske is a professor of management of complex systems in the School of Engineering at UC Merced. She is an agricultural economist and social scientist who studies sustainable food, energy, and waste systems. Prior to joining UC Merced in 2017, she was associate professor of environmental studies (economics) in the School of Science and the Environment at Memorial University of Newfoundland. Her research on food security and Newfoundland and Labrador includes an edited book, Food Futures: Growing a Sustainable Food System for Newfoundland and Labrador, and “Economic feasibility of biochar and agriculture coproduction from Canadian black spruce forest” published in Food and Energy Security.

This event is cosponsored by the Berkeley Food Institute.

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

ACADEMIC OPPORTUNITIES

Submission deadline: March 15, 2024

Nukskahtowin at the Athabasca University, in partnership with the Association science et bien commun and the UNESCO Decade for Indigenous Languages, invites paper submissions to celebrate the 3rd annual “Florence Piron Day” on April 26.

This interdisciplinary conference will examine the intellectual and scientific heritage of Florence Piron (1966-2021) between question of (i) ethics, (ii) Open Science and Open Access, (iii) participative research and collaboration with local communities, (iv) critical pedagogy, (v) local knowledge and their potential to contribute to local sustainable development, (vi) cognitive justice, (vii) the métissage of knowledge, democracy, decolonial studies, citizen science and participatory research, etc.

Submissions should include an abstract of no more than 500 words and a 100-word biography identifying key institutional affiliations and key scholarly contributions. For the conference terms of reference and to make a submission, please click here.

Deadline: April 1, 2024

Are you a graduate student interested in doing research in Canada? Make the most of your summer break by applying for a Summer 2024 Edward E. Hildebrand Graduate Research Fellowship! Applications are open to UC Berkeley graduate students in any discipline whose work focuses primarily or comparatively on Canada. This fellowship is meant to cover travel and research costs, with an award maximum of $5,000.

Friends of the program are asked to help forward this information with your networks. Please visit our website for more information and full eligibility criteria.

EXTERNAL EVENTS

Tuesday, March 5 | 11:30 am PT | Online | RSVP

Brock University (Ontario) is hosting a free online panel discussing Canada’s contemporary foreign policy. Speakers will include Aaron Ettinger (Carleton University), on “Diversity, Pedagogy, Canadian Foreign Policy”‘; Breanna Kubat (Carleton University), on “Pearsonian Nostalgia: Rethinking the Rhetoric of Canadian Internationalism Under the Trudeau Liberals”; and Rebekah K. Pullen (McMaster University), “Do you Hear What I Hear? Considering the Dissonance of Canada’s Silence on Nuclear Disarmament and its Character on the World Stage”. The panel will be moderated by Liam Midzain-Gobin (Brock University).

Canadian Studies Program

213 Philosophy Hall #2308

WEBSITE | EMAIL | DONATE

Canadian Studies Announcements

In This Issue:

Program News

• Former director Irene Bloemraad to join the University of British Columbia
• Save the date: the Big Give is March 14!

Upcoming Events

• Conference on Proto-Algonquian
• Come from Away: Newfoundland and Labrador’s Food Security Dilemma

External Events

• Modest Livelihood with a Live Score by eagles with eyes closed
• Seeing It All: Changing the World One Photo at a Time

Irene Bloemraad Appointed President’s Chair in Migration at the University of British Columbia

It is with very mixed emotions that the Canadian Studies Program announces that former program director Irene Bloemraad will be leaving Berkeley at the end of the current academic year. Professor Bloemraad has accepted a new position at the University of British Columbia. As recently announced by UBC, she has been appointed President’s Excellence Chair in Global Migration, beginning July 1, 2024.

While we are happy for Irene and the opportunities that this new position offers her, her departure will leave a hole in our Canadian Studies community here at Berkeley. Professor Bloemraad directed the Canadian Studies Program for ten years, ending her directorship just last year. During that time, she played a critical role in stabilizing and growing the Program. She oversaw a broad restructuring of the Program’s governance and finances, and implemented numerous community partnerships that continue to bear fruit today. In addition to her academic and organizational talents, she is a personal friend to many in our community, and we will miss seeing her around campus.

At UBC, Dr. Bloemraad will hold appointments in the Departments of Political Science and Sociology. She will also serve as the co-director of the Centre of Migration Studies in the Faculty of Arts and will continue to co-direct the Boundaries, Membership and Belonging program of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, a Canada-based global research organization.

Canadian Studies would like to thank Professor Bloemraad for her service not just to the Program, but to Berkeley as a whole. While we are certainly sad that she is leaving, we know that she will remain a committed friend. We look forward to working with her to build connections with UBC and develop further avenues for collaboration. We hope that you will join us in wishing her well in her new position!

Save the Date: The Big Give is March 14!

It’s that time of year again! On March 14, join our community in showing support for Canadian Studies by making a gift during the Big Give, Berkeley’s annual day of giving. Canadian Studies is a donor-supported program, and your donation goes directly to support education and research about Canada. We’ll follow up with additional information on how you can multiply the impact of a gift of any size. Until then, mark your calendars – we hope to see you on March 14!

UPCOMING EVENTS

Saturday, March 2 | 9:30 am – 4:00 pm | 223 Philosophy Hall | RSVP

The Canadian Studies Program invites you to a one-day conference honoring the late David Pentland on the occasion of the posthumous publication of his Proto-Algonquian Dictionary. The conference will bring together scholars from across the United States and Canada to celebrate this significant milestone in Algonquian scholarship, and to celebrate Dr. Pentland’s life and career as a prominent scholar in the field of Algonquian studies.

Ever since Leonard Bloomfield published his groundbreaking 1946 sketch outlining the sound system and basic morphology of Proto-Algonquian, refinements of the details of sound change and the reconstruction of Proto-Algonquian has been a central part of Algonquian linguistics. But the close similarities among most of the languages has led to a plethora of proposed reconstructions that are often not fully consistent with one another. Pentland’s dictionary has been a long-awaited step forward, bringing a new level of rigor and consistency to the field. It will also be a springboard to a range of new questions about methodology, classification, and borrowing. And we cannot discount the window on Algonquian culture such a comprehensive work provides. Speakers at the conference will address these questions and more.

Details about the conference, including the speaker schedule, are available on our website. The conference is at no cost, but attendees must register by emailing canada@berkeley.edu.

Come from Away: Newfoundland and Labrador’s Food Security Dilemma

Tues., March 12 | 12:30 PM | 223 Philosophy Hall | RSVP

This presentation illuminates past and current complexities of Newfoundland and Labrador’s unique food system. Following confederation with Canada in 1949, the province’s once-abundant fisheries fed North America to the point of over-exploitation, creating both cultural and food system disruption. Currently, most food is imported into the province and transported by ferry, including produce from California’s Central Valley. Though hunting is prevalent in rural communities, high priced, pre-packaged, and processed food, rather than fish, are the dietary mainstay. Recent efforts to expand agricultural production within the province would improve local control over the food system. This would ostensibly be more expensive than most imported foods, given the province’s short growing season and relatively small, diffusely located population. Yet financially supporting such endeavors might be justifiable to facilitate a basic human right to access and produce food.

Note: The speaker will also share Newfoundland and Labrador artwork and handicrafts at the in-person presentation.

About the Speaker

Dr. Catherine Keske is a professor of management of complex systems in the School of Engineering at UC Merced. She is an agricultural economist and social scientist who studies sustainable food, energy, and waste systems. Prior to joining UC Merced in 2017, she was associate professor of environmental studies (economics) in the School of Science and the Environment at Memorial University of Newfoundland. Her research on food security and Newfoundland and Labrador includes an edited book, Food Futures: Growing a Sustainable Food System for Newfoundland and Labrador, and “Economic feasibility of biochar and agriculture coproduction from Canadian black spruce forest” published in Food and Energy Security.

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

EXTERNAL EVENTS

Modest Livelihood with a Live Score by eagles with eyes closed

Wed., Feb. 21 | 7:30 pm | BAMPFA | Buy tickets

A screening of the silent film Modest Livelihood, by Cree artist Duane Linklater (pictured left) and Brian Jungen, is accompanied by a new score performed by a trio of UC Berkeley student musicians. The score is written by eagles with eyes closed, a musical project consisting of Duane Linklater and Tobias Linklater, exploring the generative experience of watching films together as intergenerational collaborators, father and son, and two Indigenous artists. The screening will close out the exhibit Duane Linklater: mymothersside, which ends tomorrow. Space is limited, and tickets are required.

Seeing It All: Changing the World One Photo at a Time

Wed., Feb. 28 | 5:30 pm | San Francisco | Buy tickets

The Commonwealth Club invites you to join three Canadian women for a conversation on the power of images to change how we see the world, raise awareness about the most urgent environmental issues, and spark action. Seeing It All: Women Photographers Expose Our Planet is the latest publication from BigPicture and the California Academy of Sciences. Featuring more than 125 photos by female BigPicture award recipients and jurors, these incredible images present new perspectives of rarely seen animals, places, and conservation around the world.

Written by Canadian Studies board member Rhonda Rubinstein (Co-founder, BigPicture Natural World Photography; Creative Director, California Academy of Sciences), Seeing It All illustrates the extraordinary complexity of the natural world and exposes how we – humans, animals, and nature – are living together now. Panelists will also include Toronto-based photojournalist Jo-Anne McArthur (Founder, We Animals Media) and neuroscientist Dr. Indre Viskontas (USCF/San Francisco Conservatory of Music.) Tickets are available to attend both in-person and online; books will be available for purchase and signing.

Canadian Studies Program

213 Philosophy Hall #2308

WEBSITE | EMAIL | DONATE

Canadian Studies Announcements

In This Issue:

Program News

• Happy Year of the Dragon!

Upcoming Events

• Slavery and Self-Emancipation in Colonial Canada
• Conference on Proto-Algonquian

Academic Opportunities

• Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad (DDRA) Fellowship Program

External Events

• Learn to Curl with the DML

Happy Year of the Dragon!

Canadian Studies wishes a very happy (if belated) Lunar New Year to our community! For many East Asian cultures and their diasporas across the world, the New Year is a time for reconnecting with family, friends, and their cultural roots. Celebrations took place all over North America this weekend; in Vancouver, Canada’s largest Chinese community celebrated a milestone with its 50th Annual New Year Parade. But while parades make the news, for most families the real celebration happens at home, with a traditional family dinner with loved ones. On behalf of Canadian Studies, we wish a prosperous Year of the Dragon to one and all!

Did you know? While Western dragons are thought of as fire-breathing monsters, Chinese dragons are auspicious creatures with strong associations with water. Dragons are often said to live in lakes or rivers, and can summon rain and storms.

Dragon image by Freepik.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Slavery and Self-Emancipation in Colonial Canada

Tues., Feb. 13 | 12:30 pm | 223 Philosophy Hall | RSVP

The US-Canada border played a central role in the history of slavery in North America. Yet, while Canada is remembered chiefly as a haven for those fleeing slavery in the United States via the Underground Railroad during the mid-nineteenth century, it is less well known that many people enslaved in colonial Canada during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries gained their freedom by crossing the border into the United States. Early Canadian and American anti-slavery laws did remarkably little to free people enslaved within their respective jurisdictions. But their enactment – and the proximity of a permeable border between rival regimes – afforded an unprecedented opportunity to enslaved men, women, and children. Laws on both sides of the Great Lakes inadvertently established free spaces, where fugitives from the opposite side could find sanctuary. By passing from one jurisdiction to another, enslaved individuals could exploit competing slavery laws and emancipate themselves simply by crossing the border, a development that destabilized and ultimately destroyed chattel slavery in the borderlands.

In this talk, Dr. Gregory Wigmore will provide a broad overview of slavery in early Canada, especially in the Great Lakes region. His talk will explain how both slaveholders and the enslaved, along with British and American authorities, responded to the emergence of the new Canadian-American border after the American Revolution. While slaveholders in Upper Canada (now Ontario) begged the colonial government to help them protect their valuable human property, their enslaved laborers were among the first people in North America to understand the political significance of the new international boundary, using it as a portal to freedom.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Dr. Gregory Wigmore is a lecturer in the Department of History at Santa Clara University. He received his B.A. in journalism and history from Carleton University, and his Ph.D. in history from UC Davis. His research and teaching focus on the intersection of social and political history and foreign relations, especially the role of frontiers and borders. His article, “Before the Railroad: From Slavery to Freedom in the Canadian-American Borderland”, received the Bernath Prize from the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations and the Ontario Historical Society’s Riddell Award. He is currently working on a book manuscript based on his dissertation, “The Limits of Empire: Allegiance, Opportunity, and Imperial Rivalry in the Canadian-American Borderland.”

Saturday, March 2 | 9:30 am – 4:00 pm | 223 Philosophy Hall | RSVP

The Canadian Studies Program invites you to a one-day conference honoring the late David Pentland on the occasion of the posthumous publication of his Proto-Algonquian Dictionary. The conference will bring together scholars from across the United States and Canada to celebrate this significant milestone in Algonquian scholarship, and to celebrate Dr. Pentland’s life and career as a prominent scholar in the field of Algonquian studies.

Ever since Leonard Bloomfield published his groundbreaking 1946 sketch outlining the sound system and basic morphology of Proto-Algonquian, refinements of the details of sound change and the reconstruction of Proto-Algonquian has been a central part of Algonquian linguistics. But the close similarities among most of the languages has led to a plethora of proposed reconstructions that are often not fully consistent with one another. Pentland’s dictionary has been a long-awaited step forward, bringing a new level of rigor and consistency to the field. Of course, it will also be a springboard to a range of new questions about methodology, classification, and borrowing. And we cannot discount the window on Algonquian culture such a comprehensive work provides. Speakers at the conference will address these questions and more.

Details about the conference, including the speaker schedule, are available on our website. The conference is at no cost, but attendees must register by emailing canada@berkeley.edu.

ACADEMIC OPPORTUNITIES

Deadline: Friday, March 15, 2024

The U.S. Department of Education (USED) is now accepting applications for the FY 2024 Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad (DDRA) fellowship program.

The Fulbright-Hays DDRA provides opportunities for doctoral students to engage in full-time dissertation research abroad in modern foreign languages and area studies. Proposed projects must be 6–12 months long and completed within an 18-month grant period of October 1, 2024–March 31, 2026. The Fellowship provides travel expenses, research funding, and maintenance and dependent care allowances.

Because these grants must be submitted by the Graduate Division on behalf of the applicant, please note that deadlines are strict and no exceptions will be made.

Email Gina Blanco, Project Director, as soon as possible to express your interest and your intention to apply.

EXTERNAL EVENTS

Learn to Curl with the DML

Fri., Feb. 16 | 6:30 pm | Oakland, CA | Buy tickets

The Digital Moose Lounge invites you to learn to curl at the San Francisco Bay Area Curling Club. All are welcome – no experience or equipment is needed. Friendly instructors will show you all the basics and help you safely curl for the first time. Your ticket includes an orientation to the sport, personal on-ice instruction, a mini-game, and light refreshments. Individuals and groups welcome: DML special rate offered.

Canadian Studies Program

213 Philosophy Hall #2308

WEBSITE | EMAIL | DONATE