In This Issue:

Program News

• A farewell message from Director Bloemraad
• New academic affiliate Jarett Henderson explores history of sexuality and colonialism in Canada
• Advisory Board chair David Stewart elected to ACSUS Executive Council

Local News

• Consulate Staff, Friends March in SF Pride Parade

News from Canada

• Podcast: Searching for the “40 millionth Canadian”

External Events

• Commemoration Day Virtual Service
• Digital Moose Lounge Canada Day Picnic

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A Farewell Message from Director Bloemraad

Dear friends,

As I enter my last week as director of the Canadian Studies Program, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank our entire community for your support and engagement over the course of my tenure.

I would especially like to thank all of you who have reached out to me over the last few weeks. Your kind words have meant a great deal to me. This Canada Day marks a major transition for both myself and the program, but I feel confident leaving the program in Rich’s capable hands, knowing that we can continue to count on your support. This last year has been a period of real growth for the program, and I am happy to leave on a high note.

My best wishes to you all, and have a very happy Canada Day!

Merci et au revoir,

Irene Bloemraad

Program Director

Thomas G. Barnes Chair in Canadian Studies

PROGRAM NEWS

New Academic Affiliate Jarett Henderson Explores the History of Sexuality and Colonialism in Canada

As we wrap up Pride Month, Canadian Studies is pleased to announce a new external academic affiliate whose research grapples with the complex intersection of sexuality and colonialism in 19th-century Canada.

Dr. Jarett Henderson is a lecturer in history at UC Santa Barbara, where he coordinates the Gender + Sexualities Research Cluster and directs the UCSB Undergraduate Journal of History. Dr. Henderson earned his Ph.D. in Canadian history from York University in Toronto, and his MA and BA in history from the University of Manitoba. Before arriving in California, he was an associate professor of history at Mount Royal University in Calgary.

Dr. Henderson’s research seeks to rethink 19th-century Canadian settler colonial histories within a transnational and trans-imperial framework. He is interested in how the trans-colonial project of settler self-government across the British colonies that became Canada was enmeshed with larger empire-wide debates about whiteness, masculinity, sexuality, and political independence.

Dr. Henderson’s work has appeared in the Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History, Histoire sociale/Social History, Archivaria, and online at Notches: Remarks on the History of Sexuality and the Graphic History Collective. His current book project, A Queer History of Straight State Making in Early Canada, explores the history of sex between men and settler self-government in the British North American colonies between 1790 and 1860. It asks whether a queered man could do the political and masculine work of reproducing empire. In examining the colonial and metropolitan debates over the implementation of white settler self-government alongside efforts to re-criminalize sex between men, Dr. Henderson’s work promises to recalibrate the history of responsible government in Canada as one that conceived of queerness as a threat to the new definitions of settler and public manhood that were taking hold in the mid-19th century as settler-colonial structures were consolidated, systematically excluding most Indigenous peoples, marginalizing the working classes, and confirming the exclusion of women as voters.

In addition to his research, Dr. Henderson teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on sex, gender and sexuality, and the comparative histories of British settler colonialism. In June 2023, he was awarded the Chancellor’s Faculty Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research Mentorship, bestowed annually upon one faculty member at UC Santa Barbara with a distinctive record of mentoring undergraduate students in their research endeavours. He is also completing a teaching module on sodomy in nineteenth-century Canada for Queer Pasts (Alexander Street/ProQuest), a collection of primary source exhibits for students and scholars of queer history and culture.

Canadian Studies Advisory Board Chair David Stewart Elected to ACSUS Executive Council

We are pleased to announce that David Stewart, who chairs the Canadian Studies Program’s External Advisory Board, has been elected to the Executive Council of the Association for Canadian Studies in the United States (ACSUS).

ACSUS is the largest academic organization dedicated to the study of Canada in the United States. It is a multi-disciplinary, membership-based association that raises awareness and understanding of Canada and its relationship with the US through publications, conferences, and grants.

David is one of four new councillors elected to serve a four-year term on the Executive Committee. He will assist ACSUS with strategic planning, and executing its functions and initiatives. David brings a wealth of experience to his new role. He has previously served as a consultant on a wide variety of US-Canada innovation projects, including as an academic relations officer for the Consulate General of Canada in Palo Alto.

David will continue to serve as Advisory Board chair for Canadian Studies until the end of his term next year. Please join us in congratulating David for this great honour!

LOCAL NEWS

Consulate Staff, Friends March in SF Pride Parade

Staff of the Canadian consulate in San Francisco, along with their families and friends, took part in an official Canadian delegation during Sunday’s Pride Parade in the city. In a statement released on Twitter, the consulate affirmed the government’s commitment to greater rights and inclusion for the LGBTQ+ community. Click here to see additional pictures.

NEWS FROM CANADA

Podcast: Searching for the “40 Millionth Canadian”

Canada reached an important milestone on June 16, when its population reached 40 million for the first time ever. A new episode of Eh Sayers, the official podcast of Statistics Canada, investigates who that person might be, and what this landmark means for the country.

Titled “Will the 40 Millionth Canadian Please Stand Up?“, the episode features Laurent Martel, director of the agency’s Centre for Demography. He explains what the latest demographic data can tell us about this person, and also discusses the implications of Canada’s changing demographics and its rapid population growth.

EXTERNAL EVENTS

Commemoration Day Virtual Service

Sat., July 1 | 8:00 am PT | Online | RSVP

While July 1st is Canada Day, for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians it is also Memorial Day or Commemoration Day – a day when we remember the loss of over 700 Newfoundlanders on the first day of the Battle of the Somme in 1916. Observed since 1917, this tradition commemorates the sacrifices made by Newfoundlanders in the service of Canada’s armed forces.

US Branch #25 of the Royal Canadian Legion, representing the San Francisco Bay Area, invites you to join them and the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps – Arkansas Division for a virtual sunrise service honoring of Canada’s fallen soldiers. The service will be held exclusively on Zoom; please register above if you wish to attend.

Digital Moose Lounge Canada Day Picnic

Sat., July 1 | 11:30 am | Woodside, CA | Buy tickets

Celebrate Canada’s 156th birthday with your fellow Bay Area Canadians at the Digital Moose Lounge’s ever-popular Canada Day Picnic. Enjoy an afternoon under the redwoods, with fun activities & games to keep kids and adults alike entertained. Meet new friends and reconnect with old ones as we embrace our heritage and celebrate with patriotic pride.

Tickets are going quickly, so get yours today!

Canadian Studies Program

213 Philosophy Hall #2308

WEBSITE | EMAIL | DONATE

Bonne Saint-Jean à tous!

Since 1834, June 24 has been celebrated as Québec’s national holiday. Officially named the Fête nationale, it’s also called La Saint-Jean from its origins in the feast of Québec’s patron saint, and has been a public holiday since 1925. It’s a day to celebrate the unique culture and heritage of the Québécois people, and invites Quebeckers of all backgrounds to share their love of their home.

Canadian Studies is proud to sponsor research that promotes a better understanding of Québecois culture. Hildebrand Fellow Jennifer Kaplan recently wrapped up a year of study in Montréal, where she investigated the development of gender-neutral French. And in March, we co-sponsored an international conference run by faculty affiliate William Burton that explored the influence of Québécois intellectuals on the philosophy of French feminist philosopher Monique Wittig.

Click here for information about this year’s official festivities (in French). Bonne Fête à tous!

In This Issue:

Program News

• Haikun Liu wins 2023 Ross Prize for project evaluating “altruism” of Canada’s foreign aid
• Dennis Song awarded honourable mention for paper on how Tibetan refugees paved the way for a multicultural Canada
• Check out our Fall 2023 course lineup!

Research Opportunities

• Call for Proposals: Association for Canadian Studies 50th Anniversary Summit

External Events

• Friends of Canada at SF Pride
• Commemoration Day Virtual Service
• Digital Moose Lounge Canada Day Picnic

PROGRAM NEWS

Haikun Liu Wins 2023 Ross Prize for Project Evaluating “Altruism” of Canada’s Foreign Aid

The Canadian Studies Program is pleased to award Haikun Liu the 2023 Rita Ross Undergraduate Prize in Canadian Studies. Named in honour of a longtime associate director of the program, the prize is awarded to an undergraduate who has produced an outstanding work of original Canadianist research for a UC Berkeley course or independent study. Haikun’s submission, “Altruism of Aid: Analysis of Canadian Official Development Assistance (ODA) into Sub-Saharan Africa”, assesses whether Canada’s foreign aid displays selfless or self-interested motives.

Haikun is a Chinese-Canadian international student, pursuing a dual degree in economics and business administration, alongside minors in politics, philosophy, and law. His family moved to Toronto when he was 12, and he credits his experience of Canadian multiculturalism and open-mindedness with shaping his personal values. Haikun’s interest in Canada-Africa relations started in high school, and he volunteered with international development organizations from a young age. However, it was his economics classes at UC Berkeley that showed him the possibilities of research in this discipline. “I want to thank Prof. Edward Miguel for enlightening my understanding of African development and opening my eyes towards translating research into real-world impact,” he notes.

Haikun’s winning paper is merely the first part of a substantial independent research project, which contributes to a long-running debate in political science over whether foreign aid is indeed altruistic, or merely serves a state’s geopolitical aims. Canada, in particular, has long claimed moral and altruistic motives for its foreign aid. Critics, however, frequently claim that wealthy nations use aid to buy political favours and access to resources from weaker countries. In contrast to great powers such as the United States and China, comparatively little research has been done to assess the efficacy and motives of Canada’s aid projects.

Haikun’s paper fits Canada’s aid program into an empirical standard for “altruism” that can be compared to other global players. By using GDP and ODA statistics from the World Bank, Haikun developed an algorithm that looks for “countercyclical donations”, periods where donations from Canada increased while the country’s GDP declined – essentially, evidencing a lack of financial return on the aid investment. Under this model, only about half of the recipient countries could be considered “altruistic” cases. Additionally, nearly 3/4 of the 21 countries receiving altruistic aid were coastal – perhaps hinting at larger strategic goals in Canada’s funding.

Still, this paper is only the beginning of Haikun’s work. In addition to his Ross Prize, Haikun has applied for a pilot undergraduate research grant to travel to Canada to do archival research over the summer. He plans to examine the rhetoric of official government ODA reports, to provide a holistic, rhetorical complement to his empirical analysis. And after graduating, he hopes to grow this project into a dissertation when he pursues a graduate degree in development economics.

“The Rita Ross Prize represents the culmination of my time here at Berkeley,” says Haikun. “As a Canadian student with minimal funding opportunities, the prize has encouraged me to further pursue research in an area that I am genuinely passionate about.”

Canadian Studies awarded an honourable mention to Ross Prize applicant Dennis Song, for his research into the history of a Cold War-era Tibetan refugee resettlement program and its impact on Canada’s immigration system.

Dennis is a Chinese-Canadian international student, majoring in conservation studies. His submission, “Cold War & Tibetan Resettlement Program: A Canadian Perspective”, examines the 1971-75 Canadian Tibetan Resettlement Program, which resettled 228 Tibetan exiles in the country. This project was the first major resettlement of non-Europeans in Canada, but has traditionally been viewed as a token gesture of moral leadership. However, Dennis argues that it played a notable role in setting the stage for Canada’s future refugee policies, and was a significant milestone on Canada’s transformation into a multicultural, immigrant society.

The resettlement issue brought together several sometimes-contradictory strands of Canada’s Cold War geopolitics; it balanced a desire for moral leadership, independence from US foreign policy, and the realities of international relations. Dennis charts how throughout the development of the program, leaders from Pearson to Trudeau shuffled between these priorities in a way that makes it difficult to speak of a unified Canadian approach to the geopolitics during the era. While the program demonstrated real initiative, the project was delayed several years, and its scope limited to about 10% of the initial number of refugees, due to fears of Chinese or US diplomatic reprisals.

The small number of Tibetans accepted was also a consequence of fears among Canadian leadership about integrating the refugees. With immigration laws having recently been liberalized, the government viewed the program as a test for how well immigrants from non-Western societies could assimilate. Many Canadian politicians saw Tibetan society as archaic, and were concerned that their pastoralist background and cultural isolation would severely hamper their ability to become self-sufficient citizens. But the speed with which the refugees integrated themselves into the workforce convinced officials that culturally-distinct migrants could successfully adapt to life in Canada. Concrete naturalization strategies gained from the program would go on to inform later, and significantly larger, refugee resettlements. Without this precedent, Dennis argues, we may not have seen the increased willingness for the country to accept more diverse groups of refugees and immigrants over the next decades.

And how did Dennis get interested in this project? “Taking (Canadian Studies Director, Professor Irene) Bloemraad’s course on immigration made me wonder, why did Canada learn to be more accepting of immigrants? I was surprised to find an answer in my Tibetan history class with Professor Van Vleet.” Dennis hopes to expand his paper further into an undergraduate honors thesis. “Receiving the honorable mention really made me feel the Canadian presence on campus! It feels strange to not have more campus academic engagement with the northern neighbor. The presence of this program will promote me further to do research about Canada.”

Each semester, Canadian Studies updates our list of Berkeley courses that engage in some way with Canada. These courses showcase the possibilities of Canadian Studies. As an interdisciplinary program, we encourage students to take classes across a variety of subjects, and these courses reflect that diversity. (Please let us know if you have any additions!) Courses offered this semester include:

• “The Seminar on Criticism: Canadian Songs 1960-1999”: This course engages with Canadian songwriting of the late 20th century, a period where Canada was redefining itself, both internally and to the world.
• “Encounter & Conquest in Indigenous America”: This class compares and contrasts histories of colonization and Indigenous resistance in three regions of North America, including the St. Lawrence River Valley.
• “Language and Identity”: This course will use Canada as a case study as it examines the role of language in the construction of social identities. Topics covered include the legitimization of a national language, the politics of language in nation-building processes, and the endangerment of Indigenous languages.

RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES

Call for Proposals: Association for Canadian Studies

50th Anniversary Summit

Deadline: Saturday, June 17, 2023

The Association for Canadian Studies has issued a call for papers for a summit to mark its 50th anniversary. The theme of the summit is “Giving ‘Our’ Past a Future: Re-Building and Sharing Inclusive Narrative(s) for Canada.”

Over the past two decades, the rethinking of the Canadian history narrative has sought to address the glaring historic omissions of Indigenous peoples. Is real progress being made in that regard? To what extent is the broader public interested and engaged in the changing history narrative? Is there a growing rift in the history narrative changes being presented/proposed by many Canadian thought leaders and the acceptance and support for these changes by the wider public?

ACS invites proposals for workshops/panel presentation sessions, roundtables, and poster presentations on a range of topics such as migration and identity formation. The 50th anniversary summit will take place on October 2nd, 2023 at the Hilton Lac-Leamy Hotel, Gatineau, Quebec. Learn more here.

EXTERNAL EVENTS

Friends of Canada at SF Pride

Sun., June 25 | 4:00 pm | San Francisco, CA | RSVP

Consul General of Canada Rana Sarkar cordially invites you to join Canadians marching in the 2023 San Francisco Pride Parade! The theme of this year’s parade is “Looking Back and Moving Forward.”

All are welcome to join the Consulate group on Sunday, June 25th with their families and friends to celebrate diversity and to support the LGBTQ2+ members of our communities here in San Francisco, at home in Canada, and abroad. The exact assembly location and time will be announced approximately one week prior to the parade. Please register via the link above to receive updates.

Commemoration Day Virtual Service

Sat., July 1 | 8:00 am PT | Online | RSVP

While July 1st is Canada Day, for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians it is also Memorial Day or Commemoration Day – a day when we remember the loss of over 700 Newfoundlanders on the first day of the Battle of the Somme in 1916. Observed since 1917, this tradition commemorates the sacrifices made by Newfoundlanders in the service of Canada’s armed forces.

US Branch #25 of the Royal Canadian Legion, representing the San Francisco Bay Area, invites you to join them and the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps – Arkansas Division for a virtual sunrise service honoring of Canada’s fallen soldiers. The service will be held exclusively on Zoom; please register above if you wish to attend.

Digital Moose Lounge Canada Day Picnic

Sat., July 1 | 11:30 am | Woodside, CA | Buy tickets

Celebrate Canada’s 156th birthday with your fellow Bay Area Canadians at the Digital Moose Lounge’s ever-popular Canada Day Picnic. Enjoy an afternoon under the redwoods, with fun activities & games to keep kids and adults alike entertained. Meet new friends and reconnect with old ones as we embrace our heritage and celebrate with patriotic pride.

Tickets are expected to sell out, so get your early!

Canadian Studies Program

213 Philosophy Hall #2308

WEBSITE | EMAIL | DONATE