Contesting Canada’s Future, May 21-23

Trent University invites academics, activists, and artists to an exploration of Canada in the new century. Examining concerns ranging from the environment and science to Canadian art and music, from multiculturalism and diversity to social inequality and Canada’s changing place in the global order, “Contesting Canada’s Future” will engage scholars, thinkers, cultural producers, and activists in a three-day, multi-site and multi-format event. This interdisciplinary conference, centered at Trent and extending into venues across Peterborough, will include artist exhibitions, screenings, concerts and a host of other community and cultural events, along with panels, roundtables, and keynote speakers.

Since Trent University’s founding half a century ago, the institution has been at the forefront of the study of Canada across all disciplines and research areas. Trent’s first president, Professor T.H.B. Symons, founded the Journal of Canadian Studies and encouraged the establishment of interdisciplinary programs focusing on Canada, its peoples, its culture, and its environment. “Contesting Canada’s Future” showcases the interdisciplinary study and academic strength that have come to shape and define Trent’s identity, and the important work and legacy of Trent’s founding president. On the cusp of Canada’s sesquicentennial, and the 50th Anniversary of the University’s creation, there is no better place to hold an examination of Canadian Studies than at Trent.

The organizing committee seeks panel, paper, and exhibit submissions from all disciplines that deal with aspects of Canada and Canadian Studies. Individual papers are welcome, as are completed panels that may include commentators and/or chairs, in both official languages. We especially encourage panels that present a range of interdisciplinary perspectives, engage explicitly with the conference theme of Contesting Canada's Future, include scholars at different career stages and different types of institutions (academic and public), and are gender and racially diverse.  We also welcome new ways of communicating research findings and alternative formats that involve a more interactive element, along with a higher level of audience involvement, than conventional sessions.