The British Association for Canadian Studies Literature Group is pleased to announce that we will be hosting a symposium on 12th September 2011 at the Eccles Centre for American Studies at the British library. This one-day symposium will provide an opportunity for emerging and established scholars to situate developments and innovations in current Canadian literary studies in the UK and beyond.

We see this symposium as a chance to re-evaluate dominant modes of Canadian literary canon making and map out new ways of understanding Canadian literature's place and influence in and beyond Canada at the beginning of the new millennium. To this end, we invite papers aiming to look forward, focusing on emerging writers, as well as those offering fresh approaches to established writers and forgotten or marginalised writers who are due renewed critical attention. To help us with these productive re-evaluations we have invited two eminent, influential and innovative scholars and BACS members to give a joint plenary and lead the first discussion: Dr. Danielle Fuller (University of Birmingham) and Dr. Faye Hammill (Strathclyde University).

We suggest the following topics of interest, although contributors should not feel limited to these areas:

• Canada on the global stage
• Canada since 9/11
• Canadian literature and culture in the cyberage
• Canadian engagement with new literary genres
• Cosmopolitanism
• Re-assessing ideas of the postnational and/or transnational
• Multiculturalism and diversity
• Indigeneity and/or the absence of decolonization
• Canadian literary prize culture
• Rethinking the 'lit' in CanLit
• Changing materialities
• Interdisciplinary approaches to Canadian literature
• Comparative frameworks: postcolonial and/or hemispheric paradigms
• The institutional positioning of Canadian literature in the UK: Is it an 'Area Studies' subject? Should it be taught under World literatures or general contemporary literature?

We invite paper proposals for 5-10-minute position papers. All panellists will be required to submit a 2000 to 3000-word version of their paper, which will be posted for all delegates to read in advance on the BACS literature group webpage. Proposals of 300 words and brief biographical notes should be emailed to Catherine Bates, Fiona Tolan and Gillian Roberts.  

***Extended Deadline: 5th May, 2011***

There will be a discounted registration fee for postgraduate students. Speakers will be invited to submit their papers for publication in a special issue of the British Journal for Canadian Studies, to be published Autumn, 2013.

CanText is the newsletter of the BACS Literature Group and as such has a special interest in Canadian fiction, poetry, drama, and related criticism. The newsletter is distributed by email and is updated regularly. As well as carrying calls for papers, conference reports and details of new resources we also promote new books and publish reviews. Contributions from readers are always welcome.

To subscribe to CanText contact the editor, Linda Knowles   

CALL FOR PAPERS

10th RACS Biennial International Conference

St Petersburg

September 23 - 25, 2011

RACS invites proposals for papers for the 10th Biennial International Conference of the Russian Association Canadian Studies.  The Conference is open to scholars in any relevant discipline, and explicitly aims to promote interdisciplinary dialogue.

The first part of the Conference will be devoted exclusively to the Northern and Arctic issues, the appropriate themes include but are not limited to the following: promoting peace and security in the Arctic, developing natural resources, providing economic prosperity in the North, improving Aboriginal life, protecting the natural environment, learning from Northern cultural heritage, and enlarging international cooperation in the North and Arctic.

The second part will allow the contribution from Canadianists in different areas covering the themes of domestic policies, Canadian economy, and social and cultural developments. Any other theme relevant to Canadian Studies (Canadian history, literature, etc.) will be also considered.

The working languages are English and French. The Conference will take place in the northern capital of the Russian Federation - the City of Saint Petersburg. There is no registration fee for participants.

We welcome proposals for papers in English or French, consisting of an abstract (maximum 300 words) and a short biography of the author and appropriate affiliation (maximum 300 words) to be submitted to the RACS-2011 Conference, Organizing Committee, 123995, GSP-5, 2/3 Khlebny per., Moscow, Russian Federation, fax - 7-(495)-695-3016, or as e-mail file in .doc or .rtf format by June 15, 2011.  Notification of acceptance will be sent before July 01, 2011.