MAY 2013
Director attends Lecture by Rt Hon Jean Chrétien at the Scotland Office
Dr Annis May Timpson represented the University at a special guest lecture on Canada's referendum experience, delivered by the former Prime Minister of Canada.
APRIL 2013
Referendums and Constitutional Change - Quebec and Scotland in Focus
Centre colleagues were directly involved in a two-day international workshop that brought together colleagues from Quebec and Scotland. Organised by Professor Stephen Tierney (Centre for Constitutional Law) and Professor Alain-G. Gagnon (UQAM), the workshop brought together 40 academics and government practitioners.
The workshop reflected on the Quebec/Canada experience and the lessons this might hold for the Scottish process. It also examined how the evolving picture within Scotland offers insights for constitutional referendums at the sub-state level in other plurinational states.
The Foundation for Canadian Studies co-sponsored this event through the Centre of Canadian Studies.
Dr Kennedy’s new book on Liberal Nationalisms in Scotland and Quebec
Dr James Kennedy’s new book: Liberal Nationalisms: Empire, State, and Civil Society in Scotland and Quebec has been published by McGill-Queen’s University Press.
This book examines how the early twentieth century Young Scots' Society and the Ligue nationaliste canadienne developed in response to changes within empire, state, and civil society.
In the book Dr Kennedy argues that the actions of the British Empire and the Canadian state not only prompted nationalist responses in Scotland and Quebec respectively, but also shaped their liberal character. The book highlights the important roles that geopolitics, consociation and federation, and organized religion played in the creation of nationalist philosophies.
The Centre congratulates Dr Kennedy on the publication of this significant analysis of early twentieth century nationalist movements in Scotland and Quebec.
Centre Administrative Secretary Liz Reilly retires
Colleagues and students at the Centre of Canadian Studies bade a very fond farewell to Liz Reilly as she retired from the University. Liz has been a tremendous presence in the Centre and a wonderful support for colleagues, students and visiting scholars. We all wish Liz a happy and fulfilling retirement.
Centre Graduate Student presents at British Canadian Studies Conference
Centre graduate student, Luke Flanagan, presented a paper at the annual British Association of Canadian Studies (BACS) conference in London this Thursday (4th April). Luke’s paper is based on his doctoral thesis, which addresses the question of a political union of Canada’s three Maritime provinces – Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island – between 1960 and 1980. The title of the paper, and the thesis from which it is drawn, is “A Political Union of Canada’s Maritime Provinces 1960-1980: Why Did a Union Not Happen?”
Quebec prize
Centre of Canadian Studies student Megan Melanson wins prestigious Quebec prize Megan Melanson, a second year PhD student has won the 2013 postgraduate Prix du Québec. The award is designed to assist postgraduate research in Quebec.
Agent General for Quebec, M. Stéphane Paquet, announced the prize at the British Association for Canadian Studies Conference in London Megan’s PhD project, entitled 'Democratic Regimes and Homemade Bombs' examines the distinct patterns of violent nationalism in Quebec and Corsica. The prize will contribute to Megan’s forthcoming research on the activities of the Front de Libération du Québec in the 1960s and 1970s.
The Centre of Canadian Studies congratulates Megan on this significant achievement.
John Rae Exhibition at Stromness Museum
Centre of Canadian Studies PhD Student, Kaitlin McCormick, collaborates on John Rae Exhibition at Stromness Museum
Canadian Studies PhD student Kaitlin McCormick worked with National Museums Scotland (NMS) on the new exhibition “John Rae: The Explorer and Collector” developed as part of an ongoing partnership between NMS and Stromness Museum. The exhibition examines the life and work of Dr John Rae (1813-1893), native Orcadian, University of Edinburgh Medicine graduate, and Arctic explorer. It launches Orkney’s “John Rae 200” celebrations to honour the bicentenary of Rae’s birth.
Rae was both an explorer and a collector. His collection of Inuit, Cree and Northwest Coast indigenous art and material culture acquired over the course of his career as explorer and guide in North America were left to the University and are now in National Museums Scotland. The Stromness Museum exhibition features twenty items that he collected in the course of his life.
Kaitlin McCormick worked with National Museums Scotland and Stromness Museum to develop contextual research on Rae’s experience as a telegraph surveyor on the Northwest Coast of British Columbia. She also contributed text and research for the exhibition particularly regarding the pieces Rae collected during his time on Vancouver Island in 1864. This draws from the work she is pursuing on Scottish collections from the Pacific Northwest.
The Centre of Canadian Studies congratulates Kaitlin on the important contribution she has made to the enhancement of public understanding of Rae’s work. This collaboration highlights the long-standing links between the NMS and the University as teaching and research institutions.
MARCH 2013
Centre PhD Student gains Foundation for Canadian Studies Travel Award
Megan Melanson, a second year Canadian Studies PhD student, has been awarded a 2013 Travel Award by the Foundation for Canadian Studies in the United Kingdom. This award is granted to assist faculty and doctoral students, pursuing Canadianist research in UK universities, to travel to Canada for fieldwork.
Megan’s research involves a comparison of violent nationalism in Quebec and Corsica in a thesis entitled: ‘Democratic Regimes and Homemade Bombs: a comparison of the Front de Libération du Québec and the Fronte di Liberazione Naziunale Corsu. She will be using this grant to conduct interviews and archival research in Ottawa and Montreal.
Centre PhD Student presents research at Quebec and the World Conference
Megan Melanson, a second year Canadian Studies PhD student, delivered a fascinating presentation of her research on March 9 at UCL’s Institute of the Americas conference: Quebec and the World.
Megan’s presentation focused on the history of violent nationalism in sub-states of Quebec and Corsica, looking closely at the Front de Libération du Québec and the Fronte di Liberazione Naziunale Corsu.
This was Megan’s first conference paper and she would like to thank conference organizer, Dr Tony McCulloch, and the Institute of the Americas for the opportunity to present her research to a very supportive group of academics from Canada, the United States and the UK.
Centre Graduate student Luke Flanagan initiates local Canadian war research
Centre graduate student, Luke Flanagan, is conducting academic research on Canadians in his hometown of Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex during the First World War. Intended as a project whilst he pursues an academic career, Luke is investigating how the siting of a Canadian Officers Training School and Canadian Trench Warfare School in Bexhill between 1917 and 1919 contributed to questions of Canada’s constitutional development within the British Empire. Luke will be presenting this research at a conference entitled ‘Canada Abroad’ to be held Queen’s University’s Bader International Study Centre in East Sussex in July 2013. More information on Luke’s research can be found at the following link; www.canadiansinbexhill.wordpress.com
FEBRUARY 2013
Centre alumnus becomes Canada’s Ambassador for Religious Freedom
The Centre of Canadian Studies wishes to congratulate Dr Andrew Bennett on his appointment by the Canadian Prime Minister as Canada’s first Ambassador for Religious Freedom.
Dr Bennett holds a PhD from the University of Edinburgh. His thesis examined nationalist perspectives on constitutional change in Quebec, Catalonia and Scotland.
While at Edinburgh Andrew Bennett played an active role in the work of the Centre of Canadian Studies, tutoring on its core undergraduate course and contributing to broader community building at the Centre.
Like many graduates associated with the Centre, Dr Bennett has gone on to develop an impressive career. Currently Dean at Augustine College in Ottawa, Dr Bennett held previous appointments at the Privy Council Office, Export Development Canada and Natural Resources Canada.
Drawn to Change: Academia, Activism, and the Potential of the Graphic Medium for Conscientização in Canada in the 21st Century
Our Spring 2013 Open Research Seminar season kicked off with a thoughtful and provocative paper on graphic novels, comic books, and their potential to inspire political engagement.
Delivered by Sean Carleton, a PhD candidate in the Frost Centre for Canadian & Indigenous Studies at Trent University in Peterborough, the paper made a strong case for the graphic novel and the graphic medium as “an important tool for activism and [for creating] a space for academics to consider the various ways in which the graphic medium can be further developed to cultivate conscientização in Canada in the 21st century.”
Carleton’s presentation drew an interdisciplinary audience from within the University and provoked lively debate during the question period on issues of representation, language and writing-as-process - topics being pursued by current CCS postgraduate students. Informal group discussion focussed on the potential for generating knowledge exchange, and an invitation was extended for our postgrads to participate in the annual Fall term Trent-Carleton University Graduate Student Conference.
JANUARY 2013
Director comments on Quebec Premier’s visit for the BBC and CTV
On January 29, Annis May Timpson was interviewed about the Quebec Premier’s visit to Scotland on CTV News and BBC Newsnight Scotland.
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Canadian Studies 1A nominated for EUSA Best Course Award
We are delighted to announce that the core undergraduate course at the Centre - Canadian Studies 1A: The Dynamics of a Multicultural State - has been nominated for the Edinburgh University Students Association 2012/13 Best Course Award.
New Course on Indigenous Politics Culture and Screen in Canada
A new course on Indigenous Politics, Culture and Screen in Canada has been launched this semester at Honours and MSc levels. It explores the significance of screen as a medium for understanding Canada’s complex relations with its Aboriginal peoples and as a channel for Indigenous self-determination.
DECEMBER 2012
Centre Director nominated for EUSA Award for Teaching Excellence
We are delighted to announce that Dr Annis May Timpson has been nominated for the Edinburgh University Students Association 2012/13 Campbell Award for teaching excellence in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Maritime Union research of Centre PhD student sparks interest with Canadian Senator
Centre graduate student, Luke Flanagan, is contributing to a key debate in the Canadian media. A Maritime Union - amalgamating the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island in to a single province - is being advocated by three Senators from the region.
Senator Stephen Greene of Nova Scotia, who is leading the debate, has asked to use Luke’s thesis abstract on a Maritime Union Facebook page.
NOVEMBER 2012
Congratulations to Joey Waitschat, MPhil
Joseph Waitschat was awarded his MPhil degree at the Graduation Ceremony, November 28. Joey is the Centre’s first MPhil graduate in Canadian Studies.
Joey’s thesis is entitled: The Canadian Senate: A chamber of sober second thought or an upper house shaped by partisan politics during the first sixty years of confederation?
The thesis develops a fascinating analysis of the way three dynamic and important government-introduced bills, between 1867 and 1927, were ultimately blocked by the Canadian Senate.
A must read for anyone interested, from a historical perspective, in contemporary questions of Senate reform.
Centre participation in state of the art conference in Quebec Studies
Four members of the Centre took part in "Quebec Studies in the UK: a Balance Sheet" at the School of Advanced Studies, University of London. This conference connected specialists working on Quebec and French Canada in the UK and continental Europe.
The meeting provided wonderful opportunities for Centre graduate students to connect with leading specialists in their research fields. Centre affiliate, Dr James Kennedy, led a fascinating conference session on Quebec’s 2012 Election, drawing on his comparative research into nationalist movements in Scotland and Quebec.
Centre PhD student delivers paper at 2012 Comics Forum
Harriet Kennedy delivered a research paper "The Confused Nationalisms of Bojoual l'huron kébékois" at the 2012 Leeds Comics Forum Conference.
The paper explored how Guilemay used the form and content of his Bojoual albums to explore contemporary tensions surrounding issues of Québécois nationalism, identity and provincial government policy in the wake of the Quiet Revolution.
The conference was part of the Leeds annual sequential art festival-Thought Bubble. Harriet is also a member of the organising committee of Comics Forum, an organisation which aims to increase the visibility and accessibility of comics scholarship by bringing scholars, artists and fans together in a spirit of mutual cooperation and development.
OCTOBER 2012
Canada Research Chair in Electoral Studies Visits Centre
The Centre is very pleased to welcome Professor Henry Milner (Political Science, Université de Montreal) who is meeting with the Centre’s graduate researchers before speaking on The Internet Generation at the Transatlantic Seminar Series.
New Visiting Scholars arrive at the Centre
We are delighted to welcome Professor Linda Mahood (History, Guelph) and Professor Vic Satzewich (Sociology, McMaster) as part of the Centre’s Visiting Scholars Programme.
SEPTEMBER 2012
Canadian Studies Development Program Grant Award
The Centre has been awarded a substantial new grant from the Foundation for Canadian Studies to promote a range of Canadian Studies teaching, research, publication, conferences, international research exchange and public outreach.
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