IMAGES OF NATIONAL, ETHNIC AND INDIVIDUAL IDENTITY IN CANADA (25 - 27 Octob

The Canadian Studies Centre at Masaryk University is pleased to announce a conference on “Images of National, Ethnic and Individual Identity in Canada”, to be held, in cooperation with the Embassy of Canada in the Czech Republic and the Association Gallica, from 25 to 27 October 2007 at Masaryk University, Brno (Czech Republic).

Conference topic

Multicultural settings provide a good source of different materials and approaches for studying questions of identity. The individual – be it as author, filmmaker, painter or philosopher – is located at the axiological intersection where identity is created through the interaction of or contact between various ethnic, language, cultural and national identities. Images of the self enter into opposition to the image of the other. Social norms and their codes create stereotypes that may be confirmed, rejected or transformed through individual creativity.

The cultural space of Canada provides a diversity of possible interactions ranging from those between the Anglophone and Francophone spheres to those between these two cultural spheres and the identities of immigrants, aboriginal peoples and other socially marginalized groups. This may be seen very clearly in literature as well as in the fine arts and in the general cultural and social consciousnesses.

The primary aim of this conference is to sketch the development of identity in Canadian culture during the past half century in four fields: literature, film, the fine arts and historical discourse. Emphasis should be placed on the creative potential of the question of identity as a source of new approaches and experiments in scholarly research.

Languages: English, French

The conference registration form along with abstracts of papers (250 words) and a one-paragraph CV should be submitted by e-mail (vurm@phil.muni.cz) to the organizers by 31 March 2007.

Registration fee: 30 euros (to be paid upon arrival at the conference itself)

Reduced fees for members of the Central European Association for Canadian Studies and for students

REGISTRATION FORM