poniedziałek, 3 marca 2014
Extended Deadline
It is my pleasure to announce that the deadline for abstracts for our conference has been extended to March 31, 2014.
niedziela, 15 grudnia 2013
Call for Papers
Conference
May 14th 2014
Organized by Canadian Studies Student Circle,
at Canadian Studies Centre, Institute of English
Cultures and Literatures,
University of Silesia,
Sosnowiec, Poland
Multiculturalism, the Final
Frontier? Representations of Diversity in Canadian Mass Media and Popular
Culture
Key Note Speaker:
Prof. Michelle LaFlamme
University of Fraser Valley
BC, Canada
Call for Papers
In the 1960’s one of the most famous
Canadian actors, William Shatner, paved the way towards ethnic diversity on
American television, leading a multicultural cast in the cult TV series Star Trek. Fifty years later, Gene
Roddenberry’s Utopia is reflected by the Canadian policy of multiculturalism.
Not only is the framework of multiculturalism employed in Canada to describe
the diverse composition of its population but – as a social ideal – it also
places emphasis upon the growing Canadian ethno-racial and ethno-cultural
pluralism functioning as the Canadian way of life.
More precisely, what is brought to
the fore is the possibility of integration of members of diverse ethnic groups
into mainstream Canadian society, simultaneously encouraging equal
participation in social and cultural production, while at the same time
maintaining attachment to their cultural background and taking pride in their
ancestry. Consequently, at the heart of the Canadian social mosaic is the
belief in inter-ethnic along inter-racial harmony, stressing a mutual respect
for social differences as well as precluding the mutual exclusion of individual
needs for fulfillment and ethnic group cohesion.
As a result, whilst Canadian popular
culture has been dominated by Anglophone consumption and products, closely
linked with US-dominated global culture, multiculturalism has put pressure upon
Canadians to launch into developing ethnic approaches popular in regional,
ethnic senses. Literature and especially soft media – characterized by a more
eclectic range in their content than print, such as drama, community affairs,
music, art, and religion – provide minorities with a more fertile ground for
cultural maintenance and a multi- layered identity capable of long-term
survival, proving that popular culture can serve as a prime vehicle for
cultural transmission and major manifestation of a particular culture – one
that bridges the gap between the world of academia and more layman approaches
to cultural consumption. Nonetheless, Canadian mass media is still dominated by
instances of American popular culture, where representations of diversity are
highly problematized, and home entertainment industry has yet to develop truly
visible strategies of reflecting the country's multicultural mosaic. The aim of
the Conference is to analyze both the extent of implementation of the ideal of
multiculturalism into Canadian mass media, and the issues raised by
questionable representations of ethnic and racial minorities in Canadian
popular culture.
We particularly encourage contributions (15-20
minutes) that deal specifically with the main topic of the conference. Papers
developed from such presentations will be reviewed and considered for
post-conference publication. Presentations may concern the following categories
(themes):
§
Indigenous approaches to popular culture in Canada;
§
representations of hybridity and multiculturalism in
Canadian speculative and science fiction literature and TV shows;
§
Others and aliens—narratives of encounter in Canadian
speculative and science fiction;
§
race and hybridity in Canadian variety programs and
reality TV;
§
multiculturalism and the news;
§
representation of hybridity and multiculturalism in
daytime TV/soap operas;
§
approaches to multiculturalism in children’s TV and
literature;
§
influences of Canadian multiculturalism on the music
industry;
§
new media and the transcultural dialogue
§
comic books as venues for exploring the issues of
multiculturalism/hybridity
§
stand-up comedy in the context of the debate on
multiculturalism in modern-day Canada
Paper
submission details:
(1) Please, send a 250-word proposal
for a 15-20-minute presentation (in English), explaining the overall focus.
Include your name and institute.
(2) Proposals should be submitted via
email to:
(3) Conference fee: PLN 70
(4) Deadline for abstracts: 31 March 2014
(5) Conference website: http://dccconference2014.blogspot.com
(6) About Canadian Studies Centre and
Canadian Studies Student Circle:
Conference organizers:
Rafał Madeja,
M.A. (CSSC Supervisor, Head of the Organizing Committee)
Agnieszka Podruczna, M.A. (Conference
Secretary)
Kinga Kowalska,
B.A. (Head of CSSC)
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