Distinguished Québec Address: “Québec's International Strategies Post-COVID”
March 22, 2021 at 2 p.m.
The 2021 Distinguished Québec Address, “After the Crisis: Québec's International Strategies Post-COVID,” will be delivered by Dr. Stéphane Paquin on Monday, March 22 at 2 p.m. Dr. Stéphane Paquin is Full Professor at the École nationale d’administration publique (ENAP) in Montréal. He has written, co-written or edited 33 books, including Theories of International Political Economy (2016), and many more articles about Québec's international relations and substates governments in comparative perspectives. The Distinguished Québec Address is the keynote Institute on Québec Studies, SUNY Plattsburgh-sponsored event.
About the program: Even if the COVID-19 crisis is not over, the Québec government is preparing for the future. Contrary to what has happened in the past after a period of crisis affecting public finances, the Québec government is not giving any sign that it wants to make cuts in Québec’s international actions, particularly towards the United States. The government has even just announced an export recovery plan of half a billion dollars, about five times the annual budget of Québec’s Ministry of International Relations. This presentation will outline the effects of the crisis on Québec’s international interests, how it has affected its exports and imports, and will explain how the government plans to revive Québec’s economy after the crisis. It will also talk about Québec’s positioning with regard to the Biden administration.
More information & registration for the 2021 Distinguished Québec Address
Conversations on Canada Series Continues this Spring
March 15, April 5, & April 26, 2021
Registration to participate in the Conversations on Canada Spring 2021 Series featuring three presentations is now open.
- Part 1: “Home and Native Land: Reconciling Experiential Canadas”
- Monday, March 15 at 2 p.m.
Dr. Bernard C. Perley (University of British Columbia) is a member of the Maliseet Nation from Tobique First Nation, New Brunswick, Canada and President-Elect for the Society for Linguistic Anthropology. Dr. Perley’s ongoing research is dedicated toward revitalizing Indigenous languages and Indigenous sovereignty and survivance. His critical creativity is expressed through cartoons drawn for Anthropology News as well as his own personal series “Having Reservations.”
More information and registration
- Part 2: “What if the U.S. Had Canada’s Notwithstanding Clause? Constitutional Lessons from the North”
- Monday, April 5 at 2 p.m.
Dr. Kevin J. McMahon is the John R. Reitemeyer Professor of Political Science and Director of the Graduate Program in Public Policy at Trinity College in Hartford, CT. He has written two award-winning books on the U.S. presidency and the political origins and consequences of Supreme Court decisions. In 2005, he spent a semester at the University of Montreal as a Fulbright Distinguished research chair.
More information and registration
- Part 3: “Is the “Special Relationship” back? Canada-U.S. Issues After 100 Days of Joe Biden” with Dr. Frédérick Gagnon
- Monday, April 26 at 2 p.m.
Dr. Frédérick Gagnon is Full Professor, Holder of the Raoul Dandurand Chair in Strategic and Diplomatic Studies, and Director of the Center for United States Studies and of the Center on Multidimensional Conflicts at the University of Québec in Montreal. He has published books on Donald Trump’s foreign policy, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the U.S. Congress, the impact of 9/11 on U.S. international relations, Hollywood movies and the U.S. national security state, and on the theories of U.S. foreign policy.
More information and registration
SUNY Plattsburgh’s Institute on Québec Studies Co-Organizes Québec Past & Present Colloquium
March 12–13, 2021
The 9th Annual Colloquium on Québec Studies: Québec Past & Present organized by the Institute on Québec Studies, SUNY Plattsburgh and the Eastern Townships Resource Centre, Bishop’s University will be convened virtually, Friday, March 12 from 8:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. and Saturday, March 13 from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The program includes more than 35 presenters on eight panels titled:
- Introductory Remarks & Welcome to Abenaki Territory
- Nationalism and Everyday Nationhood
- English-Speaking Québecers
- Québec’s Diversity
- Literary Soulmates
- Québec History
- Strange Bedfellows-politics and literary expressions
- Poster Presentation by Québec Society Students
SUNY Plattsburgh presenters are: Robert Ackland (faculty emeriti), Christopher Kirkey (director, Center for the Study of Canada & Institute on Québec Studies), Jonathan Slater (director, Institute for Ethics in Public Life, and professor/chair, journalism and public relations), Yong Yu (associate professor/chair, teacher education, grad M.S. education program), William Culver (faculty emeriti), and Marlee Bickford-Bushey (undergraduate student, individualized studies major with Canadian studies minor).
Anyone interested to attend the online program is welcome to register at: http://www.etrc.ca/colloquium
Célébrons Québec 2021 presentation: “Theatre in Québec: Why? And Two Musicals”
March 9, 2021 at 3:30 p.m.
The Institute on Québec Studies at SUNY Plattsburgh welcomes Dr. Erin Hurley, Professor of Theatre Studies at McGill University and Past President of the Canadian Association for Theatre Research, who will present “Theatre in Québec: Why? And Two Musicals” at 3:30 p.m. on March 9 as part of its 2021 Célébrons Québec program, an annual event now available virtually. This illustrated lecture will open with introductory remarks on why we should bother to care about culture in the time of COVID, and on the place of theatre in particular, as a socio-political force in Québec. Then, as demonstrations of such force — and as upbeat musical interludes — two satirical musical theatre productions will be introduced from the annals of English-language theatre in Québec: “My Fur Lady” (1957) and “Anglo! The Musical” (1984). Dr. Hurley will argue that these productions index the demographic and political situations of anglophone Québecers at the time and reveal key fault-lines and alliances for the community.
Director Kirkey talks with Rotary Club of Plattsburgh
February 24, 2021
Director of the Center for the Study of Canada and Institute on Québec Studies at SUNY Plattsburgh, Dr. Christopher Kirkey will discuss “Canada's Expectations and the Biden Administration” at the Rotary Club of Plattsburgh’s meeting today.
Winter 2021 Northeast National Resource Center on Canada Newsletter Released
February 16, 2021
Together the Canadian-American Center at the University of Maine and the Center for the Study of Canada and Institute on Québec Studies at SUNY Plattsburgh comprise the Northeast National Resource Center on Canada thanks to funding from the U.S. Department of Education Title VI. View the Winter 2021 Northeast National Resource Center on Canada Newsletter. To view future editions, subscribe to the Northeast National Resource Center on Canada newsletter.
“Québec Society” American Review of Canadian Studies Special Issue Published
January 5, 2021
Christopher Kirkey, Director of SUNY Plattsburgh’s Institute on Québec Studies, guest edited the Fall 2020 American Review of Canadian Studies special issue journal in collaboration with Frédérick Gagnon, Stéphan Gervais, Michael Hawes, Stéphane Paquin, and Stéphane Roussel. The publication featured select papers from the “Québec Society in 2019: Current State and Future Prospects” Colloquium dedicated to defining, examining, and evaluating contemporary Québec society. The American Review of Canadian Studies is the peer-reviewed, multidisciplinary journal of the Association for Canadian Studies in the United States (ACSUS).
View:Québec Society: Current State and Future Prospects poster
Call for Papers: Colloquium on Québec Studies
December 28, 2020
Academics and students from all disciplines in humanities and social sciences are invited to contribute to the March 12–13, 2021 international and multidisciplinary “Québec Past and Present” Colloquium on Québec Studies organized by the SUNY Plattsburgh Institute on Québec Studies and Bishop's University Eastern Townships Resource Centre. We especially encourage faculty to identify talented undergraduate/graduate students to submit a proposal for consideration. The aim of this colloquium is to provide a forum, where the participants can share their research knowledge and ideas on Québec’s past, its recent trends, and map out the directions for its future. The colloquium will result in the publication of select edited scholarly essays in the Journal of Eastern Townships Studies (JETS). Please review the full call for papers for additional information and proposal submission instructions.
Season’s Greetings
December 21, 2020
Your friends at the Center for the Study of Canada & Institute on Québec Studies, SUNY Plattsburgh share our very best holiday wishes.
May 2021 be a safe, healthy and productive year!
Student Scholarship Deadline
December 15, 2020
SUNY Plattsburgh students are reminded of the December 15 deadline to apply for the Center for the Study of Canada and Institute on Québec Studies scholarship opportunities. To review eligibility criteria and to access application requirements, please review this CAS Scholarship Packet.
Canadian Studies Professional Development for K–12 Educators at Three National Conferences
December 5, 2020
This weekend’s virtual conference experience organized by the National Council for the Social Studies, American Bar Association, and the National Council for Geographic Education includes eight Canadian content sessions, with two presentations by Amy Sotherden, assistant director of the Center for the Study of Canada and Institute on Québec Studies: “Canadian Arctic and Climate Change: Sovereignty Challenges Beyond Northwest Passage,” and “Responsible Government and Teaching Canada’s Constitutional Democracy.” As part of the conference experience, the National Resource Centers on Canada are also hosting a virtual exhibit booth with hundreds of resources for use in K–12 classrooms.
Distinguished Fulbright Chair in Québec Studies Lecture
November 16, 2020
Dr. Amélie Quesnel-Vallée served as the 2020 Distinguished Fulbright Chair in Québec
Studies at SUNY Plattsburgh thanks to support from the Québec Ministry of International
Relations and La Francophonie. She is a Professor at McGill University, where she
holds the Canada Research Chair in Policies and Health Inequalities and is jointly
appointed across the faculties of Arts (Sociology) and Medicine (Epidemiology). She
is the founding Director of the McGill Observatory on Health and Social Services Reforms.
Her research examines the contribution of policies to social inequalities in health
over the life course.
Watch: The 2020 Distinguished Fulbright Chair in Québec Studies Lecture by Dr. Amélie Quesnel-Vallée, “Physical Distancing is a Privilege”.
Presentation overview: The increasing mental health inequalities between women and men resulting from the COVID-19 crisis represents a major public health concern. Public health measures to mitigate the pandemic could severely impact populations with a high prevalence of mental health problems such as graduate students. This study aims to document the gendered experience of the lockdown and its association with depressive symptoms among graduate students in Québec.
Photo credit: Eleni Tyrell, Cardinal Points. SUNY Plattsburgh President Dr. Alexander Enyedi and Institute on Québec Studies Director Dr. Christopher Kirkey welcomed Dr. Amélie Quesnel-Vallée to campus in February 2020.
Conversations on Canada Part 3: “The Black Experience in Canada: Race, the State & the Persistence of Social Inequality”
November 12, 2020
The Conversations on Canada webinar series welcomes Dr. Debra Thompson, Associate
Professor of Political Science at McGill University, and a leading scholar of the
comparative politics of race, with interests that focus on the dynamics of racial
inequality in democratic societies. Dr. Thompson’s award-winning book, “The Schematic
State: Race, Transnationalism, and the Politics of the Census” (Cambridge University
Press, 2016), is a study of the political development of racial classifications on
the national censuses of the United States, Canada, and Great Britain.
Watch:The Black Experience in Canada: Race, the State and the Persistence of Social Inequality
Presentation overview: This presentation examines the peculiar nuances of racism in Canada and the United States and the resilience of freedom dreams that link and inspire Black people across national borders. Using the analytical insights of Black political thought, Dr. Thompson uses personal narrative to explore the boundaries of racial belonging and identify key elements of Canadian ideas about race and racism; to analyze the transnational dynamics of the African diaspora in North America; and ultimately, to think through what it means to be in a place, but not of that place.
Director Kirkey on “Eager for Change? US Election 2020” Panel, Carleton University
November 3, 2020
Christopher Kirkey is speaking on the academic panel “Eager for Change? US Election 2020” hosted by Carleton University’s Norman Paterson School of International Affairs Students’ Association, iAffairs, and the Canadian Foreign Policy Journal (CFPJ). The event is moderated by David Carment; other panelists include Michael Hawes, Sandra Rein, Melissa Haussman, and Laura Macdonald. Panelists will discuss the implications of the U.S. election, with particular attention paid to Canada.
Canadian Studies Course Development Stipend Opportunity
October 21, 2020
To enhance course offerings with Canadian or Québec content, the Center for the Study of Canada & Institute on Québec Studies are sponsoring a limited number of curriculum development stipends. Faculty who meet the necessary requirements outlined in the 2020–21 Canadian Studies Course Development Stipend Opportunity are eligible to receive a stipend in Summer 2021 in the amount of $1,500 to redesign a current course, or $2,500 to create a new course. Faculty course development work must take place between May 24, 2021 and August 2, 2021.
Director Kirkey Presents for Education & Enrichment for Everyone
October 23, 2020
Education and Enrichment for Everyone hosts SUNY Plattsburgh’s Dr. Christopher Kirkey for a discussion on “The Trump Administration and Canada — America First in Action” and shares a recording of the session online.
Watch: “The Trump Administration and Canada — America First in Action”.
Canadian Studies Presentation at SUNY Plattsburgh Virtual Homecoming
October 16, 2020
SUNY Plattsburgh’s Virtual Homecoming includes “A Postcard on Canada: Recent Political and Social Developments” presentation by Dr. Christopher Kirkey, who looks forward to connecting with Canadian Studies and other alumni. With the suspension of nonessential travel between Canada and the U.S. since springtime, there is certainty much to discuss.
Conversations on Canada Part 2: “The Pandemic Experience: How do Canada & the U.S. Compare?”
October 13, 2020
The Conversations on Canada webinar series welcomes Mr. Andre Picard, reporter and
columnist, The Globe and Mail, Canada’s national newspaper. Mr. Picard is also the
author of five bestselling books, most recently a collection of essays entitled “Matters
of Life and Death.”
Watch:The pandemic experience: How do Canada and the U.S. compare?
Presentation Overview: Per capita, Canada has about 80% fewer coronavirus cases and 50% fewer COVID-19 deaths. A veteran health journalist explores how the pandemic response in the two countries differs politically, socially and economically.
Inaugural Conversations on Canada “Why is Donald Trump Mad at Canada?: Understanding American Foreign Policy toward Canada” by Director Kirkey
September 24, 2020
The Conversations on Canada series addresses current issues central to a fuller understanding
of Canadian society. Dr. Christopher Kirkey, Director of the Center for the Study
of Canada & Institute on Québec Studies, SUNY Plattsburgh, launches the Fall webinar
series.
Watch:Why is Donald Trump mad at Canada?: Understanding American foreign policy toward Canada
Presentation Overview: Does America’s 45th president have a special dislike toward Canada? This conversation examines the forces that animate President Trump’s policies toward Canada — policies that are rooted in a unique worldview in which Canada, as a neighbor and ally, is hailed as a partner that unfairly mistreats the United States.
Center & Institute Welcomes Scholar-in-Residence Dr. Joseph-André Senécal
September 14, 2020
As part of the Center for the Study of Canada and Institute on Québec Studies’ Scholar-in-Residence
program, Joseph-André Senécal will visit SUNY Plattsburgh for 10 days this semester,
September 14–23. Joseph-André Senécal, Ph.D., was born in the city of Québec, lived
in the United States since 1956, and was a professor of French language and literature
and director of the Canadian Studies Program at the University of Vermont. During
his time on campus, Dr. Senécal will present “La Foi, la liberté/Holy Faith and Liberty:
Franco-American New Yorkers of French-Canadian Descent and Their Ethnic Identity in
the context of Canada and the Franco-Américanie of New England” on Wednesday, Sept.
16 at noon. As scholar-in-residence, he will also work on the development of K–12
inquiries for social studies educators and offer informational interviews about his
scholarly work on Samuel De Champlain with the Press-Republican and Mountain Lake
PBS. In addition, Dr. Senécal’s visit includes a special award ceremony organized
in collaboration with the International Council for Canadian Studies.
Watch: Dr. Joseph-Andre Senecal, Champlain Statue Changes, MLJ Interview
Read: Champlain monuments reflects aesthetics more than history, Press Republican
Read: Breaking down Champlain for kids: Professor revisits book on explorer, Press Republican
“The Indigenous Land You Live On” Canada Community Webinar for Social Studies Educators
September 1, 2020
The Canada Community Special Interest Group of the National Council for the Social Studies welcomes Christine McRae of Native Land Digital to discuss “The Indigenous Land You Live On: Going Beyond Territory Acknowledgements” on September 3 at 1 p.m. Canadian studies outreach educators, Betsy Arntzen (University of Maine), Amy Sotherden (SUNY Plattsburgh) and Kyla Sweet (Western Washington University) will co-facilitate the session with Christine McRae. The session will feature Native Land Digital, the free, web-based interactive resource and will converse about ways that Native Land Digital is a valuable starting point for educators to teach and engage with their students on topics of Indigenous land — including the land where you live, work and play.
Local Teachers to Participate in Canadian Studies Course with North Country Teachers Resource Center
August 1, 2020
Select teachers from the Plattsburgh City School District and the Saranac School District will participate in the course, “What you (and your students) need to know about Canada and Québec” held in partnership with the North Country Teachers Resource Center. Course lecturer, Dr. Charles Deshaies (Canadian studies adjunct professor) and facilitator, Amy Sotherden (assistant director at the center and institute) look forward to an engaging virtual learning opportunity designed to meet individual teachers’ needs. Registered teachers will prepare lessons and review a variety of resources to share with students in their elementary, middle and high school classes.
Summer Institute for Teachers of French Takes Place Online
June 25, 2020
French teachers from across the United States are participating in the Séminaire virtuel en études québécoises / Virtual Seminar on Québec Studies organized by the Institute on Québec Studies, SUNY Plattsburgh and the Canadian-American Center, University of Maine. Led by Dr. Frédéric Rondeau (UMaine) and Amy Sotherden (SUNY Plattsburgh), the virtual professional development opportunity will be taught in French and includes 10 sessions from June 29 to July 20. Seminar participants teach more than 2,000 students combined across thirteen states. The seminar will retrace moments of French Canada history through its culture, and tackle different questions related to francophone communities by studying representative literary, pictorial and musical works. Three guest speakers are also presenting their research during the seminar: Dr. Isabelle Bouchard (Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières); Dr. Benoît-Doyon Gosselin (Université de Moncton); and Sarah Bertrand-Savard (Université de Sherbrooke). While the Canada-U.S. border remains closed for non-essential travel, American French teachers enrolled in this summer institute are excited to practice their French and gain valuable ideas to incorporate Québec and Canadian topics into their teaching.