Daily Big Thinking lectures a highlight of the 2015 Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences
OTTAWA
Saturday, May 30 to Thursday, June 4, 2015
University of Ottawa campus, various locations
Leading scholars and public figures will address critical issues facing Canadians at the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, taking place from May 30 to June 5 at the University of Ottawa. Speakers will present forward- looking research and thinking to stimulate ongoing discussions within the public and broader academic community, bringing to light the valuable contribution of the humanities and social sciences to a free and democratic society.
Speakers include Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, Justice Murray Sinclair, His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, and best-selling author of Reading Lolita in Tehran, Azar Nafisi, among others. Here is the full list of speakers:
What do we do about the legacy of Indian residential schools?
Justice Murray Sinclair, Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada
Saturday, May 30 12:15 – 13:15
Jock-Turcot University Centre, Alumni Auditorium
Join the Honourable Justice Murray Sinclair, Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC), as he discusses the legacy of residential schools and offers a call for action towards reconciliation in Canada, including the role of universities in this process. In English, with simultaneous interpretation, followed by a panel discussion.
Whither francophone cultures in America?
Joseph Yvon Thériault, FRSC
Sunday, May 31 12:15 – 13:15
Social Sciences FSS/4007
What challenges do Quebec and minority Francophone communities face today? Joseph Yvon Thériault, Canada Research Chair in Globalization, Citizenship and Democracy at the Université du Québec à Montréal and Royal Society of Canada Fellow, will discuss current realities for Francophones in the Americas. The event will be hosted by ICI Radio-Canada’s Daniel Mathieu. In French, with simultaneous interpretation, and followed by a panel discussion. Sponsored by the Royal Society of Canada and Radio-Canada.
Extremely vast and incredibly near: The inner world of Montreal
Monique Proulx
Monday, June 1 12:15 – 13:15
Social Sciences FSS/4007
Monique Proulx, author, Quebec screenwriter, and a literature and theatre graduate of Université Laval, will describe how her investigations of Montreal’s historic roots inspired the writing of her new novel, Ce qu’il reste de moi. In French, with simultaneous interpretation.
Innovation in learning
His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada
Monday, June 1 14:00 – 15:00
Desmarais 4101
His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, will speak on innovation in learning. His talk will be followed by a panel of discussants on this theme. Bilingual, with simultaneous interpretation.
Humanities and the future of democracies
Azar Nafisi, best-selling author of Reading Lolita in Tehran
Tuesday, June 2 12:15 – 13:15
Jock-Turcot University Centre, Alumni AuditoriumIranian-American author Azar Nafisi will address why we need humanities at times of crisis, the extent to which the imagination opens the spaces that totalitarian regimes close, and whether democracies can thrive without a democratic imagination. In English, with simultaneous interpretation.
Integration and citizenship in North America and Europe: Different paths, similar outcomes?
Thomas Faist and Irene Bloemraad
Wednesday, June 3 12:15 – 13:15
Social Sciences FSS/4007
Join Irene Bloemraad, Thomas Garden Barnes Chair of Canadian Studies at the University of California, Berkeley and Senior Scholar with CIFAR, and Thomas Faist, Dean of the Faculty of Sociology and Professor of Sociology at Bielefeld University, Germany for an armchair conversation on immigration and belonging in North America and Europe. In English, with simultaneous interpretation. Sponsored by CIFAR and DFG.
Imagining Canada in a disenchanted world
Jean Leclair
Thursday, June 4 12:15 – 13:15
Social Sciences FSS/4007
How can we build an inclusive national political community that is ready to make the compromises necessary to meet the demands of individuals and groups and improve relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples? Jean Leclair, Trudeau Fellow and Professor of Constitutional Law at the Université de Montréal, will discuss how a renewed understanding of federalism could offer a solution. In French, with simultaneous interpretation, and sponsored by the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation.
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About Big Thinking
Hosted by the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, the Big Thinking lecture series brings together high-profile speakers who present forward-thinking research, bringing to light the valuable contribution of the humanities and social sciences to a free and democratic society. Big Thinking at Congress is sponsored by Universities Canada, the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
About the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences
Organized by the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, Congress is the largest interdisciplinary conference in Canada, and one of the largest in the world. Now in its 84th year, Congress brings together 70+ academic associations that represent a rich spectrum of disciplines in the humanities and social sciences, including literature, history, theatre, film studies, education, music, sociology, geography, social work and many others. Congress 2015 is hosted by the University of Ottawa. For more information, visit www.congress2015.ca.
Notes:
- Media welcome.
- Simultaneous interpretation will be available at all Big Thinking events.
Media inquiries
Nicola Katz
Manager of Communications
Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences
T: 613-282-3489
nkatz@ideas-idees.ca
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