The Aboriginal Studies Circle

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ABORIGINAL CANADIAN

BIOPOLITICS & BIOPOWER

British Association for Canadian Studies’ Aboriginal Studies Circle

at the Institute for the Study of the Americas, University of London (UK)

20th May 2011

The British Association for Canadian Studies Aboriginal Studies Circle is pleased to announce a one-day colloquium on biopower and biopolitics in relation to aboriginal peoples in Canada and elsewhere.

“The health status of Aboriginal Peoples, measured by life expectancy and many other indicators, is much worse than the health status of Canadians as a whole.”  (Canadian Institute for Health Information). Life Expectancy among Canada’s aboriginal population remains significantly below the national average. Aboriginal Canadians continue to experience higher rates of infant mortality, suicides, and deaths resulting from unintentional injury. If taken on their own, then First Nations living conditions/quality of life would be ranked 63^rd on the United Nations Human Development Index  (i.e. amongst Third World conditions). Overcrowded housing, mould, and unsafe drinking water helps spread communicable diseases at a rate 10 to 12 times higher than the Canadian national average and there have recently been significant increases in tuberculosis, diabetes, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and AIDS amongst Canada’s aboriginal communities.

Many diverse indigenous populations around the globe have been the victims of marginalization and biopolitics as they confront the vast array of issues resulting from both historical injustices and contemporary global challenges. By encouraging interdisciplinary approaches to the topic of biopower and biopolitics this colloquium seeks to bring together academics and other professionals with an interest in indigenous studies in Canada.

Proposals for 25-minute papers, to be presented in either English or French, are invited from any single disciplinary or multidisciplinary perspective including those which offer an informed view of Canada in comparative contexts. Broader possible approaches might include papers on:

• the Health and Well-Being of Aboriginal Peoples.
• Self-determination and indigenous biopolitics.
• Environmental pressures on indigenous populations.
• Subjugations of bodies & the control of populations.
• Indigenous law/ law and Indigenous peoples.
• the Indian Residential School System.
• Healthcare provision.
• Canadian Eugenics and Compulsory Sterilisation.
• The Body and Self-Ownership.
• Natal politics and Aboriginal Demographics.
• Self-determination, Repetition and Recognition.
• Drug and Drink related issues in aboriginal communities.
• Past and present customary regulations of habits, health, reproductive practices, family, ‘blood’, and ‘well-being.’
• Applications of theoretical concepts (Foucault, Agamben, Negri etc.) to Aboriginal Canadian contexts.

This should not, however, be taken as an exhaustive list, and we welcome proposals for papers dealing with all varied interpretations of the theme.

Enquiries and proposals to: c/o Thomas Snell, Old Library Building,  Newcastle University, NE1 7RU. Tel: 44 (0) 191 222 6379  E-mail: thomas.snell@newcastle.ac.uk

E-mail abstract(s) of 200-300 words; and brief CV(s) (should include title(s), institutional affiliation(s) by 10 March 2010. Submissions will be acknowledged by e-mail.

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PEACE AND (IN)SECURITY:  CANADA’S PROMISE, CANADA’S PROBLEM?

The University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK

4–6 April 2011

The British Association for Canadian Studies (BACS) is pleased to announce that their 36^th annual conference will take place on 4–6 April 2011 at the University of Birmingham.  Founded in 1900, the ‘Redbrick’ university is located within the United Kingdom’s second largest and most diverse city.

Reflecting one of the explicit priorities of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (Government of Canada), the conference aims to interrogate the historical legacies, contemporary realities and cultural myths of the ‘peaceable kingdom’. What constitutes peace in the context of economic instability and political insecurity? Which discourses, images and texts circulate in a time of environmental crisis and social anxiety?  How do the actions, events and conflicts of the Canadian past inflect the policies, politics and imaginings of future security?

The British Association for Canadian Studies invites paper proposals related to notions of peace and (in)security pertaining across, within and beyond the field of Canadian Studies. Proposals for 20-minute papers, to be presented in either English or French, are invited from any single disciplinary or multidisciplinary perspective. Multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary and comparative panel proposals, including those from postgraduate students, are welcome.

Paper proposals will be especially appreciated in the following areas:

·         identities and insecurities

·         surveillance and security: histories, institutions, discourses, practices

·         cultures of dissent: texts, policies, movements, communities

·         internal or external threats, conflicts, and instabilities

·         histories, visions and narratives of peace

·         geographies, representations and economies of (in)security

Aboriginal Studies: As a special interest group within the British Association for Canadian Studies, the Aboriginal Studies Circle would like to encourage papers which further the study of aboriginal-related issues within Canada. Aboriginal issues have been an important element of previous annual BACS conferences. If you have any suggestions for the Aboriginal Studies Circle’s activities at BACS 2011; have proposals for a relevant guest speaker; or, would be interested in contributing (/participating in) an Aboriginal Studies panel then please  contact Thomas Snell (thomas.snell@ncl.ac.uk) to discuss how we might facilitate your ideas.

Proposals (panel and individual) and deadline:

Email abstract(s) of 200–300 words and brief CV (please do not exceed one side of A4) which must include your title, institutional affiliation, email and mailing address by 10 December 2010. Submissions will be acknowledged by email. Postgraduate students are especially welcome to submit a proposal and there will be a concessionary conference fee for students. BACS regrets that it is unable to assist participants with travel and accommodation costs.

Conference enquiries and proposals to: Jodie Robson, BACS Administrator (canstuds@gmail.com)

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