New SSHRC-funded project to enhance scholarships and networks in Canadian studies

York University’s Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies will be leading a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Partnership Development Grant project titled, “(Re)Searching for Canadian Studies.”  

Over the next three years, the University, including Glendon Campus, will work in close partnership with the International Council for Canadian Studies (ICCS), the Art Canada Institute (ACI), the Centre for Canadian Studies at Mount Allison, the Frost Centre for Canadian Studies and Indigenous Studies at Trent University and Université Saint-Boniface.   

The research project will investigate how Canadian studies is currently researched and taught outside of Canada.  

Jean Michel Montsion
Jean Michel Montsion

Robarts Centre Director Jean Michel Montsion explains, “We are glad that this project was funded, as it will allow us to mobilize the Robarts community around one of the key purposes of Canadian Studies: to know ourselves better.”  

With a team of 20 researchers from the University of Bremen, Mount Allison University, Trent University, Université de Saint-Boniface, and York University, the team will examine and map how Canada is researched and taught in academic circles worldwide around key themes: colonialism and transformative reconciliation, environmental justice and the climate crisis, language activism and revitalization, and racial equity and knowledge democracy.  

(Re)Searching for Canadian Studies will also foster stronger connections between domestic and international networks in Canadian Studies.  

“This research project is very important to our network, especially for the various activities and collaborations it will generate,” says Kerstin Knopf, president of ICCS. “It is our hope that it will lead to sustained partnerships well beyond the three years of funding.”  

Through this project, several joint knowledge mobilization activities among all partners will be established, including a series of conferences, annual graduate summer schools, online materials, databases and podcasts, as well as an art e-book and teaching guide, which will be available via open access in both English and French.  

Questions about the project can be directed to [email protected]. To learn more, visit the Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies website.