Land of Promise: Stories of the immigrant in multicultural Canada (February 3-4-5, 2010, proposals due December 15, 2009)

full name / name of organization: 
Centre for Canadian Studies, Department of Comparative Literature,Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India

In a multicultural and multilingual context, immigration has been an integral part of the national identity of Canada.
Modern Canada constitutes of a large percentage of Diasporic population who contribute extensively to the making of Modern Canada. In the wake of globalization, the evolution of Canada as a Multicultural State has been receiving much attention from mass media. This again has been a contested terrain since the settlement of a chosen race in a promised land has resulted into the subjugation of the Peoples who have been residing in the geo-political entity which came later to be known as Canada.
The conference would like to involve in a dialogue between local and global and highlight the concerns within the concept of Multiculturalism in Canada. ""
It would also highlight the dialectical relationship between race, gender and nation in the context of contemporary politics, philosophies and literatures. A focus on the diasporic population of Canada would greatly enhance our understanding of multicultural and multilingual policies vis-à-vis India. By reflecting on the particular regions shaped by multiculturalism in the "Land of Promise", the conference would explore the ways in which the development of multiculturalism as an official policy of the Canadian government reflects general processes of socio-economic, political, philosophical, ecological and cultural change. By focusing on the diverse ramifications of the same, the conference would stimulate fruitful debates among faculty, scholars, activists and students on an interdisciplinary basis. Papers are invited in all areas relating to the general theme of the conference. Some such areas are listed below:
Diversity, Pluralism, Ethnicity and Tolerance
Citizenship, Identity and Nation
Societies, integration/disintegration, inclusion/exclusion
Glocalisation
The Verbal and the Visual
Literature and Film
Text and Performance
The New Media (Blog/Online journals/ Online networks)
Resistance, Identity, Community
Alternative sexualities
Translation
Metropolis, cities, towns and ruralis

The title and a brief abstract (200-300 words) of the proposed paper may be sent as an email attachment by December 15, 2009 to canadacentreju@gmail.com

Conference Coordinators:

Professor Suchorita Chattopadhyay,
Ms. Debashree Dattaray,
Department of Comparative Literature, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India