Students’ and graduate students’ Academic
Conference within
5th Canadian Culture Festival
Icons and Symbols of Canada
Institute of American Studies and Polish
Diaspora
Jagiellonian University in Krakow
16–18 November 2016
During the fifth edition of the Canadian Culture
Festival, organized by the American Studies Students’ Research Society of the
Jagiellonian University in cooperation with the Institute of American Studies
and Polish Diaspora, we wish to draw a particular attention to the Canadian
icons and symbols - not only those recognizable throughout the world, but also
the ones less known, but close to Canadians themselves. We’d like to dedicate
his year’s students’ and graduate students’ Academic Conference, being held
within the festival, to discussing the most iconic figures of Canada and
Canadian symbols as well as confront different views and possibilities of
interpreting the subject.
Maple leaf on the Canadian
flag, beaver fur connected with the growth of colony in its beginnings, Queen
of Canada, hockey as a national sport or the stone-made inuksuit – these are just a few symbols that instantly come to mind
when discussing this country. However, there is more to it than just symbols,
if it comes to defining Canada – Canada, above all, means its people, therefore
it is equally important to notice its most iconic figures – throughout history
as well as nowadays. If only considering literature, music industry or
politics, there is a number of people that became icons in the eyes of Canadian
society. Looking even deeper, it is noticeable without a doubt that similar
examples can be found not only in the world-wide or nationwide context, but
also on the level of provinces.
The subject of Canadian icons
and symbol is in fact wide – however, it is in no case confined to the territorial
aspect. Canada is a country that is culturally diverse – from Indigenous
Peoples, though the Franco- and Anglophones, to immigrants coming from the
entire world. Unlike the melting pot in the United States, its north neighbor
is characterized by the concept of cultural mosaic, and every belonging culture
has its own symbols, different from the ones common for the entire Canada. Therefore,
we invite you to send abstracts for presentations that will discuss this year’s
subject not only in its broader meaning, but also a more specific one and tackling
less obvious issues. The specificity of the main matter allows to choose a
question from a variety of fields – politics as well as society, arts as well
as sport, history as well as the present time. At the same time, we encourage the
participants to seek unconventional ways of approaching the subject, since it
can help us create an interesting and diversified picture of Canada.
If you wish to participate, please fill in the application
form available at https://goo.gl/forms/L0mXSbXbn6mOxZ9j1
. We accept proposals in both Polish and English. The deadline for submissions
is October 31, 2016. Authors of accepted presentations will be contacted
no later than November 2, 2016. Please note that the presentations should
not exceed 15 minutes. The conference fee for the presenters is 80
PLN, which must be paid by the accepted speakers no later than November
5, 2016. Non-presentation participation in the 5th Canadian
Culture Festival is free of charge.
After the conference we plan to publish a
peer-reviewed post-conference book; the speakers who will participate in the
event will be notified about the details.
Should you have questions, please contact us at
festiwalkulturykanadyjskiej@gmail.com. For the updated information please
visit our website: www.festiwalkulturykanadyjskiej.pl or the Facebook
fanpage: facebook.com/festiwalkulturykanadyjskiej.
American Studies Students' Research Society of the Jagiellonian University
