The Past Speaks

“Transformation: State, Nation, and Citizenship in a New Environment”

A conference sponsored by the Avie Bennett Historica Chair in Canadian History,
Department of History, Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, will
be held from October 13-15, 2011 at York University in Toronto.

DESCRIPTION

Canadian Political History has changed over the last fifteen years. With a
growing research interest in social history and for those who came to be
categorized as “ordinary” people, some have lamented that the study of “great
men” seems to have ended and, as a result, that political history had
disappeared as a field of research. Although these concerns have received much
attention, especially outside of academia, new venues were being investigated
by scholars preoccupied with the study of the state, the development and
implementation of public policies, strategies used by state components to
foster a sense of belonging less centered around ethnicity and more around
civic values, and strategies used by large segments of societal groups in order
to shape policies and state symbols in a way that they would permit them
identify themselves with these new symbols. Concluding that political history
has disappeared is quite premature.

This conference entitled “Transformation: State, Nation, and Citizenship in a
New Environment” will give researchers an opportunity to reveal the breadth and
the level of sophistication that has developed within political history over the
last decade. At the same time, it will reveal the discipline’s transformation.

The state has been fundamentally transformed and shaped by Keynesianism, then
neoliberalism and now neo-Keynesianism. These transformations also reflect the
fact that the state – a sovereign entity that controls a well-defined territory
recognized by the international community- has seen its actions, powers and
abilities circumscribed by supranational entities, and regional, continental,
and international treaties.

PAPER TOPICS

The main geographical area is Canada but comparison with other state entities
will be considered. There is no specific time period. Since the conference
intends to demonstrate new innovative venues pursued by scholars in political
history, proposals might deal with one of the following topics:

-The welfare state, its development and transformation over time especially in
the context of neoliberal policies

-The creation and implementation of public policies

-The liberal order and the usefulness of national narratives in order to
understand Canadian historical experience

-State repression and strategies developed in targeting groups defined as
subversive, or social agents and individuals who agreed to assist state
components in their repression of dissent

-Nationalism and citizenship and how these concepts have been conceptualized
over time

-Political culture and how Canadian culture has been conceptualized

-Political history as a discipline and changes that the discipline has undergone
over time

-Expertise, its development and its capacity for shaping public policies
The environment, science and public policies

-Science and its use in the development and implementation of public policies

-Federal-provincial relations in the context of mega constitutional negotiations
and free trade agreements

-Aboriginals, self-government, land claims, and the political process

SUBMITTING A PROPOSAL

Panel and roundtable submissions should include a session title, a brief
description of the panel or roundtable, abstracts for each paper of no more
than 300 words, and a brief biography or one-page c.v./resume for each
presenter before March 1, 2011.

Individuals should submit a title, a 300-word abstract plus a brief biography or
one-page c.v./resume before March 1, 2011.

Please send your proposal to hist2011@yorku.ca

Applicants will be notified of the acceptance of their proposal in April 2011.
Papers accepted for this conference may be requested for subsequent publication.

CONFERENCE ORGANIZERS

Dimitry Anastakis, Department of History, Trent University
Matthew Hayday, Department of History, University of Guelph
Marcel Martel, Department of History, York University
Jennifer Stephen, Department of History, York University
Will Stos, Department of History, York University