April 16, 2012

Summer Program in Caen, France


Visit this link for information on this year's Summer Program in Caen: http://2idhp.eu/univete2012. The theme of this year's program is "poverty and peace", addressing the issues of food security, social rights, and protecting vulnerable populations. It will also focus on different strategies adopted to address poverty in Eastern Europe, the European Union, and Africa. There is also a regional social program for the students (e.g., visits to the Caen Memorial and Mont Saint-Michel).

Please note that there are 7 places reserved for Manitoba students. The Institute would cover accommodation and food during the week in Caen, but not the flight costs. The deadline for the applications is May 15, with selection notifications on May 25.

Contact info for the Université de la Paix :
Sebastien Botreau-Bonneterre, Directeur de l'Institut international des droits de l'homme et de la Paix (2IDHP)
Maison des Quatrans, 25 Rue de Geôle, 1400 Caen - France
Tél (accueil): +33 2.31.79.23.89 /Tél (ligne directe) : +33 2.31.26.30.91
www.2idhp.eu

More Information on the Program:

Every year, the University of Peace gathers in Caen around fifty European and non-European students for multidisciplinary exchanges in French on a specific theme related to peace and on how to think about peace.

This event has been happening for 10 years. At first organized by the University of Caen Lower-Normandy and the City of Caen, it is now the Institute which has been in charge since 2009, supervised by its two creators.

Conditions of participation

· To be at least 20 years old

· To be studying law, social studies, international relations, sociology or foreign languages with an option in French (for non French-speaking students)

· To be in the third year of a Master's degree or more (or to have worked for at least three years in the human rights field)

To have an active understanding of French (the language in which classes are taught is French).

The Institute covers the fees of the 50 selected participants, either throughout concluded agreements with institutional partners, or depending on the quality of the student's file/candidacy.

The Institute pays for the documentation, education, accommodation and food costs as well as visits. Travel expenses to Caen, possible expenses for visas or any other expense will not be covered. They are to be covered by the participants.

February 1, 2012

Call for Papers

CALL FOR PAPERS: Notice from McGill

IN CIRCULATION Media| Arts| Politics
Department of Art History & Communication Studies, McGill University
www.incirculation.ca

Archiving and Memory

At precisely the moment in which print and music become immaterial, and our access to content outpaces our ability to read or listen, the impulse becomes one of archiving. We seek to control, rather than collect. The paradox of infinite storage (alongside cloud computing) is that an individual can maintain a massive archive larger than many institutions of the past, and yet we don't have the tools to properly extract information. Curating has become an invaluable skill. The archivist is the last refuge for the humanist, one who believes in the "civilizing powers of reading the right books," as Sloterdijk puts it in his essay, “Rules for the Human Park” (2002). What have we given up in this turn? What sorts of artistic and scholarly approaches and methodologies are being employed to deal with this new relationship to "information"?

Is the promise of information and communication merely a smoke-screen for neo-liberalism, increased technologization, or a further example of the corporatization of the university? Does the discourse of immaterial labour further mystify and obscure the exploitative social relations capitalism is based upon, particularly the very material labour that supports our technological networks and devices? The core value seems to remain communication and information; a la Nietzsche, is there a virtue in forgetting? Are there artistic responses that make use of ephemerality or singularity?

We seek submissions that question the use of and materiality of the archive and the ways in which the act of archiving has the potential to change the meaning of works of art, information, or objects. What role does the archivist play? What questions should be asked of the curator? Can we locate the historical moment where this shift toward the past or archiving has taken place? What can be said about the contemporary state of cultural memory?

Papers may include but are not limited to the following:

- the nature and meaning of the archive

- the relationship between archive, culture and social change

- gender, identity and sexuality

- technology and media

- art, art practices, curation and/or representation

- queer and feminist theory


In Circulation is an interdisciplinary journal as such, we invite proposals from scholars, artists, researchers working in but not limited to: Communication Studies, Art History, Cultural Studies, English, Museum Studies, Library Sciences, History, and Philosophy.

Papers can be in English or French, and should include a 250-word abstract. Submissions should be in Chicago Style, and be formatted for blind review. We will accept .docx, .doc, .rtf, or pdf formats only. We accept both short pieces and longer articles, not to exceed 6,000 words. We also encourage art, multi-media or opinion-based submissions. Authors are responsible for clearing all copyright.

The deadline for submissions is April 15, 2012.

Please send your submissions as an e-mail attachment to incirculation@gmail.com.

Any questions or inquiries should be sent to:

Cheryl Thompson cheryl.thompson@mail.mcgill.ca
Joseph Sannicandro thenewobjective@gmail.com
Alan Hui-Bon-Hoa alan.hui-bon-hoa@mail.mcgill.ca

UNICEF Student Challenge

Dear All,
This is a message I just received from UNICEF regarding a new campaign.

At UNICEF Canada we are proud to launch our inaugural UNICEF Student Challenge campaign, a very unique campaign that will ensure children around the world have access to clean drinking water, while providing Canadian post-secondary students with a distinctive professional development opportunity. More details about the challenge can be found here: www.unicef.ca/studentchallenge.

We are certain that with the support of The University of Winnipeg this campaign will be successful in its initial year!

The participating students will even have a chance to win an all expenses paid trip to New York for a behind-the-scenes look at UNICEF Headquarters. This prize provides an exclusive professional development opportunity that otherwise is not open to Canadian students. More details on the prize are available on our website.

UNICEF is the world’s leading child-focused humanitarian and development agency. Through innovative programs and advocacy work, we secure children’s rights in over 150 countries around the world. Our vision, resolve, resourcefulness and inclusiveness make UNICEF uniquely positioned to achieve results for children and achieve them at scale.

For more information or details on the campaign, please email me. I would be pleased to speak with you about this exciting program and ways you can get involved.

January 30, 2012

Silverhill Institute of Environmental Research and Conservation- 2012 Grant Award Notice: REMINDER

Applications will be accepted up to February 29, 2012.

This award has been established by the Silverhill Institute of Environmental Research and Conservation which is a registered Canadian charitable foundation (BN 86561 4507 RR0001).

The objectives of the foundation are:
* to support and carry out research on environmental issues
* to develop environmental and conservation materials for the general public
* to support wetland protection and restoration
* to develop, maintain and preserve woodlots

This grant award is for Masters graduate student research (thesis or major paper) that is applied in nature and can be demonstrated to have community benefit or applicability.

Award winners since 2005 were from:

* University of New Brunswick
* Acadia University
* University of Calgary
* York University
* University of Victoria
* McGill University
* Trent University
* University of Montreal
* Université De Moncton
* Simon Fraser University
* University of British Columbia
* University of Toronto
* University of Winnipeg
* Imperial College, London UK
* Memorial University of Newfoundland
* University of Guelph


For 2012 there will be at least one major award and other smaller research assistance awards.

Interest in this award will likely be highest in the Departments of Geography, Environmental Studies, Ecology, Biology, Natural Resources, Planning, Forestry, and Water Resources.

Addition information can be obtained on the web site www.silverhillinstitute.com.

January 17, 2012

"The Museum as Archive in American Indian Studies"

As members of the Newberry Consortium for American Indian Studies, University of Manitoba and University of Winnipeg have funding support to attend some excellent programs at the Newberry Library and other Consortium institutions. There is a 4-day workshop coming up March 22-24, 2012 on "The Museum as Archive in American Indian Studies".

For more information, see: http://www.newberry.org/03222012-ncais-workshop-research-methods-museum-archive-american-indian-studies.

Interested students can e-mail a brief statement of interest and a CV by February 3, 2012 to their faculty liaison (Adele Perry at the University of Manitoba Adele_Perry@umanitoba.ca and Mary Jane McCallum at the University of Winnipeg m.mccallum@uwinnipeg.ca).

A second opportunity, the month-long Summer Institute, has now been announced. It is called "Territory, Commemoration and Monument: Indigenous and settler Histories of Place and Power," and will run from July 16 to August 10, 2012. For more information, see: http://www.newberry.org/07162012-ncais-summer-institute-territory-commemoration-and-monument. Please forward this announcement to students, and those who are interested can e-mail a brief statement of interest and a CV by April 6, 2012 to their faculty liaison.

December 1, 2011

Call for Papers: Debt: Money/Narrative/Belief

Call for Papers

Debt: Money/Narrative/Belief
Department of English
Graduate Student Conference
Dalhousie University, Halifax N.S.
August 17-19, 2012

In her 2008 Massey Lectures, Margaret Atwood calls debt “that peculiar nexus where money, narrative or story, and religious belief intersect, often with explosive force.” Today, we are facing an explosion of discourses foregrounding financial debt. Whether in the Euro Zone Debt Crisis, the Occupy Wall Street Movement, or rising student loan debt, narrative and debt cannot be
decoupled, nor can they be detached from a given political or affective investment. In addition to the obvious economic concerns, we are also interested in widening the discussion of debt: How do literature and cultural products help us make sense of these issues? In what ways are individual authors and texts indebted to the social, cultural, or historical moment in which they are situated? How are current and historic discourses--be they social, literary, or philosophical--shaped by representations of debt and indebtedness?

Since few know more about debt than graduate students, the Dalhousie Association of Graduate Students in English (DAGSE) invites submissions for paper presentations for
its interdisciplinary graduate student conference: “Debt: Money/Narrative/Belief.” We welcome proposals from students at all levels and in all areas of graduate study. This three-day conference will be held August 17-19, 2012 at Dalhousie University, located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and will investigate the ways in which literature, history, art, and culture shape and are shaped by discourses and experiences of debt.

We invite proposals for papers (15-20 minutes) on themes and subjects including, but not limited to:

● Literary and cultural debts: mentors, movements, sources of influence
● Marxist literary theory; the sociology of literature; cultural materialism
● The Great Depression; the current Depression
● Gambles, speculation, debtors’ prison
● Wills, inheritance, legacies
● Crashes, scams and financial scandals
● Deals with the Devil
● Religious debts (alms giving, sacrifice, forgiveness, etc.)
● Colonial aftermaths; reparations
● Genre literature, genre studies
● Plagiarism, quotation, “borrowing”
● Worlds without capitalism: utopias and speculative fiction

Submission: 250-word abstract plus cover letter with name, current level of graduate study, affiliated university, and email address to dagse.conference@gmail.com. Include the words "conference abstract" in subject line, and include name on the cover letter only.

Deadline: March 15, 2012. Accepted presenters will receive notification by the end of April.

Contact the Organizers at dagse.conference@gmail.com if you have questions about the conference.

November 16, 2011

NCAIS Summer Institute: "Territory, Commemoration, and Monument: Indigenous and Settler Histories of Place and Power"

Newberry Consortium in American Indian Studies
Summer Institute, July 16, 2012 to August 10, 2012
Application Deadline: April 6, 2012

Territory, Commemoration, and Monument: Indigenous and Settler Histories of Place and Power

Jean M. O’Brien, Department of History and American Studies, University of Minnesota
Coll Thrush, Department of History, University of British Columbia

This month-long seminar for graduate students in Indigenous studies will focus on questions of memory, history, and place-making, and in particular on the ways in which land and power are negotiated through commemorations, monuments, historical narratives, government policies, and other means by both Indigenous and settler peoples. How have Indigenous communities maintained connections to territory despite the pressures of colonialism, including the construction of settler narratives of belonging (e.g. “pioneer heritage” and “local history”) and the embodied practices of dispossession and cultural genocide?

Foregrounding ongoing issues of colonialism and with an emphasis on Indigenous experience and agency, we will explore debates surrounding the production of public memory and historical landscapes by looking both at broad patterns throughout North America (and perhaps beyond) and at specific sites such as Little Bighorn National Park in Montana, the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, and a Cherokee plantation in Georgia.

In addition to the Newberry’s extensive collections, we will also use the Chicago region itself as an archive, interrogating landscapes to think about Indigenous and settler histories and practices. Locations may include the site of Fort Dearborn in the heart of Downtown, the grounds of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition on the South Side, the Field Museum, restored prairies along the North Branch of the Chicago River, and places of importance to the Chicago Indian community.

We encourage applications from students who work in and across many disciplines related to Indigenous studies: history, geography, art history, literature, anthropology, and beyond. Students will be expected to conduct research utilizing the Newberry’s collections and to produce new written work during their time in Chicago. The seminar will culminate in a graduate student conference.

To Apply

Each NCAIS institution is entitled to one slot to the summer institute, which will have a maximum of fifteen participants. The selection process of each member institution’s participant is according to the individual program needs and existing protocols of the member institution. Housing at Canterbury Court apartments will be provided for free and a maximum of $500 travel expenses will be reimbursed to all participants. Students should apply directly to their NCAIS Faculty Liaison by April 6, 2012.

Jean M. O’Brien (White Earth Ojibwe) is Professor of History at the University of Minnesota. She is the author of Dispossession by Degrees: Indian Identity and Land in Natick, Massachusetts, 1650-1790 (1997) and Firsting and Lasting: Writing Indians Out of Existence in New England (2010), and is currently working on the treatment of Indian history in US history textbooks. She is also co-founder and former president of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association.

Coll Thrush is Associate Professor of History at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and formerly served as a historian for the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe in his hometown of Auburn, Washington. He is the author of Native Seattle: Histories from the Crossing-Over PlacePhantom Past, Indigenous Presence: Native Ghosts in North American Culture & History (2011). He is currently writing an Indigenous peoples’ history of London, England and co-editing a volume tentatively entitled The Red Atlantic.
--
D'Arcy McNickle Center for American Indian and Indigenous Studies
The Newberry Library
(312) 255-3564
www.newberry.org/mcnickle
"Like" us on facebook.com/ncais.mcnickle

October 31, 2011

Student Opportunity with the Trawler

National Editor Positions Available

The Trawler.org is an opinion news curator site – a place for dialogue across the political spectrum, for individuals trying to make sense of the news happening all-around them. The idea comes out of a desire to address the often challenging experience of trying to interpret current events in a meaningful, caring way. We strive to showcase journalism guided by ideals cemented in our Guiding Principles. We attempt to be independent and yet not afraid to showcase strong views, fully aware that a completely unbiased perspective does not exist and should not exist, but that meaningful dialogue requires not only having an opinion, but understanding the opinions of others. We consider the hard work of doing both to be worth it.

Job Description:

We are seeking one national editor for each of the following countries:
Asia (4): China, India, Japan, South Korea
Africa (1): South Africa
Eurasia (2): Russia, Turkey
Europe (4): France, Germany, Italy, UK
North America (3): Canada, Mexico, USA
Oceania (1): Australia
South America (3): Argentina, Brazil, Colombia

Note: Candidates with expertise in countries other than those mentioned above are also encouraged to apply.

Responsibilities:
- Research and discern the most important voices of newsprint opinion journalism (columnists, editorialists, etc.) from the country of focus chosen, as per the Trawler.org’s Guiding Principles, attempting to maintain variety in political position while maintaining high journalistic standards
- Monitor the writing of the chosen columnists and regularly post on their pieces; continually improve the list of monitored journalists
- Continually monitor new opinion writers in the country of focus.

Education:
Bachelor’s degree and/or demonstrated experience in journalism, public policy, national and international affairs, political science or related field.

Qualifications:
- Commitment to the Trawler.org Guiding Principles
- Ability to read and write in the country of focus’s principal language (example: Spanish for country of focus: Argentina); excellent command of English
- Knowledge of country of focus; intimate experience of country of focus is an asset
- Knowledge and interest in keeping up to date on current affairs developments in country of focus; interest and knowledge of global affairs, politics and economic matters; understanding of the local and global implications of news monitored; ability to analyze news commentary
- Ability to research the newspapers of your country of focus (online); knowledge of daily newspapers and/or journalism practices from the country of focus is an asset
- Ability to comprehend abstract ideas and summarize large amounts of information quickly
- Ability to write succinctly
- Ability to write/post online/offline is an asset (blogs, journals, etc.)
- Strong organizational skills; self-motivated and self-driven.

Salary: non-remunerated position with possibility of future remuneration dependent on the development of the project.

Time commitment: suggested 10 hours/week.

To apply, submit a short cover letter along with your C.V. or resume to careers@thetrawler.org by Nov. 30th 2011. If you feel you do not fit all of the requirements or the criteria but feel passionate enough and able to contribute to this project, by all means please contact us!

October 26, 2011

Canadian Bureau for International Education Scholarships

Awards available to Canadians

Commonwealth Scholarship Plan – United Kingdom

Two types of doctoral award are offered for applicants in any discipline:

· 12-36 months support toward a full-time doctoral program at an eligible UK university; this is known as a doctoral award.

· 12 months support for research in the UK toward completion of a doctoral program at a Canadian university; this is known as a split-site doctoral award.

Deadline: November 12, 2011
For more information visit: Commonwealth Scholarship Plan - United Kingdom

Foreign Government Awards – Mexico

The Government of Mexico, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, offers awards for study or research at the Master’s, PhD, or Postdoctoral level.

Deadline: November 7, 2011

For more information visit: Foreign Government Awards Program - Mexico

Foreign Government Awards – Switzerland

Awards are available for studies at the Master’s/PhD level or for research at the Post-doctoral level in Switzerland. Priority will be given to PhD and Post-doctoral level applicants.

Deadline: November 12, 2011

For more information, visit: Foreign Government Awards Program - Switzerland


Canada-China Scholars’ Exchange Program (CCSEP)

Awards are offered to Canadian citizens pursuing studies/research at the Master’s or PhD level in subject areas related to China.

· Awards available are for studies and research, for a combination of studies and language studies or for language studies only.

· Awards are also available to Canadian faculty members pursuing research in subject areas related to China.


Deadline: November 12, 2011

For more information, visit: Canada-China Scholars' Exchange Program

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Administered by the Canadian Bureau for International Education:
scholarships-bourses@cbie.ca

October 17, 2011

Green Challenge Week Oct. 17-21

This Week! Calling all students, faculty, and staff to Drive Less, Waste Less, and Do More during Green Challenge Week. Sign up here to win prizes, and bike, bus, walk and roll to class. Grab your mug and take-out container, and find those compost bins on campus!

Join the Campus Sustainability Office, Eco-PIA, and the UWSA Bike Lab for a week of free bike repairs, a litterless lunch, the grand opening of our long-awaited Bike Lab, and many more events.

LITTERLESS LUNCH
Wednesday October 19, 12:00pm - 1:30pm Riddell Hall
Show us your Litterless Lunch and get free dessert, tea, and coffee!

FREE BIKE REPAIRS
Everyday – Monday, October 17 – Friday, October 21, 11:30am - 2:30pm
Tables beside the InfoBooth
UWSA Bike Lab volunteers will be informing, recruiting and doing basic repairs.

STUFF SWAP
Thursday, October 20 - Friday, October 21, 11:30am - 2:30pm
Beside the InfoBooth
Stuff Swaps are a free exchange of gently used items that are donated – basically a Free Store. Bring donations and/or take donations – all for free!

FILM - THE STORY OF STUFF
Thursday, October 20, 1:00pm - 2:15pm
Bulman Centre MPR (near the UWSA offices)
Have you seen the Story of Stuff? Come by to see this 20 minute film that combines animation and reality to explain the story of stuff in a simple, concise, and understandable way. Stay for the discussion and free food!

URBAN FORAGING WORKSHOP with EcoPIA
Thursday, October 20, 8:00pm
Bottom of the escalators. Bring your bike.

UWSA BIKE LAB GRAND OPENING
Friday, October 21, events all day
Help us celebrate the opening of our long-awaited bicycle repair and advocacy centre! Ribbon cutting at 10 am at the Lab; Cake, Coffee, and Slideshow at 11:00am in 2M70; Grand Reception in Riddell Hall featuring custom menu by Diversity Foods and music by DJ Kinetic at 2:00 pm; Launch of official Bike Lab beer ‘Half Pints Greasy Axle Ale’ at the Lo Pub at 6pm.