Indian Association for Canadian Studies - Conseil international d ...

Indian Association for Canadian Studies
1) President / Président Dr. R.K. Dhawan
2) Year of Foundation / Année de
fondation
Year of ICCS Membership / Année
d’adhésion au CIEC
3) Canadian Studies Centres /
Centres d’études canadiennes
(number/nombre)
4) Members / Membres
(number/nombre)
1985
1987
Twenty Six
Individual/Individuel : 1060
Institutional/Institutionnel :
5) Web site / Site Web www.indianacs.com
6) Activities / Activités
a) Academic / académiques Indian Association for Canadian Studies is a vibrant academic body. It promotes Canadian
Studies by organising seminars, workshops and international conferences. A four-day
conference on Indigenous Art and Economic Development in Canada and India was
organized by H.S. Gour University at Khajuraho on 25-28 September 2008. S.N.D.T.
Women’s University, Mumbai, organized a three-day international conference in Mumbai on
3-5 October 2008. The theme of the Conference was “Economic Development and
Competitiveness: Canada and India.” The Conference was inaugurated by Mr. Jayant Patil,
Finance Minister, Government of Maharashtra. Keynote speakers included Professor
Cornelius Remie, President, ICCS and Dr. R.K. Dhawan, President, IACS. A two-day
conference on “Challenges and Opportunities of Diversity: Canada and India” was organized
by Apurva Society, an NGO, at Jodhpur. Participants included scholars from Canada, Israel
and other countries. UGC Area Centre for Canadian Studies, University of Kerala, held a
three-day international conference “Managing Diversity in the Era of Globalization, Culture,
Environment and Tourism in Canada and India” on 5-7 November 2008. Centre for Canadian
Studies, University of Delhi organized 15th Annual Lester Pearson Lecture delivered by
eminent scholar Pawan K. Verma on 23 April 2009. H.E. Kenneth MaCartney, Acting High
Commissioner of Canada read the citation. More than 100 academics from all disciplines
attended the program.
b) Outreach (Promotion and publicity) /
(Promotion et publicité parmi les non-spécialistes et les professionnels)
c) Cultural / culturelles
7) Publications Indian Association for Canadian Studies has a comprehensive publishing program. It brings out an
annual journal, Indian Journal of Canadian Studies. Apart from this scholarly journal, it brings out
newsletters, brochures and circulars which cover a wide range of news related to the events and
programs in Canadian Studies. These are sent to all the members and academic bodies of higher
learning.
The Association offers subsidy for the publication of research and scholarly works. A number of books
on Canadian Studies were published during the year.
Ameen Merchant’s debut novel The Silent Raga was released by H.E. Mr. David Malone at New Delhi.
Noted Indo-Canadian writer M.G. Vassanji’s work based on India was released at the Canadian High
Commission, New Delhi. Several other books/ novels related to Canada were released in New Delhi.
8) Youth Activities The Association regards the promotion of Canadian Studies amongst young scholars a priority
area.Workshops, debates, paper-reading sessions are held throughout the year to promote interest in
the area. These included students’ debate at University of Delhi.
9) Collaborative activities between associations / centres / local Canadian Government mission /
A number of programs were organized in collaboration with Shastri Institute of Canadian Studies; Canadian High
Commission, New Delhi; NGO Jodhpur and other organizations. Most of the seminars/conferences were interdisciplinary
and were supported by various departments collectively.
10) Grants awarded by the association / Awards & prizes received by members
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(including student grants / awards)
Bourses offertes par l’association / Prix reçus par les membres de l’association
(y compris les bourses / prix pour les étudiants)
11) Research / Recherches
A number of projects by IACS members have received grants from ICCS.
a) principal areas and projects /domaines de recherches principaux et projets
b) aims and strategies / objectifs et stratégies
c) outcomes / résultats
12) Up-coming activities & events /
Many seminars and Conferences will be organized in the next academic year. Upcoming ones are at Jammu, Chennai
and Vadodara.
13) Other / Autres
(agreements, important news, etc./
(accords, nouveautés, etc.)
New Books on Canadian Studies
New Dimensions in Canadian Studies:
Asia-Pacific Perspectives
Stewart Gill and R.K. Dhawan, ed.
The papers in the volume cover a wide range of subjects: literature, diaspora, multiculturalism, history, international
studies, commerce, trade, and future of Canadian Studies. It is hoped that it will provide a different perspective on
Canada and its relationship with the Asia Pacific world.
——————————————————
Canadian Women Dramatists:
The Nationalist-Feminist Nexus
Geeta Budhiraja
The present book examines the thematic concerns of Canada’s women dramatists and establishes fundamental
similarities between the two major movements that have moulded much of modern Canadian literature—Nationalism
and Feminism. The analysis facilitates an understanding of the salient features of their writing as well as the nature of
their contribution to the literature of their own country and feminist writing as a genre at the wider international level.
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(Re)presentations of the Female Body by
Canadian Women Writers
Kamala Gopalan
The book reviews the theories of “writing the body” propagated by French feminists such as Hélène Cixous, Luce Irigaray
and Julia Kristeva and proceeds to close textual analyses of the various forms in which the theories find expression in a
broad spectrum of writers ranging from the covert praxis of Margaret Laurence, Margaret Atwood, Adele Wiseman and
Susan Swan to overt praxis in the works of contemporary writers like Audrey Thomas, Lola Lemire Tostevin and the
spiritual poetry of Penn Kemp. The study includes the writings of women of colour like Dionne Brand, Nourbese Philip,
Beatrice Culleton, Shani Mootoo and Joy Kogawa, which, apart from questioning the validity of vastly differing
experiences of the Male Gaze, consider afresh, colonization of women’s bodies. The study brings together under queer
theory’s encompassing umbrella, the challenging works of Daphne Marlatt, Betsy Warland and the eminent writer Nicole
Brossard from Quebec.
——————————————————
Littérature: évolution et émergence
Étude comparée des romans québécois et bengalis
Abhijit Karkun
The very notion of World Literature seems to be a fractured one as it privileges only a particular section of World
Literature, mainly from Western Europe and USA. In other words, the rest of the literatures emanating from developing
and the postcolonial countries are often overlooked. Do these literatures stand a chance to become a part of the mainstream
literature? The present book argues that both the Quebecker literature, a young literature, and its Bengali counterpart, a
rejuvenated Indian literature, possess a tremendous potential to be placed in the front ranks of World Literature. The book
is an endeavour to show how such reassessment and evolution has been instrumental in turning ‘marginal literatures’ into
major literary players of the world.
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