The Centre for the Study of Democratic Citizenship, in collaboration with the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada (MISC), presents:
Loleen Berdahl (University of Saskatchewan)
The Resilience of Western Alienation in a Transformative Era
You can learn more about Professor Berdahl here.
Where and When: Friday, February 12, 2020 at 3pm on Zoom.
Video of the presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgKPEkRmAoA
Important: We inform you that our events are recorded and posted on our website and our social media. For the first part of the event, only the speaker and the CSDC membre presenting the speaker are recorded. For the questions period, all the participants might be visible on the recording. If you do not want to be recorded, you can 1) turn out your camera and use the audio only to ask a question, or 2) ask your question in the chat, and the moderator will ask the question for you.
Abstract: Why, in the evolution of the Canadian federal state, does there seem to be so much regional conflict and so little unity? In this talk, Dr. Loleen Berdahl (Universities of Saskatchewan and Regina) considers the persistence of regional conflict in Canada by examining western alienation – that is, discontent emerging from one, some, or all of Canada’s four westernmost provinces: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. Dr. Berdahl’s argument is that Canada’s national unity challenges reflect reactions to the centering of one of Canada’s many possible narratives as the dominant national narrative, creating tension with other alternative perspectives. She further argues that the study of western alienation allows us to delve into the structural features of Canadian federalism that exacerbate rather than moderate endemic regional conflict in our vast and diverse country. (Acknowledgement: Dr. Berdahl’s presentation draws upon work she is conducting with Dr. Roger Gibbins, University of Calgary (Faculty Professor and Professor Emeritus).
See all the other Speaker Series Events here.
This series is sponsored by the Centre for the Study of Democratic Citizenship, which is funded by the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture (FRQSC).