CfP: Canada’s Peoples, Places, and Polities from Below: A View from the US in Times of Cross-Border Fracture and National Reaffirmation

Call for Proposals

Canada’s Peoples, Places, and Polities from Below:
A View from the US in Times of Cross-Border Fracture and National Reaffirmation

An edited volume
In partnership with:
Center for Canadian-American Studies, Western Washington University
Canadian Studies Program, Bridgewater State University
Canadian Studies Program, University of California, Berkeley
Canadian-American Center, University of Maine
Center for the Study of Canada & Institute on Québec Studies, SUNY Plattsburgh

Amid growing tensions in the Canada-US relationship, Canadian society has re-engaged in framing its collective identity, re-examining and articulating what it means to be Canadian. In what ways are the ensuing shifts in political and journalistic discourse, public debate, and cultural production reshaping US-based scholars’ approaches to the study of Canada? How can different forms of knowledge and
research emerging from the humanities and social sciences in the US deepen a contemporary understanding of Canada and the breadth of its identities and communities? This volume will examine the research perspectives of scholars who engage in the social and cultural discussion of the collective Canadian identity, situating Canada within its own borders and landscapes, shedding light on how various disciplinary approaches inform the range of questions US scholars pursue in their engagement with Canadian identity.
We aim to compile diverse, multi/interdisciplinary perspectives accessible to a broad scholarly audience, published by a leading university press. Contributors are encouraged to consider the following guiding questions that will frame this volume:

● In what ways has criticism of multiculturalism led to new perspectives of the collective Canadian identity?
● What internal sociopolitical realities and lived experiences are contributing to shaping a contemporary image of Canadian identity and defining Canada as a nation?
● In what ways have social and public policies shaped Canadian communities, or how have different communities influenced or determined public policy?
● How is Canadian identity constructed, contested, and expressed in various forms of discourse and narratives? (Canadian nationhood, belonging, etc.)

We welcome topics addressing the peoples, places, and groups that remain on the margins of both scholarly inquiry and in Canadian society, today and through time. We encourage proposals from scholars at all career stages, including graduate students and post-doctoral scholars.

Contributions may explore, but are not limited to, the following topics:

● Membership and belonging among ethnic, cultural, and linguistic minorities of Canada, including Quebec and Francophone Canada
● Indigenous voices and ways of knowing
● Rural and urban communities, relations, and their political or economic positioning within Canada
● Regional identities (maritime, atlantic, western, northern, etc.)
● Political dynamics and relationships across Canada
● Canada as a model for diplomacy, constitutional interpretation, or economic planning
● Social policy, such as public health and housing
● Immigration, migration, and citizenship
● Institution and community-based practices toward equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility (EDIA)
● 2SLGBTQI+ communities
● The role of the arts and media in Canadian social practices
● Approaches to environmental planning and sustainability

If you are interested in contributing, please submit an abstract of 300-350 words to the Center for Canadian-American Studies at Western Washington University (canam@wwu.edu) by January 31, 2026.

Proposed deadline for full submissions (5,000-7,000 words): September 30, 2026

Co-Editors:
Dr. Yulia Bosworth, bosworth@binghamton.edu
President of the American Council for Québec Studies

Dr. Christina Keppie keppiec@wwu.edu
Director of the Center for Canadian-American Studies, Western Washington University

Special thanks to our additional supporters:
● American Council for Québec Studies
● Association for Canadian Studies in the United States
● Canadian Studies Center, Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington
● Canadian Studies Department, St. Lawrence University
● International Council for Canadian Studies