5th Congress of Polish Canadianists
Towards Critical Multiculturalism: Dialogues Between/ Among Canadian Diasporas.
October 7th - 9th 2010
Organized by the University of Silesia and Jagiellonian University
in CRACOW, POLAND
First Announcement and Call for Papers
The Canadian policy of official multiculturalism has been recognized as unique in the world of multiethnic
states. Many international comparisons of national performance show that the Canadian solution has yielded
very good results in such areas as quality of life, human development, public education, economic freedom, and
the protection of civil liberties and political rights. No wonder there is much interest in the multicultural politics
all over the world, yet in Canada, in some communities, it has become a sharply contested issue. Many critics
claim that the federal model of multiculturalism, in spite of its successes, has not eradicated racist sentiments,
and hence, there has been an intensive search in Canada for a more “radical” or “critical” multiculturalism
which would restructure power relations, facilitate the elimination of interethnic barriers, and envision a
reciprocal process among all groups of Canadian society. Recent studies on diasporas in Canada have focused
predominantly on the examination of relations between the dominant culture and a variety of minority groups
and Indigenous peoples. While the results of such research are essential for critical examinations of Canadian
multiculturalism, the predominance of the approach in effect both underlines and supports unequal power
relations between the majority and minority groups. The problem becomes particularly clear in view of the fact
that no sufficient work has been done on the exploration of encounters between/among various Canadian
diasporic groups and First Nations people. New comparative frameworks are urgently needed to examine the
history and contemporary problems of various transdiasporic practices which aim at reconceptualization of
current Canadian national discourses and at forging and developing a successful transcultural communication.
In hope of facilitating the development of such new frameworks and invigorating the discussion on critical
multiculturalism, the Congress organizers cordially invite interested scholars, writers, artists and activists to
submit papers on any topic pertaining to the problem of cultural encounters between / among Canadian
diasporic and Indigenous groups. Interdisciplinary perspectives are encouraged. We also welcome submissions
from postgraduate students at any stage of their research.
The following list of topics should be regarded as neither exhaustive nor prescriptive:
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Comparative diasporic poetics
Transculturality / Trans-culturation
Critical multiculturalism
Historical and sociological perspectives on transdiasporic contacts
Literary, cinematic and media representations of transdiasporic / transcultural encounters
Inter-diasporic dialogues among writers and artists of various bacgrounds
Writing / Performing hybridity: new art forms / Transdiasporic art practices
Identity, ethnicity, gender, class and inter-cultural / transcultural negotiations
Negotiating transnational identity and belonging
Production and consumption of intercultural performances
Cultural hybridity and liminality
Hybridity/métissage within a framework of transcultural translation
Ethnic and Indigenous relations / 'Mixed race' identities
Relations among differently racialized communities in Canada
Cultural diversity and biodiversity
CONFIRMED KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:
 ROY MIKI (writer, critic, editor, Governor General Award winner for poetry)
 SMARO KAMBOURELI (Canada Research Chair in Critical Studies of Canadian Literature,
Director of the TransCanada Institute, University of Guelph, critic, editor)
ORGANIZING COMMITTEE:
Krzysztof Jarosz, Eugenia Sojka (University of Silesia)
Anna Reczyńska, Marcin Gabryś (Jagiellonian University)
Deadline for abstracts: March 1, 2010
Notification of acceptance: March 22, 2010
Proposal submission address: congress.pacs@gmail.com
(i) Individual proposals, in English or French, should be of 300-400 words.
(ii) For panels, in English or French, please send the title of the panel and a 250-word presentation explaining the
overall focus together with a 300-400 words abstract for each participant.
(iii) Please attach a short bio to your conference paper proposal.
The conference fee (including accommodation and selected meals :
500 .00 PLN (for PACS members)
300.00 PLN (for undergraduate, M.A. and Ph.D. students)
$ 300.00 USD (for foreign participants)
More details regarding the organization of the congress (registration, fee payment, accommodation, etc.) will
be provided in the next circular. Please note that the event will be held in Cracow, the medieval capital of
Poland and the European Capital of Culture in 2000.