CALL FOR PAPERS

DESTABILIZING CANADA

Theme Issue of the Journal of Canadian Studies/ Revue d’études canadiennes

Guest Editors: Janet Miron & Margaret Steffler

Fracking—or hydraulic fracturing—is the “the process of fracturing subterranean rock by the injection of water into existing

fissures at high pressure, usually in order to facilitate the passage of some fluid (esp. oil or gas) through an otherwise impermeable barrier” (Oxford English Dictionary). While the politics and effects of fracking today draw us into the realm of hydrocarbons and environmental damage, the concept of fracking as a metaphor or trope can be productive when creatively applied to other fields. What would it mean,

for example, to frack the nation? Instead of causing destruction, the metaphoric fracturing of boundaries, destabilization of the core,
and release of pressure might also result in constructive changes, particularly when the process results in perceived margins becoming prominent rather than precarious. When the supposed edge or margin is brought to the forefront, the effects can be transformative.

This theme issue of the Journal of Canadian Studies/Revue d’études canadiennes invites papers that address instances of fragmentation and destabilization, specifically those caused by the breaking of barriers, leading to revised views
of what constitutes the core and the margins
of Canada. A movement like Idle No More, for example, bears down into the heart of Canadian contradictions. It forces up the inequalities and injustices that have been pushed to the edge of Canadian life, and renders them issues of central importance that demand attention and action.

So it is with the politics of a pipeline or an oil spill, or the plight of a refugee denied health care. Fracking the nation destabilizes what has

been constructed and assumed by some to be the bedrock of Canada, and it may lead to significant seismic shifts.

This theme issue of JCS/REC was inspired by the international Canadian Studies conference “Contesting Canada’s Future/ L’Avenir du Canada: Débats et Contestations,” held at Trent University from 21 May to 23 May 2015 as part of the university’s 50th anniversary celebrations. Academics, activists, and artists gathered for interdisciplinary conversations about Canada in the new century.

Our goal in this theme issue of JCS/REC is to foster an interdisciplinary discussion of ways
in which the destabilization of Canada forces and releases precarious places and peoples into prominence, demanding action and revising our ideas of what is at the core of the nation in a global twenty-first century world.

We welcome contributions from a range of disciplines, including history, politics, literature, Indigenous studies, environmental studies, cultural studies, health studies, gender and women’s studies, and global studies.

Potential contributors should submit an abstract of approximately 250 words, along with a 150-word biographical note. The deadline for submissions is 15 November 2015. Decisions

on the abstracts and invitations to submit full papers will be sent out by 15 December 2016. Papers selected for submission should be completed by 15 June 2016. All papers submitted will undergo a formal peer review process through the Journal of Canadian Studies/Revue d’études canadiennes.

We invite you to consider the theme of “destabilizing Canada” as openly and creatively as necessary. When thinking of destabilization across boundaries and barriers, between core and margin, you may want to consider pressures and tensions between

• Canada and the global world, • regions, races, ethnicities, and

genders,
• Indigenous and non-Indigenous

peoples,
• The religious and the secular, • north and south,
• citizens and those without

citizenship,
• the precarious and the powerful, • youth and adults,
• wealth and poverty,
• urban and rural,
• the private and the public.

Please send abstracts and bios to msteffler@trentu.ca and janetmiron@trentu.ca by
31 December 2015.

Early submissions are encouraged. Additional enquiries and questions are welcome.