Dear Conference participants and ACCUTE members, 

Thanks for your patience and understanding as we worked to restructure this year’s conference in response to the strike by the Association of McGill Professors of Law (AMPL) and the more recent call for a boycott of the Congress of Social Sciences and Humanities by the McGill chapter of Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR), one of the groups participating in the Palestinian solidarity encampment. 

In deciding how best to proceed, the ACCUTE Board has had to make some difficult decisions. As we’ve stated in previous statements, ACCUTE supports the right to collective bargaining and the right to strike for all working on university and college campuses. ACCUTE also supports the right of students, faculty, and staff to protest and demand change from their institutions, and to seek action in response to horrific violence and suffering. We also have an obligation to those participating in our conference (especially graduate students and early-career scholars), many of whom would not only lose the opportunity to share their research and creative work and make valuable connections but would also experience significant financial loss due to non-refundable plane tickets and accommodations. Cancelling ACCUTE’s participation in Congress at this late date would also have significant financial consequences for ACCUTE.

We’re still working out some details, but here’s an update on our plans for the conference, which begins next week, on June 12:

In response to the boycott and in solidarity with AMPL, and after consultation with the union leadership, ACCUTE (at significant expense) has moved our key events to Concordia University’s Sir George Williams (downtown) campus, a short distance from McGill. Our keynotes by Caroline Levine and Erín Moure and our readings, book launch, and receptions will all take place at Concordia, but our other sessions will continue to be held in the Bronfman Building at McGill. Unfortunately, it was not financially feasible for us to shift the entire conference to Concordia. The conference program is now posted on the ACCUTE website. Please note it is a working document and will continue to be updated.

In addition to moving key events to Concordia, ACCUTE is demonstrating its solidarity with AMPL by scaling back the conference, slashing its McGill catering order, and publicly supporting AMPL; we’re currently in discussions with the union leadership about other ways in which ACCUTE and ACCUTE members can demonstrate their solidarity with AMPL during the conference. I encourage you to participate in rallies or join the picket line. In recognition of our support, AMPL will be providing us with picket passes, which will allow you to access our McGill sessions without crossing the picket line. Closer to the beginning of the conference, we will be sending out information about how we will be distributing the picket passes. I thank AMPL and its President, Evan Fox-Decent, and Strike Captain Victor Muňiz-Fraticelli for working collaboratively with us to determine how we could best support their strike while still holding our conference.

In response to the boycott call, Sina Queyras, who was scheduled to give a joint ACCUTE/ACQL-ALCQ keynote, has withdrawn from Congress. In acknowledgment of their action, ACCUTE has decided to leave open the time slot scheduled for their keynote (1:30-3 pm on June 14) so that conference participants may demonstrate solidarity with the encampment and/or the AMPL. I encourage those of you who wish to do so to make use of this time to join the picket line or visit the protesters in the encampment and use our presence at Congress to amplify the messages of strikers and protesters.

We understand that not all ACCUTE members and conference participants will agree with this decision to continue, and we respect the decisions of those participants who have decided to withdraw from the conference. For those of you who will be attending, we are committed to providing an inclusive, safe, and accessible space for all. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please email me at divison@lakeheadu.ca.

See you soon,

Douglas Ivison

President, ACCUTE