Big Thinking lecture series brings high-profile speakers to the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences
OTTAWA
Monday, June 1 to Thursday, June 4, 2015
University of Ottawa campus, various locations
The Story
Leading scholars and public figures including His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada will address critical issues facing Canadians at the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, taking place from May 30 to June 5 at the University of Ottawa. Speakers will present forward-looking research and thinking to stimulate discussion within the public and broader academic community, bringing to light the valuable contribution of the humanities and social sciences to a free and democratic society.
Watch videos of other Big Thinking speakers at Congress already this week here.
Innovation in learning
His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada
Monday, June 1 14:00 – 15:00
Desmarais 4101
His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, will speak on innovation in learning. His keynote talk will be followed by a panel of discussants on this theme including Sara Diamond, President and Vice‐Chancellor of OCAD, Alejandro Adem, CEO and Scientific Director of Mitacs and Miao Song, Affiliate Assistant Professor at Concordia University, Computer Science & Software Engineering. Bilingual, with simultaneous interpretation.
Humanities and the future of democracies
Azar Nafisi, best-selling author of Reading Lolita in Tehran
Tuesday, June 2 12:15 – 13:15
Jock-Turcot University Centre, Alumni Auditorium
Iranian-American author Azar Nafisi will address why we need humanities at times of crisis, the extent to which the imagination opens the spaces that totalitarian regimes close, and whether democracies can thrive without a democratic imagination. In English, with simultaneous interpretation.
Integration and citizenship in North America and Europe: Different paths, similar outcomes?
Thomas Faist and Irene Bloemraad
Wednesday, June 3 12:15 – 13:15
Social Sciences FSS/4007
Join Irene Bloemraad, Thomas Garden Barnes Chair of Canadian Studies at the University of California, Berkeley and Senior Scholar with CIFAR, and Thomas Faist, Dean of the Faculty of Sociology and Professor of Sociology at Bielefeld University, Germany for an armchair conversation on immigration and belonging in North America and Europe. In English, with simultaneous interpretation. Sponsored by CIFAR and DFG.
Imagining Canada in a disenchanted world
Jean Leclair
Thursday, June 4 12:15 – 13:15
Social Sciences FSS/4007
How can we build an inclusive national political community that is ready to make the compromises necessary to meet the demands of individuals and groups and improve relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples? Jean Leclair, Trudeau Fellow and Professor of Constitutional Law at the Université de Montréal, will discuss how a renewed understanding of federalism could offer a solution. In French, with simultaneous interpretation, and sponsored by the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation.
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About Big Thinking
Hosted by the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, the Big Thinking lecture series brings together high-profile speakers who present forward-thinking research, bringing to light the valuable contribution of the humanities and social sciences to a free and democratic society. Big Thinking at Congress is sponsored by Universities Canada, the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
About the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences
Organized by the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, Congress is the largest interdisciplinary conference in Canada, and one of the largest in the world. Now in its 84th year, Congress brings together 70+ academic associations that represent a rich spectrum of disciplines in the humanities and social sciences, including literature, history, theatre, film studies, education, music, sociology, geography, social work and many others. Congress 2015 is hosted by the University of Ottawa. For more information, visit www.congress2015.ca.
Notes:
- Media welcome.
- Simultaneous interpretation will be available at all Big Thinking events.
Media inquiries
Nicola Katz
Manager of Communications
Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences
T: 613-282-3489
nkatz@ideas-idees.ca
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