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5th Congress of Polish Canadianists

Towards Critical Multiculturalism: Dialogues Between/Among Canadian Diasporas.
October 7th - 9th 2010, CRACOW, POLAND
Organized by the University of Silesia and Jagiellonian University

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, it has become a sharply contested issue. Many critics claim that the federal model of multiculturalism has failed to control racism against ethno-racial minorities and hence a ,br more "radical" or "critical" multiculturalism is needed which would restructure power relations and envision a reciprocal process among all groups. Recent studies on diaspora 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 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:
- 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, poet)

Organising committee
Co-chairs: Eugenia Sojka (University of Silesia, Katowice), Anna Reczynska (Jagellonian University, Cracow) and Krzysztof Jarosz (University of Silesia, Katowice)

Deadline for abstracts:January 8th 2010
Notification of acceptance: February 5th 2010

Submission address:
esojka2000@yahoo.ca (proposals in English - literature and culture topics)
anrecz@ists.pl (proposals in English and French - history, sociology)
jarosz.kanada@gmail.com (proposals in French - literature and culture topics)

Individual proposals, in English or French, should be of 300-400 words. 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.