Canadian Studies: in Canada and abroad

Canadian Studies: in Canada and abroad

This paper was written at the request of Prof. Seung Ryul Lee, president of the Korean Association for Canadian Studies. During his time as visiting professor at the Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies at York University, Professor Lee asked me to write about the shape of Canadian Studies in Canada and abroad, and the challenges facing the study of the country. The focus here is on the conditions which led to the rise of Canadian Studies within Canada and outside. In both instances, Canadian Studies projects developed in the context of considerable anti-Americanism, and they shared the goal of encouraging sustained research and teaching on Canadian issues. While the Canadian government supported the endeavors of international scholars from the 1970s to the 2012, current levels of support have decreased substantially. Nonetheless, specialists on Canada outside the country, alongside their colleagues in Canada, continue to contribute to the critical evaluation of Canadian culture, history and social policy. While Canadian Studies is inherently multidisciplinary in Canada, in its international context it is multidisciplinary of necessity.