Stong Colloquium: Pluri-Culture and Migrant Writings - An Interdisciplinary Approach
May 17, 2012 to May 20, 2012
The goal of the Colloquium is to reflect on a variety of discourses and cultural productions/ expressions which address migration – national, social, or individual – and the relationship of those discourses to cultural pluralism. The conference is bilingual (English and French) and interdisciplinary.
Contemporary migration is a complex and problematic phenomenon. Voluntary migration is most often viewed from the perspective of material advancement – “economic” migration aimed at improving a migrant’s standard of living. However, it is also accompanied by a network of political, social, philosophical and ethical considerations. The migrant does not often take his/ her cultural values into consideration in emigrating from one country to another, nor does the host country. In other words, culture in its broadest sense is often overlooked. Yet each immigrant carries within himself/ herself – consciously or not – the baggage of his/ her cultural heritage. Immigration assumes different forms in different countries and on different continents.
We underline particularly immigration in the Canadian context, but have also welcomed papers dealing with the comparative context (immigration in Europe, in the United States), as well as a historical framework (colonialism and its aftermath). Submissions have come from a variety of countries and fields (literature, linguistics, philosophy, sports, fine arts, film, anthropology). We expect fruitful discussions and passionate debates. The purpose is to study the ways in which cultural pluralism can lessen – perhaps eliminate – the so-called “shocks of civilizations”. Cultural dialogue could, and should, be a primordial factor in the construction of identity, the relationship between Self and Other, the bridge between similarity and difference.
| Location: | York University, Stong College, Master's Dining Room |
| Sponsor: | SSRHC, LAPS,The Vice-President Academic, Stong College |
| Posted by: | Prof. Elizabeth Sabiston |
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