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Canadian Studies Day 2013: Perspectives on/from Canada (24.05.2013)

On May 24 acclaimed guest speakers from Canada and teachers gave their "Perspectives on/from Canada" in the context of the annual Canadian Studies Day. The attendees discussed topics such as politics, history, literary and cultural studies. Professor Robert Campbell, president of our partner university Mount Allison in Sackville (New Brunswick) introduced the audience to "Stephen Harper’s Canada: The First Decade." Historian professor Sarah Carter (University of Alberta) cleared up some misconceptions about the Canadian First Nations and professor Christl Verduyn (Mount Allison University) provided on overview over Canadian Studies with her lecture "Canadian Studies: Cultural Contours."

The speakers provided helpful ressources and hints for the attending teachers to allow for new insights into teaching Canadian topics. Marie-Claire Hall of the Embassy of Canada to Germany in Berlin gave a presentation of the Marshal McLuhan-Salon, an interactive learning centre with many possibilities for teaching about Canada. A book display presented books from the Charles Taylor Book Collection as well as  works by the guest speakers and teaching material by Klett Verlag.

The Canadian Studies Day also demonstrated the centre's cooperations with other Canadian Studies centres, as professor Martin Thornton and literary scholar Jessica Ballantine from the University of Leeds participated in the conference.

For the conclusion of the conference Christl Verduyn read from her collections of poems and short stories. The poet Walter Hildebrandt also read some of his long poems and impressed the audience with his vast knowledge about the Canadian First Nations.

The Marburg Centre for Canadian Studies is grateful for the generous support by the Ursula-Kuhlmann-Fonds, the University library, the Zentrum für Lehrerbildung, the Embassy of Canada to Germany and the Ernst Klett Verlag.