Culture, Environment and Social Justice Conference coming to Lakehead University

August 1, 2014 – Thunder Bay, ON

Environmental writers and academics from across Canada and beyond will visit Lakehead University’s Thunder Bay campus to participate in a conference exploring Culture, Environment, and Social Justice from Thursday, Aug. 7 to Sunday, Aug. 10.

This is the third biennial conference of the Association of Literature, Environment, and Culture in Canada (ALECC), a national association whose members show how humanities research provides critical insight into environmental issues.

“This conference will feature many leading environmental humanities scholars giving presentations on a range of topics including water politics, Indigenous rights, feminist issues, animals, and mining, among others,” said Dr. Cheryl Lousley, a member of the organizing committee and Associate Professor at Lakehead University in Interdisciplinary Studies and English.

“All of these subjects are linked by an overriding concern with the intersection between environmental and social justice issues,” Dr. Lousley said.

Conference highlights include three keynote presentations that are free of charge and open to the public and the media:

  • Thursday, Aug. 7 at 4 pm in UC1017 – Opening address by the award-winning First Nations educator and writer Jeannette Armstrong.
  • Friday, Aug. 8 at 10:30 am in RC0005 – Keynote panel on Feminism and Ecocriticism Now with Greta Gaard (University of Wisconsin, River Falls), Heather Latimer (University of British Columbia), and Catriona Sandilands (York University) – discussing the relationship between feminism and ecocriticism.
  • Saturday, Aug. 9 at 5 pm in UC1017 – Keynote talk by Ramsey Hart of Mining Watch Canada who will discuss the Ring of Fire.

Please visit https://conferences.lakeheadu.ca/alecc/schedule for the conference schedule. For more information, email alecc2014@lakeheadu.ca or call Dr. Doug Ivison at (807) 346-7825.

Organized by members of Lakehead’s departments of English and Interdisciplinary Studies, this conference has been made possible with the support of units and individuals across the university.

Financial support was provided by the Office of the Provost and Vice-President (Academic), Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Department of English, Department of Interdisciplinary Studies, Faculty of Science and Environmental Studies, Centre for Place and Sustainability Studies, Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Mining and Exploration (CESME), Dr. Chris Southcott and Resources and Sustainable Development in the Arctic (ReSDA), Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, the Department of Music and the Department of Women’s Studies.

 

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Media: For more information or to arrange interviews, please contact Brandon Walker, Media Relations Officer, at (807) 343-8177, or mediarelations@lakeheadu.ca.

In 2015, Lakehead University will celebrate 50 years of exceptional education. Guided by a new Strategic Plan (2013-2018), our University is known for providing an education focused on independent thinking, unconventional scholarship, and a close sense of community. About 9,700 students and 2,000 faculty and staff learn and work in ten faculties at two campuses, in Orillia and Thunder Bay, Ontario. Home to Ontario’s first new Faculty of Law in 44 years (Fall 2013) and the Northern Ontario School of Medicine's West Campus, Lakehead is among Canada’s Top 10 undergraduate universities (2014 Maclean’s University Rankings), as well as 1st in Ontario and 2nd in Canada for its innovative research (Re$earch Infosource). Our Orillia campus is the first in North America to be built entirely to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) standards. Share your Lakehead story as it relates to our Strategic Plan at www.lakeheadu.ca/presidents-office/nurturing-passion, and learn more about Lakehead at www.lakeheadu.ca.