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Call for Papers "The Politics of Community and Identity: Learning from One Another" International and Interdisciplinary Conference Graduate School of Public and International Affairs and the Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa Ottawa, ON (Canada) 20-22 May 2009 __________________________________________________ In the last quarter century, sub-state communities and communities of identity not defined by geography have taken on an increasingly important role as the focus of, and advocates for, loci of collective rights. Given their growing importance in the social, legal and political order, there is a need to develop deeper understandings of the way communities are identified, represented, and recognized - as well as how communities can engage with and learn from one another. This is as true for Métis and urban Aboriginal people as for other minority communities. Aboriginal peoples form distinctive communities which continue to seek stronger recognition and a greater voice in democratic politics, as have women and linguistic, religious and ethnic communities before them. What can these diverse communities learn from each other? The Graduate School of Public and International Affairs and the Faculty of Law of the University of Ottawa will are hosting a major international and interdisciplinary conference May 20 to 22, 2009 to foster research and policy dialogue on the role(s) of communities in democratic politics. The goals of the conference include the development of prescriptive and practical guidance and policy recommendations based on comparative analysis of different communities - defined by gender, language, race, ethnicity, religion, or culture. The conference will bring together experts on identity, community, federalism, gender politics, official language minorities, religious communities, multiculturalism, ethno-cultural minorities and Aboriginal peoples. The Conference will seek to address the following themes. - Community Identity: Why are community and collective identity important in the politics of liberal democratic states? What are there limits on the right of communities to define their membership and what is the process by which membership is defined? - Community Representation: How are communities formed? How do leaders secure legitimacy to speak on behalf of individual members and/or of their community? - Community Recognition: How do communities achieve recognition as participants in democratic politics and as sites of constitutional rights? - Community Diversity, Division and Dissent: How do communities foster cohesion and respond to dissent among members? How do communities address the multiple or even competing identities of their members and possible conflicts between community values and norms and those of the larger society? - Community Engagement: What are the experiences of different communities in using political, electoral and judicial routes to advance their agendas? This multi-disciplinary discussion will allow scholars, policy-makers and community leaders to better understand the experiences of various communities, and to draw lessons from comparative analysis. As such, we are also interested in proposals that explore the reality of communities in other liberal democracies, particularly if they include direct comparisons to the Canadian experience. Those who are interested in participating in this conference are invited to submit a 250 word proposal for papers, or presentations together along with a short biography, by October 15, 2008. Proposals will be evaluated based on their quality, clarity and the extent to which they are clearly linked to the broader themes of the conference. In particular, preference will be given to we will evaluate papers based on the extent to which they: - provide comparisons and contrasts between two or more communities; and/or, - connect an analysis of a particular community or communities to the broader discourse about the community as political actor and locus of collective rights. Please submit all proposals to: [email protected] Contact: Patrick Fafard Graduate School of Public and International Affairs Faculty of Social Sciences University of Ottawa Desmarais Building, 11105 55 Laurier Avenue East Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5 Canada Tel: +1-613-562-5800 ext. 4186 Fax: +1-613-562-5241 Email: [email protected] Web: http://fqppu.org/assets/files/babillard/appel_participation/call_of_paper_u_ottawa.pdf __________________________________________________ InterPhil List Administration: http://interphil.polylog.org Intercultural Philosophy Calendar: http://cal.polylog.org
