The School of Canadian Studies hosts two annual Lecture Series:

The Vickers-Verduyn Lecture in Canadian Studies

The Vickers-Verduyn Speakers Series was established in 2011 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Carleton-Trent joint-PhD in Canadian Studies. Since its inauguration the School of Canadian Studies has invited a wide range of scholars, activists and artists to address the ways in which their work potentially challenges or influences approaches to Canadian Studies research.

From Black Lives Matter to the War on Woke: the (Homegrown) Politics of Backlash in Canada with Dr. Debra Thompson
April 11, 2025 4:00 p.m.
DT 1811

This presentation examines the rise of this political backlash in Canada, reflecting on this time of political upheaval and flux. It considers the collapse of old political norms, the uncertainty surrounding emerging alternatives, the influence of American culture wars, and the pressing question of whether Canadian democracy can withstand the challenges ahead.

In the summer of 2020, hundreds of thousands of Canadians across the country marched under the rallying cry of Black Lives Matter, in protest against endemic police violence and systemic anti-Black racism. Now, less than five years later, former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, once the avatar of centre-left progressivism, is wildly unpopular, forced to concede his leadership of the Liberal Party. In addition, there are widespread attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in universities and corporate Canada alike, public consensus on the benefits of immigration has fractured, and Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre has successfully mobilized simmering resentment to wage a war on wokeism.

Dr. Debra Thompson is an Associate Professor of Political Science and a Canada Research Chair in Racial Inequality in Democratic Societies at McGill University. An internationally recognized expert on the comparative politics of race, her research focuses on the relationships among race, the state, public policy, and inequality in Canada and beyond. She is the author of the award-winning books, The Schematic State: Race, Transnationalism, and the Politics of the Census (2016) and The Long Road Home: On Blackness and Belonging (2022). Dr. Thompson produces and hosts the Institute for Research on Public Policy’s In/Equality podcast and is also a contributing columnist for Canada’s national newspaper, the Globe and Mail.

Past Lectures in the Vickers-Verduyn Annual Speaker Series:

Title Speaker(s) Date
Canadian Studies in Turbulent Times – Ideas, Challenges, Opportunities Moderator:
Dr. Pauline Rankin;
Dr. Jane Philpott;
Prof. Adrian Harewood;
Senator Yuen Pau Woo; Frank Graves,
President of EKOS		 April 17, 2024
Teraanga Commons
Colonialism and Everyday Life in Québec Dalie Giroux March 29, 2023
‘She Commonly Wears a Handkerchief round her Head’: Expanding and Complicating the Concept of Creolization for the study of Transatlantic Slavery Charmaine Nelson March 10, 2022
The Caribbean Sea in Canada: Notes on Tributaries Rinaldo Walcott April 16, 2021
Deconstruction ‘The God of Gods’: A Canadian Play Deanna Bowen November 19, 2019
Hungry Listening, Ethnographic Redress Dylan Robinson October 11, 2018
“I Learned It From Law and Order”-

American Media as Educators on Sexual Violence

 Julie S. Lalonde March 28, 2017
Nowhere to Go: LGBTQ2S Youth Homelessness in Canada Alex Abramovich March 24, 2016
Reclaiming Shingwauk Hall Jeff Thomas March 25, 2015
Authenticity and Indigeneity: Reclaiming Algonquin Identity in 21st century Ontario Bonita Lawrence February 27, 2014
Black History, the Multicultural Present and the Future of Canadian Studies Rinaldo Walcott February 28, 2013

The Herb Stovel Memorial Lecture in Heritage Conservation

Save the date! The 2025 Herb Stovel lecture will be held on April 26, 2025 at Library and Archives Canada. More information will be posted in early April 2025.

The Lecture is being held in conjunction with the 17th Annual Carleton University Heritage Conservation Symposium ON THE EDGE OF COLLAPSE: CHANGING HERITAGE FOR A CLIMATE IN CRISIS 

This year’s organizing committee has invited submissions that address the critical intersections of climate justice and heritage conservation, including Decolonizing Climate Action in Heritage, Social Justice in Heritage Conservation, and Reimagining Heritage in a Changing World. More information is available here.

Organizers and speakers at the 2024 Symposium in Library Archives Canada’s Pellan Room.

Past Lectures in the Herb Stovel Memorial Lecture series:

The Herb Stovel Memorial Lecture in Heritage Conservation was established in 2012 to honour Herb Stovel, who was Associate Professor and coordinator of the Heritage Conservation program in the School of Canadian Studies at Carleton University from 2004 to 2012. Past lectures were often held in conjunction with the graduate symposium in heritage conservation.

From 2002 to 2017 the School also hosted the annual New Sun Conference on Aboriginal Arts.
The archives of these conferences are hosted on the New Sun Conference website.