TransCanadian NetworksES – SE Workshop
(ESSE Collaborative Project Workshop Scheme)
November 9-11, 2022
Universidad de las Islas Baleares
Event Report
The workshop took place in the terms articulated in our original application for funding. Designed for the research team of the funded project TransCanadian Networks (RED2018-102643-T) to meet with a selected group of European scholars in the field of contemporary Literatures and Cultures of Canada and articulate the research axes of a new application for a larger grant, the workshop had three key objectives: a) to expand the size of the present research team, inviting prominent Europe-based Canadianists, b) to define, refine and organize the work around crucial areas of research within the field and c) to write the first draft of the application for the larger grant. These objectives were fully achieved. The event was highly successful and provided the necessary time and space to work out practical and intellectual details of this new expanded project.
The workshop participants came from six different National Associations. The core Spanish team was composed of the seven principal investigators of the TransCanadian Networks groups: Pilar Cuder-Domínguez (U. de Huelva), Eva Darias-Beautell (U. de La Laguna), Ana Fraile-Marcos (U. de Salamanca), Belén Martín-Lucas (U. de Vigo), Alejandra Moreno Álvarez (U. de Oviedo), Andrea Ruthven (U. de las Islas Baleares) and Pilar Somacarrera (U. Autónoma de Madrid). In addition, the following prominent Europe-based Canadianists accepted our invitation from Poland, Norway, Czech Republic, England and Lithuania: Anna Branach-Kallas (Nicolaus Copernicus University), Libe García Zarranz (Norwegian University of Science and Technology), Martina Horakova (Masaryk University), Gillian Roberts (University of Nottingham) and Rūta Šlapkauskaitė (Vilnius University). It is important to note that the TransCanadian Networks team has a long and fruitful history of collaboration through joint publications and the organization of top research events in some of the most crucial areas in the field. The sustained research collaborations between Spanish and Canadian institutions are paradigmatic of the quality and the level of commitment of the team’s work. Additionally, the extended group of scholars involved in this application has also consistently over the years edited and published research results and organized scientific events hosted by both their home universities and Canadian ones.
During the 2-day workshop, each team member presented their specific area of expertise and discussed possible interconnections with the rest. We started with an initial exchange around crucial research questions such as the meaning of Canadian Literature and the possible alternative denominations of the field. We also discussed our position as researchers and our methodological approaches. Having feminist and affect theories as common methodological ground, the team also shared overlapping research interests in Indigenous studies, settler colonial studies, trauma and war studies, posthumanism, critical race theory, queer and trans studies, and spatial and environmental readings of literature and culture. Within this large conceptual and theoretical area, we worked collaboratively to build a preliminary bibliography, articulate the project’s objectives, write a position statement for each of the researchers, design research dissemination activities and think of specific actions that can have social and environmental impact. The group managed to include all these items into an advanced draft of the future application for funding, which is expected to result in a solid and cutting-edge funding proposal.
The resulting new application will be presented to the Spanish National Research Council (Agencia Estatal de Investigación. Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación). A call for applications for the funding of Research Networks (Redes de Investigación) is expected by September, 2023. The extended project is expected to have a significant impact on Canadian Studies in Europe and beyond, showcasing the work of Europe-based researchers in key areas of the interdisciplinary field of Canadian Literatures and Cultures and leading the context of research in Europe.
Additionally, the group also agreed to explore alternative or complementary sources of funding, such as the following programs within Horizon Europe (2021-2027): Hera Network, Synergy Grant and Marie Curie.
Workshop Coordinators
- Eva Darias-Beautell (University of La Laguna)
- Libe García Zarranz (Norwegian University of Science and Technology)
- Rūta Šlapkauskaitė (Vilnius University)
FINAL-Mallorca-Workshop-Program-2