Death of a Canadian: The Corrosive Impacts of Authenticity

Join MISC for the 2023-2024 BMP Lecture, “Death of a Canadian: The Corrosive Impacts of Authenticity” to be given by Christopher Kirkey, Director, Center for the Study of Canada & Institute on Quebec Studies at SUNY Plattsburgh.

This event will be followed by a Q&A and a reception.

Free and open to the public; mandatory registration via Eventbrite.

Abstract: The pursuit of research on Canada, within academic circles across Canada, is a foundational cornerstone of scholarly inquiry. This pathway is also evident throughout the international community. A significant segment of Canada-oriented research and scholarship that takes place beyond Canadian borders is undertaken by Canadian expats – i.e., Canadian citizens who as academics work on Canada-focused issues in nations around the world.

While there are a number of critical challenges arising from spatial dislocation for Canadian academics who live and work abroad, none is more compelling than the corrosive impacts of authenticity. What exactly is authenticity and how does it have corrosive impacts on the professional life of Canadian scholars living abroad? Are there strategies and actions that Canadian ex-pats can embrace to effectively counter the challenges of externality?

In considering these matters, Professor Kirkey – an ex-pat academic who has resided in the United States for 37 years – will consider his professional journey, the difficulties with authenticity he has encountered, and the methods he has considered, pursued, and ultimately adopted.

Christopher Kirkey is Director of the Center for the Study of Canada and Institute on Quebec Studies at State University of New York at Plattsburgh. A scholar of comparative foreign policy and international relations theory, he has been a professor at Bridgewater State University (1993-2001), Columbia University (2002-2012), and SUNY Plattsburgh (2002-present). His most recent work is (with Richard Nimijean) The Construction of Canadian Identity from Abroad (2022, Palgrave Macmillan). He has previously served as President of the Association for Canadian Studies in the United States, and the Middle Atlantic and New England Council on Canadian Studies.

This lecture is part of the BMP Rotating Lecture Program in Canadian Studies, established in 2013 as a formal partnership among the Canadian Studies programs of McGill University, Bridgewater State University and SUNY College at Plattsburgh. The Lectureship is designed to strengthen connections between the programs, share expertise in the area of Canadian Studies, and to expand audiences and interests in the field.