1st General Meeting (Krakow, Poland, 2 May 2004)

1st General Meeting

Krakow, Poland, 2 May 2004

1. Opening

The meeting opened at 12:20 with Judit Molnar [JM] in the chair. She welcomed everyone who was present, including representatives of Canadian Embassies in the region (Yvon Turcotte, Eszter Rode, Vlatka Ljubenko) and briefly outlined the proposed agenda of the meeting.

2. Report from FAC.

Marie-Laure de Chantal [MLDC] from the Department of Foreign Affairs spoke briefly about the work done by the Academic Relations Division of FAC (Foreign Affairs Canada) to support Canadian Studies. After indicating the main areas very briefly, and stressing that Canadian Studies favours a multidisciplinary approach, she recommended that people look at their new website (www.cdnstudies.ca). This provides a lot of detail on what FAC does in the field of Canadian Studies; if questions still remained, people were encouraged to get in touch with her directly (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

MLDC also announced that the Academic Relations Division had decided to award a special grant in memory of Elena Filipoiu, the officer formerly in charge of Canadian Studies at the Canadian Embassy in Bucharest, who had died so unexpectedly this spring. This grant would enable a Romanian doctoral student to travel to Canada to do research.

3. The CE Steering Committee for Canadian Studies and the new Central European Association for Canadian Studies / Association d'Etudes Canadiennes en Europe Centrale

For those who were at a Central European Canadian Studies gathering for the first time, Don Sparling [DS] gave a brief outline of how Canadian Studies had developed since the meeting of Central European Canadianists at the GKS conference in Grainau in 1998, where they began planning for the first international conference of Central European Canadianists, which took place later that year in Brno, the Czech Republic. The Steering Committee formed to organize that conference remained in existence as a coordinating body for CS activities in the region. Since then its activities have been supported by an annual budget from DFAIT. The Steering Committee has done a great deal of work in the - a second international CS conference for CE Canadianists, and now this third one in Krakow, the creation of the CE Journal for Canadian Studies, special projects and programmes for the CE region (class sets, travel grants, etc.) and - last but not least - the creation of the new Central European Association for Canadian Studies. DS felt that the work the Steering Committee had been outstanding, and as Convener of the group he would like to extend his personal thanks and congratulations to each of its members.

With the official registration of the new Central European Association for Canadian Studies (CEACS/AECEC) with the Czech Ministry of the Interior in August 2003, the stage was set for applying to the International Council for Canadian Studies as an Associate Member. This was done in October 2003. At the meeting of the ICCS Executive Committee at Grainau in February 2004 the application was unanimously recommended for approval of the annual meeting of the ICCS in Moncton at the end of May. Only two tasks remain: 1) to complete the governing structure of the association be electing its Executive Committee, and 2) to inform the ICCS in Ottawa of the results in time for the information to be conveyed to the meeting in Moncton.

DS explained that, like the ICCS, the CEACS/AECEC has two governing bodies, an Executive Council, in which each country is represented, and which acts as the "parliament" of the association, and a four-person Executive Committee (plus the editor-in-chief of the CE Journal ex officio), which acts as its "government". The members of the Executive Council were selected by their national chapters in early 2004. Those present in Krakow stood up to be introduced.

Bulgaria: Diana Yankova (New Bulgarian University, Sofia)

Croatia: Ivo Josipovic (University of Zagreb)

Czech Republic: Petr Kyloušek (Masaryk University, Brno)

Hungary: Judit Molnar (University of Debrecen)

Romania: Voichita-Maria Sasu (Babes Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca)

Serbia and Montenegro: Vesna Lopicic (University of Nis)

Slovakia: Marian Gazdik (Comenius University, Bratislava)

In addition, there was an observer from Slovenia, Jason Blake (University of Ljubljana)

4. Election of CEACS/AECEC Executive Committee

JM explained the election process. All CEACS/AECEC members present were eligible to vote. There would be two rounds. In the first, the President would be elected, and in the second the other three members of the Executive Committee. An election committee made up of Marian Gazdik, Petr Kylousek and Diana Yankova would oversee the process

JM asked each of the candidates to introduce themselves briefly (five-minute maximum).

- Ivo Josipovic, President of the Croation Association of Canadianists, spoke about his connections with Canada through the area of law (he is a professor at the Faculty of Law in Zabreb). He pointed out that he could bring to the Executive Committee the perspective of someone not from one of the "traditional" Canadian Studies disciplines; as someone from Croatia, he would work to promote the widest possible cooperation in the region.

- DS felt he had already spoken enough about the contributions he had made to Canadian Studies in the past. He also mentioned that he was very pleased to see that the candidates for the Executive Committee represented a good mixture of old and new people as well as a real geographical range; this was a sign of the vitality of Canadian Studies in the region, and offered the promise of broad cooperation no matter who was elected.

- Janos Kenyeres (ELTE, Budapest) explained that he had been engaged in CS for more than twelve years; his fields of interest were culture (Marshall McLuhan) and literary theory (especially Northrop Frye; his study of Frye published last year). He taught CS courses, ran a student scholarly circle in his department, and supervised graduate student papers.

- Ana Olos introduced herself as head of the modern language department and "founding mother" of the CS Centre at Baia Mare. She had been teaching exclusively CS for the last six years (CS is also taught at the Baia Mare Centre in French), written scholarly articles and a book on Timothy Findley, supervised graduate students papers.

- Vesna Lopicic mentioned she was the recently re-elected President of the Yugoslav Association for Canadian Studies (52 members), which recently organized its first international conference on CS in Belgrade. Her interest was in images of Canada - interior and exterior.

- Maria Huttova explained that she taught British and Canadian Studies at Comenius University in Bratislava. She is in charge of the Canadian Studies Centre there, which has been running successfully for six years. Her courses were at the BA and MA levels, and she also had PhD students. She felt it was important for the smaller countries to be represented on the Executive Committee.

4.1. Election of the President

Several of the candidates stated they were interested in serving on the Executive Committee but not as President. Ana Olos and Don Sparling remained as candidates

Result of the voting

Ana Olos 2 votes

Don Sparling 44 votes

invalid 1

total 47

JM declared DS had been elected President.

4.1. Election of the other members of the Executive Committee

Result of the voting

Maria Huttova 20 votes

Ivo Josipovic 11 votes

Janos Kenyeres 36 votes

Vesna Lopicic 37 votes

Ana Olos 36 votes

JM declared Janos Kenyeres, Vesna Lopicic and Ana Olos to be elected to the Executive Committee.

5. Activities of the CEACS/AECEC

JM handed over the chairmanship of the meeting to the new President. DS thanked the people who had run for election, both those that had and those that had not been elected. He stressed that members of the Executive Committee should consider themselves, and be regarded as, representatives of the association as a whole. The representatives of the individual countries, on the other hand, were those who had been chosen by their national chapters to be on the Executive Council.

DS felt it would be useful at this point to review some of the work that the CE Steering Committee and the CE Secretariat had been doing over the past few years. At earlier meetings with the new Executive Council of the association these activities had been discussed in some detail, and various suggestions made. These would appear in the minutes of the meeting, which would then be posted on the CEACS/AECEC website. Here, he would like more feedback from the general membership - what things they felt we were doing well, what things not so well, what things we weren't doing but should be doing.

5.1 CEACS/AECEC website and listserve

DS asked whether members felt website and the listserve were functioning well. Anna Jakabfi said that the website had proved very useful, and that students were reading it. Katka Prajznerova felt that it was extremely useful to be informed of conferences outside the CE region; these should continue to be covered. DS mentioned that one of the most difficult things with any website was to keep it up to date. Petr Vurm did a good job of adding links, checking whether old ones function, etc. As a computer whiz he also created a user-friendly programme that enables Canadianists to keep their own pages up-to-date themselves. However, not many seemed to be doing this. In future it was agreed that every six months we would send out an e-mail asking members to update their entries.

5.2 Travel grants

The programme of travel grants for people giving papers at conferences came up next. Voichita-Maria Sasu said they had been extremely useful, and the programme should continue. Elena-Brandusa Steiciuc agreed. The question arose as to whether there could be more. DS said he felt this was unlikely: the number of grants and their amount would probably have to stay more or less the same (any increase in this item would mean having to decrease something else, as our budget is more or less stable). However, now that we have done this for a couple of years, we are clearer about the optimum way and time for sending out the call for applications. We do it in two phases, the first in the fall, in which there are quotas for countries, and the second at the beginning of the year, when it is open to all.

5.3 Study visits to Brno

DS reminded people of the support available for students wishing to come to do research at the very large CS library collection in Brno: the students' accommodation is covered, and the cost of photocopying materials. He asked everyone to encourage their students to take advantage of this offer. He also stressed that we have to know about this well in advance in order to arrange for accommodation. The question arose as to whether there was any limit on the number of students who could come. DS answered that so far no - the numbers corresponded to the resources available. But if interest grew, the Executive Committee might have to come up with a selection mechanism.

5.4 Summer schools

This year Katalin Kurtosi would be teaching at a summer school in CS organized by the University of Zagreb. They had asked us for a Francophone teacher as well; perhaps next year we could supply both.

In addition, some months ago the Steering Committee had discussed, and approved, the idea of an annual CE CS summer school that would be organized at a different university every year, with a different subject. We would draw on teachers from the region. However, it was felt that this project was something that the new association would have to make a final decision on (DFAIT had said it was not interested in a one-off event; probably three years was the minimum).

There was general agreement that this was a Good Thing. Anna Jakabfi suggested that instead of having a different specific topic each year (Canadian drama, multiculturalism, and gender issues had been suggested) we should try to give a more general title to the summer school in order to make it correspond with courses taught at home universities; this would enable credits to be given. DS said that in any case the university where the summer school was being held could include it in its programme that year, and offer ECTS credits. Also, if we were ambitious, we might be able to make an application for an IP within the Socrates/Erasmus programme. CEEPUS was also suggested as a mechanism, but DS sdaid that the changing nature of CEEPUS made this more difficult.

5.5 Class-set book grants

This is one of the things many people have asked about, saying they found it very helpful. This feeling was confirmed by those present. DS said he had spoken to MLDC about reopening this programme. She replied that it might have to compete for funds - apparently FAC was about to introduce a class-set grant programme in South America, the CE programme having served as inspiration.

5.6 CE Journal of Canadian Studies

DS explained that in order to ensure that the journal was of high quality, the Steering Committee had established a very rigorous selection process, with every article being read by four people. It was felt this policy had been successful, and he expected it would continue, despite the difficulties it entailed. Katka Prajznerova asked if we intended moving to blind reviews of articles that had been submitted. The answer was yes.

5.7 FEP and FRP grants

There were a lot of comments and questions relating to FEP and FRG grants. In one case (Romania) no grant whatsoever had been awarded this year. In others there was surprise that "almost unknown" people received them. Questions were raised as to who was eligible, who was informed of the applications, who did the actual selection. Generally speaking, people felt they did not know the rules, did not know what the procedures were.

As far as eligibility was concerned, one view was that these grants should be available mostly/solely to members of a CS association; this would also be a drawing card in attracting new members. Others disagreed, saying that one of the reasons for the grants was to encourage new people to become involved in Canadian Studies (and many of those present who had obtained a grant had done so before they had done any CS work). It was also pointed out that it was Ottawa that offered the grants, and so was quite entitled to set the rules.

DS said that he did not know what process had been used in the different countries in the CE region. So far as he knows, anyone who wishes can send in an application for an FEP or FRP grant. Embassies can even encourage people to do so (this is particularly true if they are trying to stimulate interest in Canadian Studies.) Certainly all applications have to go through the local embassies; they are entitled to make comments, and usually do make comments, but they themselves do not carry out any kind of selection. In Western Europe, the USA, etc. each national association sets up a committee to judge the applications of its members; it makes recommendations, and these are then forwarded to Ottawa. It is there that the final selection is made (Ottawa usually, but not always, confirms the choices made by the national selection committees). For Central Europe, the procedure has been slightly different. Within the framework of the European Network for Canadian Studies (ENCS), a different Western European CS association each year has volunteered to read all the applications for the whole region. This year it was the Dutch Association. The procedure is the same as for its own members, i.e. the committee reads all the recommendations, gets together to agree on a final order of selection, and sends this off to Ottawa.

At the most recent meeting of the ENCS in February of this year, a discussion was held on whether this system should continue, or whether the Central European Canadianists themselves should carry our this evaluation process. There were arguments both pro and con. DS, who represents Central Europe in the Network, was of two minds, though in the end he said he thought the CE Canadianists were now sufficiently experienced that they could handle the process themselves (though it is onerous, and demands a great deal of time and effort). However, he said he would bring this question up at the general meeting of the new CEASC/AECEC in Krakow, and report back at the next ENCS meeting (which will be held in Szeged in October in conjunction with the European graduate student seminar). So he asked people for comments. Arguments were given on both sides. Those against our taking over the selection process spoke about the great amount of extra work involved (made more complicated by the logistics problem of getting the selection committee together); there were some doubts too as to whether selections would always be made on the most meritorious grounds. Those for our taking over the selection process pointed out that in the work connected with the CE Journal we had already shown we could maintain objectivity and good standards; a multinational selection committee should be able to ensure fairness. They also stressed that if we wished to be considered the equal of Canadianists elsewhere we should take on the same responsibilities. Someone asked what the Polish Association for Canadian Studies does; DS replied that so far they had been included with the rest of CE in the selection process run by the ENCS. After some further discussion, DS asked for an informal show of hands on the question: it was about a 3:1 in favour of our taking over the selection process. DS said he would report on this at the next ENCS meeting.

A few brief comments followed, mostly focusing on what could be done to improve the quality of applications from the region (it was felt that there were often problems related to the fact that in many countries processes like these were not standard, so academics were not very skilled in preparing applications for grants). One suggestion was to at least have feedback on applications that were not successful (people could learn for the future). Another was to put a sort of model on the web. DS suggested this could be discussed if and when it is decided that the CE Canadianists will be in charge of the selection process.

6. Upcoming events in the CE region

Katalin Kurtosi suggested we briefly mention, for the information of those present, upcoming events.

Croatia

- Ivo Josipovic spoke about the 1st national conference of the Coatian Canadianists. The date had not been fixed yet - he was waiting for a response from a group of Quebec human rights judges as to whether, and so when, they could come; he wanted to make this a part of the conference. Otherwise literature and other topics would be covered. Information would be sent out as soon as possible.

Hungary

- Katalin Kurtosi reminded people of the European Graduate Student Seminar in Canadian Studies, which will be held in Szeged from 7-10 October. The graduate seminar is a very useful meeting point for young Canadianists. She asked everyone to encourage their students to apply: 25 can participate. The deadline for application is the middle of June; information is.available at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

- Judit Molnar brought up the second major event in Hungary - a multidisciplinary conference in Debrecen on "Canada in the European Mind", scheduled for 21-23 October.

Romania

- Ana Olos spoke about the 2nd Unconventional Meeting of Young Canadianists, on 22 September in Baia Mare; this is especially attractive for fans of Leonard Cohen.

Czech Republic

- Petr Kylousek a annonce un colloque international imaginaire du roman contemporain quebecois, date limite fin septembre, colloque aura lieu 11-15 mais 2005. Collaboration avec l'Universite de Quebec a Montreal (UQAM), un peu l'universite Concordia.

DS said that at the earlier meeting of the Executive Council the question of the next (fourth) international CE conference in CS had been discussed. This would be held in conjunction with the 2nd General Meeting of the association. It was felt that the ideal venue would be Debrecen in October 2006 (DS had discussed this earlier with Peter Szaffko, the organizer of the Debrecen conferences, and he had agreed.).

Finally, DS called on those present to send in information even about small conferences so that it could be posted on our webpages.

At 14:30 DS asked if there were any more comments or questions, since the conference sessions were about to begin again. As there were none, he thanked everyone for attending, as well as for their comments and suggestions, and declared the 1st General Meeting of the CEACS/AECEC closed.