Update of Halbert Centre Activities

Annual Report of the Activities of

The Israel Association for Canadian Studies

January 1, 2001 - December 31, 2001

Jerusalem Conference in Canadian Studies

Preparations have begun for the 9^th Biennial Jerusalem Conference in Canadian Studies. The conference is planned for June 30 - July 4, 2002 and will be held together with the Halbert Centre for Canadian Studies on the Mount Scopus campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. After surveying research interests of Israeli Canadianists, five themes were identified and selected for the conference: renegotiating community in Canadian literature; Canadian social policy; the future of the Canadian city; influences of Canadian law on Israeli law; and the Toronto School of communication theory. A “call for papers” was publicized.

Government of Canada Grants

Two Government of Canada programs are administered by the Israel Association for Canadian Studies in cooperation with the Canadian Embassy in Tel Aviv. The Academic Committee of the IACS together with representatives from the Embassy evaluates the applications within the framework of the two programs and submits its recommendations to Ottawa.

Eight research proposals were approved under the Government of Canada Faculty Research Program

· Dr. Rivka Amado, Department of Political Science, Bar-Ilan University, "Appointing High Level Public Servants in Canada and Israel."

· Prof. Shuli Barzilai, Department of English, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, "Transgressive Spaces: Colonial Landscapes and Postcolonial Scenes in the Writings of Margaret Atwood and Paintings of Emily Carr."

· Mr. Kobi Cohen-Hattab, Department of Geography, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, "Historical-geography of Tourism in Toronto and Montreal between the wars (1918-1939) - a comparative study.

· Ms. Sharonne Cohen, Jerusalem Branch of Champlain College, Vermont, "Klein, Layton, Cohen and the Jewish Literary World of Montreal."

· Dr. Yoav Dotan, Faculty of Law, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, "Do Bills of Rights Matter? A Comparative Assessment of the Impact of Bills of Rights on Judicial decision-making in the High Courts of Canada and Israel."

· Dr. Yael Netz, Zinman College of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Wingate Institute, "Human Movement Science and Physical Education in Canadian Universities - Structure, Mission Statements and Program Orientation."

· Dr. Boris A. Portnov, J. Blaustein Institute for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University, "Development Interdependency in Urban Clusters: Evidence from Canada."

· Dr. Charles Small, Department of Geography, Tel Aviv University, "The Politics of Recognition, Multiculturalism, National Identity and Otherness in Canada: The Case of the Innu."

Seven applications were approved under the Government of Canada Faculty Enrichment Program (for the purpose of developing courses with Canadian content).

· Dr. Leonard Hammer, Law, Bar-Ilan University

· Prof. Esther Iecovich, Social Work, Ben-Gurion University

· Dr. Erith Jaffe-Berg, Theatre, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

· Dr. Nir Kedar, Law, Bar-Ilan university

· Dr. Pua Kutiel, Geography, Ben-Gurion University

· Dr. Limore Yagil, Communication, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

· Prof. Yossi Berechman, Business Administration, Tel Aviv University

International Council for Canadian Studies Programs

Dr. Rony Blum, a recent recipient of the Ph.D. in history from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, was awarded the Canadian Studies Internship. This allowed Dr. Blum to spend three months at McGill University where she taught in her field of expertise of Canadian Native Studies.

Publications

Two volumes based on the proceeding of the 2000 Jerusalem Conference in Canadian Studies are in the process of preparation.

· Community, Nation and Identity in Canadian Literature, edited by Danielle Schaub and Christl Verduyn.

· Metropolitan Reform in Canada and Israel, edited by Eran Razin and Patrick Smith.

The findings of a Faculty Research Program Project were published in the following publication within the framework of the Israel Association for Canadian Studies Research Series.

§ Arza Churchman and Rachel Kallus, "Women's Safety in the Urban Environment - the Canadian Experience and its Applicability to the Israeli Content," Research Series, No. 4, Israel Association for Canadian Studies and Halbert Centre for Canadian Studies, Hebrew University of Herusalem, Jerusalem 2001.

Public Lecture Series

During the year 2001, the Israel Association for Canadian Studies in partnership with the Halbert Centre for Canadian Studies held five public lectures. The lectures detailed below were attended by audiences of 25-100 persons. The last two lectures listed below were organized especially so as to target the Israeli student population with the intention of cultivating increased interest in Canadian Studies.

§ Emile Martel, "Poetry Reading," (4 April 2001)

§ Raphael Fischler, McGill University, "Municipal and Metropolitan Restructuring in Montreal: Spatial, Fiscal and Linguistic Issues" (1 May 2001).

§ Ronald Daniels, University of Toronto, "Government by Voucher: A rethinking of the Welfare State in Canada" (16 May 2001).

§ Jill Sinclair, DFAIT, "Putting People First: The Human Security Agenda" (17 May 2001)

§ Catherine Frost, McGill University, "Becoming a Nation: How Irish and Quebec Nationalists Argued for their Cause," (13 June 2001)

§ Henry Kolatacz, Embassy of Canada, Israel, "Canada - Israel Relations in Light of Recent Events," (8 November 2001)

§ Robert Priest, Poetry Reading," (20 November 2001)

Library Collection

The Library Support Fund provided funding for the expansion of the Canadian Studies collection at Tel Aviv University. The books selected were mainly from the field of Canadian literature and were supplemented by general resources on Canada. This support is intended to assist the further expansion of teaching of Canadian literature and theatre at Tel Aviv University as well as research in these fields.

Varia

Dr. Mimi Ajzenstadt of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem was awarded one of the special DFAIT research awards commemorating 25 years of DFAIT support of Canadian Studies abroad.

Prof. Shuli Barzilai of the English Department at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem received the Margaret Atwood Society award for the best critical essay on Atwood published in 2000-2001 for her essay "'Say That I had a Lovely Face': The Grimms' 'Rapunzel," Tennyson's 'Lady of Shalott,' and Atwood's Lady Oracle." Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature. Special issue on Problems of Beauty in Feminist Studies. Vol. 19 (Fall 2000): 231-54.

Dr. Danielle Schaub, exhibited her photographs of Canadian writers at the National Library of Canada. The exhibition entitled "Seeing Canadian Voives, Writers in Light and Shadow" opened on September 6 and ran until October 11, 2001.