This year marks the fortieth anniversary of the modest beginning of Canadian Studies in Czechoslovakia/the Czech Republic in the fall semester of 1985, when a semester-long course on Canadian literature was introduced at the Department of English and American Studies at Masaryk University in Brno. Immediately following the Velvet Revolution in 1989 a Canadian Studies Centre was established there. Over the years it has served as the focus for a wide range of activities in both English and French. Courses have been offered at four faculties—Arts, Science, Social Studies and Education—on topics including Anglophone and Francophone literature, sociolinguistics, political science, multiculturalism, the First Nations, political history, geography, philosophy, cultural studies, film and music. Several publications have appeared in the fields of literature and literary history, political science, cultural studies and geography.
In 2015 the Centre launched a unique North American Cultural Studies MA degree programme with a major Canadian (both Anglophone and Francophone) component. It has also organized several conferences and seminars, most recently “The Americas in Canada/Les Ameriques du Canada,” held in 2017 to mark the country’s sesquicentennial, and since 2021 has offered an annual on-line summer course in Canadian Studies.
In addition, since the establishment of the Central European Association for Canadian Studies in 2003, the Canadian Studies Centre in Brno has housed its Secretariat, facilitating its activities and welcoming Canadianists from the region who come to do research it its library of over 6,000 volumes relating to a host of areas. The current Co-Directors of the Centre are Don Sparling and Petr Kyloušek, from the Departments of English and American Studies and Romance Languages and Literatures, respectively.
This month the Canadian Studies fortieth anniversary was celebrated as part of the 12th Brno International Conference of English, American and Canadian Studies, held from February 5-7 and organized by the Masaryk University Department of English and American Studies. The Canadian Ambassador to the Czech Republic, Her Excellency Emily McLaughlin, spoke at the official opening of the conference, stressing the value of the humanities and social sciences in fostering dialogue in our increasingly diverse societies. She was also present later in the day at the opening reception—to which the Canadian Embassy had made a financial contribution—speaking briefly and more specifically about Canada and Canadian Studies, and launching the evening by making the first symbolic cut in a splendid Canada-flag 40th birthday cake, while accompanied by the singing of “Happy Birthday” to Canadian Studies.
Thank you to author Professor Don Sparling (Masaryk University)
Photo 1: Her Excellency Emily McLaughlin, Ambassador of Canada to the Czech Republic and Don Sparling encouraging people to sing “Happy Birthday” to Canadian Studies.
Photo 2: Canadianists at the 12th Brno International Conference of English, American and Canadian Studies, held from February 5-7 and organized by the Masaryk University Department of English and American Studies.
Jiří Rambousek photographs