2nd CFP: Special Session on Canadian Contributions to Geographical Perspectives of the 2007-2008 IPY

Posted by Administrator on 13 February 2009 - 1:08pm

A special session on "Geographic Perspectives of the International Polar Year: Canadian Contributions" will be presented at the Canadian Association of Geographers Annual General Meeting, Carleton University, 26-30 May 2009.

The International Polar Year (2007-2008) has helped to raise awareness about polar challenges and opportunities with regards to changing biophysical, social, cultural, economic, and political contexts. Significant political and academic attention has thus been focused on northern Canada, and geographers have been playing important roles in northern natural, social, and health sciences research, in collaboration with northern communities, governments, and Aboriginal organizations. This session is open to all researchers reporting on work done during the International Polar Year (IPY) regardless of disciplinary orientation, or status within the official IPY framework.

We hope that this session will provide a window on Canadian contributions to geographic perspectives of the changing Polar Regions and welcome contributions from all sub-disciplines of geography, and from interdisciplinary research more broadly, that contribute to our understandings of these changes, their impacts and processes of adaptation.

For these sessions we would welcome contributions from students, faculty, governmental, non-governmental, and independent researchers who work in northern Canada to present their experiences. Presentations will not be restricted only to IPY-funded or endorsed projects, but we request that contributions come from researchers directly engaged in northern research during the IPY time frame.

Please send abstracts of 200 words or less, and include the title of the paper, author(s) name(s), affiliation(s) and contact information (email, telephone number(s) etc) to:

Session Organizers: Nancy Doubleday and Gita Laidler (Department of Geography & Environmental Studies, Carleton University). Please submit abstracts by email to: Nancy_Doubleday@carleton.ca AND gita_laidler@carleton.ca. Deadline for submissions: 23 FEBRUARY 2009. Acceptances by: 27 February 2009.

Session organizers will ensure that all abstracts that are part of this special session are submitted as a group by the abstract submission deadline (28 February 2009).

This session is currently sponsored by the following CAG Study Groups: Native Canadians Specialty Group; Rural Geography Study Group; Health and Health Care Study Group. Session organizers are also awaiting responses regarding additional co-sponsorship from other related Study Groups.