Call for Papers – Towards a Critical Canadian Studies

Journal of Canadian Studies

Guest Editors: Kristine Alexander, Phil Henderson, Will Kujala, Miranda Leibel

Recent symposia at Huron University and McMaster University have marked the 50th anniversary of the Symons Report and the emergence of “Canadian Studies” programs in higher education. Ironically, as this anniversary rounds, many such programs are in a state of terminal decline. Rather than cause for mourning, this special issue sees this conjuncture as a crucial opportunity to reassess the entirety of this field. As such contributions are invited that open discussion on the possibilities for critical study of Canada, set against the nationalistic tendencies of mainline scholarship.

Contributions can be either retrospective–looking back on 50 years of nationalist Canadian Studies–and prospective–attempting to set an agenda of what scholarship on but critical of Canada might look like. This special issue invites interdisciplinary scholarship and, as such, we welcome contributions that adopt the form and methods of fields from across the humanities and social sciences.

Themes that may emerge in this issue could include, but are not limited to:

Canada and its Discontents;
A Canard Heard Around the World: The Global Impact of Canadian Studies;
Colonial Amnesia in Canadian Studies;
Colony to Empire? Correcting the Telos of Nation-Building;
Critical Intellectual Historiographies of Canadian Studies;
From ‘Our Fight for Canada’ to ‘#CancelCanada’: the Left and its Canada Problem;
In, Against, and Beyond Canada;
Making Anti-Canadian Studies a Praxis-Oriented Field;
Methodological Nationalism and Methodological Statism;
Methods and Approaches in the Critique of Canada;
Post-Canadian Studies;
Reflections on the Collapse of Canadian Studies Programs;
The Role of the University in Manufacturing Canadiana;
Whiteness, Racialization, and the Silences of Canadian Studies;
Relationships between Canadian Studies and Indigenous Studies

Deadlines

Abstracts due: March 1st 2026

Manuscript submission due: September 1st 2026

Decision and revisions: February 1st 2027

Final manuscripts due: April 1st 2027

Statement of Intent

Authors intending to contribute to the JCS special edition are asked to submit a maximum 400-word abstract by March 1st, 2026, to assist with planning. Abstracts must include:

Title of the proposed manuscript
Names of authors
Article type (e.g., research, systematic review, etc.)
Brief description of the proposed manuscript (e.g., introduction, methods, results, discussion)

Email abstracts to: Phil Henderson, philhend@yorku.ca

Manuscript Submission

Manuscripts for the special edition are due September 1st 2026. Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. Upload manuscripts using the JCS submission portal.