Program

We are delighted to announce our roster of confirmed keynote speakers at ALECC 2018! Between June 20 and June 23, 2018, our conference will have two evening plenary panels, as well as a plenary speaker at the conference-closing banquet on Saturday evening.

• The conference will open on Wednesday evening, June 20th, with a two-speaker panel featuring Jacinda Mack and Rosemary-Claire Collard:
  • A member of the Secwepemc and Nuxalk Nations, Jacinda Mack is the coordinator of First Nations Women Advocating Responsible Mining (FNWARM), a coalition of women leadership dedicated to mining reform in BC. Much of her recent work has revolved around consequences of the 2014 Mount Polley Mine tailings spill, including the long-term effects on local communities.
  • Rosemary-Claire Collard, a human geographer at Simon Fraser University, is currently studying reparations and rehabilitation in the wake of environmental disasters, such as the Exxon Valdez, as well as the afterlives of exotic pets and the death of lively commodities. Her most recently completed project investigated the transformation of animals from forest or desert dwellers into commodities in living rooms on the other side of the world.
• On the second evening, Thursday, June 21st, we will hear from a second two-speaker panel, this one featuring Joanne Hammond and Val Napoleon:
  • An archaeologist and anthropologist based in Kamloops, BC, Joanne Hammond stresses socially responsible and morally defensible approaches to the land and its people. She is a strong proponent of public archaeology outreach and education, ranging from hands-on collections access to reimagining BC’s extensive network of colonial history roadside memorials.
  • Val Napoleon is the Law Foundation Professor of Aboriginal Justice and Governance at the University of Victoria, and a founder of UVic’s Indigenous Law Research Unit. She is a member of Saulteau First Nation, and an adopted member of the Gitanyow (Gitksan) House of Luuxhon, Ganada (Frog) Clan.
• Finally, the conference will close on Saturday, June 23, with an evening banquet featuring novelist Larissa Lai. The author of two novels, two books of poetry, a book-length work of literary criticism on Asian Canadian literature, Lai’s new novel The Tiger Flu is forthcoming from Arsenal Pulp Press in the fall of 2018. Lai’s writings demonstrate a deep commitment to social and environmental justice, including decolonization, queer and trans issues, and anti-racism. She is the Canada Research Chair in Creative Writing at the University of Calgary, as well as a member of the Equity Task Force of the Writers’ Union of Canada.
• Click here for the complete preliminary schedule.