Event, focusing on Canadian women writers in the 1970s, will welcome scholars from across Canada, US, and Europe

SACKVILLE, NB — Mount Allison University and l’Université de Moncton will welcome scholars to the region for an international conference in Canadian Studies April 26-28, 2018. Resurfacing: women writing across Canada in the 1970s / Refaire surface: écrivaines canadiennes des années 1970 will bring together new and established scholars in two languages — English and French — from across Canada and internationally.

“The 1970s was a time that saw consequential cultural and political advances for the women’s movement and for literature and literary criticism in Canada,” says Dr. Christl Verduyn, conference lead organizer, Mount Allison English professor and director of the University’s Centre for Canadian Studies. “Key works, such as Margaret Atwood’s 1972 Surfacing novel, which our conference title references, or novels by accomplished writers like Alice Munro and Antonine Maillet came out in this decade, but there are many other important but lesser-known writers and works from this era too. We are delighted to continue these discussions with colleagues from around the world and to co-host this event with l’Université de Moncton.”

Academics, as well as students, including several undergraduate students from Mount Allison, will also be presenting and participating in the conference. The event’s line-up features over 60 speakers including three postdoctoral fellows, and eight doctoral, two Masters, and five undergraduate students as well as art curators and scholars.

Conference participants and presenters will attend events on both University campuses and also participate in Moncton’s Northrup Frye Literary Festival events this week.

While events are limited to registered participants, roundtable discussions are open to the public. See mta.ca/resurfacing2018 for more information and full schedule.

Resurfacing: women writing across Canada in the 1970s / Refaire surface: écrivaines canadiennes des années 1970 is supported by Mount Allison University, I’Université de Moncton, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).