English Studies in Canada

Editors: Stephen Ross (Victoria) and Deanna Reder (Simon Fraser)

“Reconciliation in Action”

It has now been over a decade since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission wrapped up. How have English (or cognate) departments across Canada responded to the TRC’s Calls to Action? What concrete actions have been taken to advance decolonization and Indigenization? Has your department made curricular changes to transform your programs? Has your department changed its hiring practices? Where are the resistance points? Are there stall tactics you have seen employed?

What emotional resiliencies are needed to do this work? Are there any anti-racist initiatives that you or your colleagues have undertaken? Does your department or university have ongoing relationships with local Indigenous nations and if so, how is that reflected? If your department or administration has been unwilling, what are the strategies you personally have undertaken? Even if we are teaching more Indigenous works than we were a decade ago, have we seriously thought about what’s at stake in deciding who teaches those works and how?

This cluster in ESC invites contributions that address the challenges and successes English departments have had in the last decade. What are the success stories? Where have there been failures? What resistance has been encountered and how (or has) it been overcome? What work remains to be done? What models can we adapt and adopt, and how can we share strategies for doing better?

Please direct questions and inquiries to the co-editors. 200-word abstracts due to Deanna Reder and Stephen Ross by 30 June 2026.