Big Thinking Lectures
Open both to Congress delegates and the public, the Big Thinking lectures bring together researchers and leading intellectuals to help inspire discussion on the big questions of our time. An anchor for programming at the annual Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, the Big Thinking lectures represent an important opportunity for some of our nation’s most influential individuals to share their innovative ideas with academics, graduate students and the local community.
The Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean and Jean-Daniel Lafond : Conveying the vision of their new foundation, the Michaëlle Jean Foundation, Michaëlle Jean and her husband, Jean-Daniel Lafond, discuss the ways in which the arts can be used to foster social harmony, civic engagement, inclusion and innovation. learn more>
David Adams Richards: Canadian author, and New Brunswick native, David Adams Richards will ask ‘what do we lose when we lose a sense of place?’ learn more>
Antonine Maillet: Critically acclaimed Acadian novelist, playwright and scholar, Antonine Maillet will speak about the extraordinary role that she has played as an author giving a voice to the dispersed Acadian community. learn more>
National Chief Shawn Atleo: The National Chief will speak to the Assembly of First Nations’ recent call-to-action on Aboriginal education. learn more>
Dr. Andrew Weaver: One of Canada’s leading climate scientists, Dr. Andrew Weaver will speak to the confusion and misinformation complicating the public’s understanding of global warming and he will address how Canadians can make better choices about their future. learn more>
Panel: Dr. Andrew Weaver, Noorjehan Johnson and Dr. Ratana Chuenpagdee: Big Thinking speaker and Canada Research Chair in Climate Modeling and Science, Dr. Andrew Weaver, anthropologist and Vanier Scholar Noorjehan Johnson, and Canada Research Chair in Natural Resource Sustainability and Community Development, Dr. Ratana Chuenpagdee discuss how resilient communities can address the effects of climate change on coastal and northern settings. learn more>
Dr. Beverley Diamond: A Canadian ethnomusicologist and the Canada Research Chair in Traditional Music at Memorial University, Dr. Diamond will draw on her extensive experience working with indigenous communities and ask how contemporary artists can successfully evade the “re”creation of new and old cultural stereotypes. learn more>
Kwame Anthony Appiah: As the chair of the board for the American Council of Learned Societies, Appiah is uniquely suited to comment on the value of the humanities and new narratives for defending their value. learn more>
Chief Wilton Littlechild : More than 150,000 First Nations, Métis, and Inuit children were placed in residential schools from the late 1800’s through the twentieth century. Chief Wilton Littlechild, Commissioner with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, reflects its successes and challenges and how Canadians can learn from its legacy to forge a new national covenant. learn more>
James Bartleman: Ontario’s first Aboriginal Lieutenant Governor asks if we have forgotten our responsibility for residential schools. learn more>
In Conversation: Dr. Gerard Bouchard & Graham Fraser: Dr. Gerard Bouchard, an eminent Canadian historian and sociologist noted for his role in the Bouchard-Taylor Commission, and Graham Fraser, Canada’s Commissioner of Official Languages, come together in conversation to discuss the challenges of cultural and linguistic pluralism in our society. learn more>
