Robarts Goes Pop! graduate student conference looks at Canadian pop culture

Robarts Goes Pop! grad conference poster

Robarts Goes Pop! poster

This week, the Robarts Centre will focus on black Canada with its annual lecture in Canadian Studies, and on popular culture when it delves into what makes Canada tick, at its second graduate student conference – Robarts Goes Pop!

University humanities Professor Leslie Sanders, who has played a key role in enhancing the profile of Black Canadian Studies at York University and beyond, will deliver the annual lecture. Her talk, ” ‘The people who led to my ideas’: Thinking about Black Canadian Studies,” will take place in the Underground Restaurant on Friday, April 17, at 4:45pm, followed by a light reception. Both lecture and reception are open to the public.

Leslie Sanders
Leslie Sanders

In conjunction with the talk, the Robarts Centre will also host its second annual interdisciplinary graduate student conference, Robarts Goes Pop!, starting Friday, April 17, at 12:50pm, and ending on Saturday, April 18, at 3:30pm, at the Kaneff Tower.

Graduate students from 10 different universities in Ontario, New York and Ohio will participate in the event, presenting papers on a range of topics addressing different forms of Canadian popular culture in Canada, including pop music, film, television, video games, leisure and political rhetoric.

Sessions will include discussions on the following topics: “Möbius Cityscapes, Slasher Films, and Cult Classics: Canada in the Movies,” “High Schoolers to House Wives: Canadian Pop Culture and Television” and “ ‘Who are we? Who we are’: Canadians and Contemporary Writing.”

Everyone is welcome to attend the sessions.

To view the program, visit the Robarts Goes Pop! 2015 Interdisciplinary Graduate Conference website.

The conference is organized by Mario d’Agostino (PhD student, English), with assistance from Jennifer Mussell (PhD student, political science) and support from the Faculty of Graduate Studies, the Canadian Studies program at Glendon and the Department of English in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies.

For more information, email robarts@yorku.ca.