The 28th Canadian Ethnic Studies Association (CESA) Biennial Conference

 

 

 

October 9-10, 2026

Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Banff, Alberta

“Ethnic Dynamics and Immigration in a World in Flux”

About the Conference

The Canadian Ethnic Studies Association (CESA) invites panel and/or paper proposals for its upcoming 28th conference on the theme of “Ethnic Dynamics and Immigration in a World in Flux”. There is little doubt that the world we are living in is going through a major transformation, driven by powerful economic, political, cultural, and social forces, and reflected through many unprecedented developments at global, regional, national, and local levels. This includes new wars, economic rivalry, cyber-attacks, redrawn political maps, electoral surprises, the rise of populism, new resistance movements, new technology, and so on. Some have begun suggesting new names for this emerging world, from ‘new world order’, to ‘cyber world order’, to the ‘post-liberal era’, and so on. This transformation has had undeniable implications for international Immigration, as well as race and ethnic relations, in many different countries, including Canada; and it calls for new theorizing efforts to understand it and to ameliorate the serious problems that come with it.

This conference provides a forum to discuss the above issues. The participants are invited to address any aspect of this changing landscape, including (but not limited to):

 

    • The ethnic and immigration implications of different regional wars
    • The place of Canada in the global migration scene
    • The global and local impact of Canadian immigration policies and practices
    • The treatment of immigrants and refugees in Canada and beyond; the experiences of racism and racialization
    • Comparative immigration policies; and the promises and limitations of Canada’s immigration policy
    • The blurring of the demarcation lines between ‘refugees’ versus ‘economic migrants’
    • The rise of ‘in-between-ness’, referring to people who live in places and/or social spaces between the countries of origin and the countries of destination, like those in ‘waiting periods’ in their home countries, those living on the margins of their destination societies, and those residing in ‘safe third countries’ while seeking asylum in another country.
    • Immigrant experiences in smaller cities and rural areas
    • Multiculturalism: policy, practice, evidence; and benefits, limitations, challenges
    • Ethnic diversity and cultural vitality
    • Immigration discourse at a time of rising right-wing populism
    • The interplay of global and local migration and ethno-cultural trends
    • The experiences of newcomers
    • Racialization and racism in Canada and beyond
    • Indigenous populations and their experiences with settler colonialism
    • Multiple jeopardies and intersectional experiences: indigeneity, immigration status, ethnic background, racialization, gender, religion, location, etc.
    • Canada’s immigration, against the backdrop of US-Canada relationship and the changing face of North America
    • Canada on the international migration landscape and the changing realities in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America
    • The roles, contributions, and challenges of immigration/settlement agencies
    • The experiences of immigrant and refugee sub-groups: youth, seniors, women, etc.
    • Refugees: trauma, survival and integration
    • Big data analysis and AI-based technology in the field of migration and ethnic studies

CESA invites theoretical and empirically-based contributions, individual papers and/or fully formed panels, standard papers or presentations in other formats (e.g., posters, roundtables, films), and all the above from a variety of disciplinary or interdisciplinary perspectives.

The 28th Canadian Ethnic Studies Association’s conference will be held in person at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity (https://www.banffcentre.ca), located in the town of Banff, Alberta, surrounded by the Rocky Mountains. This is an opportunity to be engaged in lively intellectual conversations, while enjoying the beautiful autumn in the heart of the Rocky Mountains.

Who Should Attend

In addition to members of the Canadian Ethnic Studies Association, the conference will be relevant to a wide range of people interested in history, ethnicity, race, immigration and citizenship issues in Canada and internationally. University professors, graduate students, other researchers and teachers; policymakers and civil servants from all levels of government; those who work in various non-governmental organizations, as well as those involved as frontline workers delivering various kinds of social services – all of these will find that this conference offers them worthwhile information, challenging critical perspectives, and an opportunity to network and discuss important issues with people from across the country and from a variety of academic disciplines and institutional perspectives.

A number of small travel subsidies will be available for participants in precarious employment statuses and graduate students. The number of the subsidies and the amount of support will be dependent upon the resources available to CESA at the time.

Paper/Panel Proposals

Conference organizers welcome proposals for papers, panels, roundtables, posters and film presentations that address any of the related topics. The proposals/abstracts should be no longer than 250 words. Organizers invite submissions from a variety of perspectives, academic disciplines, and areas of study. Abstracts/proposals will be refereed by the CESA Program Committee. Individual conference presentations will normally be 20 minutes in length, and conference sessions will be 90 minutes. Abstracts should be directed electronically to: cesa@ucalgary.ca.

A special issue of the Canadian Ethnic Studies Journal will showcase selected papers from the conference. To be considered for publication, papers must be submitted about four weeks after the conference. Papers must be written in accordance with the journal’s guidelines.

 

Important Dates

  • March 1, 2026: The deadline for submission of proposals for papers, sessions, panels, roundtables, and poster presentations
  • April 1, 2026: The communication of the decisions on the submitted proposals
  • April 15, 2026: Deadline to apply for travel subsidy for those in precarious employment statuses and graduate students
  • May 1, 2026: The deadline for early-bird registration and the booking of rooms at the Banff Centre at the conference’s reduced rates [the number of reserved rooms is limited, and they will be offered on a first-come/first-served basis.
  • June 15, 2026: Deadline for final registration
  • October 8, 2026: The pre-conference event organized by Bridging Divides team
  • October 9-10, 2026: The CESA conference
  • November 15, 2026: Submission of papers to be considered for publication in the special issue of the Canadian Ethnic Studies journal (to be submitted via email to cesa@ucalgary.ca)

 

 

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Call for Papers

The deadline for submission of proposals for papers, panels, roundtables, posters and video presentations is March 1, 2026.

Contact Us

Canadian Ethnic Studies Association
Social Science 909
2500 University Drive, N.W.
Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4
Tel: 403-220-7372
cesa@ucalgary.ca

©2017 Canadian Ethnic Studies Association