March 21st, 7pm Faculty Lounge SDU Main Building, UPEI
Join us March 21st for an Island Lecture from marine ecologist Dr. Irené Novaczek on the Ecosystem Restoration Project at Basin Head. Basin Head was designated as a “Marine Protected Area” under the Oceans Act in 2005, to conserve and protect a unique strain of Irish moss (Chondrus crispus) which is thought to exist only within the confines of Basin Head.
The talk will focus on adaptive management of the Marine Protected Area to ensure that the unique giant form of Irish moss at Basin Head is able to survive in the coastal lagoon environment which is challenged by impacts of local agriculture, invasive European green crabs and ongoing climate changes.
Do you have a research project on an island studies subject that you would like to present in our Island Lecture Series? Send an email to IslandStudiesUPEI@gmail.com to suggest a topic and discuss possible dates! Please read our FAQ before submitting
FAQs
When and where are the lectures usually held? Our Island Lectures are usually held monthly (September to April) on a Tuesday evening at 7pm in the SDU Main Building Faculty Lounge at UPEI; though in the past, we have held a few virtually on zoom because of the pandemic restrictions.
How long should my presentation be? 30-50 minutes for presenting and up to 40 minutes of Q&A or discussion.
What kind of audience will I be speaking to? The audience is usually a mix of academic and public depending on the topic of the lecture. The more accessible the topic is, the more general community members the lecture attracts.
Will I have access to a projector for my slides? Yes, most of our lectures feature slideshows. You should have access to a projector in the Faculty Lounge during your presentation, but we advise you to bring your own laptop. We recommend arriving half an hour to an hour before the event so that someone can show you how to set it up beforehand.
Will there be a recording available after? Yes, if you are willing to be filmed, we usually film the events and share them on our YouTube channel and web page afterward. You can then share the link anywhere you want! Previous recordings can also be found at https://islandstudies.com/events/recordings/
What do you need from me? What is my timeline? In order to promote the event, we need a title and a short description of the topic, as well as a short bio and high-resolution headshot of the presenter. The earlier that we have these, the better we can promote the event, especially in print formats. 3-4 weeks ahead is ideal. If you have a professional Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram account, let us know so we can tag you when we promote the event on social media.
Island Lecture Series: Towards Energy Sovereignty on Labrador’s Remote Island of Ponds Dr. Nick Mercer Tuesday, January 24th, 2023 · 7:00pm AST (UTC-4) Faculty Lounge, SDU Main Building, UPEI
(Hosted by the Institute of Island Studies · January 24th, 2023) Newfoundland and Labrador is a global leader in the development of renewable energy. However, the electricity-generation mix differs dramatically in remote and Indigenous communities throughout the province, which remain almost exclusively reliant on diesel fuel, resulting in numerous energy inequities. While sustainable energies are often promoted for these isolated villages, emerging research demonstrates detrimental socio-economic and livelihood implications which emerge when development is led by outsiders or corporate interests. The presentation will focus on an 8+ year community-based research partnership between Dr. Nick Mercer, the NunatuKavut Community Council’s Department of Research, Education, and Culture, and the NunatuKavut Inuit community of Black Tickle, located on the subarctic tundra Island of Ponds, in southern Labrador. The research focuses on identifying and addressing community needs, integrating local knowledge and sustainability values, and mobilizing community-led initiatives to enhance island energy resilience.
Island Lecture Series: Towards Energy Sovereignty on Labrador’s Remote Island of Ponds Dr. Nick Mercer Tuesday, January 24th, 20 · 7:00pm AST (UTC-4) Faculty Lounge, SDU Main Building, UPEI
(Hosted by the Institute of Island Studies · January 24th, 2023) Newfoundland and Labrador is a global leader in the development of renewable energy. However, the electricity-generation mix differs dramatically in remote and Indigenous communities throughout the province, which remain almost exclusively reliant on diesel fuel, resulting in numerous energy inequities. While sustainable energies are often promoted for these isolated villages, emerging research demonstrates detrimental socio-economic and livelihood implications which emerge when development is led by outsiders or corporate interests. The presentation will focus on an 8+ year community-based research partnership between Dr. Nick Mercer, the NunatuKavut Community Council’s Department of Research, Education, and Culture, and the NunatuKavut Inuit community of Black Tickle, located on the subarctic tundra Island of Ponds, in southern Labrador. The research focuses on identifying and addressing community needs, integrating local knowledge and sustainability values, and mobilizing community-led initiatives to enhance island energy resilience.
ABOUT OUR SPEAKERS
Dr. Nick Mercer is a recently appointed professor within UPEI’s Master of Island Studies [Sustainable Islands Specialization] and Environmental Studies programs. Prior to joining the UPEI community, Dr. Mercer held a SSHRC Postdoctoral Research Fellowship within Dalhousie University’s School for Resource and Environmental Studies. In this role, Dr. Mercer studied questions of energy justice in isolated northern communities, examining how [or if] communities have participated in energy-related decision-making, and how [or if] communities have benefitted from development. Dr. Mercer has a long research relationship with remote and island communities, having conducted almost a decade of partnership research with the Island of Ponds in Labrador, on issues ranging from participatory energy planning, to water security, to gendered dimensions of resource access. Dr. Mercer serves as one of eight appointees to the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Net Zero Advisory Committee and is a vocal advocate for community-led clean energy policy and practice.
ISLAND LECTURE SERIES | OCTOBER 2022 Island Lecture Series: Anticosti: Finisterre Metropolitan with Matthew Hatvany Dr. Matthew Hatvany Tuesday, October 25, 2022 · 7:00pm AST (UTC-3) Faculty Lounge, SDU Main Building, UPEI
(Hosted by the Institute of Island Studies · October 25th, 2022) In the latest installment of the 2022 Island Lecture series, Matthew Hatvany, professor of Geography at Université Laval in Quebec City, will share his research on his current project entitled “Anticosti: Metropolitan Finisterre.”
Two large islands lie at the heart of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Despite their relative proximity and comparable sobriquets, one “Garden of the Gulf” the other “Paradise Found,” the similarities end there. It is the smaller of the two, Prince Edward Island, that realised provincial autonomy through the development and control of its human, agricultural, forest, and fish resources. The larger, Anticosti, experienced little internal development despite abundant resources, being purposely constructed by external decision makers as a Finisterre Insulaire or Land’s End controlled and dependent upon metropolitan decision makers and investors to assure the well-being of its small population. While Anticosti is little known in Quebec or by its nearest neighbours in Atlantic Canada, the island is celebrated by the upper classes of distant North American and European metropoles as a natural paradise as well as an aspiring UNESCO heritage site for its unique fossil and sedimentary strata.
ABOUT OUR SPEAKERS
Matthew Hatvany, professor of Geography at Université Laval in Quebec City, will be spending the fall of 2022 and spring of 2023 on sabbatical leave as an associate professor at the Institute of Island Studies at UPEI. He will be employing the theories of metropolitanism and territoriality to study the unique development of Quebec’s Anticosti Island. During his sabbatical, Dr. Hatvany will be collaborating with UPEI professors Laurie Brinklow, director of the Institute of Island Studies, Josh MacFadyen, director of the GeoREACH lab, and Island scholar Edward MacDonald.
ISLAND LECTURE SERIES | SEPTEMBER 2022 Island Lecture Series: What’s Law Got To Do With It! Islands And Their Status In International Law Dr. Donald Rothwell Tuesday, Sept 13, 2022 · 7:00pm AST (UTC-3) Faculty Lounge, SDU Main Building, UPEI
(Hosted by the Institute of Island Studies · Sept 13, 2022) In the latest installment of the 2022 Island Lecture series, Dr. Donald Rothman explores the international conversation on the legal status of islands. The legal status of islands has increasingly become contested in various parts of the world as a result of the distinction between islands and rocks, and the increasing development of artificial islands. Can international law resolve these issues or just make them more contentious?
ABOUT OUR SPEAKERS
Dr. Donald Rothwell is a Professor of International Law at the ANU College of Law, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia. Born on the island continent of Australia, he is a graduate of the University of Alberta, and the University of Calgary, and has lived on Vancouver Island and studied islands and the law of the sea for 30 years.
ISLAND LECTURE SERIES | MARCH 2022 Trade in the Nicobar Islands Shaina Sehgal March 2022 Tuesday, March 22nd, 2022 · 1pm AST (UTC-4) Watch video
In the second installment of our Island Lecture Series, Shaina Sehgal presents some of the findings from her Ph.D. research on the Nicobar Islands. The Nicobar Islands is a little-known archipelago in the eastern Indian ocean. However, these islands were ports-of-call along the ancient sea route from West Asia to South-East Asia and reported by traders and sea-farers throughout history. In this talk, Sehgal sketches the trading world of the Nicobar Islands between the 18th and 19th centuries. Analysis of historical texts, maps and images from this period shows the connection between seasonal trade within the archipelago and trade with the Nicobar Islands. This study concludes that these islands were a site of sustained contact within the bustling Indian Ocean world until the early 20th century.
Shaina Sehgal is an interdisciplinary scholar who has studied the social and environmental issues across diverse and challenging terrains across India (mountains, forests, and islands) over the past decade as a graduate student and researcher at Ambedkar University Delhi, India. Her Ph.D. in Human Ecology examined trade, agriculture, development and governance in the Nicobar Islands, using archival research, quantitative data analysis, social network analysis, and ethnographic research.
ISLAND LECTURE SERIES | JANUARY 2022 Island Lecture Series: Arts and Climate Adaptation: Ilse van Dijke Tuesday, Jan 18, 2022 · 1:00pm – 2:00pm AST (UTC-4) Watch video
(Hosted by the Institute of Island Studies · Jan 18, 2022) In the first installment of the 2022 Island Lecture series, Ilse van Dijk presents the findings of the research she conducted as an intern with Island Studies and the School of Climate Change and Adaptation at UPEI. The research was funded by the Climate Sense project. In her research project, Ilse aimed to identify possibilities for the integration of artistic processes into climate change adaptation policies on Prince Edward Island.
ABOUT OUR SPEAKERS
Ilse van Dike is currently a research master’s student at the Faculty of Spatial Sciences at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. She is following a specialization in islands and sustainability, with a particular focus on the theme of culture and climate change adaptation. Ilse recently completed a research internship with Dr. Laurie Brinklow from Island Studies and Ross Dwyer from the School of Climate Change and Adaptation. She holds a masters’ degree in human ecology from Lund University in Sweden, and a bachelors’ degree in cultural anthropology and development studies from Radboud University in the Netherlands.
ISLAND LECTURE SERIES | JANUARY 2022 Art and Climate Change Adaptation Ilse Van Dijk Tuesday, January 18th, 2021 · 1pm AST (UTC-4) Watch video
In the first installment of the 2022 Island Lecture series, Ilse van Dijk will present the findings of the research she conducted as a research intern with Island Studies at UPEI and the School of Climate Change and Adaptation. In her research project, Ilse aimed to identify possibilities for the integration of artistic processes into climate change adaptation policies on Prince Edward Island.
Climate change and climate change adaptation are increasingly represented in the arts. Previous research has to some extent established that the resulting ‘climate art’ can perform a variety of functions, in addition to its artistic value, such as articulating difficult emotions and translating complex information. However, policymaking for climate change and adaptation does not utilize the potential of climate art. In her research project, Ilse developed a concept for the integration of artistic processes into adaptation policymaking on Prince Edward Island. The research is based on qualitative data, gathered through in-depth interviews with artists, cultural experts and climate change adaptation policymakers on Prince Edward Island.
Ilse Van Dijk is currently a research master’s student at the Faculty of Spatial Sciences at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. She is following a specialization in islands and sustainability, with a particular focus on the theme of culture and climate change adaptation. IIlse recently completed a research internship with Dr. Laurie Brinklow from Island Studies and Ross Dwyer from the School of Climate Change and Adaptation. She holds a masters’ degree in human ecology from Lund University in Sweden, and a bachelors’ degree in cultural anthropology and development studies from Radboud University in the Netherlands.
Celebrating Poetry Month: Laurie Brinklow and Bren Simmers in conversation with Richard Lemm
Tuesday, April 27, 2021 · 7:00pm – 8:00pm ADT (UTC-3)
Our April instalment of the Island Lecture Series celebrates National Poetry Month and features two Prince Edward Island poets in conversation with a third. Laurie Brinklow and Bren Simmers will read from their new books, My Island’s the house I sleep in at night (Island Studies Press, 2021) and If, When (Gaspereau Press, 2021), in a conversation hosted by Richard Lemm. Topics will range from the role of story, place, and history in their poetry to their own poetic practices, with an opportunity for questions from the audience.
