For Inforrnatio.n. ?

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

Office of the Registrar ?

MEMORANDUM

To

.

: ?

Members of Senate

From: ?

Alison Watt, Secretary to the Senate Committee on Academic Planning

Subject: ?

Canadian Studies External Review

Date: ?

3 September, 1996

The External Review of the Canadian Studies Program took place on March 30-31,

1995.

The

External Review Committee was composed of the following members:

Chair: ?

Professor Leslie Armour

Department of Phil9sophy, University of Ottawa

Members ?

Professor Greg Kealey

Department of History, Memorial University of Newfoundland

President of the Social Sciences Federation of Canada

Mme. Beatrice Kowaliczko

Former Director-General of the Association for Canadian Studies

Director-General of the Royal Society of Canada 1993-1995.

Internal Member

?

Dr. Clyde Reed

Department of Economics

The Committee submitted its report in June 1995 and it was sent for consideration by the

Canadian Studies Steering Committee in July 1995. Unfortunately, due to illness, the

consideration of the report took longer than usual. The report was forwarded to SCAP in May,

1996 and was received by SCAP at its meeting on June

5,

1996.

The following documents are attached for the information of Senate:

1.

The Executive Summary and the specific recommendations from the External Review

Report.

2.

Response by the Canadian Studies Steering Committee.

3.

Response by the Department of French.

4.

Memo from L. Evenden, Director, Centre for Canadian Studies

Any Senator wishing to consult the full report of the External Review committee should contact

Bobbie Grant, Senate Assistant.

Attachments

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£9JMMARY:

.

THE SIMON FRASER

C,ji,.or,.p,

STUDIES PROGRAMME

Report of the Programme Review

Visiting Committee:

Leslie Armour, Beatrice Kowaliczko, Greg Kealey

Internal Member:

Clyde Reed

This is a successful programme with 35 majors who can draw on the substantial

resources of a number of

strong

departments in the social sciences and the

humanities. The students we met are articulate, intelligent, and well-focused. But the

programme is also desperately short of internal resources. Recently its core courses

have often been given only in a "Distance Education" format, its students rarely see

one another and lack an arena in which to make their needs known. Its administrators

are over-worked and often engaged in other activities.

RECOMMENDATIONS

It seems clear that there must be additional "core faculty". Certainly at least one

person should be assigned full time to the programme. A second full-time equivalent

should be assembled from faculty members seconded on a part-time basis from other

departments.

The Programme needs the full time services of the Programme assistant. The Director's

position should be revitalized and given more time free of other duties.

These recommendations may be phased in over a reasonable period of time but at

least one full-time position should be added immediately.

The Director should be made a member of the Dean of Arts' Advisory Committee. The

steering committee should be made more effectively representative. Students and

instructors in the programme should be included on the Steering Committee.

The curriculum needs to be re-ordered with a view toward more variety in core

courses, more emphasis on projects which can be team taught -- more course which

will bring the departments together -- and more emphasis at the upper level on

courses in which students can be involved in "hands on" research, emphasising the

view from British Columbia. Attention needs to be paid to French language needs.

There is a feeling of rootlessness among the students which could be ameliorated by

the development of a better advising system. Each student should be provided with

a faculty member who will act as advisor and is associated with the programme, and

another who is an academic associated with a discipline with which the student feels

a strong tie.

Enrolment is increasing. It would certainly be higher if it was not relying mainly

on chance and the efforts of the Programme Assistant. We recommend a recruiting

strategy be put in place.

CONCLUSION

This is a valuable and necessary programme which shows the university in a good

light and has a potential for generating new resources. But our recommendations

refer to additional resources which in our view must be forthcoming if the programme

is not to lose its credibility and, along the way, damage the university's credibility

too.

I

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.

.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

1. Staffing

It seems clear that there must be additional "core faculty". Certainly

at least one person should be assigned full time to the programme. A

second full-time equivalent should be assembled from faculty members

seconded on a part-time basis from other departments.

This has two different but..important effects. the first gives the Centre

someone who is dedicated to it; the second strengthens the

connections of the programme to the competing departments. It really

amounts to putting the programme in a position to "buy" services.

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a

The "distributed" position should be fairly easy to arrange within the

resources of the humanities and social science structure. The position

assigned to Canadian Studies specifically requires a significant

administrative commitment. But the value of the programme and the

quality of its students warrant it.

The programme really needs the full time services of the Programme

Assistant. It seems to be accepted already as a settled administrative

matter that more time needs to be allotted to the tasks involved.

15

The

students in a programme such as this suffer from homelessness in any

case. They urgently need someone they can rely on to be there all day

every day.

People in the programme feel strongly that the Director's position

should be revitalized by restoring the released time allowed for it last

year. They also think that it would be an asset if the Director was

teaching in the programme. These are important questions, but they

could be reviewed in the light of the resources produced by additional

appointments. The Dean's concern for overall administrative

consistency should be respected, though he would be the last to think

it an end in itself. If there were a full-time faculty appointment within

the centre, if the assistant's post were expanded, and if it could be

arranged for the Director to teach in the programme, people in the

programme might see this issue differently at least to the extent that

the changes could be phased in. A full-time faculty appointment now

seems to be the most pressing need. With better advertising of the

programme, this would in any case increase enrolments still further

and underline the justification for a full-time Director.

Thought should be given to an endowed chair, and the university's

fund-raising resources should be marshalled to this end, but this is

15

The division of the time of the present programme

assistant -.- who works in more than one programme -- is

an internal administrative matter on which the committee

obviously cannot formulate an opinion. A decision will

have to be made as whether or not it will be necessary

.

?

to have a staff change in order to expand the time

allocated to these tasks.

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J

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not the

fir

g

t

pr16rity

2.Organjzatjo

'irst and foremost the Director should be made a member of the Dean

of Arts' Advisory committee.

The steering committee should be made more effectively representative,

Students and instructors in the Programme should be included. As it

stands now, the committee is primarily a device to keep adthihistratj

order and make Sure that the

p

rogramme does not get off the tracks.

flut it needs to be a more active force in initiating activities. Tying It

to people who are actively involved in it and including students would

go a long

WAY

toward achieving this. One of the major tasks of the

steering committee has to be to make sure that those departments

which are truly central to the programme -- the French department,

for instance ?

are in fact deeply and actively, involved.

The committee should frequently review the use of the operating

budget -- but this assumes that there is a budget whose activities

merit watching over. The present $500 for a speaker programme is, for

instance, totally inadêpjate

The ultimate goal should no doubt be to make Canadian Studies a

department, the plan adopted for Women's Studies. The programme is

unlikely to achieve its share of resources untIl thisis achieved.

3. Curriculum

The curriculum needs to be re-ordered with a view toward more

variety in core courses, more emphasis on projects which can be team

taught -- more courses which

Will

bring the de

p

artments together

and more emphasis at the upper level on courses in which students

can be involved in "hands on" reséardh, emphasijng the view from

Eritish Columbia.

.

11

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Interdisciplinarity is the essence of the programme, and a course

focusing on the development of the relevant disciplines in Canada is

an ideal way to achieve this. Courses which allow students to do

significant research and a course integrating the study of indigenous

people into the context of Canadian Studies issues are both essential.

Some disciplines should be more fully involved. Philosophy is one. The

history of science and technology is another. Better integration with

programmes as diverse as Women's Studies and French Language and

Literature should also be sought.16

Given the central place of French-English relations in very many of

the concerns which animate Canadian Studies, serious consideration

should be given to the implementation of an effective French

requirement.

Thought should be given to a graduate programme only after the

changes which this review suggests have been implemented. The

potential is there, but the programme needs a solid base on which to

proceed.

4. Teachin

g

and Research

Both teaching and research need to be utilized to bring people

together across the disciplinary lines.

Team taught courses are one way of doing this. Workshops within

which individual members of the concerned departments explain their

research are another.

The Centre needs to play an active role as a catalyst for research.

This implies, of course, more time on the part of people now seriously

over-worked. The creation of a full-time position in the programme

would provide someone -- not necessarily the Director.-- who could

16

The development of a French requirement in the

. ?

programme would obviously entail more extensive liaison

with the French department.

c.

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32

?

.

be expected to act as such

a

catalyst.

Much better use heeds to be made of the facilities for "distance

education' Students must be brought together not just with the

tutor-markers in telephone conferekites

i

and major use must be made

of computer networks for e-mail conferences.

5. ,Contacts be

y ond the campus

The Programme should continue to participate strongly

.

'in. the existent

Canadian Studies national structures and 'to take advantage

systematically of what the network has to offer, especially exchanges

and speakets. Evidently resources for these activities are hard to

come by, but the network of Canadian Studies contacts can help. It

can also help identify possible sources of funding to bring speakers

to SFU. The forthcoming Canadian Studies Programme Administrators

meeting in Sudbury, October 12 and 13, will provide an opportunity to

share concerns with other Canadian Studies programme

administrators

Relations within British Columbia heed to be developed. Simon Fraser

could take leadership in identifying joint concerns and endeavours.

Canadian Studies Programmes are not the only possible contacts. There

are other academic interest 'groups whose concerns overlap with

Canadian Studies. The programme might also find other potential

"clients' for itself.

A clear strategy should be developed for services offered to the

foreign clientele. The clientele must

be

well identified. These services

can be seen as providers of income to the programme.

It would also be in the interest of the Programme to establish contacts

with potential public or private sector employers Of graduates. They

might be persuaded to add to. their job advert iement' that a d'egree

in Canadian Studies would be an asset. (Potehtlal employers are also

prospective donors) It is clear that the Centre has to adopt an

"entrepreneur" approach if it wants to expand its activities.

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33

Fundraising is an important dimension which plays in both directions:

it helps to open the Centre the to the outside world and it involves

the community at large (besides sometimes bringing money for valuable

projects). The Centre should also identify and establish a liaison with

potential local employers.

6.

Contacts within the University

In order to overcome its institutional isolation, the Centre should

develop numerous contacts with the diverse components of the

university such as the B.C. Studies Programme. It could play a role as

a resource and information centre for Canadian Studies on the campus.

A privately sponsored lecture series, jointly organised with other

departments, could bring prestigious speakers to the university and

raise the profile of the Programme while making new contacts outside.

0

7.

Student Services

The feeling of rootlessness among the students could be ameliorated

by the development of a better advising system. Each student should

be provided with a faculty member who would act as advisor and is

associated with the programme and another who would be an academic

associated with a discipline with which the student feels a strong tie.

One of the advisors could guide the student throughout the complex

maze of the Canadian Studies. The other would be his or her tie to a

recognized discipline.

Keeping data on the careers of students who graduated in Canadian

Studies would be a useful tool.

Enrolment is increasing. It would certainly be higher if it was not

relying mainly on chance and the efforts of the Assistant. We

. ?

recommend a recruiting strategy be put in place not so much because

the Programme needs more students as because -- given the enrolment

9-

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1

34

Which- is achieved by chance -- it seems highly likely that there are

students who could benefit from it but who are probably only dimly

aware of it.

Students are not represented on the Steering Committee and have

little chance to meet between themselves or with the instructors and

administrators as a group. There is no common room which would

facilitate contacts. The fact that the office of the Centre is only open

half the week does not help. A common room should certainly be at the

disposition of the students and office hours should be expanded.

The students should go ahead with their plan to create a Canadian

Studies Students Association (and they should make contact with

Canadian Studies Students Associations, for instance at Trent and

McGill). They should take advantage of the facilities of the Association

for Canadian Studies and of student representation on the ACS board

to benefit from the expertise, networking and support of the Canadian

Studies national constituencies.

?

0

CONCLUSION

This is a valuable and needed programme which shows the university

in a good light and has a potential for generating new resources. But

our recommendations refer to additional resources which in our view

must be forthcoming if the Programme is not to lose its credibility

and, along the way, damage the university's credibility too.

We were asked to be realistic and to bear in mind the University's

resources. Most of the recommendations we have made are not costly

and can be achieved with existing resources. One of them that there

be a full time appointment to the Centre -- does imply one full new

salary unless someone can be transferred from an existing

departmental post. A second post, described as a "full-time

equivalent" position to be assembled from people in associated

departments is not necessarily costly, though ideally it is not cost

free. Something like a half salary for an administrative assistant is

also involved, but this, we understand, has been partly envisaged

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35

already.

It is clear that in the present climate of opinion this may involve

difficult administrative decisions. Understandably, the individual

departments feel their own needs strongly and will press their own

needs first. The proposals we are making, though, are so structured

that the benefits beyond Canadian Studies should be obvious. A "full-

time" equivalent position distributed among the departments clearly

does this but a full-time teaching position within the Programme will

also add strength to at least two existing disciplines if someone with

a serious interdisciplinary interest is chosen.

A small amount of additional space also seems essential as does a

careful review of the library's ability to cope optimally with the

situation.

The other things we suggested are either minor administrative re-

arrangements -- changes in the Steering Committee for instance --

or curricular developments which can be dealt with quite easily in the

existing framework.

The report does suggest additional activities which will place more

burdens on the Director and the Assistant unless more resources are

forthcoming. We think, to repeat, that more resources must be

forthcoming.

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CENTRE FOR CANADIAN STUDIES

0 ?

Response to the External Review of Spring

Committee composition

The Centre for Canadian Studies was reviewed in late March, 1995. The external

examiners were:

Professor Leslie Armour, philosopher, University of Ottawa, who chaired the committee

and wrote the final report, using contributions from other members;

Professor Greg Kealey, historian, Memorial University, editor of

Labour/Le Travail

and

President of the Social Sciences Federation of Canada;

Mme. Beatrice Kowaliczko, for many years the executive director of the Association for

Canadian Studies and, at the time of the review, recently appointed executive director of the Royal

Society of Canada;

Professor Clyde Reed, Department of Economics, SFU, internal member of the review

committee.

Recommendations

Recommendations were summarized in the report as a series of short statements, as may be

seen on the attached copy. Because there are points of overlap, however, they have been re-

ordered and numbered for clarity here, although the original wording is retained. Each is followed

by a statement of response as developed by the steering committee for the Centre. Items in the

smaller font size are taken directly from the response that will be received in Senate. Discussion in

the larger font size, under

Comment to the Dean,

are intended for the Dean and other members of

the administration.

Recommendation 1.

"It seems clear that there must be additional "core faculty". Certainly at

least one person should be assigned full-time to the programme."

Response:

The Centre concurs. With more than 40 Majors and over 60 Minors, and

over 600 students enrolled annually in the Centre's courses, there are now

appreciable numbers of students committed to Canadian Studies. But there

are no faculty appointments.

Comment to the Dean:

?

The Steering Committee is unanimous in its

conviction that faculty should be appointed to the program, and in this we fully

support the reviewers' recommendation. This is one of the larger Centres in the

country in terms of its student enrolments and other activities, yet it is one of the

3

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4.

few Centres of consequence without its own faculty. The field is now well-

enough developed to provide the basis of faculty career development. Our

approach in recommending faculty would be to focus upon the strengths of the

program, which to date have, been in social, cultural and. political economy areas.

Recognizing that this is a difficult time to consider such appointments, it is

requested:

a)

that such academic staffing for the Centre be set as a matter of priority in

anticipation of the moment when faculty resources become available, and,

further, that such appointment(s) be made within a year.

During difficult times, such as the university faces just now, this may seem to be

a request that cannot be considered. But we are convinced that Canadian Studies

should be made a unit of priority: the field of study justifies such an allocation of

resources, given the climate of affairs in the country today; student demand is

consistently good; the, curriculum requires development and up-dating virtually

immediately, a process that cannot take place properly without faculty.

b)

that, in accordance with the review, at least one full-time appointment be made

(the Steering Committee's first priority) and other joint appointments also be

made. We are in a position to discuss either or both of these immediately, given

part

the identification

of other units

of

for

subject

a shared

area

position;

priority above, and the potential interest on the

?

Is

c)

that in the short term, and as a short term solution to the crisis of teaching staff

in the Centre, existing sessional lectureships be merged into lectureships.

(Evenden to Alderson, September 20th, 1995; Alderson to Evenden, September

26th, 1995) The September 20th memo suggested that two such lectureships be

formed. This is seen as a short-term move to allow the teaching program to be

stabilized while further planning Of the Centre and curriculum is undertaken. In

any case, the individuals involved must be considered for this.

(d) Beyond the short term, curriculum planning cannot occur without faculty

appointments.

Recommenndalion 2.

"A second full-time equivalent (position) should. be

assembled from faculty

members seconded on, a part-time basis from other departments."

Response

.

/

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The Centre concurs, recognizing that this will require discussion through

•

?

the Dean's office. Such a position would be advantageous in that it would

strengthen the interdisciplinary character of academic work in the

university through collaboration between units.

Comment to the Dean:

?

This

recommendation is addressed above (#1).

Recommendation

3.

"The programme needs the full-time services of the Programme

Assistant."

Response:

The Centre concurs.

Action has already been taken on this

recommendation in two ways: first, the hours have been extended from

17.5 to 21; second, circumstances have made it possible to keep the office

open on a full-time basis from December,

1995,

with the Assistant working

part-time for the Dean's office but from the Centre.

Comment to the Dean:

?

The Steering committee expresses appreciation of

the recent granting of extra hours for the Program Assistant and for the

arrangement by which the Centre can remain open on a full-time basis.

• The Committee also recommends that this position be changed from CUPE to

APSA. This would recognize the level of responsibility carried, especially in

respect of the advising of students and in the handling of their affairs, the

planning of course offerings, the hiring of sessionals, and the management of

finances and physical property of the Centre.

Recommendation 4.

"The Director's position

should be revitalized and (he/she should be) given

more time free of other duties."

Response

The Centre

concurs, noting that this would provide more time for academic

leadership in the Centre and liaison with the wider Canadian Studies

community of scholars in Canada and abroad. (Canadian Studies is now

taught in some 30 countries, and there is significant interaction at the

international scale.)

Comment to Dean:

In the realignment of SFU administrative positions,

carried out in 1992, (P & P - A 13.04) the position of Director was summarily

down-graded.

T

he steering committee agrees with the recommendation that it

should be restored to something close to its former level. Inevitably, the effect of

the down-grading is to deny the unit of its leadership.

5

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Future consideration should be given to having the Director perform some of

his/her teaching duties in Canadian Studies. This would go in the direction of

providing academic leadership. With the appointment of faculty, the issue of

leadership would partly resolve itself, recalling that the present Director's first

memo to the Dean on this subject, (Evenden to Brown, July 10, 1992 "Future

Plans ..." p.5) noted that any appointee should have the capability of becoming

Director at some stage.

Given the way in which Canadian Studies has developed, the Steering Committee

would note the importance of the Director's activities in linking the Centre and

SFU with the 'wider world'. At the national level SFU has been well-served in

this regard, Lorimer and Koroscil having served as president of the Association

for Canadian Studies and Seager as an elected member of the national board.

Evenden was recently elected to the board, succeeding Seager. International links

are being forged at a rapid pace through the ACS and the International Council

for Canadian Studies, and the Director is and must be

au. courant

with these

developments.

Through all this there is opportunity to bring the world to the students of SFU,

perhaps through regional links such as are forged by the Asia-Canada program,

thus linking with the Faculty of Arts recent initiatives and recognizing the work

already being done by Canadian Studies, through Continuing Studies, with the

Chinese interpreters' program; or with Latin America-Canada, overtures to us

having already been made; or Europe-Canada, an exchange program with a

university in Denmark already being in place, and connections with the Czech

Republic having been mooted; or the United States, where there is an exchange

program with our neighbour university, Western Washington, and with the

numerous Canadianists in universities throughout the US, especially in the Pacific

Northwest. And of course with the rest of Canada too. There is also some

potential for research and funding to be pursued.

Recommendation 5.

"The Director should be made a member of the Dean of Arts' Advisory

Committee."

Response

The Centre concurs and suggests the immediate implementation of this

recommendation.

Comment to the Dean: ?

The

Director reads the minutes of these meetings

carefully. But the Centre should have immediate access to the information and

discussion available in these meetings in the same way that it is available to other

i•)

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units. Further, he/she should have access to the DAC as a forum, as do other

units, to inform others and invite their participation in the work of the Centre.

Recommendation

6.

"The Steering Committee should ' be made more effectively representative.

Students and instructors ... should be included."

Response

The Centre

concurs. The Steering Committee has already invited student

representation. When permanent faculty are appointed they will certainly

be included in the committee.

Comment to the Dean:

?

This

recommendation also speaks to the issue of

the structure of the Steering Committee. It was pointed out in the review that the

Committee's function is only administrative. This is not quite accurate inasmuch

as this committee, throughout the history of the Centre, has initiated and

discussed all the academic issues concerning course development. Discussion

along these lines has recently been taken up again, as information in the self-study

relates.

Recommendation

7.

"The curriculum needs to be re-ordered with a view to more variety in core

courses, more emphasis upon projects which can be team-taught ... and

more emphasis at the upper level on courses in which students can be

involved in "hands-on" research, emphasising the view from British

Columbia."

Response

The Centre concurs. To mount

more courses is an issue of appointment of

faculty. Additional courses have been offered whenever it has been

possible, but in recent years these have not been enough to satisfy the

demand for them. Discussion has already been initiated over the question

of core courses.

Team-teaching was occasionally possible during the Program's earlier

years, but faculty have become unavailable for this in response to increased

pressures to keep them in their own busy home departments. This

highlights again the issue of resources.

Some" hands-on" research already occurs in classes and more would be

contemplated in an expanded curriculum. This would also focus the issue

of a BC perspective, although the Centre is also concerned to make sure

that BC students are introduced to perspectives wider than those provided

on a provincial base.

7

0

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The expression of opinion regarding a BC orientation reiterates the position

of the Steering Committee in its deliberations about curriculum revision.

Discussion along these lines began prior to the review and is reinforced by

the reviewers' recommendations.

?

Comment. to----,the Dean:

?

Discussion of the curriculum is in progress. It

has more or less reached the point where further discussion would be pointless

without attention to practical matters of implementation. But discussion of

implementation cannot be very effective unless the long term be considered. New

courses require faculty to be attached to them; without faculty new courses can

only be planned in a vacuum. This "Catch 22" is a major dilemma for the

Centre's planning process.

Recommendation

8.

"Attention needs to be paid to French language

needs."

Response

A basic competency in French is required for the Major, Honours and

Extended Minor degrees, and the Centre offers a certificate in French

Canadian Studies which also requires such competency. French is,

however, only recommended for the Minor. The reality is that students, on

the whole, take only the minimum requirement, and it is uncertain that the

requirement could be raised. The Centre has not been inattentive on this

matter.

?

Comment to the Dean:

?

Although there has been discussion of this matter

for many years, the Steering Committee feels that there is not much more in the

way of French language that can be required. Students interested in this go to the

French department where certain courses relating to Canadian French are

available. We should like to see the French Canadian Studies Certificate more

actively pursued, and some informal discussion with members of the French

department has been initiated to see whether Majors or Minors there might not be

encouraged to take the extra concentration that this Certificate represents. We

recognize, however, that degrees in French are already very structured and

intense.

?

Recommendation

9. ?

"There is a feeling of rootlessness among the

students which could be ameliorated by the development of a better

advising system. Each student should be provided with a faculty member

who will act as advisor and (who is) associated with the programme, and

another who is an academic associated with a discipline with which

the

student feels a strong tie."

Response

There is no denying the

feeling of rootlessness. The causes of

this, however, relate to the absence of faculty who can serve as role models

and mentors, and perhaps to the lack of a place to gather. On the latter

point, the Centre did have a common room for a number of years, but this

I

8

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More recently, bett

office-sized common

Humanities. While

attention in the last

satisfaction on this

Steering Committee

mentors would go

space problem.

the worst of the 'space-crunch' period in the 1980s.

r space has been provided, and students share an

I

room with other students in Women's Studies and

the physical part of this problem has thus received

year, it is obvious that students did not express

point to the reviewers . But it is the opinion of the

that the provision of faculty who would serve as

r long way to resolving this issue, beyond the mere

In the meantime, students, with encouragement from the Centre, have

formed themselves into an Association. As an illustration of their concern

and activity, it was Canadian Studies students who mounted a post-card

writing campaign, based at tables set out in the mall, to encourage

acquaintances and others in Quebec to vote NO in the recent referendum.

(The Peak ,

October 30th, 1995)

Recommendation 10.

"Enrolment is increasing. It would certainly be higher if it was not relying

mainly on chance and the efforts of the Programme Assistant. We

recommend a recruiting strategy be put in place."

Response

Courses are typically full at registration time, and waiting lists are

common.Demand cannot be demonstrated further when the capacity is

more or less filled every semester. Further enrolment is entirely dependent

upon the provision of more teaching resources. The Centre feels that the

best recruiting strategy for the time being is the one already employed:

superior teaching backed up by excellent advising and attention to the needs

of students.

A distinction must be drawn between enrolment in courses and the numbers

of students taking Canadian Studies as a Major or Minor, because different

strategies of recruitment would apply. The numbers of students committed

to Canadian Studies have increased substantially in the last half-decade.

Majors, on an annualized basis, now number in the mid 40s, while the

Minors number over 60. Enrolments have also increased, having been 598

in 1992/93, 637 in 93/94 and 640 in 94/95.

Afterword

(a) ?

The Centre feels that the most important points made by the reviewers are that

faculty appointments are needed immediately and that the curriculum should be further

developed as soon as possible. To work on the curriculum implies the presence of faculty,

and therefore the issue of faculty is the first priority.

The report notes that:

'These recommendations may be phased in over a reasonable period

of time but at least one full-time position should be added immediately."

0 ?

(b)

?

The reviewers conclude their recommendations with the following statement:

---

MCI

"This is a valuable and necessary programme which shows the university in a good light

and has a potential for generating new resources. But our recommendations refer to

additional resources which in our view must be forthcoming if the programme is not to lose

its credibility and, along the way, damage the university's credibility too."

?

is

Given the prominence of the reviewers, this would seem to be a statement to note.

S

0

---

I)DEPARTMENT OF FRENCH

CANADA

BURNABY,

V5A

BRITISH

1S6

COLUMBIA

Telephone:

Fax: (604) 291-5932

(604) 2914740

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

.

Burnaby, le 6 mai 1996

Dr. Evan Alderson

Dean of Arts

Simon Fraser University

Dear Evan,

you will find hereby the response of the Department of

French to the Canadian Studies Program External Review, and to

the first response of the Canadian Studies Steering Committee

done without consultation with the Department of French.

We all know that there are new directions proposed for the

Centre by different Faculty members of the Steering Committee,

but I would ask you meanwhile to forward the hereby response of

the Department of French to Scap with the External Review Report.

Finally, about the different views that seem to share the

Centre and the Department of French about the French

requirements, I already asked my Chair to call Len Evenden, and

told Len that I would be glad to have him invited at one of our

General Meeting, here at the French Department.

Sincerely,

Po

Guy Po ncr

Department of French

0

---

Response of the Department of French of Simon Fraser to the?

Report of the Programme Review of the

Simon Fraser Canadian Studies Programme

?

40

I. We would like first to express our disagreement with the

Response given by the Steering Committee of Canadian Studies to

the Recommendation no 8 of the Report. On the contrary, we think

there are many ways that higher French requirements could be

implemented. We offer a wide variety of courses in French

language, at every levels, and literary and linguistics courses

at the 200, 300, and 400 levels that could fit nicely in a

Canadian Studies programme (230, 342, 430, 431, 421, & 422)

II.

We do believe that the different recommendations made by the

external reviewers are similar to the ones made by the French

Department. Some precisions should be however made:

A.

In the Summary of the report, one can read:

"Attention needs to be paid to French Language needs," and we

always and still agree with such a statement.

B.

On page 13-4 of the report, the reviewers wisely

point out that French is not anymore thought in B.C. as it was

twenty years ago. Many students go through the immersion program

in High School, or the "programme cadre". In September, many

students from the Lower Mainland will also come from the new

"programme francophone" run by the new B.C. Francophone school

board. My point here is that those students could in many cases

register at the 200-level French Language Courses, and in many

cases take within one or two semesters Fren 230, an introductory

course to French Canadian Literature, cinema, and culture that

will give them an interdisciplinary overview of what the Canadian

Francophonie is all about.

C.

Finally, we also agree with the Reviewers'

recommendation about the need to strengthen the participation of

the French Department to the Canadian Studies Steering Committee,

but a minimal gesture would be for the Centre to accept to

negociate the raise of the French Requirements or a similar

agreement with our Department that could lead to a better

knowledge of the an official language of our country, but also of

a better understanding of the culture of French speakers in

British Columbia, and in Canada.

Finally, I should add that we do not ignore, here at the

Department of French, that a certain resentment can appear when

the teaching of French language or culture is mentioned, but we

do believe that a Canadian Studies Centre should be the best

place where such stereotypes could be studied and fought. Shall

we also add that to be more aware of the different aspects of the

life of a first minority is the step towards a global change in

our own vision, as Canadians, of tolerance and multiculturalism?

Document prepared by Guy Poirier

Assistant Professor

Department of French

?

0

4.

---

1

To: ?

David

GagarI,'VP

Academic; Chair of SCAP

From:

?

-Len Evenden, Director, Centre for Canadian Studies

Re:

?

Response to SCAP meeting of June 5th, 1996

Date: ?

July 5th, 1996

I attach a response to the meeting with SCAP. This represents my own reaction

and attempt to inform -- and proselytize -- and does not represent an official

position of the Centre's Steering Committee. However, that committee, I am

pretty certain, would say much of what I say here, and perhaps even more

strongly.

We feel that the Centre has contributed a great deal to the university over the

years. It is demonstrably healthy in terms of its appeal to students and it has good

-- even better than good -- potential in course and degree development. Potential

is also to be found in areas of research and public involvement. Evidence of the

need for the work and approach of Canadian Studies may be seen in that this is no

longer a unique program in BC, and there are some high profile developments at

other institutions across the country. The external reviewers said as much and

pin-pointed the need for resources and development to keep SFU's program up-

to-date and "competitive".

Although the work of the Centre must be developed in the Faculty of Arts, it

seems useful to communicate in this way so that SCAP, which is drawn from

across the university, might have a larger understanding of the Centre for (and

field of) Canadian Studies. Dean Alderson is aware that I am communicating in

this way. I should appreciate it if you would agree to copy this to SCAR

cc. Dean Alderson

JUN 10 1996

?

Vice pr:;-it

?

ACADEMIC

---

1 -

Thank you for the opportunity to discuss matters relating to the Centre for

Canadian Studies.

I had not realized that the committee would have so little contextual

material or background knowledge about the field of

- Canadian Studies and

the SFU program. I am uncertain whether SCAP received copies of the

"self-study"; I think the reviewers' report would not make much sense

without access to this study. Because SCAP comprises colleagues from a

variety of scholarly backgrounds who must together come to understand

each program as it is presented, let me make a few points that seemed to

arise from the discussion in the committee. This memo is written in

response to the discussion with SCAP on June 5th.

1. What is Canadian Studies, and how did it come

to be what it is?

This is a field that had its formal university (and other educational) origins

in Canada in the early 1970s. Its manifesto document,

To Know Ourselves,

by Professor T. Symons, commissioned by the Association of Universities

and Colleges of Canada (AUCC), was written following extensive

consultation in universities and other circles across the country, including

here at SFU.

The Symons Report documented how, at the time of rapid university

expansion during the 1960s. the study of Canada was seriously neglected.

Further the "production' of Canadian scholars was judged to be

insufficient, a circumstance tied to the necessity for Canadians to go abroad

for advanced study in many disciplines. So the establishment of research-

based scholarship was at issue. (The work of the Canada Council to

promote research and advanced study was only in its early stages.)

But as disciplines in the social sciences (in particular) were being

established in stronger and more independent form, and supported by the

Canada Council in these efforts, it was feared that disciplinary voices

would begin to drown out the traditional discourse about Canada. When,

formerly, the universities were much smaller, and there were fewer of

them, this discourse had been quite broad in character within such

academic homes as History. Geography, and Political Economy; in turn,

this had been supported by such broadly-based journals as the Canadian

Journal of Economics and Political Science. New growth was not feared

because it was new; rather, the question was, how would the new

scholarship illuminate our understanding of Canada?

---

At the same time, and in addition, a new literary voice was emerging. But

there was little place for it in existing curricula. In my own experience as

an undergraduate at McMaster University in the late 1950s, there was only

one course that dealt with Canadian literature in English, and that as a tag-

on to, a term two-thirds filled with the study of United States authors.

What was significant in the period of the early 1950s, however, was the

growing concern for these issues, concern that provided the context for the

Royal Commission on National Development in Arts, Letters and Sciences

(the Massey Commission), reporting in 1951, and, coincidentally, the

establishment of the National Library in

1953.

Following the Massey

Report new hopes and expectations developed concerning the arts and

social sciences in particular, and it was in this atmosphere of "rising

expectations" that certain developments began to occur. In addition to the

all-important passage of the Canada Council Act (1957), a couple of "for

instances" may be mentioned by way of illustration.

Close to home, and just two years before SFU was founded, the first

Creative Writing Department in the country was established under Earle

Birney at UBC. The Governor General's literary awards were taken over

administratively in 1959, by the Canada Council, and given new emphasis

0 ?

and stature. The impulse to interdisciplinary writing and scholarship was

recognized in these awards, as is illustrated in the case of my own doctoral

supervisor who, while holding the position of Chief Geographer of Canada

in the federal civil service, von the GG's medal for poetry. Conversely,

Earle Birney's poetry can be quite geographical: "What's So Big About

Green?" is arguably one of the more powerful Canadian statements of the

environmental credo. To-day, the advocacy and public profiles of such

authors as Margaret Atwood. dau

g

hter of a University of Toronto natural

scientist, continues the discourse.

(Indeed, Margaret Atwood spoke in the Geo

g

raphy Department here at SFU some years

ago, as part of a Canadian Landscapes series of lectures offered with the English

Department, with Canada Council funding for the jointl

y

sponsored series. Others who

spoke in that series included Earle Birnev, Doroth

y

Livesav (poet), Barr

y Lord

(philosopher and art historian), John Warkentin (historical and cultural

g

eo g rapher of the

prairies), Peter Clibbon (cultural geograph

y

of Quebec), and Donald Putnam (long lime

head of Geography at the Universit

y

of Toronto, and scholar of regionalism and its

application in policy).

When higher education was rapidly expanding during the 1960s, a new

impetus was provided in western Canada by the coming together of young

faculty at SFU to form the first program in Canadian Studies in BC, and

indeed the only such program until the 1990s when UBC established both a

---

program and

an

endowed

Chair,

SFU's

early prQgr

..

rn

was

later

transformed into the Centre for Canadian Studies, with the active support

of the university administration, Elsewhere, analogous d

eve

l

o p ments

took

place. For example, under the auspices of the History Department of the

University of Calgary, se's eral interdisciplinary Canadian Studies

conferences were held, and papers published, the energy coming from a

young historian now well-known at SFU. Canadian Studies has gone on to

become an active and productive unit at that university, with

its

own

faculty.

This is enough to point out the growing movement of the time to recognize

the necessity of Canadian scholarship about Canadian matters. But, with

the growth of the higher educational system as a whole, the question of

fragmentation and specialization was seen to be a looming problem in that

the focus on Canada. as Symons documented, could be all too easily lost

In short, this led to the formation of the national scholarly society

(Association of Canadian Studies) with its publication series

C'cviadian.

Issues, devoted to scholarship of an interdisciplinary character, and its

Bulletin,

a

publication of commentary. The

Journal of Canadian Studies,

affiliated with but not an organ of the association, was founded at Trent

University. Further,

through

the Department of the Secretary of State-

(now the Department of Heritage), the federal government came to support

the field by funding research and generating scholarly interest in Canadian

matters internationally. Now there is an International Council for

Canadian Studies that co-ordinates this international effort, sponsors

an

academic journal and a widely disseminated newsletter.

It is worth pointing out that provinces, under the BNA Act, are mandated

to provide the institutional infrastructure for education, But only Quebec

provides for Quebec Studies, that is, a place where students can study the

question of Quebec

per Se.

And in this they also study Quebec in relation

to the rest of Canada. BC does not do this, although I think it would be a

good idea, as do the external reviewers, and in this connection it should be

possible to

bring

back the BC Studies Certificate.

(I

think this could be

done within Canadian Studies, quite conveniently and successfully.)

But Canada as a nation, having no educational mandate, cannot directly

engage

the

issue of support for programs within institutions, and so has

developed ways of providing for and integrating scholarship at the national

level by such mechanisms as the research-granting councils, more recently

the centres of excellence, and also through the support of Canadian Studies

separately from the councils. A constitutional barrier thus exists to the

clear articulation of what Canadian Studies is about, except as it is

3,

---

articulated by individuals who feel that they should attempt to make a

contribution in this direction. Their collective effort over a generation has

now been summarized in the volume that succeeds the Symons Report of

the 70s, namely the Cameron Report, released earlier this year.

(Taking

Stock. Canadian Studies in the Nineties)

This follows several conferences

and publicationson relevant issues.

(Canada. TheoreiicalDiscourse,

Interdisciplinarily; ...

etc.) and will focus the agenda for renewal that is

currently under discussion

2. What is the situation at SFU, and

why

should

the program be expanded and developed to a higher

level?

The immediate impact of SFU's program development a generation ago

was to give impetus to the establishment of Canadian-content courses across

the university. There is an untracked set of connections here, but I know

that there was such an impact. This is a widely-acknowledged point, as

implied in Dean Alderson's remarks in SCAP. The point is often made for

other universities as well.

• ?

The second impact, easier to track, was the establishment of the Centre

itself. But for reasons beyond my comprehension, the work of the Centre

is perceived by some to have stagnated.

I do not understand this perception, nor can I agree with it. Canadian

Studies has, in fact, established itself as a popular program for students,

with enrolments consistently good, even outstanding, considering available

resources. The quality of its teaching is notably good, as the

documentation every semester shows. More to the point, and beyond mere

documentation, word gets around, and students keep coming. Its

enrolments are consistently among the highest in the Interdisciplinary

group in the Faculty of Arts -- although this may be partly a function of

the allocation of resources to the various units -- and even compares

favourably with one or two departments. Its courses have become

important to the university's Distance Education efforts (and courses in that

format are currently being revised). Its students' GPAs would compare

favourably with any unit in the Faculty, even given the necessity.to

satisfy

the standards of several departments. Indeed, the quality of student was a

point of particular notice by the external reviewers.

• ?

This favourable picture has been maintained -- even developed further --

in the face of the loss for a couple of years of sessionals (made up to a

_. ?

i•

4

---

degree more recently); the necessity to trade away TAships in order to

retain a sessional position; for students the enforced taking of required

courses through the distance education format; the down-grading of the

Director's position; and a half-time office until the most recent academic

year. (There is now a very welcome arrangement whereby the office has

been made a three day-a-week operation; further, by agreement, it can stay

open on an almost full-time basis, for this calendar year, by assisting the

Dean's office beyond the three days officially assigned. Another

favourable development has been the assignment of more and better space.)

In terms of what some like to call 'demand", Canadian Studies has been

able to show what I call "commitment" in addition to "demand". The

distinction is quantitative versus qualitative: "demand" refers to mere

enrolments, which are about as high as they can be without more

resources; "commitment' refers to the enthusiasm of students to declare a

Major, Joint Major, Minor or Extended Minor program. Since 1992 there

has been a near doubling of students having a program commitment to

Canadian Studies by virtue of their signing up in one of these categories.

There has also been one Honours graduate, and currently another student is

taking the Honours option.

(We are approached from time io time about graduate work. Upon learning that there is no

C

?

program, people express surprise and disappointment. In fact there are two

graduate students, both from outside Canada and both close to

g raduation, who enrolled at

SFU because of our commitment to Canadian Studies. One is a doctoral candidate, the

other an M.A. in Education, and they were able to enrol because of special arrangements

and Education's own entry system. I am pretty certain there is potential in this area, as

other universities, to m

y

certain knowledge, are exploring.)

Further, as noted in the SCAP meeting, certain areas of scholarship have

been successfully pursued, drawing attention to the Centre and to SFU. My

predecessor, Rowland Lorimer, suggested and helped to find sponsorship

for the research and publication of the now quite well-known book

Hockey

Night in Canada,

by Rick Gruneau of the Communications Department.

This supports not only our own course on popular culture, but others in

other institutions, and has sold widel

y

both in Canada and abroad. Further,

Michael Howland's textbook

The Political Economy of Canada,

grew out of

the second year course in Canadian Studies. More recently, through my

own involvement in chairing the university's committee to recognize the

Burnaby Centennial, the Centre for Canadian Studies, along with the

Community Economic Development Centre, released a book of essays on

Burnaby -- about which remarkably little has been written. This has led to

notices and reviews in the local press and a Midday interview spot on the

CBC. (In another context I have also been a guest on the Morningside

0

---

show with Peter Gzowski on the subject of Canadian Studies.) Later this

year, or early next year, another volume will be released. This will

represent refereed contributions to the

MountainWesi Canadian. Studies

Conference: Alternative Frontiers,

organized by the Centre and held at

Harbour Centre in 1994. For these and other reasons, when I attend the

Learned Societies, or meet colleagues in other venues, I learn that the "eyes

of the world" are upon us -- and our reputation is good.

In terms of institutional development, it was pointed out in SCAP that the

current program in publishing, located at Harbour Centre, while having no

formal link with Canadian Studies, was in fact born and nurtured in its

early days as a Canadian Studies project. And if one wants to go further

back, the Institute for Fisheries Analysis was also fostered in its early

conception as a functioning part of Canadian Studies, with the intention that

it would become separate at the stage when its founder left the Canadian

Studies Directorship. Currently, although it did not happen this way, the

Asia-Canada program, developed in the Faculty of Arts, might easily have

been placed with Canadian Studies, both for convenience, possibly cost-

saving(?), and certainly for the ability of Canadian Studies to activate its

numerous possibilities of interaction with the now-sizable community of

Canadianists in Asia. In fact, much of the rationale for this program

i

nsounded/read like part of the rationale for Canadian Studies itself. Long

before this program was established, Canadian Studies became involved

with, and continues to be active in, the program for technical interpreters

from Chinese language areas. Other international connections involve

exchange programs with a Danish university and with the Western

Washington University. Canadian Studies has also taken a preliminary and

co-operative part in recent "cross-border" initiatives with both American

and Mexican universities. In short, and in addition to points about

teaching made above, Canadian Studies has demonstrated its potential as a

crucible for program development. Indeed, in this respect, it is a "vessel"

awaiting further university assignment. Stagnating, the Centre is not!

3. Program development

Turning to the program itself: in preparation for the external review, the

Steering Committee developed

afrarnework

for curriculum review. The

existing program contains a group of core courses and lists of approved

courses from other departments. Joint majors and minors have been

worked out with a number of other units.

0

6

---

7,

To develop the curriculum requires either-that we link more with other

units or focus on a specifically-developed interdisciplinary program within

Canadian Studies. Our position is in fact a compromise.

?

0

There is an ideal, expressed early at SFU, that the Centre should be merely

a co-ordinating agent, to bring together faculty for team-teaching

(mentioned by the reviewers), and to provide lists of appropriate courses

from across the university. Some team-teaching was undertaken in earlier

years, and certain voices still sometimes assert that that is the only way to

pursue this enterprise and build a "Canadian Studies community".

It would be good to have more faculty involvement from across the

university, but the ideal of team-teaching is outdated both for practical and

academic reasons. On the practical side, chairs of departments are (or

should be!) indifferent to releasing faculty for sessional replacements.

Only if they can be paid something extra will they willingly give up their

regular faculty to a "marginal" unit. But to pay something extra would

seem a difficult prospect in times of budgetary shortfall, especially if it

became necessary to maintain such a subsidy. The other way to effect this

is through salary differential. But not only would this general approach

require negotiation time for all concerned, it would mean that participating

departments would have to reconcile themselves to using sessionals instead

of their own regular tenured or tenure-track faculty -- who were in fact

appointed to teach in their disciplines where there expertise lies. This is a

clear academic implication of the practical issue of resource allocation, and

I for one, after some reflection, have come to the conclusion that I would

not be happy to direct a unit that

had to depend

upon such an approach to

acquiring faculty from other units.

Further, and directly on the academic side, unless there is a concerted (and

inevitably energy-draining) effort to work out teaching strategies, team-

teaching falls apart. Participants more or less lapse into presenting

disciplinary material, the connections being seen only by virtue of

juxtaposition. Indeed, this is precisely what happened before, if the course

to which I was attached is anything to go by. In brief, I do not think team-

teaching has staying power unless special circumstances obtain.

Another reason why this approach would probably fail is that the work of

the Centre can, and does, extend beyond simply the teaching of courses.

There is potential for the Centre to spread its wings in a variety of ways,

and borrowed faculty will not make this happen. But faculty who have a

career stake in the field, and in the Centre, will make it happen.

,,.,.

---

Lastly, in my view disciplinary scholars do not easily convert to doing

interdisciplinary work on a systematic and long-term basis. One is better,

as a practical matter, to search for those whose scholarship and interests

are interdisciplinary to begin with. And it is now possible to find such

people, especially among younger scholars. Two factors lie behind this: a

recognition among younger scholars that disciplinary boundaries are

artificial (indeed, many are quite skeptical about them), and the tendency of

disciplines themselves to be more broadly-based in recognition of the

expansion of knowledge and scholarly methods. But where in the

university can students pursue the studies implied by this, if the desired

focus is upon Canada? Not, for the most part, in long-established

departments, the structures of which have more or less ossified. (Note the

fate of the attempts to establish

integrated

environmental studies, or Latin

American Studies for that matter.)

Rather, it is to the newer fields (not disciplines) that students can turn. At

SFU consider Criminology, Communications, Contemporary Arts,

Humanities, Kinesiology and Natural Resource Management -- all stuffed

with faculty of diverse qualification, all in great "demand" at all levels of

instruction, and not one of them being an "original" in the university. The

lesson for Canadian Studies is that the Centre should have a core faculty of

individuals whose careers are staked on making connections in

interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary ways. The identity of the field is

now widely known and accepted, even considered essential in a number of

quarters. Journals and societies are in place as publication outlets and for

professional recognition; trained scholars are available; and students want

the opportunities thus represented. Last but not least, and possibly the most

important, the community at large appears to want this. The country is at a

crossroads in the search for an understanding of itself. There is a huge gap

in the university world where the necessary issues can be pin-pointed and

examined in scholarly ways across the various fields of knowledge. Surely

this must be at the forefront of the university's mandate, and not merely

for civic duty alone, but also because there is a distinctive Canadian

scholarship.

4. How do we rate, and where do we stand?

SFU has had its Canadian Studies program in place for a generation. It has

momentum and one of the better reputations. About four years ago UBC

established its program for the first time. It is smaller than ours but it

• ?

exists and gets a certain academic notice as well as publicity. They have

also established an endowed Chair for a distinguished scholar. McGill

University has recently established, with ten million Bronfman dollars (!),

8

---

the Institute for the Study of Canada, with a high profile and full-time

director and staff. They already dominate the made-for-TV discussion

forum. Waterloo (our Maclean's magazine rival, it should be noted) has

just this year established the Stanley. Knowles Chair of Canadian Studies,

with a very high profile announcement made in the Parliament buildings in

Ottawa. UVic has recently made enquiries of SFU Distance Education

about the availability of our (SFLJ's) courses for their use in overseas

markets (a subject not dealt with in the external review, but one that is on

my mind). UNBC has a nascent interest in Canadian Studies within their

International Studies framework. I should like to avoid giving away the

benefits of our work to other institutions, but clearly the competition is

mounting out there, and it will not be very long before other universities in

BC rival us for our historical dominance. SFU has the clear lead. But we

shall not keep it without due attention to developing the program.

Further, as evidence of the developing depth of Canadian Studies in BC, I

can confidently say that serious proposals for programs in Canadian Studies

are in the works at both Douglas College (our direct feeder institution) and

the University College of the Cariboo. I should expect the issue of transfer

credits to appear within the next few semesters.

S.

A parting case in point

What do I say to a student who wants to know about the academic study of

ethnicity in twentieth century Canada? There is no Department of Ethnic

Studies in any university in the country that I know of. And while

colleagues in various departments mi

g

ht claim to have substantially

complete understandings based in their disciplines, we all know that the

answers are all over the map.

Answers have to do with the obvious claims for a "founding peoples"

approach. But, in addition, answers have to do with federal policy

(Clifford Sifton's ministerial sponsorship of eastern Europeans to the

prairies, involving everything from the study of soil science and climate to

languages and religion

--

the study of wheat rust is as much a social science

as it is physical); with industrial location factors, tariffs and sponsorship of

labour migration (GM's takeover of Canadian auto and parts

manufacturing in St. Catharines in the 1920s and their sponsorship of

Armenian workers in the 1940s); Portuguese industrial labour in central

Montreal a generation ago, and recent Portuguese agricultural

entrepreneurs of the Okanagan valley; the impact of the newfound ability

of "Orientals" to vote in BC after World War II; the absence of citizens of

Japanese ancestry in BC since the war as compared with before it; the

---

place(s) of native peoples; how various peoples of European background

have " become "

mainly "English"; and how "near-Canadians" such as

Americans and Newfoundlanders (before 1948) have traditionally "blended

in"; the listgoes on. The answers are in numerous literatures, from the

social sciences, geography and history to the literary and religious. They

are certainly not in any one discipline. The students want to know the

answers, and how to approach the answers, which they already know are

not solely to be found in departments. And they are enthusiastic for the

subject matter but impatient with institutional impediments. Let's

strengthen a unit whose job it is to deal with issues of diverse knowledge

from interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary perspectives

10

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.

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---

Simcn Fraser University'--

DeDariment Profile -- Centre for Canadian Studies

1991/92

1992/93

1993/94

1994/95

1990/91

A.

Underoraduate Enrollment

Lower Division

333

381

347

358

321

Upper Division

189

208

251

279

319

Total Undergraduate Ei ollmen

522%

589

598

637

B.

Student FTE

Underoraduate

52.47

64.03

69.43

72.00

71.00

Graduate

TotálFTE:

64.03:

,69.43

C.

Annualized Reoistered Majors

33

42

39

46

43

D.

Annualized Reoistered Minors

38

57

70

67

63

E.

New Aoorovals (Fiscal Year)

Majors

15

13

15

19

14

Minors

22

30

26

35

16

F.

Annualized Graduate Headcount

Masters

PhD

Qualifying

Special

'Total C ad..ate }-eadcount

G, Budoeted Academic & Suoøo1 Staff FT--

CFL

Lab Instructors

Total Academic

APSA

Secretarial/Clerical

?

0.50

?

0.50 ?

0.50

?

0.50 ?

0.50

Technical

Trades

Total Suppo1 Staff

?

0.50

?

0.50 ?

0.50

?

-

?

0.50 ?

0.50

Total Acadernic& Suppo Staff ?

0.50 ?

... ?

0.50 ?

. 0.50

.

. ?

0.5D. :

Explanatory notes on

pp

6-7. ?

November 6,1995 -- Page 1

---

U

C

C

?

Ai.

-

^

i

ll ^4

ASSOCIATION FOR CANADiAN STUDIES

?

V

o

l.

i, No.1

?

ASSOCIATION D'ETUDES CANAD1ENNES

?

Le Rapport Cameron est lance

L

e

lancement officlej du

rZ

ippon tant aitendu du

tofesseur

David

Cameron.

Le

piiini

cur h's Inc/es canuo

,

iennes -

Les :niiées 1

9

90.

a cu lieu

Ic

13 février dernier

i

la B hliothque natioimle du C:nada.il Ottawa.

L'évuemeni tait piéidé par I .\dminiirarice nraIe de

Li

B

NC.

Madame Marianne Scott. qui a accueifli plusicur invites spéciaux. dont des

membres du Conseil d'admi III stratjon de

I'AEC. Ic

professeur Cameron.

M. T.H.B.

Symons. auteur de

Se

connaiire

.•

it' )(.7iJi1

de

In Commission vcr

It's

eiude.v rancuIu-'m'.r.

N I.

Roch

Carrier.

direc:cir du

Conseil des arts du

Canada. et la dputCe Bervi Gaffne

y

qui rc:r.seniait le v1inisire du

Patri moi

ne canadic

ii.

Beatrice

Kowaliczko. ancienne directrice

?

nerale de ]',AEC.

a

aninie une

?

table-ronde

t

laquelle participaient

Ic professeur Cameron.

Christopher Dunn

'

Cameron Report Launched in Style

D \'

aid Cameron's much nticipaed report.

TaJ:: Dock: Cwnuliwi Studies

in i/ic

was

launched

in

st

y

le

at the National Librar

y

of Canada

in

Ottawa on Februar

y

13. ?

40/

77J, /

J /7

The event

was hoied b

y

National Librarian M::Hannc

Scott and

welcomed

a

number

of

peciaI

uesis. 1

11clu

dill

-

L ,

mcnihers of the .Association's hoard.

Professor

Cameron.

T.H

B

Symons. author

of

To Know Ourselves.

Rocli

Carrier,

head of the Canada Council. nnd M.P. Bervl Gaffne

y

. rcprescntin

the

Minister ot Canadian Herilace.

-i)

,

?

.

DOSSIER

Canadian Studies ih the

Nineties

Les etudes canadiennes

dans les annCes 90

Les énides Cflna(IieJlnes .

an

progrès. mais dans queue

direction ?

PAR FERNA'D

HARVEY...........

11

Taking Stock:

The

Next

Steps

BY CHRISTOPHER

Du, ..........1

3

A Personalized Review

BY RO\VLAND LORIMER...........

14

The Cameron

CO-OP.

BY

JOHN

\VADLAND ... .. ............

16

Refleclions

on David

Cameron'

s

Taking Stock

BY

PAUL

GALLAGHER .............

18

A Response to David

Cameron's

Taking Stock

BY Tom GERRY......................

19

Quelques colnnieivaires sur

le

Rapport Cameron

PAR JEAN LAFONTANT.............

20

Taking Stock:

Comments

from the

Report's

Lji,ich

BY

L.J.

EVENDEN...................

22

Wow":

.4 Student's Take

on

Taking Stock

BY JERALYNE

MANWEILER......24

Taking Stock of

Taking Stock

BY

ANDREw

ROEB ................. 26

Brief

News /

Nouvehles brèies ..................

28

Conferences

/ Congrès.........

41

---

SCAP9632

• ?

Office of the Registrar

MEMORANDUM

To:

?

Members of the Senate Committee on Academic Planning

From: ?

Alison Watt

Subject: ?

External Review of Canadian Studies

Date: ?

29 May, 1996

Attached are the following documents prepared in connection with the External Review of

Canadian Studies:

• ?

The Report of the External Review Committee (including one page summary)

• ?

The Response prepared by the Canadian Studies Steering Committee

• ?

Comments from the Department of French

The site visit of the Review Committee took place at the end of March 1995 and the report was

received in June 1995. The development of a response was delayed by illness and consideration

by SCAP was further delayed by a conflict between the SCAP meeting time and Dr. Evenden's

teaching schedule. Dr. Evenden will be attending SCAP to comment on the report.

Attachments: 3

?

4L.QQ

0

---

I

LI

1

2FLE .SIMcW 1W4 ELF?

?

41V 3I4JT

S I'

(fDIJS 1J? 0 G14 MM

E ?

z-t cif tIi.

?

Viitiri ?

cmmittee

Leslie Armour

Beatrice Kowaliczko

Greg Kealey

I

rit

x

ri.1 ?

m

Clyde Reed

1i E4J413 L F

.

This is a successful programme with 35 majors who can draw on the

substantial resources of a number of strong departments in the

social sciences and the humanities. The students we met are more

than ordinarily articulate, intelligent, and well-focused.' But the

programme is also desperately short of internal resources. Recently

All three of the outside reviewers made special note of the

excellence of the students who were interviewed. When the reports

were put together, most of the overlap was edited out but the

remarks about the students were left in to underline their

importance. Simon Fraser evidently competes very effectively for

students who are self-motivated and capable of managing their own

affairs -- characteristics of the students we interviewed. The

university has a reputation for recruiting such students. Self-

motivated students are really necessary for inter-disciplinary

programmes and it is not surprising that some of them are attracted

to Canadian Studies. The university must take pride in these

students and ought to make a point of pointing out to prospective

employers that such students necessarily have many qualities which

employers seek but there is a limit to what can be expected, even

of them.

0

---

4

.

core courses have often been given only in a "Distance

Education" format. Its students rarely see one another,

and lack an arena in which to make their needs known. Its

administrators are over-worked and frequently engaged in

other activities. On some days the Centre is virtually

empty (of faculty and students) apart from an occasional

tutor-marker. 2

This is not the result of sloth or neglect

of duty. Nothing in this report is meant to be critical

of the overworked programme administrators for whom

everyone we met had respect and affection. If there are

things they haven't done, it is because they simply could

not do them in the time they had available.

The significance of any Canadian Studies programme lies

in its interdisciplinarity. Just how this fitting

together of the disciplines is to take place must depend

on the actual interests of participating faculty members

• and on the interests and motivations of the students. But

one can readily think of two forms which a relevant

interdisciplinarity might take.

One is a focus on a conception of Canada which makes use

of the different disciplines so as to bring them all to

bear on interlocking and overlapping subjects. The other

is an enquiry into the forms of the disciplines

themselves. The justification for the first focus is that

the

?

culture,

?

history, ?

and ?

politics ?

of ?

British ?

Columbia ?

have all been shaped by a special and distinct relation

to the rest of Canada and the outside world. Students

seeking to understand their own country have a real need

to

?

unravel the

?

tangles ?

of this ?

relationship. ?

The

justification for the

?

second ?

focus is ?

that the

?

social ?

sciences and humanities have a distinctive history in

2

This is a term coined for instructors who mark

correspondence papers, respond to telephone calls, and

act as an interface between the students and course

supervisors in the "distance education" programme.

---

.

Canada. The inevitable internationalization of those

disciplines has given them a new shape. The replacement

of "political economy" by economics and political science

is one example. The interaction of the study of English

literature with theoretical structures developed in

Europe and the United States provides another. The

transformed disciplinary shapes do not always exhaust the

possibilities or serve perfectly to bring to light the

peculiarities of Canadian problems. Fitting the

disciplines together in terms of the Canadian data is

therefore a necessary activity.

But

interdisciplinarity

in ?

the

?

Canadian ?

Studies

Programme

at

Simon

?

Fraser ?

is

to ?

be

?

found

mainly ?

in

the

?

'core

courses'. ?

Students ?

face

alone

?

the

burden ?

of

discovering

the

inter-relations ?

of

the

?

subject

matters

themselves

if

these ?

courses

are ?

taught

essentially

through

correspondence fleshed out with occasional telephone

contact with the tutor-markers -- young people mainly

engaged in graduate studies whose own preparations tend

to lie within a single discipline.

Whatever interdisciplinary research there is in the

relevant fields apparently takes place most of the time

independently of the Centre, and faculty members from

different disciplines, if they meet at all, rarely do so

under the aegis of the

Canadian

Studies Programme. (The

programme's steering committee meets once a term or so

and does bring people together but it does this for

administrative purposes. Its main

functions

are formal

curriculum

planning

and the kinds of quality control

which go with such committees of "overseers".)

These issues and the key question of staffing will figure

strongly in the recommendations which form the conclusion

0

---

fl

.

4

to our report.3

I. ORGANIZATION OF THE PROC1LAMtIE

In this section we will touch briefly on the main

organizational features of the programme. Its aim is to

focus on and delineate issues which will be explored in

greater length later.

As we said in the Preamble, the greatest strength of this

programme

?

lies ?

in ?

its ?

students,

both ?

in

?

terms ?

of ?

their

numbers ?

and ?

their ?

enthusiasm.

Simon ?

Fraser ?

University

currently ?

runs ?

one ?

of ?

if ?

not

the ?

largest ?

programme ?

in

Canadian ?

Studies ?

in ?

the

?

country.

Moreover, ?

on ?

the ?

basis

of ?

our ?

meeting ?

with ?

students ?

and ?

their ?

course ?

instructors

we ?

are ?

of ?

the ?

opinion ?

that

these ?

students ?

are ?

lively,

articulate, ?

and ?

committed ?

to ?

Canadian ?

Studies ?

-- ?

a ?

credit

to ?

the ?

Programme ?

and ?

to ?

SFU.

Indeed ?

they ?

have ?

to ?

be

because

?

to ?

study ?

Canada

in ?

the ?

interdisciplinary

framework ?

of ?

the ?

Centre, ?

they

must

?

submit ?

themselves

?

to

various ?

serious ?

problems ?

which

we ?

hope ?

can

?

be ?

corrected

as ?

a

?

result ?

of ?

this ?

review ?

and

of ?

subsequent ?

discussions

at SFU.

For a very modest financial commitment

?

(an estimated

$115,106

for

1994/5),

the Dean of Arts and his Faculty

receive a programme which currently enrols some 80 to 90

students with

35

majors. (We should add that some

36%

oi l

almost

$42,000

of that budget comes from the Centre

for ?

Distance ?

Education.) ?

The

?

Dean's ?

contribution

3

The recommendations are, of course, strongly

prefigured in the report. One can guess at significant

ones even from the opening paragraph. But they are

gathered together at the end when the cumulative force

of our line of argument can be seen and where they can

be seen together.

it

---

.

?

5

consists only of a small stipend for the Director, a one-

course ?

release ?

for ?

the ?

Director, ?

a part-time

clerical/administrative ?

staff ?

person, ?

some

?

$25,000 ?

for?

operating, and about $40,000 in teaching funds.

In return for this modest expenditure the Centre offers

a B.A. and B.A.

?

(Honours) as well as joint major/honours

with ?

Anthropology,

?

Archaeology, ?

Business, ?

Communication,

Criminology, ?

Economics, ?

English,

?

Geography, ?

History,

Political Science, and Sociology. In addition students

are drawn from Education, Women's Studies, French,

Kinesiology, and Linguistics.4

Problems which need to be focused on involve:

1)

curriculum

2)

staffing

3)

administration

Here we will explain why they need attention; later we

will explore them in some detail.

A) Curriculum

There ?

seems ?

little ?

overall ?

rationale

?

to ?

the ?

courses

offered. This is not to detract in any way from the

quality of the individual courses, many of which seem

excellent, but rather to suggest that more thought needs

to be put into the development of a core curriculum which

progresses ?

from ?

level

?

to ?

level ?

building ?

towards

?

the

students' completion of the programme.

?

There is evidence

in ?

the ?

Centre's ?

report ?

that ?

such ?

reform ?

is ?

being

4

There are some absences in this list. One would expect closer

• ?

integration and joint degree programmes with Arts, French,

Linguistics, Philosophy, and Women's Studies.

---

.

??

6

considered and we would encourage it.

B)

Staffing

The major complaint we heard from all sides was that core

courses were not available as standard format university

courses but rather only through correspondence. While

we have no objection to correspondence courses

per

Se,

indeed we highly commend the availability of the

programme in distance formats for students who can't

attend SFU in "customary" ways, we nevertheless must

criticize the use of this course format as a substitute

for offering regular SFU students the experience of the

personal interaction of lectures and tutorials

?

with

regular faculty and other students. In addition, we note

that almost no "regular" Simon Fraser faculty teach in

the programme, which we regard as highly unusual and

regrettable.

?

Again this is not meant as a critique of

the current instructors

difficult circumstances,

that the Director of

Steering Committee, and

be involved in teachi

Studies courses.

who have done a fine job in

?

but rather to suggest strongly

?

the Programme, members of the

?

other Canadianists 5

at SFU must

?

ng or co-teaching core Canadian

The students we met deserve the chance to interact with

each other and with Canadian Studies faculty in the

enriched environment of the classroom and common room.

C) Administrative

5

The term "Canadianist" is routinely used for academics whose

main concerns are with Canadian subject matters, no matter what their

disciplines. They are not necessarily all involved with Canadian

Studies. Though ugly, the term seems to be established in the

0

?

industry.

---

lu

. ?

2

We feel that the Centre, if properly restructured, needs

the full-time commitment of at least one person. Ideally,

indeed, ?

it ?

needs ?

a ?

full-time ?

Director ?

with ?

teaching

responsibility ?

in ?

the ?

Programme ?

and ?

one ?

faculty ?

member

whose

?

basic

?

appointment ?

is

?

in ?

Canadian ?

Studies, ?

though

this ?

might ?

be ?

attained ?

in

?

two

?

stages

?

and

?

we

?

shall

?

suggest

possible ?

combinations ?

as ?

we ?

go ?

along.

6

?

The ?

Director

merits ?

the ?

status ?

of ?

a ?

Department ?

Chairperson ?

and ?

should,

at ?

the ?

very ?

least, ?

be ?

incorporated ?

into ?

the ?

Dean ?

of ?

Arts'

Advisory ?

Committee. ?

(This ?

last ?

is ?

important ?

and ?

can ?

be

achieved

?

immediately.)

?

In

?

addition,

?

the

?

Programme ?

m&rits

a ?

full-time ?

Administrative ?

staff

?

person.

?

Currently

students ?

often ?

can ?

find ?

neither ?

Director ?

nor

Administrator ?

because ?

of ?

their ?

part-time ?

status. ?

This

is ?

no ?

way ?

to ?

run ?

a ?

programme ?

with ?

as ?

many ?

students ?

as

Canadian Studies already has.

Students

?

complained ?

bitterly ?

about ?

their ?

inability ?

to

enrol ?

in ?

cross-listed ?

Canadian ?

content ?

courses ?

offered

by

?

the

?

various ?

disciplines. ?

This ?

strikes ?

us ?

as ?

an ?

easily

corrected

?

administrative ?

problem. ?

Surely ?

students ?

in

interdisciplinary ?

programmes

?

should

?

have ?

equal

?

priority

with ?

departmental ?

najors ?

for ?

courses

?

necessary

?

to

?

their

programme. ?

Moreover, ?

the ?

lists ?

of ?

available

?

courses

should ?

be ?

reviewed ?

with ?

care ?

to ?

insure ?

their ?

ongoing

relevance ?

to ?

Canadian ?

Studies ?

and ?

to ?

identify ?

them ?

to ?

the

cognate ?

departments ?

and ?

instructors ?

as ?

Canadian ?

Studies

cross-listed ?

courses. ?

As ?

far ?

as ?

we ?

could ?

ascertain, ?

this

was ?

often ?

not ?

the ?

case ?

at ?

the ?

moment. ?

In ?

addition ?

all

prerequisites

?

for ?

such ?

courses ?

should ?

be ?

reexamined ?

in

light

?

of

?

the

?

courses' ?

role ?

in ?

the ?

Canadian ?

Studies

curriculum. ?

(Similarly ?

the

?

list

?

of

?

faculty ?

associated

with ?

the ?

Canadian ?

Studies ?

Programme

?

should ?

be

continuously reviewed.)

See the summary recommendations at the end of the report.

---

The ?

last ?

point ?

inevitably

?

leads ?

to

the ?

necessity of

involving ?

disciplinary

Canadianists ?

in

the ?

Centre.

The

current

?

steering ?

committee ?

structure ?

seems ?

inadequate for

that purpose and should

be reviewed.,

Finally ?

we

?

note ?

the

presence ?

of

?

adjunct ?

professors ?

about

whom ?

we

?

received

no ?

information

(C. ?

B. ?

Paris, P.

Stursberg). ?

Their

role ?

in ?

the

Centre ?

should be

clarified.

2. THE NATURE

or THK GOALS _0! III

PROGRAMME AND THE EXTEWr TO WHICH _flj

PROGRAMNE IS MEETING ITS

GoAj

The pedagogical goal of the programme is the preparation of young

people with a broad and deep vision of Canada and an ability to

provide orderly assessments of the country's needs and prospects.

Such people are needed in our foreign service, in our political life, in

our federal public service, and in a wide range of enterprises which

require a national outlook. It is important that British Columbia should

provide its share of such people if British Columbians are to have

their point of view adequately represented. In terms of research, the

programme must have as its goals the generation of research across

disciplines and the kind of research which will enable the various

disciplines to develop in ways which are responsive to Canadian needs.

The students we met suggest that, even if the programme is under

stress, the pedagogical goals are being met in a way which should

make the Arts Faculty and the University proud. But resources are

stretched to if not beyond their limit.

As for research, there is every reason to believe that substantial

• research on Canadian subject matters does take place within the

faculty, though we are not in a position to quantify it. (Our opinion is

based on selected cv's, on people we met, on our acquaintance with

various scholars in the University, and on way the general public

regards the University.) It is also obvious that there is much

---

S.,

9

opportunity for the generation of new resources through the

sponsorship by the Centre itself of interdisciplinary research. No

doubt some such research already goes on, but it is not sponsored by

the Centre and it seems rarely to have its origins there. The Centre

should sponsor seminars and workshops which have as their aim the

bringing together of people in different departments whose interests

intersect or overlap. Fundable research projects should develop out

of some of these contacts and the available funds should provide

research assistants who can develop a grasp of interdisciplinary

research and train people who can serve as effective teaching

assistants in the core courses. Funds for such activities are in short

supply and the supply is becoming shorter, but a programme with a

clear focus on the relation of British Columbia to the rest of Canada

and the world would stand a more than fair chance of finding some

private support within the province, for there is real concern about

these questions among influential British Columbians. The Centre

should also sponsor meetings on the workings and shapes of the

various disciplines and their effectiveness for dealing with Canadian

subjects. Again this could lead to fundable research projects.

3. Tim STIJCTURZI BRUDm *

DEp m_r THs CIJRRICULLHI

As we said, the current curriculum (which is under review) consists

of a small number of core courses around which students build a

programme from the participating disciplines, Anthropology,

Archaeology, Business, Communication, Criminology, Economics, English,

Geography, History, Political Science, and Sociology. In addition

students are drawn from Education, Women's Studies, French,

Kinesiology, and Linguistics.

The core courses concern the Canadian social background, "the

foundations of Canadian culture", "Canadian political economy," "the

Canadian intellectual tradition" and "topics in popular culture." They

represent a mixture of literary studies and studies in the social

• sciences with, a fair bit of history mixed in. They tend to centre

neither on the technical details of literary criticism nor on the

statistical varieties of the social sciences but rather on what might

---

L

.

best be called "cultural studies". Much geography is at least implied.

This mixture seems reasonable since the kind of vision of Canada

which is sought for must be tied together by some notion of a culture

and its development at particular moments of time in a particular

place.

Nearly all relevant departments co-operate with the programme at

least to the extent of offering courses which are available for credit

to Canadian Studies students. Happily, these courses play roles in the

host disciplines themselves, for the present situation in the Faculty

of Arts is such that departments have no need to increase their

enrolments and priority inevitably goes to courses of interest to their

own students.7

The formal curriculum, then, generally meets the normal expectations

for Canadian Studies programmes. Three considerations, however,

should be raised. One is about the limited sample of 'popular culture'.

The second is about inter disciplinarity itself. The third involves the

focus of the programme given that it originates in British Columbia.

The 'popular culture' issue simply involves breadth and can be dealt

with quickly. The inter disciplinarity issue is of central importance but

what is needed is easy to find. The "British Columbia" issue is a little

more complex.

'Popular culture' is currently represented by what the students call

'the hockey course'. No one doubts its merits, but by itself, it creates

an odd impression -- one which some students said they found

embarrassing. "You're in Canadian Studies? Oh! You take the hockey

7

Philosophy, alone among the disciplines likely to be useful to the

programme, plays no role. This is unfortunate given the historically

close relations -- at least until about 1950 -- between Canadian

philosophy and Canadian culture, but it seems to be uniformly believed

that the interests and convictions of the members of the philosophy

department is such that it would be useless to attempt to involve them.

Much of the work on the history of Canadian philosophy in recent

years has, however, been done by intellectual historians and

philosophy is included in the core course on the Canadian intellectual

tradition. In the light of all these facts, the committee did not pursue

the philosophy question.

---

D

.

course." Could there not be more to choose from? The course badly

needs comparisons and contrasts.

Even in sports, the possibilities cry out for attention -- especially in

British Columbia. The Lower Mainland of British Columbia once shared

with a few places in Ontario the distinction of being the centre --

probably the world centre -- of box lacrosse. Crowds, huge for a town

the size of New Westminster in the thirties and forties, gathered in

Queen's Park Arena not far away from the SFU campus to see the

Salmonbeflies and the Adanacs (teams often filled with local policemen

hired because they could play lacrosse). The rise (and fall?) of

lacrosse, long imagined to be Canada's national sport and still a sport

with a strange official status now shared with hockey, is surely a

fascinating story of popular culture with real local roots. The eventual

imposition of hockey in a warm climate tells us much about how

popular culture works -- but only if one already knows the lacrosse

story.

The second project which should be looked at is a course on the way

in which the disciplines came to be divided and organized in Canada.

In part this is a real problem for researchers in Canadian Studies who

often find themselves outside the current boundaries of their

disciplines. A course in this question would do much to show students

how the disciplines they now study came to be shaped, and so how

they are related to one another. It could be given by an intellectual

historian, by a social scientist interested in questions of method and

disciplinary organization, by a literary scholar with interests in the

ways in which his own discipline reached the academy, or by a

philosopher interested in the theory of knowledge. Better still it could

be a team-taught course. Part of its merit, though, is that many

different people could give it, making it very likely that it could be

given live in any year and not relegated to distance education.

Though a course has indeed been given at Harbour Centre on Canada

and the Pacific Rim, most of the programme could easily have been

transplanted from central Canada. Of course, most people teaching in

•

?

the programme were transplanted from central Canada, though that is

not the explanation. Robin Mathews was born in Smithers B. C. and his

---

(rightly celebrated) core course also has pretty much a central

Canadian slant. The truth of the matter is that most Canadian Studies

materials have their origins in or have ties to central Canada. In terms

of coverage, Atlantic Canada (for obvious historical reasons) comes

second. As far as intellectual history goes, for instance, the

intellectual history of Canada tends to be that of Atlantic Canada and

Central Canada with a real but smaller presence on the prairies.

British Columbia hardly figures -- partly one fears because the

cultures of the indigenous peoples does not take the forms which

feature in our intellectual history and partly because intellectual

history has usually focused on ideas of European origin.

Yet British Columbia has always been multi-cultural in its own special

way and to some degree its differences are being modified. How does

the rest of Canada look from B. C.? There are some fascinating things

to be explored.

Indeed, it is possible to use local resources to design courses around

a research project in which students could play an active and very

useful role. There could be a research course at the senior level with

topics to be chosen each year. One example may help to give a flavour

to the idea. (It is chosen deliberately both to tie in with recent

suggestions for an Asian Studies programme and to show how

different interdisciplinar

y

programmes might strengthen one another.)

Wang Yu-wei is thought by many people to be, if not the greatest

Chinese Philosopher of the last hundred years, certainly one of them.

His only rivals are Fung Yu-lan and Hsiung Shi-li. He lived in

Vancouver for a time at the turn of the century after he had to flee

the dowager Empress who rejected his political reform plans. Though

he died in disgrace in China in 1927, he played a crucial role in

Chinese thought. (Mao read him as a young man and he was Mao's first

inspiration.) One gets the impression that no one in Vancouver noticed

that Wang lived there, though one suspects that the Chinese

newspaper files would reveal something. Wang later taught in the

United States (where he was noticed!) and the ideas he developed

before he came to Vancouver represent an intriguing interface

between western and Chinese thought. The problems posed by his

0

---

p

S

sojourn in Canada, fairly short though it was, are interesting as

sociology, as political science (for he had important political theories)

and, of course, as a spring-board for multi-cultural thinking. Students

could be put to work digging up all the traces.

Much more material exists, and it might be explored along the way to

showing how Canada looks from British Columbia (and by extension

how the world looks from British Columbia). Such notions have already

been raised in the steering committee of the programme and there are

significant possibilities for development. One should not get carried

away: The bulk of the existing programme must stay and there are

good reasons for hoping that Canadian Studies programmes will always

have strong resemblances to one another wherever they happen to be.

But there is plenty of room for a fresh angle.

Very importantly, there is a real possibility for a core course on the

impact of indigenous peoples

8

on the national culture, a course

organized from a distinctive British Columbia perspective. The Coast

is

peoples are distinct, their clashes with the European culture are

important, their art has drawn wide attention, and surely their impact

on the national psyche has been considerable. What is envisaged is not

just an anthropology course (or

just

a course involving any other

single discipline) but one which explores all the issues relating to

indigenous people from the perspective of their significance for

Canadian Studies generally.

Finally, thought needs to be given to the problem of French and some

effective requirement needs to be developed. French requirements are

known to be one of the causes of difficulties in Canadian Studies

programmes, but the issue can be managed in ways which overcome

most of the problems. Many young people in British Columbia and

8

The terminology can be disputatious. "Native

peoples' presumably includes everyone born in British

Columbia, while "aboriginal" is faintly insulting and

"first peoples" is awkward and speculative. "Indigenous"

lately adopted by Lakehead University for its programmes,

simply suggests people all of whose roots are in the

area.

---

.

elsewhere have now been through French immersion programmes and

a simple examination in proficiency would enable nearly all of them to

meet a requirement without additional effort. For others special

courses which combined a measure of preparation in the language with

a study of specifically Canadian linguistic and cultural issues would

-

provide an interesting -- probably genuinely attractive -- approach

which would enable them to meet a French requirement while

deepening their grasp of the things which interest them most.

9 It is

true that the design of special courses for special student populations

always poses some problems, but in this case the population is

probably large enough the issue important enough to justify the

effort. The additional variety in teaching tasks might well be welcomed

by at least some French language instructors.

There have been suggestions about a graduate programme. Certainly

the potential exists. There are resources for an interesting curriculum

and for a supporting research programme. One student is now

• pursuing graduate studies by special arrangement and evidently finds

the exercise rewarding even though she has encountered some

difficulties. Still, it seems evident that the undergraduate programme

must first be put on a solid basis. Dispersion of effort would be

disastrous until that is achieved. A graduate programme, when one is

developed, should have a distinctive focus, and this may be much

easier to achieve after the social opportunities which British Columbia

provides have been more fully explored and the result of that

exploration has been integrated into the programme.

4. THE RELATED RESEARCH AND TEACHING CONTRIBUTIONS 01 ASSOCIATED FACULTY MEMBERS

In a programme such as this one, the crucial issue is to get people to

work together, and to arrange things so that they see the Centre for

Canadian Studies as a significant resource which facilitates their work,

and then to design teaching opportunities so that teaching and

The courses could be designed at more than one

level so that they could include those with a significant

proficiency in the language and take them to a further

level.

---

a.

research fit together. Interdisciplinarity, once again, is the essence of

the matter, and the most effective way to achieve the needed co-

operation is through team-teaching. If people work together in course

planning, research is very likely to result if only because they will

quickly discover gaps in their knowledge and areas which cannot be

easily tackled within a single discipline. For the students, too, team

teaching is the natural way to see disciplines at work together.

Without it they are ultimately in a position of putting together the bits

and pieces for themselves. The students in this programme are lively,

but, in fact, not enough help is being given to them. They are very

good and with a little extra help they could go surprisingly far.

The key point to be made here about research is that inadequate

thought is being given to the possibilities of developing research

directly tied to Canadian Studies. While SFU has much research under

way on Canadian subjects, little thought seems to have been given to

using the Centre as a facilitating site for the development of

• interdisciplinary research. Given the current climate at SSHRCC in

favour of collaborative and interdisciplinary research, this represents

a missed opportunity of some significance. A large research grant

would increase the Centre's profile and provide external funding

which would have positive spin-off effects in many directions.

We received very little material which would allow us to assess the

impact of the Centre on research -- indeed what little we received we

had to ask for. This fact seems symptomatic. Research has mainly

been the concern of the departments and the Centre has been seen as

chiefly a facilitator of research. (Indeed some people suggested, or

seemed to, that this is how things ought to be.) Thus what the lack of

material presented to us seems to be symptomatic of is a relative lack

of work on Centre-sponsored interdisciplinary research. We should

add -- on the other side -- that one earlier Director enjoyed success

in finding support for research. We would encourage further

exploration of such possibilities.

0

---

LI

fl

.

5. ?

ADMINISTRATION Of THE PR0cRAnIIE

A) The elements of the programme

This section deals with administrative organization. It will address its

effectiveness, the administrative and support staff, adequacy of

operating resources and facilities, working environment, its

relationship with the external community, and its situation in relation

with other Canadian Studies programmes in the country.

The Centre offers up to 10 core courses and a large choice of Canadian

content courses from departments in four faculties across the

University with key courses in 13 disciplines.

The Centre also, on a modest scale, organizes conferences and

workshops, participates in exchanges and welcomes visiting scholars

from Canada and abroad.

. ?

ii) Enrolment:

Despite the fact that most of the students interviewed seem to have

discovered the existence of the programme "par hasard" by turning

the pages of the University Calendar, enrolment has been increasing.

Though there are 35 "majors", altogether 83 students are enroled in

various of the Centre's undergraduate programmes. One student is

completing a Ph.D. in Canadian Studies, under the label "special

arrangements".

B) Administration as such

Here we meet crucial figures: the Steering Committee, the Director and

the Programme Assistant.

The recent downsizing of the Director's position is not exactly an

incentive to do more with less, not to mention the harm that such a

decision makes to the image of a programme already perceived as

marginal by many: it becomes impossible for the director to work

is

---

1

towards more liaison with the institution and the external community

and build the leadership the programme needs. It is a regrettable

situation since the Director has already successfully negotiated new

space for the Programme in addition to organizing a major conference

in Canadian Studies in 1994.

An extremely devoted and efficient part-time Programme Assistant

cannot compensate for everything and be all to everyone. She

evidently does far more than can reasonably be expected of her and

assumes burdens -- extensive student advising which leads to

negotiations with other departments and programmes on behalf of

students -- and a good deal of miscellaneous den-mothering which are

widely perceived as being beyond the call of normal duty. But there

are limits to what can be achieved by a single part-time person.

The Programme Assistant is present at the office 18 hours per week:

Monday and Wednesday all day and Thursday morning. The Director

of the programme, the sessional lecturers and the "tutor-markers' are

making concerted efforts to be present at the office when the

Programme assistant is not on duty. The common feeling is however

that the office should be open throughout the week.

The Steering Committee functions to maintain an overview of the

programme, to make formal decisions about curricula, and to give a

general sense of over direction.

It is clear that an excellent effort is put into running the Programme

and that all the functions described in the official tasks description

are well performed, but there is just so much one can do with the

limited means put at the disposition of the programme. These limits are

complicated by the organizational structure. The Steering Committee

is formed of faculty who do not teach in the programme and who have

no contact with the students or the instructors, and do not benefit

from departmental or administrative support. It is also the

understanding of this Review Committee that the participation of the

French Department in the Steering Committee is presently under

discussion and should be strengthened. We were also told that

attendance at meetings is irregular.

---

.

C) The role of disciplinary departments and the involvement of the

Canadianists:

Bluntly, with a few exceptions, the departments and Canadianists are

indifferent to the programme. An interdisciplinary programme, by

definition "une dimension en plus" in the study of Canada, should be

in continuous "touch" with the disciplinary Canadianists at Simon

Fraser: The programme has to have a legitimacy among the faculty and

enthusiasm should not be the exclusivity of badly-served students,

ill-paid sessional lecturers or the administrators who, given the

context, see their contribution as a kind of sacrifice.

It is clear that the programme is under-administered, that the steering

committee needs some reorganization, and that the burden on the

departmental assistant needs to be eased. These issues will be

addressed in our recommendations at the end of this report.

6. Tim

ADEQUACY

OF CURRENT

TEACHINC RESOURCES

FOR THE PROGRAMME

The present situation in which the core courses are often taught only

through "Distance Education" is ultimately unacceptable. The course

"supervisors" (who are paid a pittance) play little part in such

courses and the tutor-markers, intelligent and dedicated as those we

met are, cannot carry the whole of the burden by themselves.

Thought should be given to creating an endowed chair to give focus

and visibility to the programme. This is not such an urgent matter

(and cannot be made urgent, for such things take time), but an effort

should be made to have such a project added to the priority lists of

the University's development office because, once the main needs have

been taken care of, the problem of focus will become a higher priority.

The holder of such a chair should probably rotate at intervals. Though

visibility is a factor it is important to bear in the mind that one should

look for energetic highly motivated people and that the most famous

.

• ?

candidate is not necessarily the person who will do most to provide

focus.

---

19

7.

LIBRARY, PHYSICAL FACILITIES, AND O

p

ri,c

BUDGET

(NoN—sAL&Iy)

The resources needed by programmes like this are chiefly -- though

not exclusively -- a good library, office space for those who work in

the programme and space in which students and faculty members can

meet one another. Apart from the library, the non-salary operating

budget bears on these issues.

Some components of the programme (Geography and Communications

for instance) need much more, but these facilities are provided

through the departments concerned. No issues about special resources

of this kind were raised with the reviewers.

The "distance education" programmes also require special facilities,

but, again, they are not unique to Canadian Studies. The technology

and techniques used in Canadian Studies do, though, seem rather

primitive. This is not for lack of facilities. It appears that the facilities

are under-utilized and that the possibilities for inter-active telephone

and computer networks are not being used nearly extensively

enough. 1

(This is part of the reason that students in the programme

do not know one another.)

A) The Library

The library may be a more serious matter. The one graduate student

we interviewed said bluntly "ours is not a research library", and a

walk through the stacks (and some probing of the library catalogue

via Internet) confirms this impression. Much effort is currently going

into electronic techniques which facilitate bibliography-building and

inter-library loans. But such techniques often produce frustration.

They tell one that books exist -- books that one cannot find. Most

inter-library loan systems prohibit the borrowing of very recent

10

The Canadian Studies people seemed unaware of the

. real possibilities, though the Distance Education people

we interviewed assured us these facilities were generally

known.

---

.

I

books. Much work in Canadian Studies centres in the Social Sciences

and, there, up-to-date facts are as crucial to a student writing a term

paper as the day's police reports to a newspaper editor. Literary

criticism has become a fast-changing field, and last-year's book won't

do. History may be about the past, but historians publish in the

present. More importantly, Canadian Studies lives to an important

extent in the interstices between departments, areas filled with books

which the disciplines do not often find their first priorities. These

books are particularly important because, of course, they deal with

areas that the students need but which often lie on the fringes of the

expertise of their professors. It would seem that a careful survey of

the library's resources is needed and probably some special budgeting -

for Canadian Studies.

B) Physical Facilities

The programme has recently improved its physical facilities by moving

to a new location in the Classroom Complex building where it occupies

four offices: one for the Programme Director, one for the Programme

Assistant, one for the sessionals and tutor-markers and one for

miscellaneous purposes: photocopying, consultation of publications,

storage etc. An additional room jointly shared by the Programme,

Women's Studies, and Humanities Studies is available upon request. We

would recommend the provision)

(of asmall amount of additional space for the Canadian Studies

Programme.

C) Operating budget (non-salary):

The programme's operating budget for 1994-95 is $ 8,600 for operating

expenses (excluding salary) and $ 16,127 as complementary support

salary.

The only budget which was submitted to the Committee was that for

current operating expenses. There is no apparent possibility of

starting new activities without applying for external funds. We regret

this and would recommend an increase.

---

21

8. THE

WORKING EivIRoiEwr

Most of what we have to say under this heading can be inferred from

our discussions of staffing, facilities, and administration. But here

something else should be added.

There is a considerable degree of uncertainty within and about the

programme, and it is this feeling of unease -- rather than, say, delight

at the students in the programme, or enthusiasm for an array of new

and untapped research projects which the programme opens up --

which most characterises the situation.

The programme emerged out of a protest against the relative lack of

Canadian materials in the university's offerings. Obviously, not

everyone held the same view about this then or does now, although

Canadian content is not currently a major issue.

11

But the sense that

the programme might attract varying judgements and varying degrees

• of support from successive administrations clearly developed out of

the simple fact that attitudes did vary and each administrative

change brought new uncertainties.

The recent administrative restructuring brought more uncertainty.

Was the reduction in the status of the director a judgement on the

programme? We did not find any reason to suppose that it was more

than an attempt at consistent policy making.

12

From the Canadian

11

There may be a legitimate concern about Canadian

content in Philosophy, but Philosophy does not figure in

the Canadian Studies Programme.

12

There are a large number of interdisciplinary

?

programmes at SFU. One effect of such programmes is

?

inevitably to create new administrative demands. It is

?

easy to upset the balance of resources allocated to

?

administration as opposed to those allocated to teaching.

?

Teaching ought always to have priority. This committee

?

is not in a position to review the overall management of

?

the Arts Faculty, though its concerns necessarily bear

?

S

on management. There seem to be a number of different

?

ways of allowing and accounting for the administrative

---

I

Studies perspective the policy must seem misguided but it has to be

judged on its merits, an issue which would take us beyond the limits

of the Canadian Studies Programme. Unfavourable events, however,

are always apt to have the appearance of judgements and there is no

doubt that the programme managers feel psychologically battered.

The general shortage of resources in this (and all) universities at the

present time adds to this uncertainty. Departments are less

enthusiastic about co-operation than they might atone time have been,

and this again raises the question of whether their attitudes are a

judgement on the programme or simply an administrative necessity.

If the programme is to flourish it needs clear indications of

administrative support and clear indications that the university

community wants too see it succeed. Some of these indications need to

be tangible -- an issue which we raise elsewhere.

9

INTERACTION

.

AND INTEGRATION WITH OTHRR UNITS

EDUCATION

oi

DISTANCE

In our interviews with departmental chairpersons we found a wide

range of attitudes; a few were enthusiastic supporters but most were

either indifferent, cynical, or passive supporters at best. Some

seemed unaware of the nature of their relationshi

p

to Canadian Studies

or even of the existence of Joint Degree programmes. We think this

is extremely unfortunate but symptomatic of the need for renewal.

Most of the chairpersons seemed willing to explore closer relationships

and indeed many reflected concern with the growing distance between

their departments and the Centre. Generally speaking there seemed

to be considerable room for improving these relationships.

burdens. It is not clear that uniformit

y

has been or

could be imposed. The wide gap between Women's Studies

which is now a Department and Canadian Studies which has

become a faint blip on the administrative charts is

obvious, but Women's Studies owes much to the

availabilit

y

of outside financin

g

and support. The

frustration of the dean in attempting to achieve both

justice and efficienc

y

must be considerable.

---

23

Most chairpersons also indicated a willingness to explore joint or cross

appointments and,

if

they received adequate compensation, to make

Canadianists available to teach in the Canadian Studies programme.

Clearly, a slightly enriched per course grant from the Dean of Arts to

allow them to replace such faculty would provide them with the

necessary incentive to cooperate in this area.

Canadian Studies is clearly quite important to the Centre for Distance

Education. Four Distance Education courses are currently being

offered and one is under development. We would encourage ongoing

cooperation here and indeed suggest that the course development

necessary to complete the availability of the minor degree programme

via correspondence should be hastened. On the other hand, we again

emphasize that these correspondence courses should not be used as

. a substitute for regular curriculum for students who are enroled at

SFU in the customary sense. Distance Education has a particular

clientele to serve and should not become simply a cheap delivery

vehicle.

Finally, we could get al'most no information about programmes where

interaction might be explored -- namely, BC Studies and French

Canadian Studies. In addition, the new programmes in aspects of

Asian Studies might also be tied into a relationship with Canadian

Studies.

There is a structural collaboration between the Faculty of Continuing

Studies 13

and the programme since most of the courses are given by

13

Continuing Studies (which is associated with the

Harbour Centre Campus) is mostly concerned with credit

and non-credit courses for adults who may or may not have

university educations. It has its dean. Distance

Education has a programme director within this scheme and

is concerned with various ways of dealing with students

who do not attend regular classes. It was presumably

intended originally for people not connected to the

campus, mainly in distant areas, but it has come, in

addition, to give courses to students who are registered

on campus.

---

I

correspondence, and some occasional collaboration with other

University constituencies or external organisations, but we did not

find much evidence of ongoing regular collaboration other than with

Distance Education. The result is both a measure of isolation and a

marginalization of

bh

Canadian Studies. Even with Continuing

Education the degree of mutual awareness is questionable.

Various tendencies which promote the isolation and marginalization of

Canadian Studies within the university have already been mentioned.

Some have administrative explanations, but the main concern must be

the establishment of a genuine sense of community among Canadiariists

at the University.

Relations with Distance Education, however, are certainly good, indeed

it is safe to say that without this collaboration, the Canadian Studies

Programme might have sunk without a trace. Published texts used in

Distance Education have done much to keep the programme visible in

the world. Nevertheless, as we said above, the programme seems not

to make effective use of the teleconferencing and computer network

possibilities for greatly enriching this teaching. The programme does

finally, after 500 years, present us with a university which

acknowledge that the printed word exists and that not everything in

books has to be repeated verbally in the classroom. Simon Fraser is

to be congratulated, but it is time to move on beyond traditional

correspondence courses backed with a little telephone contact and

some videos broadcast over cable television.14

Another way to develop the programme's usefulness and visibility

14

Videos are frequently broadcast by cable to go with

various courses. This may give an impression of

distinction from a traditional correspondence course. But

• cable is not available to everyone everywhere and not

every student has a video player. And the integration of

the videos into the courses is difficult without

facilities which permit interaction.

---

En

.

would be to promote services associated with teaching. A closer

concern with employment opportunities would add a lot to the

programme. One does need to know what happens to the students and

then to keep in touch with areas of government and business in which

they are likely to flourish.

10. The Programme and the External Community

A)

Networking: with whom and what for

The assumption is that the programme needs visibility within its own

institution, within its community at a local and provincial level, and at

a national and international level.

Active networking will raise support and funds for the programme,

thus making possible some larger projects.

There is room for the programme to play a role of

"

animator

"

or

coordinator for Canadian Studies in addition to its teaching activities.

The expertise within the programme could serve larger constituencies

through the organization of seminars for foreign Canadianists,

immigrants or senior citizens.

B)

The National Dimension:

The national network of Canadianists and Canadian Studies programmes

is well structured and well-known to the Simon Fraser Canadian

Studies faculty. The visibility of Simon Fraser's programme in Canada

is very good. In addition to the information submitted to the Committee

regarding the programme's national visibility, it is worthwhile noting

that B.C.'s representation on the ACS board has, for the last twelve

years, been continuously held by Simon Fraser professors; several

numbers of

Canadian Issues

have been edited by Simon Fraser faculty

members.

.

Simon Fraser has also hosted a meeting of the Canadian Studies

Programme administrators in 1991. This council is an important

---

I

?

26

.

communication platform for Canadian Studies Programmes. Across

Canada, Canadian Studies programmes face similar challenges and

problems of isolation.

C) The International Dimension

The international network of Canadian Studies is also well structured

and steadily growing. The internal document submitted to the Review

Committee mentions several initiatives undertaken with foreign

programmes, but a strategy is needed, a rationale for services which

could be provided to the foreign community of Canadianists. Several

favourable elements come to mind:

i.

The geographical situation of the programme on the Pacific

Rim, and next to Washington State.

ii.

The fact that compared to other programmes in B.C., the

programme is well established and can take advantage of the large

pool of Canadianists in the University. The programme benefits from

channels of communication which are not available to UBC or the

University of Victoria.

iii Simon Fraser is very close to becoming the first Canadian

university to offer a friajor in Canadian Studies through distance

education.

All these elements could lead to the establishment of an exportable

expertise or to the creation of seminars for an Asian and American

clientele. Consultation with the International Council for Canadian

Studies (ICCS) and CIDA should be part of this development. Also

noteworthy is the fact that

at

the next CSPA workshop session will be

devoted to a comparison between Canadian and foreign Canadian

Studies programmes. This could help target the needs of a potential

foreign clientele.

D) Relations with the Immediate Region and the Province:

By contrast to the strong showing at the national and international

---

.

??

27

levels, the visibility of the programme on the local scene is weak.

There is no sign of recent collaboration with Canadian Studies

programmes in other B.C. universities or colleges. B.C. was the only

Canadian Province in which there was an effort to regroup college and

university programmes in Canadian Studies: a consortium was created,

but it seems to be inactive.

This discussion of external relations provides an opportunity to

compare the Simon Fraser programme to others:

A detailed picture of the general state of Canadian Studies programmes

will be provided by the soon-to-be-released Cameron Report. In the

meantime, a document prepared by the Association for Canadian

Studies entitled

Canadian Studies Data

provides useful information.

The enrolment in the Simon Fraser University Canadian Studies

• ?

Programme is one of the largest of some 40 programmes in Canada.

In 1990-91 it had the largest enrolment of 90 followed by Calgary with

65.

A reminder of the main problems encountered and main explanations

of success of the different Canadian Studies programmes is

particularly interesting

The data suggest that these are the

main reasons for difficulties

in

programmes across Canada:

Funding problems.

Programmes based on voluntary work invariably suffer.

No support from the faculty and the institution.

Lack of publicity and visibility.

French language is perceived as a discouraging factor.

Departmental boundaries prevent real development of off-

boundary and cross-boundary programmes.

0

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36

4

APPENDICES

APPENDIX 1

List of members of the Steering Committee met on March 30

John Wakley

Paul Brantingham

Paul Mathew Saint Pierre

Alison Gill

Allen Seager

Karl Froschaeur

Rowland Lorimer

Cohn Browne

APPENDIX II

List of students met on March 30

Sarah Fowles

Anne K.Crooks

Bryce Dalke

Zina Michenko

Monty Orr

Terry Berting

Russel Lapointe

Valerie Deanes Delson

Lydia Harris ( met on March 31)

APPENDIX III

List of tutor-markers and sessional lecturers met on March 31

Roman Onufrychuk

Lynne Hissey

Jason Fox

Aaron Laing

Irwin Shubert

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Canadian Studies

?

March 30-31, 1995

0 ?

Site visit of Review Committee

Thursday

, 30 March, 1995

Continental Breakfast meeting with Dr. John Munro,

8:00-9:00

DUC

Dr. Evan Alderson and Ms. Alison Watt

Meeting with Dr. Len Evenden

9:10-10:20

AQ 6210

Meeting with Steering Committee

10:30-11:45

DUC

Lunch with Allen Seager and Rowland Lorimer (6)

12:00-1:15

DUC

Meeting with undergraduate students

1:30-2:30

AQ 6205

Meeting with Parzival Copes, Professor Emeritus, Economics

2:45-3:15

AQ 6205

Meeting with Paul Dutton, Chair, History

3:15-3:45

AQ 6205

Meeting with Steve McBride, Chair, and Mike Howlett, Pol. Sc.

3:45-4:15

AQ 6205

Meeting with Kathy Mezei, Chair, English

4:15-4:45

AQ 6205

Meeting with John Pierce, Chair, Geography

4:45-5:15

AQ 6205

Informal gathering with faculty

5:30-6:30

DUC

Friday

. 31 March, 1995

Meeting with Dr. Evan Alderson

8:00-9:00

AQ 6168

Meeting with Ms. Jo-Anne Ray, Program Assistant

9:00-9:45

AQ 6205

Meeting with Ms. Heather-Ann Tingley, Reference Librarian

10:00-10:30

AQ 6205

Meeting with Adjunct Faculty Peter Buitenhuis & Robin Mathews

10:45-12:00

AQ 6205

Committee lunch (4)

12:15-1:30

DUC

Meeting with sessionals and tutor/markers

1:45-2:45

AQ 6205

Meeting with Lydia Harris, Special'Arrangements Ph.D. cand.

2:45-3:15

AQ 6205

Meeting with Cohn Yerbury, Director, Centre for Distance Ed.

3:30-4:00

AQ 6205

Meeting with Dr. Evenden

4:00-4:30

AQ 6210

Meeting with Drs. Munro, Alderson, and Ms. Watt

4:30-5:00

PCR

PCR = President's Conference Room, Strand Hall

DUC = Diamond University Club

March 29, 1995

0

---

S

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

MEMORANDUM

To: ?

Alison Watt ?

From: Evan Alderson

Secretary, SCAP ?

Dean of Arts

Subject

External Review

?

Date: ?

May 13, 1996

Canadian Studies Program

I have received the attached response of the Department of French to the

External Review of the Canadian Studies Program. I would appreciate it if

this material can be brought forward to SCAP at the time it considers the

Review.

Evan Alderson

EA/jm:

copy:

J .

Viswanathan

G. Poirier

L. Evenden

0