Environmental Studies Association of Canada (ESAC)

2012 Conference

University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario

May 30 – June 2, 2012

Environmental Knowledge: People and Change

The Environmental Studies Association of Canada (ESAC) is pleased to invite you to participate in its annual conference at the University of Waterloo as part of the Congress of the Federation of Humanities and Social Sciences 2012.

As Canada’s leading association of interdisciplinary researchers and practitioners involved in a diversity of environmental fields, ESAC facilitates networking and dialogue across environment-related fields and practices. The 2012 ESAC conference provides a unique opportunity for delegates to take part in a lively exchange of ideas relating to sustainability among a broad range of students, academic researchers, members of NGOs, community groups, and the public and private sector academics, practitioners, policy makers, and activists.

We are pleased to announce a partnership with the Canadian Network for Environmental Education and Communication (EECOM). EECOM is Canada’s only national, bilingual, charitable network for environmental learning. EECOM works strategically and collaboratively to advance environmental   to ensure Canadians are environmentally literate, engaged in environmental stewardship and contributing to a healthy, sustainable future.

As ESAC and EECOM collaborate with each other, the 2012 conference provides a unique opportunity for delegates to take part in a lively exchange of ideas relating to the environment among students, researchers, members of NGOs, community groups, the public and private sector, academics, practitioners, policy makers, and activists. All are encouraged to submit papers, panels or posters on a broad range of issues and case studies, including:

• Knowledge and Environment; Environmental Education; Sustainable Livelihoods; Climate Change; Community Resilience and Sustainability; Politics of Environmental Knowledge; Indigenous Peoples and Environment; Sustainable Development; Environmental Policy; Sustainable Food Systems; Gender and Environment; Environmental Education; Marketing Sustainability; Resource Management; Sustainable Consumption / Production; Environmental and Ecological Economics.
• Making Ourselves Useful (sub-theme) – academia and environmental knowledge; interdisciplinarity and environmental study; critical case studies in academic environmental programming.

This year’s conference theme, “Environmental Knowledge: People and Change”, is reflected in the synergy of events at this year’s conference.

May 30: ESAC Opening Plenary and Program, Keynote Speaker in partnership with Alternatives Magazine: Bill McKibben of 350.org.

Making Ourselves Useful: Environmental Scholarship in an Unsustainable World hosted by ESAC and organized by Douglas MacDonald (UoT) and Tim Leduc (York). We hope to organize one or more panels to complement the conference on environmental scholarship. Papers on any aspect of that subject are invited.

May 31: Making Ourselves Useful, ESAC/EECOM Poster Competition and Wine and Cheese event

June 1: ESAC/EECOM joint programming

June 2: Joint ESAC/EECOM fieldtrips

The deadline for submissions is February 20, 2012.

Submissions should be made by email to esaceecom.2012@gmail.com (see detailed instructions below)

Submission instructions

Submissions could be for any of the following:

• Panel or workshop sessions: Coordinators should be willing to organise a self contained session of 1 to 1.5 hours –proposal does not necessarily require the individual speakers.
• Individual papers of 15-20 mins long
• Poster for entry into the ESAC Poster Competition open to all undergraduate and graduate students for further details when available see www.esac.ca

Submissions should include:

• Abstract of 300 words or less including

§  Object of study or theme of session

§  Theoretical framework, concept or research question/objective

§  Methodology or practice

§  Main conclusions

§  Relevance to the theme of environmental education and knowledge

• Interest in being in ESAC, EECOM or Making Ourselves Useful
• At least three keywords to assist the conference committee in assigning your paper to an appropriate session if not a sessions or workshop proposal
• An expression of interest in including your paper in an ESAC 2012 proceedings^*
• Institutional affiliation
• Contact email

Please E-mail general ESAC or EECOM submissions to esaceecom.2012@gmail.com

Please E-mail submission for Making Ourselves Useful to douglas.macdonald@utoronto.ca

All submissions will be evaluated by an ESAC conference committee and acceptance emails will be sent out in early March.

You must be an ESAC or EECOM member in good standing to present a paper, poster or panel at the conference.

All delegates should register at the Congress of the Federation of Humanities and Social Sciences

Conference registration begins in January 2012

ESAC Travel grants will be available to Graduate or Undergraduate students who are also ESAC members in good standing. You must complete and email the form available at esac.ca to chris.ling@royalroads.ca. Value of the grant awarded will depend on the number of eligible applicants; distance travelled and funding received by ESAC. Successful applicants will be notified with approximate grant value in early March.

^*Publication of papers: ESAC is currently exploring options of publishing the proceedings of this year’s conference. Papers included in a proceedings publication will be peer reviewed prior to publication. To help solicit the level of interest in this project, please note in your proposal whether you would be interested in having your paper published as part of the ESAC Conference Proceedings.

Please visit www.esac.ca for further information and announcements.

For more information please email esaceecom.2012@gmail.com

Chris Ling and Shirley Thompson

ESAC 2012 Conference Chairs and Co-Presidents