C/AM Speaker Series “People and Cultures of Canada” Presents: On the Outside, Looking Out

The uniqueness of Canada’s rural communities is often overlooked, subsuming it under the perceived cultural hegemonies of their local urban centers.

This presentation explores Canadian rural cultures to discuss ways that the identities they produce shape Canada’s cultural mosaic and in turn reshape our ongoing relationship with the land. Because the vast majority of Canada’s landscape is rural or remote, we will examine connections between place and culture to understand how this placeness is shaped by Canada’s geography. While most Canadians have at best an arm’s length relationship with the land, we will then address how rural and remote Canadians and their communities, especially those involved in primary industries such as agriculture and forestry, are instead deeply shaped by and in turn shape the land’s future.