Canadian-American Studies

Introduction

The Canadian-American Studies major and minor are designed to expand knowledge of Canada and understanding of the shared Canadian-American experience, including opportunities and challenges. Through these programs, students will gain the tools necessary for engaging with key cultural, environmental, and economic issues that face both Canada and the United States.

Its curriculum prepares students for positions in education, business, government, communication, and international organizations in the United States, Canada, and other areas of the world. It also provides an entry-point for opportunities in Canadian-American Studies and combines well with other majors and minors to add depth and international expertise. Examples include combining Canadian-American Studies with: environmental science and policy, international business, geography, anthropology, political science, marketing, communication studies, journalism, history, urban and environmental policy and planning, political science, and foreign languages.

Opportunities for study in Canada and internships are also available. As well, the Center for Canadian-American Studies offers yearly student scholarship opportunities.

For program advisement, contact Program Director Christina Keppie: canam@wwu.edu.

Participating Canadian-American Studies Faculty

CHRISTINA KEPPIE, Director, Canadian-American Studies, French, and Linguistics. Acadian and French-Canadian languages, linguistics, and cultures.
AMIR ABEDI, Political Science. Comparative politics, European politics.
TROY ABEL, Environmental Studies. Environmental policy and resolutions.
EDWARD ALDEN, Management. International business, economics, international trade, management.
NATALIE BALOY, Anthropology. Critical Indigenous studies, settler colonial studies, interdisciplinary/transdisciplinary collaborations.
MARY TUTI BAKER, Canadian-American Studies Salish Sea Studies, and Fairhaven College. Indigenous politics and futures studies.
PATRICK BUCKLEY, Geography. Transborder economic modeling and GIS.
DANIEL CHARD, History. US and the world since World War II, social movements, politics, terrorism and counterterrorism.
AQUILA FLOWER, Environmental Studies. Physical geography, GIS, climatic variability.
KRISTEN FRENCH, Early Childhood, Elementary, and Multilingual Education. Multicultural teacher education, decolonizing theory, critical performance pedagogy, American Indian education.
CHRIS FRIDAY, History. Pacific Northwest History, Indigenous peoples.
LEE GULYAS, English. Creative writing, Canadian literature, Indigenous/First Nations literature, and exploration/settler colonialism.
JARED HARDESTY, History. Colonial America, Atlantic world, history of slavery.
NINI HAYES, Environmental Studies. Critical environmental education, critical teacher education, social justice education.
JAMES HELFIELD, Environmental Studies. River and riparian ecology, fish ecology, salmon habitat restoration.
MADISON HESLOP, Canadian-American Studies and History. Pacific Northwest environmental and urban history.
ELIZABETH JOFFRION, Western Libraries. Heritage Resources.
NABIL KAMEL, Environmental Studies. Critical environmental education, social and environmental justice, urban development, community development.
T.H. KAMENA, Political Science. Canadian politics/government.
WAYNE LANDIS, Environmental Science. Toxicology, risk assessment, cross-border contamination.
T. ABE LLOYD, Environmental Science. Ethnoecology, Indigenous food traditions, environmental sustainability, postcolonialism.
JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, Environmental Science. Population ecology, wildlife ecology, and conservation biology.
JAMES MILLER, Urban and Environmental Planning and Policy. Indigenous architecture and spatial production, Indigenous placemaking, climate change adaptation and resilience.
DEREK MOSCATO, Journalism. Strategic communication, environmental media, and public diplomacy.
NANCY PAGH, English. Canadian literature, poetry, creative writing, and cultural studies.
HUNTER PRICE, History. North American borderlands, 19th century, religion.
JASON QUERY, Economics. International economics, econometrics, and microeconomics.
DAVID ROSSITER, Environmental Studies. Settler colonialism, resource geographies, Indigenous territorial claims.
JULIA SAPIN, Art and Art History. Indigenous arts of the Pacific Northwest and Canadian arts.
JENNIFER SELTZ, History. US west history, Pacific northwest history.
MICHAEL SHEPHARD, Anthropology. Endangered Indigenous languages, cultural resource management, treaty rights.
LINDSEY SMITH, French. Literature of the francophone Caribbean, multimodal expression and stylistics.
NICHOLAS STANGER, Environmental Studies. Environmental education, Redfish School of Change, climate change adaptation.
THERESA WARBURTON, English. Native and Indigenous literatures, radical social movements, feminist theories, gender studies.
JANE WONG, English. Creative writing, poetry, interdisciplinary arts, Native and Indigenous literatures, Asian Canadian studies, immigration, and transnationalism.

Named Professorships

Ross Distinguished Professorship of Canada/U.S. Business and Economic Relations (position is in the College of Business and Economics).

Current holder of the Ross Distinguished Professorship is Edward Alden (2018-present).

Study Abroad and Exchanges

The Center for Canadian-American Studies encourages students to spend one or more quarters in a study abroad program in Canada. We offer a number of WWU faculty-led study abroad programs and exchange opportunities with universities across Canada – in partnership with National Student Exchange (NSE). For more information, please contact Christina Keppie, program director: canam@wwu.edu.

Programs

Undergraduate Major

Canadian-American Studies, BA

Undergraduate Minor

Canadian-American Studies Minor

Courses

Canadian/American Studies

Courses numbered X37; X97; 300, 400 are described in the University Academic Policies section of this catalog. NOTE: Most Canadian-American Studies courses are listed in the individual disciplines. See individual department listings for course titles and descriptions included under the Canadian-American Studies major and minor.