WDCAG 2016 Conference Announcement

January 15, 2016

First Circular and Call for Abstracts
WD-CAG 2016: The West in the 21st Century – Legacies and Trajectories
11-12 March 2016
Prince George, BC

 
 



The Geography Program at UNBC is pleased to extend an invitation to the 58th Annual Meeting of the Western Division of the Canadian Association of Geographers (WD-CAG). The meeting will be held 11-12 March 2016 at UNBC’s Prince George Campus.
 
While we invite submissions from all areas of geographic scholarship, the theme of the meeting is The West in the 21st Century – Legacies and Trajectories. Geographic scholarship in Western Canada and the Northwestern USA is more relevant than ever as the region confronts major environmental, political and economic change and uncertainty. Imagining everyday life in the future entails making sense of past and present decisions about environment, resources, culture and society, and thinking critically about those factors most likely to influence future trajectories of environment, culture and society. Geographic scholarship is at the centre of issues that connect historical, contemporary and future processes. A partial list of research areas includes measuring and modeling climate change, informing local and regional adaptation and mitigation efforts, considering the feasibility of various options for carbon reduction, designing sustainable cities, working with Indigenous groups to document land claims and traditional ecological knowledge, informing land and resource conservation efforts, measuring and underscoring considerations of social equity, and exploring and testing new modes of environmental governance. Members of the WD-CAG are well positioned to inform research and policy about the most pressing issues of the present age.   
 
Those wishing to present their research are invited to submit a digital abstract in MS-Word to Dr. Neil Hanlon (hanlon@unbc.ca). The file should include a title (100 characters or less), complete list of authors and affiliations (lead author listed first), an abstract of 250 words or less, and up to five key word terms separated by semi-colons. Please also clearly indicate the type of presentation (i.e., paper or poster). If the lead author is a student, please indicate in a covering email whether you wish the presentation to be considered for a student award and, if so, the appropriate student category (i.e., Undergraduate, Masters or PhD). In cases where a student is presenting work completed in an earlier degree, the appropriate adjudication category is the one in which you are presently enrolled.
 
The deadline for submission of abstracts is 12 February 2016. It is the responsibility of authors to ensure the accuracy and quality of abstract submissions (i.e., they will not be edited before inclusion in the Conference Final Programme).
 
Those wishing to organize special sessions (papers or panel discussion) must contact Dr. Hanlon with an email attachment containing a session title and up to 250 word description. If the names of presenters or panelists are known, please also provide this information in a covering email. The deadline for registering special sessions is 8 February 2016.
 
The preliminary schedule of events (draft and subject to change) is as follows:
 
Friday March 11
9:00am -5:00pm                     Field Trips (details to follow)
6:00pm - 7:00pm                    Reception, Registration
7:00pm – 8:30pm                    Key Note Presentation – Dr. Charles Helm Dr. Charles Helm: The Tumbler Ridge Global GeoPark – A First for Western North America (Canfor Theatre, UNBC)
 
 
8:30pm – 12:00am                           Pub Night at the Thirsty Moose (UNBC Student Society Pub)
 
Saturday March 12
7:30am – 8:30am                              Registration
8:45am – 12:00pm                           Concurrent Paper & Poster Sessions (refreshment breaks provided)
12:00pm - 1:00pm                            Catered Lunch (costs included with Registration)
1:15pm – 4:30pm                             Concurrent Paper & Poster Sessions (refreshment breaks provided)
4:45pm – 6:15 pm                            AGM
6:30pm – 1:30am                             Banquet (UNBC Campus)
 
Additional information about the conference, including the keynote address, field trips, accommodations and banquet will be available on the conference website (http://resweb.res.unbc.ca/wd-cag2016/index.htm). This site is still in development and will be updated regularly, so please bookmark it for easy reference.
 
Registration will be done online, and a link will be available shortly on the conference website. Early bird registration rates are $50 for students and $75 for faculty (not including GST).  The early bird deadline is 19 February 2016. Rates afterwards are $65 for students and $90 for faculty. The final deadline for registration is 4 March 2016.
 

Contact Information

Please contact Dr. Neil Hanlon (250-960-5881, hanlon@unbc.ca) for additional information.


Dr. Neil Hanlon
Professor, Geography Program
Adjunct Faculty Member in School of Health Sciences and Northern Medical Program
University of Northern British Columbia
3333 University Way
Prince George, BC, Canada
V2N 4Z9
Tel: +01-250-960-5881
Fax: +01-250-9606533
Internet: http://www.unbc.ca/neil-hanlon