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Political Science

Political Science Weekly Digest for Friday, November 6, 2026

November 06, 2026

POLITICAL SCIENCE

WEEKLY DIGEST

Friday, November 6, 2026

 

We acknowledge and respect the Ləkʷəŋən (Songhees and Xʷsəpsəm/Esquimalt) Peoples on whose territory the university stands, and the Ləkʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ Peoples whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day.

Department Announcements

Happy Friday,

Next week is Reading Break (November 9-11) and Fall Convocation. The ceremony for Political Science will be on Tuesday, November 10 at 2:30 p.m. We have 23 undergraduate POLI majors, 2 undergraduate POLI minors, 2 MA, and 3 PhD students being recognized at this ceremony—congrats to all! We also have our next Speakers Series event with Dr. Sylvia Bashevkin happening next Friday. 

Have a great weekend!

Matt

Congratulations & Achievements

CONGRATULATIONS TO BRENNAN BALKOVEC, a recent POLI undergraduate alum and current MA student in the department who had a featured story on UVic’s Campus & Community page Read about it here.

CONGRATULATIONS TO AMY VERDUN who has had another busy few weeks talking with the media as a commentator on Canada-EU relations. Here’s some of what she’s been up to:

  • BNR Nieuws Radio Oct. 19: The Alberta referendum
  • VRT NWS, De Wereld Vandaag Oct. 29: Canadian associate membership to the EU (in Dutch)
  • NOS Nieuwsuur Oct. 29: Live interview on closer EU–Canada cooperation (in Dutch; segment begins at 3:38)
  • BBC World Oct. 30: The EU–Canada summit in Montreal
  • The Epoch Times Nov. 2: Canada’s proposed EU associate membership
  • The Zero Emissions Innovation Centre Nov. 3: Interview with George Benson on Canada–EU relations.
  • The Northern Ledger Nov. 4: Interview with a student journalist at the Kardinal-von-Galen-Gymnasium in Mettingen on Canada’s EU associate membership
  • BNR Radio, De Avondspits Nov. 4: Canadian reactions to the US midterm elections (in Dutch)

On November 3, as guest professor at Leiden University, Amy also convened and chaired the fourth informal meeting on the European Semester in The Hague with officials from the Dutch Ministries of Economic Affairs, Finance, and Social Affairs.

Department Events

POLI Speakers Series: Dr. Sylvia Bashevkin
“Studying Abortion Politics in Canada”

Friday, November 13, 2026 | 11:30 AM-1:00 PM
Location: Clearihue A320

The Department of Political Science welcomes Dr. Sylvia Bashevkin, Professor Emerita at the University of Toronto, as part of our 2026-27 Speakers Series.

Abortion politics has been debated intensely in Canada since the 1970s, so is there anything left to examine? Dr. Bashevkin will take on that question and point to the many aspects of women’s reproductive rights in Canada that remain largely unexplored in the scholarly literature. The talk will interest students and faculty working in Canadian and comparative politics, public policy, gender and women’s studies, and research design and methodology.

All are welcome.

POLI Works-in-Progress: Sarah Stilwell
“Regretful remembrance beyond the human rights museum: Self-critical perspectives in Canadian public museums and the Royal BC Museum’s Old Town, New Approach”

Tuesday, November 24, 2026 | 2:30-3:30 PM
Location: Large Seminar Room (DTB A357)

The POLI Works-in-Progress series returns for 2026-27. We will be kicking things off with a paper by POLI PhD candidate Sarah Stilwell.  

Abstract: This paper discusses self-critical perspectives on Canadian identity and nationhood that are emerging in major museums including the Royal BC Museum. In Canada, community demands and growing public awareness of missing or sanitized histories in public remembrance are pushing public institutions to be accountable to histories of violence, uprooting and dispossession. This paper analyzes recent shifts in Canadian museums focusing on the review and revision of their nation-building (and province-building) narratives in relation to regretful remembrance, a form of remembrance linked with human rights and cultures of collective remorse, where regret occupies a key role in political legitimation. I argue that political economic development is an underexamined yet important facet of Canadian public remembrance, and that recent museum changes highlight how regretful remembrance extends beyond human rights and memorial museums, and beyond Canada’s federal museums. Now, with renewed attention on excluded identities and histories in museums, many public Canadian museums are reviewing their content and revising exhibits in effort to repair representations of political, cultural and economic history in their core human history galleries. This paper tells this story through the redevelopment of the RBCM’s Old Town, New Approach gallery.

Everyone is welcome to attend and participate whether you have read the paper beforehand or not. The paper will be sent out 10 days in advance of the workshop, and the main arguments of the paper will be presented by the author.

Please also mark your calendars for our Tuesday, March 16, 2027 session (same time, same place) with Justin Leifso.

About the POLI Works-in-Progress Series: This workshop series features faculty and grad student work in our department in its intermediate and final stages before publication—such as PhD dissertation chapters and drafts of in-progress research. Each workshop will provide significant time for discussant comments and an audience Q&A. This workshop series aims to provide ongoing space for graduate students to learn and practice research presentation and discussion skills, and articulate and respond to feedback, while also providing the exciting opportunity to hear about soon-to-be-published chapters and articles across the department.

University/Community Events

COMMUNITY DIALOGUE SERIES: The State of Civility
“Can Democracy Survive Without It?”

Next sessions: Monday, November 16 and Monday, December 14, 2026 | 7:00-9:00 PM
Location: Broadview United Church, 3703 St. Aidan’s Street, Victoria

Greater Victoria Acting Together’s Democracy Through Dialogue series invites the community to learn, listen and take part in informed, respectful and critical conversation on issues that matter. This three-part series features Political Science faculty from UVic and is moderated by Dr. Colin Macleod.

Session 2 (November 16): “Is There a Time to Be Uncivil?” with Dr. Mara Marin, Associate Professor

Do anger, protest, disruption, civil disobedience and resistance have a legitimate place in democratic discourse? How can they be compatible with civility, or even require it?

Session 3 (December 14): “Finding Our Way Back” with Dr. Avigail Eisenberg, Professor

If our capacity to talk and live across differences is eroding, how do we rebuild it? What can we learn from communities and societies that have bridged deep divisions, and what might help restore trust, dialogue and a shared sense of purpose?

All are welcome.

 

The Political Science Weekly Digest is available online. I’d love your help in highlighting media appearances, awards, publications, student achievements, upcoming events, and any other good news — please send items to mattdavies@uvic.ca.