Several new articles and books on the history of human rights in Canada have appeared in 2007-2008: click here.

• The Centre for Research Libraries has published a compendium on international archives, libraries and documentation relating to human rights: Libraries, Archives and Human Rights Documentation.
• For updates on Canada's latest national museum, visit the site for the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.
• H-Human Rights: A listserv dedicated to the study of human rights.

Call for Papers/Conferences

• Atlantic Centre for Human Rights: Visit this site for regular conference updates at the Centre.
• Canadian Historical Association Annual Meeting, Carleton University, June 2009.
• Human Rights Section, International Studies Association: The Human Rights Section organizes regular gatherings in association with ISA conferences.
• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights:  60 Years Later [A Conference to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights] Hosted by the Association for Canadian Studies, 9 December 2008 (Montreal, Quebec).

Research Funding & Awards

There are numerous funding opportunities available from national and international agencies, and within individual institutions, for research in the field of human rights:

Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Fellows

• Trudeau Foundation

The Trudeau Foundation offers extremely generous funding for doctoral candidates and has a program for university faculty as fellows and mentors. The key themes of the foundation are: Human Rights and Social Justice; Responsible Citizenship; Canada and the World; Humans and their Natural Environment.

• Doctoral Fellowship in Human Rights, Atlantic Human Rights Centre

Applicants will have completed all course work and residence requirements for the doctoral degree in a related discipline, in which human rights issues were the principle focus of study or research. Candidates should have passed all preliminary examinations and completed research for the dissertation, and can reasonably expect to finish the doctorate during the year of the fellowship. The Doctoral Fellows will be expected to teach a maximum of one undergraduate course and participate in the activities of the Centre. Each holder of the Doctoral Fellowship will receive $20,000 with an allowance of $1,000 to cover moving and other related research expenses. A maximum of two fellowships may be awarded.

• Canadian Japanese-Mennonite Scholarship

The scholarship was created as a tangible symbol of co-operation between Canadian Japanese and Canadian Mennonites, subsequent to a formal apology that was offered to Canadian Japanese, by MCC Canada on behalf of Canadian Mennonites. It is intended to assist the protection of minority and human rights in Canada, and to reduce the potential for abuse of cultural minorities such as that suffered by Japanese Canadians during World War II. The scholarship is co-sponsored by the National Association of Japanese Canadians (NAJC) and Mennonite Central Committee Canada (MCCC).

• University of Alberta Postdoctoral Fellowships

The Killam postdoctoral fellowships are open to any field of research (including human rights) at the University of Alberta. In addition, postdoctoral fellows can apply for the Grant Notely Memorial postdoctoral grants for study in history, politics, economy or society of Western Canada. These grants are not restricted to human rights studies.

• Peter Oliver Prize in Canadian Legal History

The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History invites nominations annually for the Peter Oliver Prize in Canadian Legal History. The prize, named for Professor Peter Oliver, the Society's founding editor-in-chief, is awarded annually for published work (journal article, book chapter, book) in Canadian legal history written by a student. Students in any discipline at any stage of their careers are eligible. The Society takes a broad view of legal history, one that includes work in socio-legal history, legal culture, etc., as well as work on the history of legal institutions, legal personnel, and substantive law. Faculty members are encouraged to nominate student work of which they are aware, and the Society will also be pleased to accept self-nominations. Those nominating their own work should send a copy of it to the Society. The deadline for nominations for the 2008 Prize, to be awarded for work published in 2007, is March 31, 2008. Please send nominations to Professor Jim Phillips, Editor-in- Chief, Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History, Osgoode Hall, 130 Queen Street West, Toronto ON M5H 2N6, or by email to j.phillips@utoronto.ca

• Steven C. Poe Graduate Student Paper Award
  

The Human Rights Section of the International Studies Association has named its Graduate Student Paper Award in honor of the late Steven C. Poe in recognition of his contributions in the field of human rights and support to graduate students. To be eligible for the award, the paper must be presented at the ISA annual meeting immediately preceding the deadline (not restricted to the human rights section panels), and must be original (not presented or published elsewhere) research in the field of human rights.  Papers  presented as posters are also eligible for the award. The award will be accompanied by $100 as well as a paid one-year membership in the  Human Rights Section. In addition, the winner will receive $300 to subsidize travel to the following year’s ISA meeting (contingent upon provision of receipts). Papers may be nominated by panel chairs or other conference participants, and by authors.  Papers should have been uploaded to the ISA website by the deadline.  Alternatively, if you are submitting your own paper for consideration, please submit it electronically to the Chair of the committee.

Professionals & Faculty

• Canadian Heritage, Government of Canada: Human Rights Program

The Human Rights Program provides a limited number of grants and contributions to projects that increase awareness, knowledge, and practical enjoyment of human rights in Canada. Canadian non-profit organizations, professional organizations, universities and post-secondary institutions are eligible to apply for this funding. To receive funding under this program, human rights standards must be an explicit and important part of the project activities. Project proposals must establish clear links between the funding requested and the human rights education activities, along with the results to be achieved with respect to increasing human rights awareness, knowledge and practical enjoyment.

• Gustavus Myers Human Rights Book Award

Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Bigotry and Human Rights: The Myers Center Outstanding Book Awards identify and review books published each year analyzing the myriad forms of bigotry and discrimination, and, importantly, advancing pathways towards human rights for all. We invite publishers to nominate books published during the second half of 2006 and first half of 2007 at this time. Under the direction of sociologist and community activist, Dr. Loretta J. Williams, a national panel of reviewers, geographically dispersed and diverse on multiple demographic variables, examines books of various genres dealing with oppression and social justice issues. Ten books considered to be most outstanding are presented the Myers Award annually each December.

• Trudeau Foundation

The Trudeau Foundation offers extremely generous funding for doctoral candidates and has a program for university faculty as fellows and mentors. The key themes of the foundation are: Human Rights and Social Justice; Responsible Citizenship; Canada and the World; Humans and their Natural Environment.

• Bora Laskin Human Rights Fellowship, SSHRC.

The purpose of this fellowship is to support research, preferably of a multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary nature, and to develop Canadian expertise in the field of human rights, with emphasis on themes and issues relevant to the Canadian human rights scene ($55,000 for 12 months).

• Canadian Human Rights Commission , Research Program

The human rights landscape is in constant evolution. As part of the Commission’s efforts to foresee and understand the trends and shifts that are taking place in Canadian society and remain a leader in disseminating human rights knowledge, it is implementing an advanced and policy-driven research program in human rights. Visit the CHRC Research Program web site for calls for proposals.

• Best Paper Award
  

This award will be given to the best paper presented at the International Studies Association annual conference 2008 by a faculty member (not restricted to rank) or professional or activist. Eligibility is limited to Human Rights Section-sponsored panels, and must be original (not presented or published elsewhere) research in the field of human rights. The award is accompanied by $100 as well as a paid one-year membership in the Human Rights Section. In addition, the winning paper will be forwarded to the Journal of Human Rights for special consideration for publication. Papers may be nominated by panel chairs or other conference participants, and by authors.  Papers should have been uploaded to the ISA website by the deadline.  Alternatively, if you are submitting your own paper for consideration, please submit it electronically to the Chair of the committee.

• Scholar Rescue Fund, Institute of International Education

The Institute of International Education's Scholar Rescue Fund (SRF) provides fellowships for established scholars whose lives and work are threatened in their home countries. These fellowships permit professors, researchers and other senior academics to find temporary refuge at universities and colleges anywhere in the world, enabling them to pursue their academic work and to continue to share their knowledge with students, colleagues, and the community at large. When conditions improve, these scholars will return home to help rebuild universities and societies ravaged by fear, conflict and repression. During the fellowship, conditions in a scholar's home country may improve, permitting safe return; if safe return is not possible, the scholar may use the fellowship period to identify a longer-term opportunity.

• Law Foundation of British Columbia, Small Grants

The Law Foundation has established a budget of $150,000 for small, one-time projects. To be eligible for funding, a project must fall within one or more of the five program objectives of the Law Foundation: legal aid; legal education; legal research; law reform; and law libraries. The Law Foundation encourages applications from organizations that are interested in implementing projects of a smaller scale. The Law Foundation encourages applicants and projects that reflect the diversity of British Columbia. The Law Foundation’s working definition of diversity is: Diversity includes age, different abilities, socio-economic level, education, ethnicity, language, family, gender, marital/relationship status, race, religion, work experience, geographic size and location, and sexual orientation. [The Law Foundation of British Columbia also provides Large Project Grants and Graduate Student Fellowships. Many other provincial law foundations, and the Canadian Bar Association, provide grants and student fellowships as well.

• Walter S. Tarnopolsky Human Rights Award, Canadian Bar Association

Named in honour of the late Walter S. Tarnopolsky, a talented human rights advocate and scholar, the award recognizes a resident of Canada who has made an outstanding contribution to domestic or international human rights. The Award takes the form of an inscribed bronze medallion and an honorarium of one thousand dollars. The Award is presented at the annual meeting of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) held during the Canadian Bar Association Annual Meeting in August.

• Visiting Faculty Fellowships, Centre for Ethics, University of Toronto

Fellowships will be awarded to outstanding scholars and teachers interested in writing and conducting research about ethics during a year in residence at the University of Toronto. Fellows will participate in a bi-weekly seminar at the Centre, together with local faculty as well as the Centre’s graduate and post-doctoral fellows. Although regular teaching obligations are not attached to the Fellowships, we expect fellows to have some involvement in the undergraduate Ethics, Society and Law Program. Fellows are also expected to participate regularly in the Centre’s other activities, including seminars, colloquia, and public lectures; and to be in residence in Toronto for the term of their appointments, which will run from September 1, 2008 to May 15, 2009. [The Centre also has programs for post-doctoral and doctoral candidates].

Institutes/Research Centres

• Canadian Museum for Human Rights.
• Atlantic Human Rights Centre, St. Thomas University, N.B.
• Carr Centre for Human Rights Policy, Harvard University
• Centre of Ethics, University of Toronto
• Human Rights Research and Education Centre, University of Ottawa
• Maastricht Centre for Human Rights, Universitei Maastricht
• McGill Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism, McGill University
• John Humphrey Centre for Human Rights (Edmonton, Alberta)