June 2001 - Nr. 6
Hans-Jürgen Lüsebrink awarded John G. Diefenbaker
Award
for 2001
Ottawa - Professor Hans-Jürgen Lüsebrink, a professor at the University of Saarbrücken, Germany, and an internationally-recognized scholar in the field of cultural history, has been awarded this year’s John G. Diefenbaker Award by the Canada Council for the Arts.
Under the terms of the award, Prof. Lüsebrink will spend a year at the Université de Montreal conducting research into the relationship between the media and literary expression in Quebec from 1780 to the present day. According to his research proposal, his work will cover the period between the founding of Canada’s first French language newspapers in the 18th century and the television era of the late 20th century. In addition to the research project, Prof. Lüsebrink will give seminars, workshops and presentations on issues related to cultural history. Prof. Lüsebrink was nominated for the award by the Université de Montreal’s Department of Comparative Literature.
Established in 1991, the John G. Diefenbaker Award is an annual award honouring the memory of former Prime Minister John G. Diefenbaker. It enables a German scholar to spend up to 12 months in Canada to pursue research in any of the disciplines in the social sciences and humanities. Candidates may not apply, but must be nominated by university departments or research institutes in Canada. The value of the award is $75,000 provided by the Canada Council for the Arts, plus a travel allowance of $20,000 provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
Funded by an endowment of approximately $1.7 million from the Government of Canada, the award is administered by the Canada Council for the Arts in collaboration with the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany. It is a counterpart of the Konrad Adenauer Award, created in 1988 by Germany for Canadian scholars and administered by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in cooperation with the Royal Society of Canada and the University of Toronto.
Professor Hans-Jürgen Lüsebrink
Hans-Jürgen Lüsebrink is a professor at the University of Saarbrücken in Germany: Since 1993, he has held the Chair of Romance Cultural Studies and Intercultural Communications there, after having taught at the universities of Bayreuth and Passau and as visiting professor at several foreign universities (Université Laval in Quebec City, EHESS in Paris, the universities of Tours and Innsbruck, Northwestern University, USA).
His research and publications deal with the francophone literature of Africa, Quebec and the Caribbean, Franco-German relations, the study of French civilization and conceptual history. His books include Schrift, Buch und Lektüre in der französisch-sprachigen Literature (1990); (with R. Reichardt): ‘The Bastille’, A History of a Symbol of Despotism and Freedom (1997).
General Information
The Canada Council for the Arts, in addition to its principal role of promoting and fostering the arts in Canada, administers and awards nearly 100 prizes and fellowships in the arts, humanities, natural and health sciences, engineering and communication technologies. Among these are the Killam Prizes, the Canada Council for the Arts Molson Prizes, the Petro-Canada Award in New Technologies, the Governor General’s Literary Awards and the Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts and the Walter Carsen Prize for Excellence in the Performing Arts.
For more information about these awards, including nomination procedures, contact Carol Bream, Director of Endowments and Prizes, at (613) 566-4414, or 1-800-263-5588, ext. 5041. E-mail: carol.bream@canadacouncil.ca , or Janet Riedel, Endowments and Prizes Officer, at (613) 566-4414, or 1-800-263-5588, ext. 4116. E-mail: janet.riedel@canadacouncil.ca .
