July 2003 - Nr. 7
German professor Dr. Hartmut Lutz awarded John G. Diefenbaker Award to study history of Aboriginal literature
Ottawa, June 12, 2003 - A prominent German scholar is coming to Canada to further his work in the area of Aboriginal literature. Dr. Hartmut Lutz, professor of English and American Studies at the University of Greifswald in Germany, has been awarded this year’s John G. Diefenbaker Award by the Canada Council for the Arts.
Under the terms of the award, Dr. Lutz will spend one year at the University of Ottawa’s Institute of Canadian Studies while editing the autobiographical writing of Dr. Howard Adams (1921-2001), prominent spokesperson for Aboriginal rights in the Prairies and the first Métis in Canada to receive a Ph.D. Dr. Lutz will also begin compiling a book on the history of contemporary Aboriginal literature in Canada.
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 the social sciences and humanities. Candidates must be nominated by university departments or research institutes in Canada. The value of the award is up to $75,000 provided by the Canada Council for the Arts, plus a travel allowance of up to $20,000 provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Funded by an endowment of approximately $2 million from the Government of Canada, the award is administered by the Canada Council for the Arts.
Hartmut Lutz
Dr. Hartmut Lutz is the Chair of American and Canadian Studies at the University of Greifswald in Germany and has been teaching Canadian literature there since 1994. He obtained a doctorate magna cum laude in English literature from Tubingen University and taught British and American Studies at Osnabruck University from 1975 to 1994.
Among many of Dr. Lutz’s scholarly contributions is the founding of a research centre for Canadian and American literature at the University of Greifswald, one of Germany’s oldest literary and philosophical universities. Dr. Lutz has contributed to the growth of Canadian Studies programs in Europe, especially in Poland, Finland, Denmark and Spain, where he was a visiting professor as a result of various awards from the European Community. He has visited Canada on several extended research trips funded by the Canadian Government Faculty Research and Faculty Enrichment Programs. A recipient of several prestigious fellowships (American Council of Learned Societies, German Academic Exchange Service, Harris Foundation) he has also researched and taught in Native Studies at the University of California Davis, the First Nations University of Canada (Regina) and Dartmouth College.
The research fields studied by Dr. Lutz cover an impressive range, with particular focus on Canadian Aboriginal literature. Dr. Lutz has worked assiduously to understand and promote Canadian culture, especially an indigenous perspective on Aboriginal literatures.
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 prizes and fellowships to over 100 artists and scholars annually in the arts, humanities, social sciences, natural and health sciences, and engineering. Among these are the Killam Prizes, the Killam Research Fellowships, the Canada Council for the Arts Molson Prizes, the Governor General’s Literary Awards, 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.
