Western University’s Theory Centre is commemorating its 40th anniversary with the 2026 Annual Theory Conference, in-person from April 23 – April 24, 2026.
The theoretical objective of the conference is twofold. Our first objective is centered around the ceremonious occasion of the CSTC’s 40th anniversary. This occasion allows us to foreground theory as an intellectual tradition and academic practice that has shaped the Canadian university. This comes at a critical time when the programs of the humanities and social sciences within the university are being challenged across the country by austere policies and ideologies that have increasingly favoured more practical (or profitable) disciplines. This poses the broader question of the university’s role as a public institution, as well as the function that it ought to play in contributing to broader social goods such as culture, aesthetics, and democracy.
Our second objective is centered around the problematic of Canadian identity. Building off our first objective, this conference aims to provide a ground for theorists and critical scholars to consider theory’s role in shaping the various institutions that affect Canadian identity. This comes at a time when the question of national identity has taken center stage within political discourse and has been continuously leveraged by power players to achieve political outcomes within Canada. In posing this question, our conference aims to establish space for critical theory to engage with the public discourse in ways that are both nationally situated and generative of a Canadian intellectual tradition not necessarily tied to national frameworks.