Interdependence Day Celebration
9:00 a.m. to 11:50 a.m., Friday, Sept. 11, 2009
Corley Auditorium in Webster Hall
Admission: free

In the year 2000, a small group of scholars, civic and political leaders, and artists from a dozen nations met to design a program that might help raise consciousness around the realities and possibilities of interdependence. According to the group, both liberty and security require cooperation among peoples and nations and can no longer be secured by sovereign nations working unilaterally. In keeping with the spirit of Interdependence Day, now celebrated worldwide on Sept. 12, several MSSU faculty will share insights into what Canada has in common with the United States and how it is also uniquely different.

Moderator: Dr. Dorothy Bay, professor of biology

9:05 a.m.: “Minding P’s and Q’s - U.S. and Canadian Ideas About Government,” by Dr. Ann Wyman (associate professor of political science)

There are huge similarities between the U.S. and Canadian ideas about government - several of our own founding fathers even expected Canada to jump right in and join the USA. There are also differences between the two governments, and two are especially significant and worth talking about: Canada’s use of a Parliament and its connection to the British Queen.

9:20 a.m.: “The Mouse That Roars: Canada and U.S. Economic Relations” (Chris Moos, assistant professor of international business)

As former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau once put it, Canada is something like a mouse sleeping next to an elephant. Yet Canada is the largest single country trading partner of the United States. Areas such as cross border trade, effects of North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), international trade participation, population, and taxes will be explored.

9:35 a.m.: “The Rowdy Upstairs Neighbors: The Canadian Geographic Mosaic” (Dr. Steve Smith, associate professor of geography

This talk will discuss the various geographical divisions of Canada. It will focus on similarities are differences between U.S. and Canadian geography.

10:05 a.m.: “Benign Opposites: The Juxtaposition of Canadian-American Demographics” (Dr. Conrad Gubera, professor of sociology)

America’s No. 1 trading partner is no more than one tenth its size in population characteristics. Contemporary population data reveals some unusual facts about America’s “next door” neighbor and NAFA partner. The individuality of each nation gains in appreciation.

10:25 a.m.: “Hot It’s Not But It Rocks a Lot” (Dr. John Knapp, professor of geophysics)

Have you ever noticed the TV weatherman doesn’t put Canada on the weather map? Canada’s weather is dominated by cold Arctic area, and only the southernmost swath has similar weather to the northernmost United States - warm humid summers, blizzards in the winter, and beautifully clear skies with sub-zero temperatures. Central Canada comprises the hard core of the North American continent, but the Canadian Rockies and the Coastal mountain ranges, which extend southward into the United States, are massive zones of active mountain building and volcanic activity; and they are all rocked by earthquakes. Canada has beautiful scenery, but don’t forget, it’s north of Montana!

11:05 a.m.: “The Megafauna of the United States and Canada, Past and Present” (Dr. Kip Heth, assistant professor of biology)

North America once had a rich Pleistocene fauna of large mammals, some indigenous, while others migrated from South America or Siberia. We still puzzle why this fauna mostly disappeared from North America while it survived in Africa, Europe, and Asia.

11:20 a.m.: “From Maple Leaves to Monkey Flowers - the Flora of Canada” (Dr. Dorothy Bay, professor of biology)

Which species of trees and flowers grow in Canada and not in the United States? Which ones can grow in both countries? What difference does this make to us and to other wildlife?

11:35 a.m.: “Bringing Home the Bacon: Michael Moore’s Take on Americans’ Take on Canada” (Dr. William Kumbier, professor of English)

The presentation will provide a brief overview of Michael Moore’s film Canadian Bacon (1995), a funny, incisive satire of American foreign policy and specifically of how Americans view Canada and Canadians. In the course of the film, Moore pokes fun at numerous American stereotypes of its neighbor to the north while also showing something of the real differences between the two countries. The presentation will suggest a number of things to watch for when the film is shown in the Residence Hall Courtyard on the evening of Sept. 14. “Surrender pronto, or…we’ll level Toronto!”