The Canadian-American Center at UMAine is once again holding a competition for semester long FLAS (Foreign Language Area Studies) Awards for the Spring 2024 semester. FLAS Fellowships support undergraduate students who have an interest in area studies expertise and language proficiency in Canadian Studies and French or Wabanaki languages (Maliseet, Mi’kmaq/Micmac, Passamaquoddy, and Abenaki/Penobscot).

Graduate students can be awarded a $10,000 stipend, tuition coverage up to $9,000, and %50 of health insurance premiums, if bought through the 91����. Undergraduate students can be awarded a $2,500 stipend, tuition coverage up to $5,000, and 50% of health insurance premiums, if bought through the 91����.

Eligibility Requirements:

French Language Study (Graduate Students Only):

• Students should be working at the Graduate level on a Canadian-related subject (comparative work is accepted (ex. US/Canada))
• Students must demonstrate an intermediate level or higher proficiency in French

Wabanaki Languages (Undergraduate and Graduate Students):

• Includes: Maliseet, Mi’kmaq/Micmac, Passamaquoddy, and Abenaki/Penobscot
• Undergraduate or graduate students must demonstrate an intermediate level or higher proficiency in Wabanaki language

Application Deadline: December 1st, 2023

For more information, download the flyer below or check out this page on FLAS awards. For inquiries, please contact Frederic Rondeau. Submit any applications to Aaron Lefebevre at aaron.lefebevre@maine.edu

91���� PhD student, Hannah Schmidt, is one of several recipients of a New England-Atlantic Provinces-Quebec (NEAPQ) Fellowship for Spring 2023.

The NEAPQ Fellowship is offered by the Canadian-American Center and the 91���� Graduate School. It is available to graduate students in disciplines that focus on Canada or Canada-US relations. Each academic year, the fellowship provides a $20,000 stipend, tuition waiver, and 50% of University issued health insurance. The award is available to citizens of any country.

Schmidt learned about the fellowship through the 91���� History department. For any students hoping to earn this fellowship in the future, Schmidt says, “Really look into all the Center has to offer. The Center has been such a huge source of support for me while I am pursuing my degree as well as to many others in my grad cohort and in such a variety of ways. From fellowships to Foreign Language and Area Studies awards, and even opportunities to travel to Canada, the Canadian-American Center has a lot to offer and can provide awesome opportunities for professional development!”

According to Schmidt, “[Her] dissertation focuses on captivity in the Northeastern North America from the 1630s to the 1760s. The project emphasizes a spatial framework that reveals new historical insights into the captivity narratives that were produced in that period as well as brings into focus the captivities of Indigenous and other non-white peoples that are often studied separately from the captivity narratives of white colonists.”

Prior to her time at 91����, Schmidt received her BA and MA in History from the Southern Illinois University of Carbondale. According to Schmidt, the reason she chose to come to 91���� is “The PhD program at 91���� seemed like the perfect place to bring together my interests in Colonial and Indigenous history in the Northeast as well as a place where exploring new research methods and frameworks is encouraged.”

Other awards that Schmidt has received for her work include the Phillips Fund Grant from the (Nov. 2021), the Short Term Fellowship with Massachusetts Historical Society and the Society for Colonial Wars in Boston (Summer 2020), and the Bowen Research Scholarship in Canadian History from the 91���� History Department (Fall 2019) for her research.

Schmidt enjoys taking her dogs, Willow and Roger, on hikes through the woods and around Bangor. After graduate school, she hopes to work at a historical society or university where she also hopes to continue working on public history projects and presentations that prioritize marginalized voices and narratives.

91���� PhD student, Darcy Stevens, is one of several recipients of the New England-Atlantic Provinces-Quebec (NEAPQ) Fellowship for the 2022 academic year.

The NEAPQ Fellowship is offered by the Canadian-American Center and the 91���� Graduate School. It is available to graduate students in disciplines that focus on Canada or Canada-US relations. Each academic year, the fellowship provides a $20,000 stipend, tuition waiver, and 50% of University issued health insurance. The award is available to citizens of any country.

Stevens learned about this fellowship from her advisor, Liam Riordan, and Mark McLaughlin and Micah Pawling, who are on her dissertation committee. All three of them are involved with the Canadian-American Center, and encouraged her to explore the Center’s available opportunities for graduate students. To any students looking to earn the same fellowship, she recommends listening to the guidance of advisors, and to seek out previous fellows to learn more about their experiences.

Stevens originally earned her MA in History in Kansas, and moved toward teaching with the intention to one day earn her PhD. Her current research focuses on the influences of the American Revolution in the Northeast Borderlands of the Maine-Nova Scotia-Wabanaki communities. “I was drawn to the American Revolution partly because although it is widely studied there are still so many facets yet to be explored. My work on allegiance and neutrality in the Borderlands here in the Northeast is one such area. Generally, we still think of the Revolution as a war between America and England, Patriots and Loyalists. My interest is in the inhabitants who were not motivated by ideology but rather forced to make pragmatic decisions about their political positions as the war impacted their personal lives. Bringing their experiences to light and reflecting on the implications for our history as well as our current events is incredibly rewarding,” she says.

This summer Stevens presented some of her work at the Atlantic Canada Studies Conference and the Conrad E. Wight Conference. She also worked with a panel of scholars sponsored by the Omohundro Institute discussing the commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, which drew her toward work with the Wilson Museum in Castine. She was also awarded a Summer Research Fellowship through the Graduate Student Government, and a 2022-23 David Center for American Revolution fellowship, which will allow her to spend a month in Philadelphia this spring to conduct research.

Outside of her research, Stevens enjoys hiking, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, true-crime television and knitting. She also often travels to the Midwest to spend time with her daughters. Once she’s obtained her degree, she hopes to return to teaching at a university, but is also open to opportunities in public history.

To read some of Stevens’ work, click .

This award competition is open to all graduate students who wish to improve their French proficiency in Canada. 

The Award covers tuition up to $5000 and offers a $2500 stipend, and all credits earned can be transferred to 91����. 

For more information, visit this link.

OR

Contact Dr. Frederic Rondeau via email at frederic.rondeau@maine.edu.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS 

To be eligible to apply for a Summer FLAS fellowship, students must meet the following criteria: 

• Be a US citizen or permanent resident 
• Already be at the Intermediate or advanced level in French
• Be enrolled or accepted in a full-time graduate program at 91����
• Be enrolled in a 6 weeks intensive summer language study (140 contact hours) in French

Application Deadline : March 15

91���� PhD student, Erin Victor, is one of several recipients of the Canadian-American Center Fellowship for the 2022-23 academic year.

The Canadian-American Center Fellowship is offered by the Canadian-American Center and the 91���� Graduate School. It is available to graduate students in disciplines that focus on Canada or Canada-US relations. Each academic year, the fellowship provides a $20,000 stipend, tuition waiver, and 50% of University issued health insurance. The award is available to citizens of any country.

Victor learned about the fellowship from her advisor here at 91����. To any students looking to earn the same fellowship, she highly recommends getting to know some of the faculty and staff at the Canadian-American Center.

According to Victor, her current research focuses on “Understanding the transformative potential of extended producer responsibility legislation for driving more circular economies for packaging.” Before she began working toward her doctorate at 91����, Victor worked at the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection on solid waste issues. Her time there helped her gain experience and greater interest in waste reduction, circular economics, and solid waste policies.

Outside of her work, Victor enjoys spending time with her family. She and her kids enjoy hiking, swimming, and baking cupcakes and cookies together. Once finished with her doctorate, Victor is considering either a career in higher academia, or working at a research think tank.

To read more about Victor’s work, click .

The Association for Canadian Studies in the United States (ACSUS) has announced its call for papers for a student colloquium, set to take place alongside its biennial meeting and conference this coming November in Washington, D.C. . They’re looking for strong proposals in from students at both the graduate and undergraduate level, individual submissions as well as group proposals. These proposals must all be related to the theme ‘Canada: Near and Far’.

Students accepted to the colloquium will receive funding support from ACSUS in the form of:

1) $125 USD to cover registration and a 2-year ACSUS membership and
2) $1,000 USD to assist with travel and accommodation costs

Head to the for more information. The deadline to submit for the student colloquium is April 15th, 2023, and the deadline to submit to the ACSUS main conference program is March 1st, 2023.

L’Association d’études canadiennes aux États-Unis (ACSUS) a lancé un appel à communications pour un colloque d’étudiants, qui se tiendra parallèlement à sa réunion et conférence biennale en novembre prochain à Washington, D.C.. L’ACSUS est à la recherche de propositions solides de la part d’étudiants de premier et de deuxième cycle, qu’il s’agisse de propositions individuelles ou de groupes. Ces propositions doivent toutes être liées au thème ‘Canada : Proche et Lointain’.

Les étudiants acceptés au colloque recevront un soutien financier de l’ACSUS sous la forme de :

1) $125 USD en frais d’inscription, qui incluent un abonnement de 2 ans à l’ACSUS et
2) $1000 USD pour contribuer aux coûts associés au transport et au logement

Rendez-vous sur pour plus d’informations. La date limite de soumission pour le colloque étudiant est le 15 avril 2023, et la date limite de soumission pour le programme de la conférence principale de l’ACSUS est le 1er mars 2023.

91���� graduate student, Malcolm Nelson, is one of several recipients of the Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowship for the 2022-23 academic year. 

The   is offered by the Canadian-American Center and the U.S. Department of Education. FLAS is a federal grant to support students who wish to improve proficiency in French or Maliseet, Mi’kmaq/Micmac, Passamaquoddy, and Abenaki/Penobscot. Each academic year, the fellowship provides a $20,000 stipend, tuition waiver, and 50% of University issued health insurance. The grant is available for undergraduate and graduate students at 91���� who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

Nelson first learned about the fellowship through the Anthropology and Environmental department at 91����. For any undergraduate students looking to earn similar fellowships or create connections with the center in the future, he recommends learning another language: “Learning another language is always super helpful and can lend a lot to your life. I would advise that you invest in learning one because it will take you places.”

Nelson’s current research focuses on sustainability, a field which has had his focus since undergraduate studies. “I did my thesis at a community garden in La Crosse, Wisconsin. I was a volunteer there for 3 years and performed anthropological fieldwork there as an undergrad. I learned from my thesis that community development, environmental justice, and supporting local food producers were three primary drivers behind the garden.” Nelson is now working to examine these three drivers in francophone communities, specifically in urban agricultural sites like community gardens, and to learn more about the francophone perspective on sustainability.

Outside of his research, Nelson enjoys Latin dancing, video games, and community gardening. After obtaining his Masters in Anthropology and Environmental Policy, Nelson hopes to pursue a PhD, as well as live and work in Canada.