North at Trent Lecture Series

Each year the School organizes a series of public talks on the “north” broadly defined. Building on Trent’s established role as a centre of innovation on northern research (and in combination with the Roberta Bondar Fellowship in Northern Studies) these lectures are a key feature of academic life at Trent. 

North at Trent 2022-2023 Lecture Series

For the 2022-2023 academic year, the North at Trent Lecture Series is proud to connect with the Canadian Studies 50th Anniversary events for their year of Conversation & Celebration.

Arctic Interests of the Kingdom of Denmark at a Time of Geopolitical Rivalry in the Arctic
with Torsten Kjølby Nielsen, Chief Counsellor for Arctic Affairs at the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Monday March 20, 2023 at 7 p.m. Kerr House Seminar Room, Traill College
This talk is open to the public. Seating is limited, so please email frostcentre@trentu.ca to reserve your seat. 

Torsten Kjølby Nielsen, Chief Counsellor for Arctic Affairs at the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since 2016 he has worked on Arctic affairs multilaterally (Arctic Council) and in the bilateral relations of the Kingdom of Denmark to both Arctic and non-Arctic actors, bilateral relations with the USA and Canada and the foreign and security policy interests of Greenland and the Faroe Islands. At present he takes a particular interest in geopolitical aspects of developments in the Arctic region with a focus on a broad spectrum of security, economic, and political governance related issues. 

Previously in his diplomatic career he has held a number of positions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Copenhagen on a variety of Danish foreign policy priorities and has served as deputy head of mission at the Danish embassies in Prague (2004-2007) and Madrid (2012-2016). Torsten has a MSc. In Political Science from the University of Aarhus, Denmark (1999).

From Trent to Reykjavik – the path of Canada’s current Ambassador to Iceland
with Jeannette Menzies, Ambassador of Canada to Iceland

Wednesday January 25, 2023 at 7 p.m. Bagnani Hall, Traill College
This talk is open to the public and can be attended in person or online - registration is required for online attendance.

This talk will be a conversation which will touch on the importance of Canadian Studies in global diplomacy, on Canada-Iceland relations, on Arctic issues, and on recruitment to the Canadian Foreign Service.

Ms. Menzies holds an Honours BA in Canadian Studies from the University of Manitoba, 1995, and a Master of Arts in Canadian Heritage and Development Studies from Trent University, 1998.

She was appointed Canada’s Ambassador to Iceland in January 2021. She has served for over 22 years in Canada’s Foreign Service, with assignments in Ankara, Anchorage, Oslo and now Reykjavik. At headquarters, she has worked on Arctic policy, humanitarian issues and consular and emergency management.  Outside of the foreign ministry, she served as Director of Knowledge Management and Engagement at Polar Knowledge Canada from 2015-2019, where she was integral to the establishment of the Canadian High Arctic Research Station in Nunavut. Ms. Menzies is a governmental expert on Arctic and Antarctic issues and is passionate about engaging youth on the future of the polar regions.  

Claims, Cooperation, and Continental Security 
with Dr. Elizabeth Elliot-Meisel, Trent University Fulbright Research Chair

Thursday December 1, 2022 at 7 p.m. Bata Library Film Theatre BL 103, Symons Campus.
This talk is open to the public and can be attended in person or online - registration is required for online attendance.

The School for the Study of Canada is pleased to welcome Dr. Elizabeth Elliot-Meisel for the fall of 2022, as the inaugural Trent University Fulbright Research Chair.

Dr. Elizabeth Elliot-Meisel joined the Department of History at Creighton University (Omaha, NE, USA) in 1993 and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2000. She served as department chair from 2001-2010. Elliot-Meisel received her Ph.D. from Duke University, where she was on a Ford Foundation scholarship.

Dr. Elliot-Meisel’s first book, Arctic Diplomacy: Canada and the United States in the Northwest Passage (1998) built upon and expanded her doctorate thesis. Her research continues to focus on U.S.-Canada relations in the Arctic in general and the Northwest Passage in particular. Recent publications include the co-authored (P. Whitney Lackenbauer) 2-volume document collection “One of the Great Polar Navigators”: Captain T.C. Pullen’s Personal Records of Arctic Voyages. Lackenbauer and Elliot-Meisel are currently writing a biography of Pullen, and Elliot-Meisel is also writing a second book about Canadians in the Arctic, tentatively titled Arctic Visionaries.

Elliot-Meisel believes that History tells the ever-dynamic story of people that always asks new questions of the past and challenges people of today to seek a deeper and broader understanding of those who came before them.

Changing Arctic Security
with Dr. Lassi Heininen

Thursday November 10, 2022 at 7 p.m. Bata Film Theatre BL 103, Symons Campus.
This talk is open to the public and can be attended in person or online - registration is required for online attendance.

Dr. Lassi Heininen is Professor (emeritus) of Arctic Politics at University of Lapland (Finland), Editor of Arctic Yearbook, Chair of (traveling symposium) Calotte Academy, Leader of UArctic’s TN on Geopolitics & Security. His research fields include IR, Geopolitics, Security Studies, Environmental Politics, Northern European Studies, Arctic Studies. He lectures at, and supervises PhD candidates from, Finnish & foreign universities, speaks regularly in international conferences, and chairs the GlobalArctic Mission Council of the Arctic Circle.

He publishes in, and acts as reviewer for, international academic journals & publications. Among his recent publications are “Climate Change and the Great Power Rivalry in the Arctic” in Insight Turkey; “The Post-Cold War Arctic” in Global Arctic (Springer); “Arctic Geopolitics from Classical to Critical Approach” in Geography, Environment, Sustainability Journal; Arctic Policies and Strategies - Analysis, Synthesis, and Trends (with Everett, Padrtova & Reissell, IIASA); Climate Change and Security. Searching for a Paradigm Shift (with Exner-Pirot, Palgrave Pivot).

Many lectures from previous years were recorded.