McMaster’s OIA hosts the second installment of Grenoble International Colloquia

On November 14^th, 2024, the Office of International Affairs (OIA), in partnership with Université Grenoble Alpes’ Outreach Direction (UGA, DRI/DGD DIT), hosted the second installment of the McMaster and Grenoble International Colloquia (MaGIC) initiative. This colloquium focused on political science, entitled “Challenges in Democratic Societies: Political Polarization and Economic Inequality”. Over 55 participants across McMaster and UGA attended the hybrid event, including both faculty and students from each university. McMaster’s Dr. Andrea Lawlor presented “Affective Polarization and Institutional Confidence in Canada”, exploring the relationships between affective polarization and political trust. Prof. Sonja Zmerli of Sciences Po Grenoble – UGA then introduced her ongoing project POLINEQUAL with the presentation “Representations of economic inequality in comparative perspective: How welfare state institutions, social norms and political discourse shape perceptions of inequality”. Rich discussions followed, as students and faculty in both Hamilton and Grenoble asked questions, and researchers mentioned next steps. It was an excellent session, highlighting areas for research collaboration and opportunities for student mobility and exchanges.

Prof. Caroline Bertonèche, UGA’s newly appointed Vice-President of International Affairs, also said a few words during the colloquium, stating her desire to work closely, and strengthen the relationship between McMaster and UGA. Prof. Bertonèche also introduced an open call: the Maison de la Création et de l’Innovation (MaCI) – UGA Call for Projects on International Excellence in the Humanities. This call aims to fund matching PhDs (thèses en miroir) involving a collaboration between an international partner in the humanities and social sciences and UGA’s Maison de la Création et de l’Innovation. For more information about this call, please click here. You can also find the call to download on our MaGIC webpage here.

For more information about the colloquium, to view the session agenda, and to read the presentation abstracts, please click here. If you are interested in listening to a recording of the Political Science colloquium, please reach out to OIA Research Intern Maia Lepingwell-Tardieu (lepingam@mcmaster.ca).

If you would like to participate in a MaGIC session or lead a future colloquium, please reach out to OIA director Dr. Amira El Masri (amira.elmasri@mcmaster.ca). The OIA would be happy to facilitate department partnerships with UGA if you do not already have a faculty connection. To access a list of current funding opportunities to support this Canada-France research collaboration and mobility, please click here.

 Information on our next colloquia will be released soon!