2025 Eakin Lecture Robert Lepage and the ROC: Forty Years of Circulations

McGill Institute for the Study of Canada

The Fall 2025 Eakin Lecture delivered by Jane Koustas

McGill Faculty Club and Conference Centre

Join MISC at 4:00 pm on Monday, November 17th at the Faculty Club (3450 McTavish Street) for the 2025 Fall Eakin Lecture, Robert Lepage and the ROC: Forty Years of Circulations, by Jane Koustas.With his collaborative effort “Circulations” staged in Toronto in 1985, Lepage introduced Toronto to bi- or multilingual theatre that bypassed and transformed the then-conventional notions of translation which place source and target languages, audiences and cultures in binary opposition. This production that was “one third French, one third English and one third movement”, redefined or transgressed the traditional labels of québécois, English-Canadian, the Rest of Canada (ROC) or Other.Lepage’s success in the ROC lies in his work’s power to negotiate difference and otherness, not through the depiction of conflict or division, but through the imaginary and visual presentation of shared space and ideas, and through the broadening and fusing of horizons. Unlike other destinations on his extensive global itinerary, the ROC was a home away from home that recalled and played upon Lepage’s own dual identity as québécois and Canadian while joining him on, and benefitting from, his global artistic and geographic journey; he staged the pulsation between familiarity and otherness.The lecture will be followed by a Q&amp;A and reception. This event is free and open to public; registration is required via Eventbrite.The Eakin Lecture series is organized bi-annually by the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada, as a part of the Eakin Visiting Fellowship in Canadian Studies established by the Eakin family in memory of William R. Eakin. The fellowships are awarded each term to active scholars whose research or teaching advances Canadians Studies.Jane Koustas is Professor Emerita of French at Brock University where she also directed Canadian Studies. She served as the Craig Dobbin Professor of Canadian Studies at University College Dublin. Koustas was the President of the Canadian Studies Network from 2014 to 2016 and served as the President of the International Council for Canadian Studies from 2022 to 2024. Koustas was also the Editor of the Journal of Canadian Studies. In 2022, she was awarded the Governor General’s International Award for Canadian Studies.She is the co-editor of: Landscapes and Landmarks of Canada: Real, Imagined, (Re)viewed; Plurilinguisme et pluriculturalisme: Des modèles officiels dans le monde; Canadian Studies: Past, Present, Praxis with Christl Verduyn; Translating from the Margins: Traduire depuis les marges; Robert Lepage: Théàtre sans frontières: essays on the dramatic universe of Robert Lepage and Vision/Division: l’oeuvre de Nancy Huston. Professor Koustas published Les belles étrangères: Canadians in Paris, 2008 and Robert Lepage on the Toronto Stage: Language, Identity, Nation, 2016.In 2017, she was awarded the James A. Flaherty Visiting Professorship by the Ireland-Canada University Foundation to pursue a comparative study of Quebec and Irish theatre.

Our {communityGuidelinesLink} describe the sort of content we prohibit on Eventbrite. If you suspect an event may be in violation, you can report it to us so we can investigate.

To report other categories of prohibited or illegal content, submit {link}

2025 Eakin Lecture Robert Lepage and the ROC: Forty Years of Circulations

More events from McGill Institute for the Study of Canada

Discover more events from McGill Institute for the Study of Canada, from Arts to other experiences you might love.

Still looking for the right event?

Explore all events in Montreal and filter by date, category, and more to find the perfect fit.

2025 Eakin Lecture Robert Lepage and the ROC: Forty Years of Circulations

More events from McGill Institute for the Study of Canada

Discover more events from McGill Institute for the Study of Canada, from Arts to other experiences you might love.

You might also like...

Browse more events with different dates, prices, and formats to find your next great experience.

Still looking for the right event?

Explore all events in Montreal and filter by date, category, and more to find the perfect fit.