The annual Dr. Barbara Powell Memorial Visiting Lecture is the flagship event of the Humanities Research Institute.
Dr. Barbara Powell, who died in 2002, was founding Coordinator of the Women’s Studies Program, Associate Professor of Women’s Studies, and Associate Dean of Arts at the University of Regina.
The Powell Lecture was established by the Humanities Research Institute as a tribute to Dr. Powell’s seminal role in the founding of the HRI. It recognizes her outstanding contributions to the University as a whole, and to the Faculty of Arts in particular, as a scholar, a teacher, an administrator, and a mentor.
2020 Barbara Powell Lecture – rescheduled to June 2021 due to Covid
Ahmed Boukous
June 24, 2021, 10am (MST)
Ahmed Boukous is a Moroccan Amazighist, linguist, sociologist, and an award-winning novelist. He is currently the president of the Royal Institute of the Amazigh Culture in Rabat.
His degrees include: Doctorat en sciences sociales, Paris, Université René Descartes, 1974. Doctorat d’Etat en sciences du langage, Saint-Denis, Université Paris VIII, 1987; and Diplôme du Cycle supérieur en management des entreprises, Casablanca, ISCAE, 2006.
His publications include: Langage et culture populaires au Maroc, Casablanca, 1977; Société, langues et cultures au Maroc, Rabat, 1995; Dominance et différence. Essais sur les enjeux symboliques, Casablanca, 1999; Phonologie de l’amazighe, Rabat, 2009; Revitalisation de la langue amazighe: enjeux et stratégies, Rabat, 2011; Essais sur la politique et l’aménagement linguistiques, Rabat, 2018; Essais sur les enjeux culturels, 2019; Rhapsodies de Tanit la captive, roman, Casablanca, 2019 – 25e Prix Grand Atlas 2019 – Le Prix de la fiction.
Keynote Presentation : “Revitalization of the Amazigh Language/Revitalisation de la langue Amazighe”
According to UNESCO indications, many languages around the world are threatened with extinction, especially those of communities suffering from conditions of socio-economic precariousness. Efforts are being made everywhere to stem the tide of this erosion, including significant work in terms of awareness raising, symbolic and material enhancement of the tangible and non-tangible heritage of the communities. Measures are also being taken in the areas of action research, communication, the creative industries, adult education and training for young people. Within the framework of this general issue, the presentation will focus on the situation of the Amazigh (Berber) language and culture in Morocco today.
Selon les indications de l’UNESCO, beaucoup de langues à travers le monde sont menacées d’extinction, notamment celles des communautés souffrant de précarité socio-économique. Des efforts sont faits un peu partout pour retarder l’échéance. Pour cela, des actions importantes sont menées, en termes de conscientisation, de valorisation symbolique et matérielle du patrimoine tangible et non tangibles des communautés. Des mesures sont également prises sur les plans de la recherche action, de la communication, des industries créatives, de l’éducation des adultes et de la formation des jeunes. Dans le cadre de cette problématique générale, la conférence focalisera sur la situation de la langue et des cultures amazighes (berbères) dans le Maroc d’aujourd’hui.