At a time when the pace and intensity of climate disasters (fires, floods, riverbank and coastal erosion, etc.) are accelerating, where populations are regularly displaced and the future of many villages or sectors is threatened, it seems more essential than ever to better understand the factors and scenarios of erasure and/or abandonment, as well as the dynamics and tensions they create within communities, between memories, identity and erasure.
This symposium offers an opportunity to examine the factors and conditions that, since the 16th century, have led to the abandonment of permanent (or seasonal) settlements along the maritime territories of eastern Canada: Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador. These territories, interconnected by the Atlantic space and the Laurentian axis, were coveted and exploited by various ethnocultural groups. Over time, they experienced significant migratory movements and, with them, successive cycles of settlement and abandonment. Such places provide fertile ground for a closer examination of erasure and/or abandonment scenarios and the questions they raise. Between the erasure of markers in the landscape and the proliferation of initiatives to promote heritage sites there is a variety of nuances that attest to the mark left by vanished villages. What factors lead a population to abandon a site permanently? What are the processes and phases involved? What traces have these disappearances left in the collective memory? How have they contributed—or not—to the construction of community identity? Can we characterize vanished villages, and if so, according to what criteria?
These considerations are central to the three themes proposed in this call for papers. The first invites participants to (1) document various scenarios of past or present abandonment based on one or more case studies. It may focus as much on the actors involved as on the factors and contexts that lead to abandonment or closure. This theme will also provide a better understanding of the evolution of cultural landscapes in Eastern Canada since the period of contact and offer a new perspective for understanding migratory movements and the multicultural richness that underpins maritime societies. The second theme aims to (2) characterize the relationship between erasure and/or abandonment, and the construction of identities. In this regard, the presence or absence of remains, discourse, and enhancement mechanisms (interpretive panels, reconstruction, walking trails, etc.) will be valuable indicators for understanding how the sense of identity attached to disappeared villages was formed, transmitted, or lost. Combining these first two areas, a third proposes to (3) consider appropriate characterization and management tools. These tools, which can take various forms (classification or characterization grids, interactive maps, evaluation criteria, enhancement plans, public policies, etc.), encourage us to look further into the future. They are likely to benefit not only scholars, but also public organizations and decision-makers who analyze past abandonment scenarios, who must consider future closures, or who are working on enhancement strategies.
Proposals for papers, limited to 250 words, and short biography (125 words) should be sent by January 16, 2026 to the following e-mail address: archipel@uqar.ca
This symposium will lead to the publication of a thematic journal issue that will be published in French in L’Estuaire and in English in Newfoundland and Labrador Studies. Each article must be between 7,500 and 12,000 words long, accompanied by an abstract (150-200 words) and comply with one or other of the journal protocols.
Articles must be submitted to one of the journals by June 12, 2026 at the latest.