John Ralston Saul -photo credit-Don Denton
WINNIPEG, MB – One of Canada’s leading public intellectuals, John Ralston Saul is being honoured at The University of Winnipeg’s Autumn Convocation on Friday, October 17, 2014. Renowned for his reflections about our country’s history and national identity, as well as for his thoughts about Canadian and Global citizenship, Saul will receive an Honorary Doctor of Laws.
“John Ralston Saul invites us to think about our nations’ histories — imaginatively, provocatively, and insightfully — and in doing so challenges us to promote social justice and the common good,” said Dr. Annette Trimbee, University of Winnipeg President and Vice Chancellor. “The themes he explores in his thinking and writing resonate with the kinds of questions and issues that we constantly grapple with here at the University of Winnipeg. It will be an honour to call John Ralston Saul one of our own.”
Declared a “prophet” by TIME magazine, Saul is a prolific and award-winning essayist and novelist. He is noted for his clear insight into the complexity of Canada’s consciousness as a nation. He changed the way we think of Canada with such seminal works as Reflections of a Siamese Twin and A Fair Country: Telling Truths About Canada, which reestablished the central role of Aboriginal peoples in the creation and continuing existence of Canada, and traced the influence of French-English relations and multiculturalism on our national identity. Saul will be returning to Winnipeg in November as part of the national launch of his latest book, The Comeback: How Aboriginals Are Reclaiming Power And Influence.
Saul is additionally Co-chair of the Institute for Canadian Citizenship (ICC), a national charity promoting the inclusion of new citizens. He founded the ICC’s LaFontaine-Baldwin Symposium, a national lecture event engaging Canadians in a conversation about citizenship and the public good. He is also founder and honorary chair of Le français pour l’avenir/French for the Future, an organization advancing the use of French among secondary students, as well as the patron of PLAN, a cutting-edge organization serving people with disabilities.
To find out more please visit UWinnipeg’s 2014 Autumn Convocation.
