Unsilencing the Literary Landscape

Join us for a keynote (11am-12pm) and panel discussion (12:30pm-1:30pm) with writers and academics at the forefront of issues of censorship and suppression. 

The keynote will feature Dartmouth historian Matthew F. Delmont sharing details of having his book, “Half American”, be one among the 300 books banned from the library at the U.S. Naval Academy by U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

After the keynote, learn about the suppression of vital information related to the mistreatment of Indigenous people in Canada from McGill Anthropology PhD candidate, Phillippe Blouin, and learn from the highly informed perspectives of Professor Kit Dobson, who teaches a class on censorship at the University of Calgary. This panel will be moderated by Associate University Librarian, James C Moore.

How can you participate? Join us in person or online by registering for the Zoom Meeting or watching live on YouTube.

Have questions? Send them to info.4@concordia.ca

Kit Dobson, PhD

Kit Dobson is a Professor at the University of Calgary and an award-winning scholar of Canadian literature and culture. He has authored or edited over half a dozen books, including the non-fiction work Field Notes on Listening and the novel We Are Already Ghosts (2024). He currently leads the Literary Biodiversities in Western Canada research project.

Philippe Blouin

Philippe Blouin is an anthropology PhD candidate at McGill University and a translator with a background in philosophy. His research draws on traditional Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) political philosophies to analyze Indigenous-led anti-development struggles. Under the supervision of Eduardo Kohn, he explores a critical anthropology of infrastructures and alliances.

Dr. Matthew F. Delmont

Dr. Matthew F. Delmont is the Sherman Fairchild Distinguished Professor of History at Dartmouth College and a Guggenheim Fellow. An expert on civil rights, he authored the award-winning Half American. Notably, his work was recently removed from the Nimitz library at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, highlighting his vital role in the national conversation on censorship.

Organized by Concordia University Library and Associate University Librarian, James C. Moore. 

Part of Freedom to Read Week 2026.