This collection of essays by scholars from Canada, England, France, India and Israel explores the intersections of identity, community and nation within Canadian culture. Multiple waves of immigration and the intermingling of histories, memories and cultures have engaged Canadians in cross-cultural exchanges that have rendered definitions of identity, increasingly complex. Modern-day mobility fosters cultural diversity and transnational identities, calling for a redefinition of subjectivity and belonging as well as challenging nationalist discourses.

This collection of essays by scholars from Canada, Croatia, India, Italy and Israel maps an important aspect of Canadian culture by exploring the inherent relation between space and questions of subjectivity. Location at first stood out in Canadian Literature because survival depended on control of the land; today owing to the technological advances that have eased human exploitation of the ground and its resources, and to some extent enhanced protection against adverse climatic conditions, the preoccupation with space has shifted to incorporate other realities. As manifest in contemporary writing throughout Canada, humans interact with a place in order to strengthen their sense of belonging and selfhood. The essays in Mapping Canadian Cultural Space examine a variety of literary texts by writers from different origins – whether old-timers or newcomers – all aiming at contextualizing subjecthood.

This collection of essays by feminist scholars from Canada and Israel explores the various aspects of Canadian identities and ethnic realities. A major source of tension and political conflict today, ethnicity and the problematics of identities inspire Canadian writers of all origins; to give a true picture of their society, they feel the urge to express their difference. The essays examine the voices of minority writers and of established writers from the two solitudes, whose views with regard to their identities and place in society highlight the specificity of the Canadian context. The book throws light on the paramount need to define ones’ position and identity in contrast to others, a need that may deny others the right to their own space. Foregrounding the diversity of perspectives characterizing Canada’s society, this volume will prove useful to students and researchers of Canadian Literature, Comparative Literature and the Social sciences.