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Canadian Political Science Association2025 Annual Conference Programme
The Politics of Belonging: Conflict,
Community, Curriculum
Hosted at George Brown College, Toronto, CANADA
June 3 to June 5, 20252025 Annual Conference Programme
The Politics of Belonging: Conflict,
Community, Curriculum
Hosted at George Brown College
June 3 to June 5, 2025
Teaching
M19(b) - Roundtable: Sabbaticals: Aspirations, Inspirations and Logistics
Date: Jun 5 | Time: 01:45pm to 03:15pm | Location:
Chair/Président/Présidente : Kristi Heather Kenyon (University of Winnipeg)
Kristi Kenyon (University of Winnipeg)David Black (Dalhousie University)
Veronica Kitchen (University of Waterloo)
Matthew Mitchell (University of Saskatchewan)
Amanda Bittner (Memorial University of Newfoundland)
Fred Cutler (University of British Columbia)
Abstract: The academic sabbatical can be a crucial time to focus on research, invest deeply in projects, grapple with new questions and immerse oneself in a new academic or research setting. This time – typically ranging from 6 to 12 months – can be critical for getting new projects off the ground, conducting fieldwork or completing larger projects that can be challenging to fit within the constraints of teaching schedules and service commitments. Despite its professional and personal importance, however, there is little guidance given on how to use the sabbatical effectively, and also how to plan for the logistics of such a shift, particularly if it entails coordination with other family members and their ambitions and commitments. This roundtable brings together scholars who have taken one or more sabbaticals to discuss the messy, exciting, expensive, rewarding and unpredictable paths that a sabbatical can take – including negotiating sabbaticals in concert with spouses' careers, and children’s schooling. The roundtable will address questions such as: How do you make the most of your sabbatical time? What unexpected challenges and benefits arose during your sabbatical? How do you plan a sabbatical with a family? What are the plusses and minuses of relocation vs staying put? What is a reasonable workload during a sabbatical year? How do you negotiate affiliations and connections to facilitate sabbaticals away from home? How do you manage the pull of email, service obligations, etc. while on sabbatical? How do you transition from sabbatical back to a typical academic year?