[Commlist] The Legacy of The Tragically Hip: CFP

CFP UPDATE: We are now offering a virtual option, for those who are 
unable to attend in person.

CFP: The Legacy of The Tragically Hip

 From 1984 to 2017, The Tragically Hip released 13 studio albums and 
achieved the status of the best-selling Canadian band in Canada. The 
final tour of the band in 2016, with lead singer Gord Downie dying of 
brain cancer, culminated in a concert on August 20, 2016, which was 
watched on television and online by 11.7 million Canadians. Since the 
passing of Downie, some hagiographic work, such as Michael Barclay's 
/The Never-Ending Present: The Story of Gord Downie and The Tragically 
Hip/ (2018) and the documentary /Long Time Running/ (2017), has assessed 
the history of the band, but there has yet to be a comprehensive 
academic assessment of The Tragically Hip and its legacy in music, film, 
television, and other facets of Canadian popular culture. Our workshop 
aims to correct this absence, and we are partnering with McGill-Queen's 
University Press to publish the best new research from the workshop as a 
book.

The legacy of The Tragically Hip presents no shortage of apparent 
contradictions. The band was often hailed as an exemplification of 
"Canadian" culture, and yet its fan base did not reflect the demographic 
diversity of Canada. Similarly, the Hip merchandise foregrounded 
hypernationalism, while the songs they wrote were more ambiguous or 
antagonistic toward Canadian nationalism. One could also interrogate the 
juxtaposition of the Hip's status as a prototypical Canadian band with 
the late-life appeal from Gord Downie for reconciliation with the 
Indigenous people of Turtle Island. Downie's solo album /Secret 
Path/ and The Gord Downie and Charlie Wenjack Foundation, which raises 
money for reconciliation-oriented projects, have been the subject of 
both praise and condemnation. How would one categorize the influence of 
the Hip on Canadian popular music or culture at large?

This workshop is interested in more than just the music of The 
Tragically Hip. We want to explore the band's multimodal performativity, 
as well. The Hip came of age during the rise of MTV, MuchMusic, and the 
music video. The band was also known for its live performances, which 
often included improvisational lyrics from Downie such as in the famous 
"Killer Whale Tank" rendition of "New Orleans is Sinking."  The Hip also 
performed at the infamous Woodstock '99. The band also made 
contributions to film and television, such as /Men With Brooms/ (2002) 
and /The Trailer Park Boys/, and Downie released a poetry collection 
called /Coke Machine Glow/ (2001).

We are looking for 150- to 200-word abstract proposals for 15-minute 
presentations. The workshop will take place at the University of 
Lethbridge on May 11, 2024. Proposals are due before midnight on 
February 17, 2024. Please send your abstract and a CV to 
(thehipworkshop /at/ gmail.com) <mailto:(thehipworkshop /at/ gmail.com)>. We would 
like to acknowledge the support of SSHRC and the University of 
Lethbridge Office of Research and Innovation Services.


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