In the past few years, the concept of «liminality» has become a kind of pet theme within the discipline of Cultural Studies, lending itself to phenomena of transgression and systemic demarcation. This anthology employs theories of liminality to discuss Canadäs geographic and symbolic boundaries, taking its point of departure from the observation that «Canada» itself, as a cultural, political, and geographic entity, encapsulates elements of the «liminal.» The essays comprised in this volume deal with fragmented and contradictory practices in Canada, real and imagined borders, as well as contact zones, thresholds, and transitions in Anglo-Canadian and French-Canadian texts, discussing topics such as the U.S./Canadian border, migration, French-English relations, and encounters between First Nations and settlers.

The Canadian Cultural Imaginary and its liminal aesthetics - Liminal landscapes - Canadian «Thirdspace» - Nation, language, and immigration - Ambiguous fictions - Liminality in the canadian novel - Hyphenated canada? Indigenous voices and hybrid identities - Blurry visions - Canadian arts and liminality - Final thresholds - Loss, memory, and dying - Poetical observations - Canada as art

Stefan L. Brandt is Professor of American Studies at the University of Graz and former President of the Austrian Association for American Studies. Brandt has lectured and published on a wide range of topics within the interdisciplinary fields of American Popular Culture, Gender & Urban Theory as well as Transnational Studies.