Professor Laura Moss is the Brenda and David McLean Chair in Canadian Studies at the University of British Columbia for 2019-2021. Dr. Moss is Professor of English in the Department of English Language and Literatures at UBC. She is a specialist in Canadian literature, postcolonial theory, and African literatures. In addition to her five edited books on postcolonialism and Canadian writing, Moss has published articles on the work of M.G. Vassanji, Salman Rushdie, Zadie Smith, Margaret Atwood, Chinua Achebe, Rohinton Mistry, and Antje Krog, among others, and has recently written on literary pedagogy, narrative competence, public arts policy in Canada, and public memorials. Her research has been supported by SSHRC, Killam, and UBC.
Laura Moss served as the Academic Convenor for Congress 2019, the annual Congress of the Social Sciences and Humanities that was held at UBC from June 1-7, 2019. She has been editor of the journal Canadian Literature since 2015 and a contributing editor to the Canlitguides.ca project from 2011-2018. She also served as Chair of the UBC Canadian Studies Program and the Director of the International Canadian Studies Centre from 2008-2011.
Professor Moss’ current work concerns the intersections of public policy and the history of arts culture in Canada, including, among other things, the history of environmental policies and artistic responses to current environmental crises.