My time as the Fulbright Canada Visiting Chair has been a busy one since arriving from Ottawa on December 31st with my wife, Victoria, and children, Emma and Lucca. Just a week after touching down in Seattle, I was off to the lovely town of La Conner to take part in the\u00a0Fourth Annual Public Health Symposium: US\/Canada Academic Collaboration in the Pacific Northwest<\/em>, which was organized by UW\u2019s School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of British Columbia\u2019s Department of Health Care and Epidemiology, and Simon Fraser University\u2019s Faculty of Health Sciences.<\/p>\n At the end of January, it was off to Victoria, BC to take part in a two-day think tank on Media and Public Policy organized by the National Cancer Institute of Canada and the Canadian Cancer Society. I served as co-chair of the working group dealing with media and policy issues related to cancer prevention, and moderated a discussion on how to develop a research agenda around media and policy in the cancer field.<\/p>\n In early February I traveled to Vancouver to give a guest lecture, \u201cEngendering Autism Activism,\u201d at Simon Fraser University\u2019s Harbourfront campus in Vancouver. The talk, which was sponsored by the Women\u2019s Health Research Network, focused on the gendered dynamics of advocacy in the field of autism.<\/p>\n Mid-February took me to sunny Phoenix to give a talk on “narrative analysis” to a sharp group of PhD students in Public Administration at Arizona State University. My host was Professor Gerald Miller, a former Fulbright Canada Visiting Chair who spent some time at the University of Ottawa. On the second day of my visit there, I served as a discussant for Professor Miller\u2019s presentation, which dealt with a project he is completing on tax revolts in Canada and the US. I was asked to reflect on how one might explain the lack of tax revolt in Canada, despite the fact that Canadians are, on the whole, taxed more heavily than are Americans.<\/p>\n Finally, on March 4th, I was pleased to deliver a lecture titled, “A Spectrum of Disputes: Framing Autism Activism in Canada and the US.”<\/p>\n 2008-09 Fulbright Canada Visiting Chair, Michael Orsini, School of Political Studies, University of Ottawa. Orsini\u2019s research interests include health policy and comparative politics in an interdisciplinary environment including sociology, law and politics, and science and technology studies. During his residency at University of Washington, Orsini worked on a new project, titled “Health Policy from Below: Social Movements and Contested Illness in Canada and the US.” The project, funded by a Social Science and Humanities Research Council Grant, examines the policy influence of civil society actors in three areas (asthma, autism and Multiple Chemical Sensitivity).<\/p>\n Participant,\u00a0Fourth Annual Public Health Symposium: US-Canada Academic Collaboration in the Pacific Northwest<\/i>, La Conner, Washington, 9-10 January 2009.<\/p>\n Class presentation, \u201cIntroduction to Politics in Canada and Ottawa,\u201d for the students inSIS 495C: Task Force on Arctic Sovereignty<\/i>, University of Washington, 23 January 2009.<\/p>\n Invited lecture, \u201cGendering Autism Activism,\u201d provided to faculty and staff, Women\u2019s Studies, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, British Columbia, 6 February 2009.<\/p>\n Lecture, \u201cContested Illnesses and Comparative Social Movement Activism: Bringing Narrative Analysis In,\u201d Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, 19 February 2009.<\/p>\n Discussant, \u201cCanadian and US Comparative Tax Burdens and Revolts,\u201d School of Public Affairs, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, 20 February 2009.<\/p>\n Lecture, \u201cA \u2018Spectrum\u2019 of Disputes: Framing Autism in Canada and the US,\u201d part of theHot Spots in Your World Lecture Series<\/i>, sponsored by the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington, 4 March 2009.<\/p>\n Visiting Scholar, provided guest lectures in three courses (IDS 329, SOC 119-01, ANTH 344-01<\/i>) including meetings with faculty, Willamette University, Salem, Oregon, 6-7 April 2009.<\/p>\n Respondent, \u201cRe-Imagining Health \u2013 What We Can Learn from Canada,\u201d\u00a04th Annual Canadian Studies Graduate Student Symposium<\/i>, University of Washington, 17 April 2009.<\/p>\n Invited lecturer, \u201cThe Future of Health Care in Canada and the US,\u201d for faculty and graduate students, School of Nursing, University of Washington Bothell, 25 April 2009.<\/p>\n Invited lecturer, \u201cSeeing Red: A Tale of Two Tainted Blood Scandals,\u201d \u201cA Spectrum of Disputes: Autism Activism and the Contours of Biological Citizenship,\u201d and \u201cThe Canadian Health Care System,\u201d for the general public and undergraduate students in international studies and public health, Canadian Studies Committee, Western Oregon University, Monmouth, Oregon, 29 April \u2013 1 May 2009.<\/p>\n Invited Lecturer,\u00a0LSJ332\/CHID 332 Disability and Society: Introduction to Disability Studies<\/i>, Professor Joanne Woiak, University of Washington, 21 May 2009.<\/p>\n By Michael Orsini<\/p>\n Above: Fulbright Canada Chair, Michael Orsini (center) with Anand Yang, Director, Jackson School of International Studies (left), and Juan Guerra, Associate Dean, Graduate School.<\/i><\/p>\n Where does the time go? It seems like only yesterday we were unpacking and getting acclimatized to life in Seattle. Now, many a latte later, we are packing to head back to Ottawa. The final three months here have been just as busy as the first three. After speaking to the UW community on March 4 about my current research on autism activism, I visited a number of universities, including Whitman College (Walla Walla, Washington), Willamette University (Salem, Oregon), and Western Oregon University (Monmouth, Oregon).<\/p>\n At Whitman, I spoke on a panel with Ann Miles, a medical anthropologist from Western Michigan University who studies the narratives of women living with lupus in Ecuador. Less than a week later, it was off to Willamette University, where I gave three talks on my own research and on the Canadian health care system.<\/p>\n On April 17, I took part in the Canadian Studies symposium, “Re-imagining Health,” which was expertly organized by UW Social Work PhD student Morna McEachern (see cover). The event featured talks by a half-dozen graduate students from UW in fields ranging from forestry to sex education.<\/p>\n On April 25, it was back to UW (Bothell Campus), where I spoke at the Forum on the Future of Health Care, which was organized by UW Bothell School of Nursing, State Representatives Al O’Brien and Mark Ericks, and State Senator Rosemary McAuliffe. The event attracted nearly 100 people on a Saturday morning!<\/p>\n My last University visit, in the grip of the Swine Flu panic, was to Western Oregon University, where I was greeted by an exemplary host, Anthropology Professor Robin Smith. I gave three talks to students there, as well as a public talk on my autism research. The Fulbright Canada Visiting Research Chair is supported by the Office of Global Affairs, Social Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences, the Dean\u2019s Fund for Innovation and Excellence in Education in the Graduate School, and the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies.<\/i><\/p>\n University of Ottawa Michael Orsini, Associate Professor, School of Political Studies, University of Ottawa, joined the Jackson School of International Studies as the 2008-09 Fulbright Canada Visiting Research Chair from January through June 2009.\u00a0He obtained his Ph.D in 2002 from Carleton University where he studied public policy and completed a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada<\/p>\nScholarly Activities at the UW<\/h2>\n
Northwest Exposure Comes to an End<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/jsis.washington.edu\/canada\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/07\/Orsini_sm-300x186.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nIt has been a memorable six months for me as a researcher and for my family, an experience we are not likely to forget for some time. A special thank you to Nadine Fabbi, who has been nothing short of exceptional during our stay.<\/p>\nContact Information for Michael Orsini<\/h2>\n
\nSchool of Political Studies
\n55 Laurier Ave E
\nOttawa, Ontario
\nCanada
\nK1N 6N5<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"