Institute of Island Studies hosts Island Lecture Series presentation on May 20

The Institute of Island Studies, University of Prince Edward Island, will present a talk titled “The ‘family farm’: A keyword in Prince Edward Island land politics” by Heidi Haering on May 20, at 7 pm in the Faculty Lounge, SDU Main Building 201.

Haering’s presentation is part of the 2025 Island Lecture Series hosted by the Institute. It was originally scheduled to take place in March but was postponed because of inclement weather.

Drawing on anthropological fieldwork for her master’s thesis, Haering will talk about the struggle to define the “family farm” in PEI and how this ambiguity helps or hinders the work of farmers, agribusiness, and government. She will discuss how participant definitions of the “family farm” contrasted with how they farmed and were sometimes at odds with their ideals. She will also shed light on the possible reasons that agribusiness and governments look to the pastoral romanticism of “family farm.”

A resident of Charlottetown, Haering has completed her MA in Anthropology at Memorial University. Her thesis is titled “Three keywords in the campaign against farmland consolidation and the loss of small farms through the lens of the Prince Edward Island Chapter of the National Farmers Union.”

All are welcome.