The Bilson Lecture series was established by the Department of History to honour the memory of Dr. Geoffrey Bilson, a member of the department who died suddenly in 1987. In addition to his academic work on American history, Geoff Bilson wrote several acclaimed works of children's fiction: the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People was established in his honour by the Canadian Children's Book Centre. The Bilson Lecture series is intended to honour both sides of Geoff Bilson's writerly interests.

For the 2008 Bilson Lecture, we are delighted to present one of Canada's leading writers of historical fiction for children, Sarah Ellis, whose talk is entitled The Historian As Chrysanthemum. The lecture will be held Monday, November 3 at 7:30 pm at the Radisson Hotel, Room Michelangelo C (reception to follow). EVERYONE WELCOME!

Sarah Ellis was born in Vancouver. During her ten years as a children's librarian she discovered a delight in performing—in puppetry and storytelling. At the same time she became interested in writing about children's books, spending a year at the Center for the Study of Children's Literature at Simmons College in Boston. She now writes a review column for Quill and Quire and lectures internationally on Canadian children's books. It seems inevitable that having had this much pleasure from children's books she would one day try her hand at writing juvenile fiction herself. A dozen books later she is well and truly hooked.

Click here to learn more about Sarah Ellis and her books.

Hope to see you there!

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 22nd!!!

The Inaugural Dave de Brou Memorial Lecture in History


On October 22, 2008, Dr. Valerie Korinek, head of the History Department and author of Roughing It in Suburbia: Reading Chatelaine Magazine in the Fifties and Sixties, will be presenting a public history lecture titled “Re-orienting Prairie History: Three Portraits of Prairie Activism."
(click on image to enlarge)

Valerie Korinek's lecture introduces members of the general public and university community to the histories of gay and lesbian communities in the prairie provinces in the post-WWII era. “Re-orienting Prairie History” utilizes three case studies of four prairie residents – Norman Dahl, Lilja Stephanson, Evelyn Rogers and Maureen Irwin – to illustrate how a more inclusive social history of the contemporary prairies challenges our pre-conceived notions of the place and its possibilities. The lecture is accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation.

The lecture promises to be marvelous in its own right, but it also represents the start of something very special for our department. It is the first in a new annual lecture series created and hosted by the History Graduate Students Commitee (HGSC) in honour of the late Dave de Brou, an inspirational colleague and teacher who died suddenly in 2004.

Admission is free and all are welcome to attend. The lecture will be held at the Frances Morrison Library Theatre, 311-23rd Street East. Doors open at 6:00pm and the lecture will begin at 7:00pm. Refreshments and snacks will be provided. Contact jac911@mail.usask.ca for more information.

The HISTORY
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT
ASSOCIATION & the DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY

present…

The seventh annual HUSA
History Film Series!
Kicking off with...
Spartacus!

Forty years before Gladiator… came the greatest Roman history film ever made. This 1960 epic about rebel slaves resisting Roman rule starred Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Peter Ustinov, and Tony Curtis. It was co-directed by Anthony Mann and a young Stanley Kubrick, who went on to create hits like Dr. Strangelove, A Clockwork Orange, and 2001: A Space Odyssey. Winner of the Golden Globe Best Picture and four Oscars, Spartacus is rivalled only by Charlton Heston’s Ben-Hur (1959) for grandeur of vision and historical drama. It perennially polls as one of the top 100 films of all time, not least because, in the famous "oysters and snails" exchange between Olivier and Curtis, it boasts one of the goofiest homoerotic slip-this-past-the-censor scenes ever filmed. EVER. Don't miss it!

How much of Spartacus is history? And how much is drama? Join the revolt and come find out!

Introduced by Angela Kalinowski, Dept. of History/CMRS

DATE & TIME: Thursday, October 23 @ 5:30 p.m.

PLACE: Arts 134

ADMISSION: free! (refreshments available for a small fee)

Everyone welcome!

Bill Waiser's latest book, Who Killed Jacki Bates? (Fifth House, 2008) made all of here at What's Up cry, and it seems we weren't the only ones. We cried because we were moved, and we were moved not just by the profound sadness of the story but by the skill with which Bill told it. So it comes as no surprise to us to learn that Who Killed Jacki Bates has been short-listed for three Saskatchewan Book Awards this year:

· Non-Fiction Award

· Saskatoon Award

· Book of the Year Award

See our posting of September 2nd, below, for more details relating to the book, or click here.

McNally Robinson is hosting a book launch for our own Erika Dyck, who will be reading from and signing copies of her excellent new book, Psychedelic Psychiatry: LSD from Clinic to Campus on Thursday Oct 23 2008 7:30 pm in the Art Alcove of the McNally Robinson bookstore on 8th Street. Everyone welcome. (Click here to see the full list of McNally Robinson's upcoming events.)

In case you don't have your copy yet, Psychedelic Psychiatry is the tale of medical researchers (many of them right here in non-halucagenic Saskatchewan!) working to understand LSD’s therapeutic properties just as escalating anxieties about drug abuse in modern society laid the groundwork for the end of experimentation out there (or rather, around here) at the edge of psychopharmacology.

Erika, who joined us this fall, is an associate professor in our department.

This coming Monday at noon the College of Law is presenting a public lecture you might well want to catch.

Daniel Ish, QC, Chief Adjudicator, IAP, Indian Residential Schools, will speak on the topic of "Redressing Historical Wrongs: Indian Residential Schools Compensation". That's 12pm, Monday October 20th, in the College of Law, Room 150, Macpherson, Leslie & Tyerman Lecture Theatre. Everyone Welcome.

Ever wonder what that person in the elevator with a distracted but decidedly faculty-ish air about them who exits on the sixth, seventh, or eighth floor actually teaches?
Here's your chance to find out! Because.....

The anxiously anticipated umpteenth annual
HUSA
Meet the History Profs Night
is upon us
and
you are invited!
Thursday October 9th from 6-8pm at Louis'.

Schmooze with faculty old and young!

Network, live and unplugged, with your peers!

Chew something deep-fried and raise a glass to whatever you like!

No need for a ticket! No need to reply to this invitation! Leave your furs at home! Just turn up!

Don't miss this priceless opportunity!

Priceless, in the sense that it is absolutely free* to any student enrolled in a History or CMRS class.

Especially you.

* Admission and nibbles free, assorted beverages available for purchase
Anyone with any history welcome

In one of its more extensive outreach operations, on October 22nd the University of Saskatchewan will host a reception at the eighteenth-century London (England) home of distinguished History alum and investment banker Calvin Redlick. Calvin has had a remarkable career since sailing off from this fair floor to pursue a law degree in Wales. Read more about Calvin, his Sask roots and extensive international branches, in this 2003 profile from Green & White, the U of S alumni magazine.

Given Calvin's History background, it makes perfect sense that the featured speaker that evening will be none other than our own Bill Waiser, who will speak on the theme of "Saskatchewan 101: Making Sense of Saskatchewan History".

The link, not to say collision, between the past and the present took on an alarming currency this past summer, when Russian and Georgian forces exchanged blows. Who better to provide Saskatoonians with an informed backgrounder than our own Russian history expert John McCannon, shown here August 18th, being interviewed by Jeff Rogstad of CTV.

History faculty and family members braved the wind and rain on Sunday, October 5, to take part in the 13th Race for Recovery, held annually to raise funds for Saskatoon's Hope Cancer Help Centre.  Larry Stewart, one of the event's top fundraisers, took part in the 10k run.  John McCannon also ran the 10k,finishing 5th overall and 3rd among male runners.  Martha Smith-Norris's husband Rob and daughter Jacqueline were out in force as well, completing the 2k walk.  Congratulations, and thanks, to all the participants.

Congratulations to Walter Klaassen (fellow in CMRS, adjunct professor in History, and proud father of Dr. Frank Klaassen) on the publication of his most recent book, a biography of Pilgram Marpek, the 16th century Anabaptist leader: Marpek: A Life of Dissent and Conformity (Herald Press, 2008).

McNally Robinson will be holding a book launch, with reading and signing, in honor of this event this coming Wednesday, Oct. 8, at 7:30. Everyone welcome.

This just in:

Our friends in the Library will be hosting
History Research Help Sessions
next week, as follows:

Wednesday, October 1 at 9:30 a.m.

and repeated on

Thursday, October 2 at 2:00

Both sessions will be held in room 161 Murray Library and will provide time for hands-on practice.

These are "drop-in" sessions -- no pre-registration; interested students should just show up.

Additionally, please note that there will be a number of other subject specific drop-in library help sessions which could also be beneficial to history students.

Congratulations to Mark Meyers, our new departmental webmaster, on the very successful rollout of the MARVELLOUS New DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY WEBSITE! The site, which Mark designed and and developed in conjunction with the College of Arts and Science web gurus, is already very cool and will continue to evolve over the next while.

Current developments on the political scene remind us only too forcefully that Canada's Next Great Prime Minister may not necessarily arise from the current generation of party leaders. So it is time to look at the rising generation. Yours, perhaps.

CBC Television is ramping up for the next installment of Canada's Next Great Prime Minister, which the Ceeb describes as "the competition of a lifetime."

.

"Young Canadians have the ears and eyes of the nation listening to their thoughts about what would make our country even better. The competition begins online. Young Canadians aged 18-25 are invited to apply for the show and campaign to be a finalist. Through debate and challenges, the candidates are narrowed down to four who appear on CBC Television, where they engage in a heated debate on the issues facing Canada today. The audience votes and the winner receives $50,000 and a paid internship at Magna International, The Dominion Institute and the Canada-US Fulbright program. Second, third and fourth place winners also receive cash and internship prizes. "

The show airs once a year on CBC Television. As you may recall, the first time the competition was held, our very own Omeasoo Butt (currently a doctoral candidate in our department) was one of the four finalists, and she done us all proud during the live broadcast.

Graham Cunningham from CBC-TV will be on campus drumming up support and answering questions on Wednesday, September 22nd. If you are fortunate enough to have a History class that day, you may hear Mr. Graham make a brief presentation at the start of class. Otherwise, keep an eye out for him around campus (check notices in the usual non-What's Up venues), and if you have a hankering for politics, service, and setting the world right, then why not throw your hat in the ring?

Speaking of Merle Massie's forthcoming History 395.3, New Directions in Historical Research. "Wheat and Wilderness: Canadian Regions, Boundaries, and the Places in Between", you should know that the course has been moved to a new time slot in Term 2. It is now scheduled to run, starting in January, on Wednesdays from 1:30-4:30.

We apologize to anyone adversely effected by the change, but we hope that more students will be able to avail themselves of this exciting new course, the first of a new series in which a different edition of History 385: New Directions in Historical Research will be offered each year by a senior doctoral candidate teaching a seminar in his or her research field in consultation with faculty teaching mentors. Merle's course, developed in consultation with Bill Waiser and Gordon DesBrisay, promises to be fascinating and provocative. There is still space available, so if you are on the look-out for a cutting-edge, pushing-the-envelope, out-of-the-box, down-with-cliches sort of course, or know someone who is, then sign right up!

Ph.D. candidate Merle Massie features in a recent profile published in the 5 September 2008 edition of OCN: OnCampusNews. Merle explains there that "history is about creating and shaping identity", and that she is interested in the identity of this, her home province—and how she might, in fact, change it. Merle is working on two main fronts, in fact. One concerns her own doctoral research on the "transition zone" between the borreal north and the prairie south of Saskatchewan. The other concerns her forthcoming teaching in her inaugural edition of History 395.3, New Directions in Historical Research. "Wheat and Wilderness: Canadian Regions, Boundaries, and the Places in Between" (about which more below) which will inform students that the regional concepts which divide Canada into easily described units like the prairies or the north actually over-simplify Canadian history. "Perception," she explains, "is the key. When we identify regions, we impose boundaries and create static geographies, lifecycles, and economics that really have no bearing on reality. When we define Saskatchewan as a 'prairie' province only, we allow one landscape to dominate our history, politics, and culture. I'm working to change this." And so shall her lucky students be.

Bill Waiser will be reading from his newest book this Tuesday, September 16th, at 7:30 pm in the Prairie Ink restaurant of the McNalley Robinson Bookstore. Who Killed Jacki Bates? (Fifth House, 2008) begins with events on the morning of 5 December 1933, when a young RCMP constable discovered a grisly scene in the Avalon schoolyard in rural Saskatchewan. A young boy lay dead in a rented car, an apparent victim of carbon monoxide poisoning. In the car with him were his parents, who would survive both the effects of the gas and self-inflicted knife wounds only to face murder charges in their son’s death. The subsequent trial of Ted and Rose Bates ranks as one of the most hotly debated in Saskatchewan history. Bill examines an incident long held up as an example of the sheer despair and bureaucratic heartlessness of the Depression and shows that the truth is much more complex. Bill's carefully researched take on the Jackie Bates story was first presented to the public as an episode of his celebrated "Looking Back" tv series on the CBC. One regular What's Up correspondent reports that he wept when he first heard Bill tell the story, though he went to add that the story will make you think and reflect as well as cry.

Bring Out Your Money!

Professor John Porter is a desperate man.

Desperate, that is, to support the CMRS Program in the guise of his alter ego (that's Latin, by the way):
CMRS MAN!

Professor Porter has signed up for Easter Seals Superhero Drop Zone 2008. If we can raise enough money in
the next little while, he will be joining others in rappelling off the top of the 22-story Carlton Tower in downtown Saskatoon on Sept. 12.

The people who do this, do so in costume, so you will not only get to see Prof. Porter jump off a building (a wish that has occurred to many) but will see him do so in the guise of CMRS MAN.

We need to raise a good deal of money for this to happen, but it's for a good cause, so dig deep!

Easter Seals Canada is a registered charity dedicated to serving children, youth and adults with disabilities, striving to ensure that no one is left behind. More than 100,000 Canadians and their families annually access programs and services provided by Easter Seals organizations across Canada.

Its best known services are the Easter Seals camp programs. In 2008, 22 camps across Canada provided camp opportunities to more than 6,000 kids with disabilities. Since 1949, an estimated 160,000 children with disabilities have attended Easter Seals camps.

Help John Porter help Easter Seals and plummet in terrifying safety from a tall building. You can find the details at:

http://my.e2rm.com/personalPage.aspx?SID=1919281

Please give generously.

Let's all give a warm What's Up welcome to Erika Dyck. Erika is a native of our fair town, and first gained fame, if not fortune, completing an MA here under the supervision of our very own Valerie Korinek. After earning her Ph.D. at McMaster University, Erika, a specialist in medical history, joined the University of Alberta on a joint appointment to both the Faculty of Medicine and the History Department. Her ship has now come in, however, and she returns to this department as an Associate Professor.

The fact that Erika has now joined us is reason enough for celebration. But wait! There's more!

Erika's new book is just out. Psychedelic Psychiatry: LSD from From Clinic to Campus (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 2008). The book blows the lid off the spectacular counterculture myths about LSD, which turns out to have been very much a Saskatchewan product. It came about at at time when Saskatchewan's reputation as the North American home of universal health care, and the Tommy Douglas government's willingness to spend money on medical research, attracted skilled scientists from across Canada and beyond to this campus and to facilities around the province. The ultimate anti-establishment drug came about thanks to earnest and highly skilled medical researchers conducting well-funded research at the leading edge of psychopharmacology. Click here to learn more, and be sure to add terrific new book to your personal collection.

And in case you were wondering, you can rest easy (or disappointed, as the case may be): this book was printed on Acid-free paper.

This just in! A What's Up World Exclusive!

One of our very most loyal correspondents captured this action shot of our very own Dr. Lisa Smith just moments after she wed our dear friend (and, indeed, her dear friend) Mark Gudgeon this past weekend in London. Lisa and Mark have been a commuting couple for some time, plying the friendly skies from Saskatoon to Heathrow and back. This coming year Lisa is on sabbatical in, of all places, London. Needless to say (but we'll say it anyway) all of us here at What's Up wish the happy couple a very Merry Marriage!