Call for Papers: The Third International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities will be held at Cambridge University, 1-5 August 2005. The conference will continue in its endeavours over recent years to develop an interdisciplinary agenda for the humanities. Proposals are invited for 30 minute papers, 60 minute workshops or jointly presented 90 minute colloquium sessions. Presenters may choose to submit written papers for publication before or after the conference in the fully refereed International Journal of the Humanities. If you are unable to attend the conference in person, virtual registrations are also available which allow you to submit a paper for refereeing and possible publication and to access the conference proceedings. The deadline for the first round call for papers is 15 October 2004. Proposals are usually reviewed within four weeks of submission. For further details, see http://www.HumanitiesConference.com.

Pam Jordan will join a distinguished panel of speakers discussing the future of UN Peacekeeping at a weekend conference, Making Peace, sponsored by the Saskatoon Peace Coalition. The conference will be held Friday-Sunday November 5-7 at Holy Cross High School in Saskatoon. To register, contact peaceconference@hotmail.com.

The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography has just been published online. It contains biographic entries on some 50,000 dead Britons, plus a judicious smattering of dead colonials. In paper it comes to sixty volumes. It is one of the largest collaborative undertakings in the history of the humanities, with 10,000 contributors, including 1396 from the United States, 302 from Australia, 52 from Germany, 16 from India, and at least five from Saskatoon: Jim Miller, Warren Johnston, Larry Stewart, Chris Kent, and Gordon DesBrisay. The Saskatoon connection is even stronger, however, if we count (as we do indeed count) the contributinos of alumni Duncan Sutherland (BA hons, MA; Ph.D. Cambridge), now based in London, and Jared Sizer (BA hons; Ph.D. Cambridge) in Edinburgh. Click here to learn more about the ODNB, which is coming soon to a University of Saskatchewan Library near you.

What's Up's sister publication NowThen, the History Department's annual-ish newsletter, was recently mailed to students and alumni. Congratulations to Dale Miquelon and Nadine Penner for making it happen. If you cannot wait for Canada Post to find you, you can see it here first with just one click.

New Electronic Resource in Library: Since 1967 Latin American Newsletters (LAN) has been the leading independent source of political, strategic, economic, and business intelligence on Latin America." Part of the Latin American Intelligence Service, LAN covers Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America in English and Spanish. Many of the items listed are available in full text. If you are inside the U of S loop, click here for further details.

Special Guest Lecture: On Wednesday, September 29, Dr. Jennifer Welsh is going to give a special guest lecture to students and faculty in the Department of History. This lecture will take place from 1:30 until 2:20 in Arts 206. Dr. Welsh is a Professor of International Relations and a Tutorial Fellow in International Relations, at Somerville College (Oxford). She was born in Regina and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Saskatchewan and both a Master's and Doctorate in International Relations from the University of Oxford, where she studied as a Rhodes Scholar. She is the author of three books on international relations and the co-author of a work entitled "Chips and Pop: Decoding the Nexus Generation." During the lecture, she will speak about her latest book "At Home In the World: Canada's Global Vision for the 21st Century." All are welcome to attend this lecture. For further information, please contact Martha Smith-Norris at smithm@usask.ca or 966-5800.

The History Department Website has been updated with links to a variety of useful sites for students. From the "undergraduates" pull-down menu located at the top of the screen (this screen, for example), click on "online resources" and find links to the department's approved footnoting and essay writing guides, along with sites offering guidance on matters of plagiarism and academic honesty. Graduate students, meanwhile, can find these and other links relevant to their duties as T.A.s by clicking on the "graduates" pull-down menu and then choosing "resources for grad students."

Centenniel Lecture Series:
October 4, 2004, 4 PM, Room 241 Arts (Place Riel Theatre. Everyone welcome.
"Just how is landlocked Saskatchewan in the same boat as the Maritime provinces?" In this lecture, Margaret Conrad will explore the shifting notions of regionalism in Canada, the sometimes contentious relationship between eastern & western regions, and how the development of regional cooperation could serve our common interests.
Margaret Conrad, Canada Research Chair in Atlantic Canada Studies at the University of New Brunswick, is a Nova Scotian with ties to the Prairies. She is currently researching aspects of cooperation and conflict within and among the Atlantic provinces and is interested in eastern and western perspectives on the phenomenon of Canadian regionalism. Click here to learn more about Margaret Conrad.

Eighteenth-Century Studies at the U of S announces that its next dinner gathering on Wednesday September 29th will feature Warren Johnston speaking on "Apocalypse Now, Then: Revolution and Revelation in Restoration England." The evening begins upstairs in the Faculty Club Lounge at 6:30 p.m, dinner at 7:00, talk to follow. The set menu will cost around $20 for permananet faculty and $10 for undergraduates, graduate students, and sessional lecturers. If you wish to come, please leave a message with Pat Harpell (966-5486) or e-mail Ray Stephanson stephanr@duke.usask.ca) by Friday September 24th.

At 6:52 on the morning of August 27th, MA candidate Jennifer Wilcox gave birth to future history student Benjamin David Wilcox Nickel. Mother and son are both doing well, and Jenn reports that "Benjamin is perfect and healthy and we couldn't have asked for a sweeter baby." Congratulations to the whole family.

History Grad Student Announcements:

1)Thursday, September 30, 2004 - 5-6:30 pm in Faculty Club basement room - meeting to discuss proposed changes to the history graduate program. For graduate students, this is an important time to speak to any concerns you have re: the changes.
2)Grad. Student Welcome/ History Graduate Students Committee (HGSC) Executive Elections meeting/ De Brou's books scramble - Friday, 24 September at 4:30 in 710 Arts. Refreshments provided.

Those interested in social and economic history from the industrial revolution on might wish to check out Spinning the Web, which brings together a unique collection of some 20,000 items from the libraries, museums and archives of North West England which tell the story of the Lancashire Cotton Industry.
See it at http://www.spinningtheweb.org.uk/.

Speaking of weddings, new MA student Chris Clarke (late of Trent) and his wife Becky were married on August 28th. Congratulations to them both!

The Department of History in conjunction with Denise De Brou has established the Dave De Brou Memorial Scholarship for graduate studies. The awards will be made on the basis of academic merit to a student entering the first year of an M.A. program who is in financial need. Monies raised to date should sustain a modest award for about a decade, but we aim to establish a more generous award in perpetuity. Donations in any amount will be gratefully accepted. Cheques should be made out to the University of Saskatchewan, marked "Dave De Brou Fund", and sent to: Linda Dietz, Department of History, 9 Campus Drive, University of Saskatchewan, S7N 5A5. A tax receipt will be provided.

John Porter will be showing episodes of Michael Wood's In Search of the Trojan War on Monday afternoons in ARTS 206 at 1:30-2:20. The first episode is set to screen on Monday, September 20. Woods, once best known for his tight jeans, is a superb presenter of history on television.

Gordon DesBrisay has published "Lilias Skene: A Quaker Poet and Her 'Cursed Self'" in Woman and the Feminine in Medieval and Early Modern Scottish Writing, edited by Sarah Dunnigan, Evelyn S. Newlyn and C. Marie Harker (Palgrave, 2004). An earlier version of this essay was presented at the inaugural Faculty Research Workshop, and the author wishes to thank the many colleagues who offered helpful advice. Click here for further details on the volume.

The M.A. Oral Examination for Curtis McManus has been scheduled for Tuesday, September 14, 2004, at 2:30 pm in Arts 710. Curtis will defend his thesis, "Happyland: The Agricultural Crisis in Saskatchewan's Drybelt, 1917-1927".

Jean Rowson, MA candidate, was married Saturday, Sept. 4. in Saskatoon to Ernesto Fidel Ruiz Castro. Congratulations!

Bradley Skopyk, (BA, MA) is starting his second year of a doctorate at York, and has received a CGS/SSHRC in this last competition. He also received a fellowship from the Government of Mexico and will be in Mexico doing research for this coming year. All that, and Brad and Paula Grosso (MA), now teaching in Toronto, were married in Maymount Saskatchewan this summer. Congratulations on all counts!

John McCannon recently published "Passageways to Wisdom: Nicholas Roerich, Maurice Maeterlinck, and Symbols of Spiritual Enlightenment," in the summer 2004 issue of Russian Review. He also took a walk on the academically wild side, with "Shamanic Motifs in Fin-de-Siècle Russian Art," which appeared in the spring 2004 issue of the Journal for the Academic Study of Magic. John will be popping to England for a conference this weekend, presumably by aircraft.

Congratulations to Warren Johnston, whose article "The Anglican Apocalypse in Restoration England" has just appeared in the latest edition of the Journal of Ecclesiastical History. Readers inside the U of S loop can see the article by clicking here.