Money money money!

Congratulations are in order for two groups!  This month I received the happy news that the Canadian Journal of History (housed in the department) and Geoff Cunfer were successful in their recent research grant applications.

The CJH has received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.  Geoff has received a Research Acceleration Program grant from the university to support his international Long-Term Socio-Ecological Research Group.

This just in!

Simonne Horwitz was heard just this morning speaking about Canadian and South African racial policy on CBC Radio:

http://www.cbc.ca/morningedition/2011/11/23/comparing-apartheid-to-canadas-treatment-of-first-nations/.

It's a great teaser for her lecture on November 29th!

HUSA Movie Night

The History Undergraduate Students' Association is hosting its first movie night of the year.  Come join HUSA for a screening of 300.

Date: Tuesday, November 22nd

Time: 6:00 p.m.

Place: Timlin Theatre (Arts 241).  

Professor Angela Kalinowski will be providing a special introduction.

If you can't come, "There will be no glory in your sacrifice"! Or something.

HGSC Christmas Party!

The History Graduate Student Committee is excited to invite you to the HGSC Christmas Party and fundraiser.

When: December 2

Time: 5 p.m.

Where: Grad Commons

Cost: $10 (students) or $15 (faculty and guests)

Banana (Musa coccinea Andr.), c.1885. Credit: Wellcome Library

A Christmas dinner with turkey, ham, a full compliment of sides and desserts as well as vegetarian options will be provided by the HGSC. Tickets are $10 for students and $15 for faculty and guests, with faculty tickets including one free drink.

Tickets can be purchased from any member of the HGSC executive (http://www.usask.ca/groups/hgsc/) or from Nadine in Arts 721.

This years' theme is a tropical Christmas, so wear your best (worst) Hawaiian shirt and resort attire. Along with the dinner, activities will include an ornament exchange, photobooth, raffle and signature drinks. If you wish to participate in the ornament exchange, please bring an ornament with you to the party.

For more information see http://www.facebook.com/events/184304951656978/ or contact our social directors, Stephanie Bellissimo and Christian Elcock.

It will be a family friendly event and everyone is welcome. We look forward to seeing you there!

New Solutions for a New Saskatchewan

Earlier this month, Bill Waiser wrote a commentary on the recent Saskatchewan election.  You can check it out at: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/opinion/new-solutions-for-a-new-saskatchewan/article2229813/. 

His main question: is there really a Saskatchewan Advantage?

4th Annual Dave De Brou Memorial Lecture

The History Department and the History Graduate Students Committee are proud to host the fourth annual Dave De Brou Memorial Lecture.

This annual lecture is a tribute to the late Professor Dave De Brou, who was the head of the History Department.


Our speaker this year will be award winning professor Simonne Horwitz. Dr. Horwitz will be giving the lecture: "Apartheid in a Parka?: A Historical Analysis of the links between Canadian and South African Racial Policy."

Where: Library Theatre, Frances Morrison Library (311 23rd - Street East)
When: Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Time: Doors 6:30 p.m., Lecture 7:00 p.m.
Cost: Free

This event is open to anyone who would like to attend. Beverages and refreshments to follow the lecture.     

HUSA and HGSA Halloween Party

All History grad and undergrad students, postdocs, staff and faculty are welcome to attend!


Date: Friday, October 28
Time: 5 p.m.
Place: Grad Commons

Distinguished Chair Celebration

Bill Waiser, Distinguished Chair

Earlier this month, the Faculty of Arts and Science held a celebration for Bill Waiser and Ron Steer (Chemistry) who had recently been named Distinguished Chairs.  As part of the celebration, Bill was expected to explain History to chemists and Ron was to explain Chemistry to historians.

Although the natural division of the room into disciplinary sides, as like gravitated toward like, did not seem to bode well, both speakers eloquently explained the importance of their work and did, in fact, find common ground.

The 'History' Side, amused during Bill's talk

Bill spoke to the need for history in the modern world, particularly in terms of encouraging an engaged citizenry.  He discussed the thirst of the general public to know more about their past and the way in which historians constantly revise our understanding of the past as new questions arise.  Ron told us that he discovered his subject because he wanted to know what would happen when he shone light on molecules -- and stressed the necessity of continued funding for curiosity-driven research, which is what his own work had always been.

In a week when a local journalist had attacked curiosity-driven humanities research, the emphasis of both speakers on the role of new questions in driving innovation was a particularly welcome message for the audience.

Congratulations to Bill and Ron for being named Distinguished Chairs -- and for their masterful explanations of their work!

Bietenholz Rare Book Collection

Back in 2009, Peter Bietenholz, Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Saskatchewan, and his wife Doris donated their rare books to the Murray Library.  

Under the supervision of Special Collections Librarian David Bindle, a McGill MLIS student, Nina Thurlow (B.A. Hons. in CMRS) catalogued the collection as her summer practicum project.  

You can check out the collection by visiting the website (http://library2.usask.ca/bietenholz) and, if you want to take a look at any of the books, you can visit the Special Collections Library.  The Bietenholz Rare Book Collection is a significant addition to the U of S Special Collections and will prove a valuable resource for students, faculty and visiting researchers alike.

Dr. Chad Gaffield Lecture

Dr. Chad Gaffield

The department is delighted to welcome Dr. Chad Gaffield (President of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada), who will be giving a guest lecture on "Learning, the Research T, and Engaged Scholarship : How the social sciences and humanities are helping re-imagine universities in the Digital Age".  He describes his presentation:

Universities are among the few institutions that can trace their history to the middle ages. One key reason is their ability to adapt their form and content to changing internal and external forces.  This ability is currently being tested by new insights into pedagogy, new approaches to advancing knowledge and understanding about the past and present, and new relationships with the larger society.  Each of these developments is being enabled, accelerated and influenced by digital technologies, digital content and digital literacies. If judged by public discussion in societies around the world, the current result is both promising and worrisome, both inspiring and threatening. This lecture will briefly describe the profound changes now underway on campuses across Canada and will suggest how innovative approaches in the social sciences and humanities hold significant promise for the successful re-imagining of universities in the Digital Age.

All are welcome to attend!

Date: November 1

Time: 4 p.m.

Place: Convocation Hall 

The Bilson Lecture -- tomorrow!

This is just a reminder that our Bilson Lecture is tomorrow night.  All are welcome!

Dr. Andrea Tone (McGill), “The Curious Case of Val Orlikow: Cold War Psychiatry and the CIA”.

Thursday, October 6

7 p.m.

Arts 241

University of Saskatchewan

Reception to Follow

Meet the Profs Night 2011

The History Undergraduate Students' Association (HUSA) is hosting its annual social "soiree" of the year.

HUSA President Matthew Kerr promises:

"Get caught up in the energy of exciting and engaging conversational pursuits with faculty and your peers while feasting on an array of appetizers, and indulging in your choice of refreshments. ... Show up!  You'll be glad you did!"

Date: Wednesday, October 5th

Time: 4:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m

Place: Louis'

Cost: Free!

Felicitations, Felix!

Felix working those winking and smiling muscles

As many of your know, Erika Dyck gave birth to the charming Felix back in May.  I'm delighted to report that Felix was finally able to go home just over a week ago after spending 118 days in hospital.

Erika writes that Felix is doing well and that he "makes himself heard at every opportunity".  Happy parents Erika and John are relieved to have their son at home and are enjoying "the sleepless nights and a new rhythm of life".

Welcome home, Felix!

A very sleepy Felix with his doting mother

SSHRC Workshop for Grad Students

Interested in applying for SSHRC funding for your M.A. or Ph.D.?

The Department is hosting a workshop on Friday, September 30th from 2:30-4:30.  Come find out what makes a successful application from Lisa Smith (SSHRC Ph.D. fellowships committee member), Keith Carlson (supervisor of several SSHRC-funded grad students), and Jason Grier and Amy Samson (recent recipients).

Local Conference on Religious History

A conference on "Emerging Normativities: Examining the Formation of Proto-Orthodox Christianities and Rabbinic Judaisms 200 - 800 CE" will be held on September 21-22 at STM.


The events begin on Wednesday, the 21st from 4:00pm-10:00pm, with a conference dinner at STM from 5:30 to 6:45, followed by plenary lectures by Dr. Daniel Boyarin from the University of California, Berkeley and Dr. Anders Runesson from McMaster University.


On Thursday, September 22, speakers from across the U.S. and Canada will give presentations from 9:15 to 4:00 at the Parktown Hotel. 


Fees are as follows:
Individual - $125.00
U of S/STM Student - No Fee
Other Student - $75.00

You can register online via the STM website: www.stmcollege.ca.

A Historian's Perspective

Jim Miller  (Canada Research Chair) will be speaking to the Saskatoon Theological Union Graduate Studies Seminar on "Reconciliation and Residential Schools: A Historian's Perspective". 

All are welcome to attend.

September 29, 7:00 pm

St. Andrew’s College

Room 322.

The Bilson Lecture

Dr. Andrea Tone

The Bilson lecture, held every two years, honours the late Professor Geoffrey Bilson, a specialist in American Colonial History and Canadian Medical History.  He also wrote children's historical fiction. The focus this year is on the history of medicine.

The History Department is delighted to welcome Dr. Andrea Tone (McGill) as our Bilson Lecturer.  She will be speaking on “The Curious Case of Val Orlikow: Cold War Psychiatry and the CIA”. 

 

As Canada Research Chair in the Social History of Medicine at McGill University, Dr. Tone's scholarship explores women and health, medical technology, sexuality, psychiatry, and industry.  She has written and edited several books, including The Age of Anxiety: A History of America’s Turbulent Affair with Tranquilizers (2009), Medicating Modern America: Prescription Drugs in History, with Elizabeth Siegel Watkins (2007), and Devices and Desires: A History of Contraceptives in America (2001).  Currently, Dr. Tone's research (funded by a grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research) focuses on the CIA and Cold War psychiatry.

Her work has been featured on ABC News, PBS, National Public Radio, the CBC, the History Channel, Newsweek, Macleans, and the New York Times.  In 2011, Dr. Tone received the American Psychiatric Association’s Benjamin Rush Award for her contributions to the history of psychiatry.

Professor Tone’s visit to the University of Saskatchewan is supported by the Geoffrey Bilson Memorial Trust Fund, the Department of History, the Humanities Research Unit, the Canada Research Chair, History of Medicine, the College of Arts and Science, and the College of Medicine.

                                                                       

The Bilson Lecture is open to the public.  Everyone is welcome.

Thursday, October 6

7 p.m.

Arts 241

University of Saskatchewan

Reception to Follow

Mark Your Calendars for Some Fantastic History of Medicine

History of Medicine Seminar Series, 2011-2012

Seminars are held at 4pm in the Club Room

at the Faculty Club

September 22 Gayle Davis

(U of Edinburgh)

‘Bulls, Bastards, Baseness, and Bunk: Issues Surrounding Artificial Insemination in 1950s Scotland’

October 6 Andrea Tone

            (U of McGill)

‘The Curious Case of Val Orlikow: Cold War Psychiatry and the CIA’           

           

November 10 Dominique Tobbell

(U of Minnesota)

‘Political Pills: The Struggle for Prescription Drug Reform in Recent U.S. History’

November 24 Leslie Baker

            (U of Saskatchewan)

‘Enabling Eugenics: The role of the Massachusetts Halifax Health Commission in the surveillance and improvement of the provincial population’

December TBA Maureen Lux

            (U of Brock)

‘North Battleford Indian Hospital: Translating and Interpreting Treaty Rights in the 1960s and 1970s’

January 19 Paul Hackett

(U of Saskatchewan)

‘Inherent Weakness: The Use of Genetic Explanations to Explain Excessive Aboriginal Mortality’

February 16 Amy Sampson

(U of Saskatchewan)

‘Social Work and Eugenics in Alberta, 1930-1970’

March 15 Jonathan Metzl

            (U of Vanderbilt)

‘The Protest Psychosis: How Schizophrenia Became a Black Disease’

Welcome Back, Historians!

Here we are once again at the start of a new year.  Although we do academic advising in the department in the spring, it's worth starting to think about your future career even before we all get caught up in the hamster-wheel of the academic year.  Students often wonder: "what can I do with a history degree?"  Even though we all love history here, many students believe that a history degree just won't lead to a job.

Don't worry: your prospects are better than you think.  The American Historical Association has a helpful overview of what you can do with a history degree and the Canadian Historical Association provides career advice for graduate students.  For a more tangible idea of what having a history degree means, see The Guardian for a breakdown of what U.K. history graduates did.  Indeed, not only do we know that American graduates with a B.A. in History earned more over a lifetime than other humanities graduates, but it turns out that "historian" has been listed as one of the top ten jobs!

So, positive news all around.  If you're interested in learning more, drop by to chat with your profs -- and keep your eyes open for our various departmental career-related events.

T.A. Workshop

A workshop for all teaching assistants will be held on September 9 at the Faculty Club (11:30-5:00). 

The programme is as follows:

 

11:30 Gathering

11:45 – 12:00   Welcome – Jim Handy, Head and Lesley Biggs

12:00 – 1:00  Sandwich Buffet Lunch (courtesy of the Department)

1:00 – 1:30  Professionalism in the Classroom – Robert Englebert

1: 30 – 2:00 Marking Essays – Bill Waiser

2:00 – 2:30 Plagiarism – Simonne Horwitz

2:30 – 2: 45 Break

2:45 – 3:15: Leading Class Discussions – Lisa Smith

3: 15 – 3: 50 TAs and TAing: What I wish I knew when I started this job -- Deanna Diener, Frances Reilly, Brenan Smith

3: 50 – 4:00 Final Remarks – Martha Smith

4:00 – 5:00 Beer and chips

Lots to learn, but with lots of opportunities to socialize, too.  We look forward to catching up with our old T.A.s and meeting our new ones.  See you there!