A Fine Prize

Congratulations to alumnus Bradley Skopyk (M.A., 2002)! While with us, he wrote an intriguingly titled thesis on "Moctezoma's Menagerie: Managing the Beast in Pre-Cortesian Tenochtitlan".  He continued his environmental interests into his Ph.D. at York, writing his dissertation on "Undercurrents of Conquest: The Shifting Terrain of Indigenous Agriculture in Colonial Tlaxcala, Mexico". This fine Ph.D. dissertation has just received the Rachel Carson prize for best dissertation from the American Society for Environmental History. 

Workshop: Situating Early Modern Science Networks

'Situating Early Modern Science Networks' will be held at Diefenbaker Centre on April 13 and 14. The programme follows below. Attendance is free, but please register by contacting Marc MacDonald (jmm328@mail.usask.ca).

Friday, April 13

10:00-10:30 Coffee

10:30-10:45 Introduction

10:45-11:15 Elaine Leong, Cambridge

Family, Friends and Neighbours: Recipe Networks in Early Modern England

11:15-11:45 Kim McLean-Fiander, Oxford

Digitizing Gender: Women's Correspondence and Knowledge Networks in the Early Modern Era

11:45 – 1:00   Lunch 

1:00 – 3:00 Digital Coffeehouse      

• Allison Muri, Saskatchewan (The Grub Street Project)
• Peter Robinson and Frank Klaassen, Saskatchewan (Textual Communities)
• Brent Nelson (Digital Ark and Textual Communities)
• Robert Iliffe (Newton Project)
• Alison Walker (Sloane Printed Books Project)
• Kim McLean-Fiander (Early Modern Letters Online 

3:00-3:30 Surekha Davies, Birkbeck
Transnational Networks of Ethnographic and Cartographic Knowledge: Mapping New World Peoples in Sixteenth-Century Europe

3:30-4:00 Brent Nelson, Saskatchewan 
Collections of Curiosities and Social Networking in the Seventeenth Century

4:00-5:30 Reception

Saturday, April 14

10:00-10:30 Marc MacDonald, Saskatchewan
L’hôtel Delessert, 1801-2: The Actualization of Networks in the Twilight of the Enlightenment

10:30-10:45 Coffee

10:45-11:15 Alison Walker, British Library

The Library of Sir Hans Sloane: 17th and 21st Century Networks

11:15-11:45 Robert Iliffe, Sussex

Early Modern Networks and the Future of Online Scholarship

11:45-2:00 Working Lunch and Digital Discussion 

Funding for this workshop has been provided by Situating Science, The College of Arts and Science, The Division of Humanities and Fine Arts, and the Department of History.

Meet the Spring and Summer Session Profs

Thinking about taking some spring and summer session courses this year?


Come find out more about History's Spring and Summer Session course offerings and celebrate the last day of term!  Please join the profs  for appetizers.

Where: Browsers
When: Thursday, April 5, 2:30- 5:30 

For more info and to R.SV.P., please email Marc Macdonald  (jmm328@mail.usask.ca).

Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal

This just in from Jim Handy, Department Head...

"Late last week we learned that Jim Miller will be awarded 

a Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal. This medal will be 

presented at the CHA meetings in Waterloo on May 29th by

the Governor General, His Excellency, David Johnston. The 

medal is to honour Jim's contribution to the discipline of 

History and to the CHA. 

"Recipients of the Jubilee Medal needed to be nominated by

communities and organizations. It is especially noteworthy 

that Jim was nominated for this award by the CHA 

[Canadian Historical Association], speaking volumes about

his standing among colleagues in our profession. 

"Please join me in congratulating Jim."

And indeed we do: congratulations, Jim!

Annual Book Pub and Silent Auction

The History Graduate Students' Committee's annual Book Pub and Silent Auction will be taking place Tuesday, April 3.  In addition to dozens of books, they will also be auctioning a variety of gifts donated by local businesses, faculty, and students. In past years these have included: opera, symphony, and theatre tickets; gift certificates to local restaurants and pubs; a guided canoe trip; home-cooked meals; and a variety of handmade arts and crafts.

The Book Pub is the HGSC's primary fundraiser and provides funds to put on such events as the Dave De Brou Lecture and the Keewatin Graduate Conference as well as social activities such as Halloween and Christmas parties. If you wish to donate something and have not yet done so please contact Jason Underhill (jason.underhill@usask.ca).

Date: April 3
Time: 3:00-6:00
Place: Grad Commons

HUSA's March Movie Night

Attention Grad Students:Two Professionalization Workshops

Grad students (and other interested parties), don't forget to mark your calendars for March 23! Two workshops that day that will be of interest if you're thinking about publishingyour dissertation or wondering what to do with a Ph.D. in History.

The first workshop, "How Do I Get My Dissertation Published?", will be led by Dr. Kyla Madden, Editor at McGill-Queem's Press.

Time: 10:00-11:00 a.m.
Place: Arts 710

At the second workshop, "What Can I Do with a Ph.D. Degree in History?", presenters will discuss their non-academic track careers.  Speakers include: Kristen Woods, Employment Coordinator (University of Saskatchewan); Dr. Nicole Kehrig, Marketing Coordinator (Wilson Centre); Dr. Kylan Madden, Editor (McGill-Queen's Press); and Dr. Gordon Barnhart, former Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan.

Time: 1:00- 4:30 p.m.
Place: Prairie Room, Diefenbaker Centre.

Coffee and tea will be served at both workshops. If you plan to attend, please R.S.V.P. to Nadine Penner (nadine.penner@usask.ca).

Dispatches from Alumni

Bruce Dawson (M.A. 2001, supervisor Jim Miller) has recently taken on the role of Manager, Historic Places Program with the Heritage Conservation Branch of the Ministry of Tourism Parks, Culture and Sport.  Previously, he worked as the Manager of the Records Processing Unit at the Saskatchewan Archives Board. Bruce is involved with the province’s heritage property designation program and the Main Street Saskatchewan demonstration program.

Kristina Rissling (B.A. 2010) reports that she is an Information Management Archivist with the Saskatchewan Archives Board. She has been assisting different government branches to develop their Operation Records System, as well as processing and reviewing disposal requests. The Provincial Archivist then determines whether the records are of historical significance, or can be destroyed. The highlight of her job? New challenges every day!

Not Quite the Ides Trivia Night

Guess what, folks...  It's time again for the annual Ancient and Medieval Trivia Night at the Museum of Antiquities!

There will be food! prizes! a good time to be had by all!

Date: Sunday, March 18
Time: 6:30-9:30 p.m.
Place: Engineering 2C02
Cost: Adults $12, Students $9, Children $8

What a splendid way to spend a Sunday evening -- and you'll be helping to support the Museum's volunteer programme.

A.S. Morton Lecture

The Department of History, with the College of Arts & Science, presents the first A.S. Morton Lecture in History.

Bill Waiser, the current A.S. Morton Research Chair in History, will be speaking on "Inland Country of Good Report: Henry Kelsey Revisited".

Grasslands National Park, Wikimedia Commons

Date: Tuesday, March 13
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Place: Neatby-Timlin Theatre, Arts 241

All are welcome to attend.  Reception to follow.

Rugby Chapel

Local and U of S history buffs will be interested in a recent article -- "Revived Rugby Chapel a campus treasure" -- written by Lucas Richert (Postdoctoral Fellow) for the Saskatoon Sun. Lucas traces the history of the U of S heritage site, Rugby Chapel, as the campus continues to expand.

Phantasma - A Masquerade Formal

Street Carnival, Bogota, with Personification of Disease and Medicine (Credit: Wellcome Library)

 

The HGSC is excited to invite you to put on your formal wear, don your favorite mask and attend "Phantasma - A Masquerade Formal." For a small entry fee of $10, you will be treated to an evening of music, dancing, food, fun and fabulous door prizes! 

Finger food and desserts will be served and alcohol will be for sale.

***Masks can be purchased from any local costume shop or the base and material to decorate one can be obtained at Michael's.***

Date: March 9th

Time: 6-10 p.m.

Place: Third Avenue United Church (304 3rd Ave. N.)

Cost: $10 (tickets available from HGSC executive or Nadine Penner Arts 721)

Dress: Formal

Panning for Gold in Canada's Past

Awarding-winning author and former journalist Charlotte Gray will be visiting Bill Waiser's new Writing History grad seminar in late February. She will also be giving a lecture, "Panning for Gold in Canada's Past," which anyone can attend!

Date: Monday, February 27
Time: 4:30
Place: Arts 241 (Neatby-Timlin Theatre).

Experiments in Alchemical Knowledge

Frank Klaassen, in his capacity as President of Societas Magica, organised the society's (and probably the department's) first-ever e-colloquium. Participants from Waterloo, Paris, Cambridge, and Saskatchewan all met by videoconference. Lauren Kassell (Cambridge) spoke on "Thomas Vaughan's Alchemy and the Reform of Ritual Magic in Seventeeth-Century England". It was a fascinating paper that considered Vaughan's reformation of ritual magic in the quest to develop a purer alchemy. This had ties to the wider Protestant reformation, as well as the emerging experimental method.

The e-colloquium was a great way to bring international scholars together inexpensively (and greenly). I declare the experiment a success! Frank promises that there will be more e-colloquiums to come.

15th Annual Swan Colloquium a Great Success!

By Angela Kalinowski, History Undergraduate Committee Chair

January 20, 2011 marked the 15^th Annual Michael Swan Colloquium showcasing the work of History and Classical Medieval and Renaissance Studies Honours students. Seventeen students presented short papers from their senior seminars. With topics ranging from medieval manuscript studies, to LSD in Saskatchewan, to trench newspapers in WWI, the audience was treated to the wide range of fascinating student work in History and CMRS.

The colloquium was well attended: between twenty and thirty people were in the audience of each of the six sessions! Thanks to the undergraduate and graduate students, post doctoral fellows, faculty members and emeriti, including Michael Swan, and family members, who came out to support the student presenters. 

A certain particularly interested audience member!

Events like these require a lot of planning, so many thanks are due to those who worked behind the scenes to make it a success, particularly Ingrid McGregor and Linda Dietz of the History Department, and Terresa Ann Demong and Leland of the Diefenbaker Center.

Finally, warm congratulations to all students who participated in the Swan Colloquium: Jonathan Bramall, Damian Braun, Ryan Buhay, Bronwyn Craig, Regan Flaherty, Matthew Kerr, Randall Knight, Christopher McGarity, Dallas Posavad, Logan Richards, Amanda Shea, David Seibel, Kevin Sexsmith, Tyler Reimer, Clare Thomson, Gina Trapp, and Sarah Vela.

The Swans of 2012

Everyone in the audience commented on the uniformly high quality of your papers and your professional comportment. You have completed another step in your degree, and more importantly, did a great job! You should be proud of yourselves.

Good News

It's been one of the worst-kept secrets around the department, but I'm finally at liberty to reveal some good news now that OCN has issued the official notice.  Congratulations to Frank Klaassen on his success in the Canadian Foundation for Innovation grant competition! Frank is a co-investigator with Peter Robinson (English) and Brent Nelson (English) on the Textual Communities project.

This grant will in turn support the development of an international website and transcription project on Recipes and Secrets.  More on that later this spring!

Missed Opportunities!

Our recent alumna Dr. Merle Massie was interviewed Thursday afternoon on CBC Radio's Afternoon Edition to discuss her work on Saskatchewan Ghost Towns. Sounds like it would have been fun!

Alas, I didn't find out in time to give you all a heads-up about this interesting radio interview... and worse yet, there doesn't appear to be a podcast available.  But congratulations to Merle -- I hope it went well.

HUSA Movie Night!

The Annual Michael Swan Honours Colloquium

The Department's annual colloquium will be held on Friday, January 20th at the newly renovated Diefenbaker Centre (Prairie Room). Our honours students will be presenting their work over the course of the day -- and what a great line up it is!  Please feel free to join us: all are welcome to attend

 

Welcome (9:00-9:05 a.m.)

Session One (9:05—9:40 a.m.)

First Nations’ History

(Ryan Buhay, Chair)

Claire Thomson. “The Cowboy Way: Lakota Ranching and Rodeo Participation at Wood Mountain, Saskatchewan.”

Regan Flaherty. “The Role of Alcohol in Native-Newcomer Relations in 18^th century Illinois Country.”

Session Two (9:45—10:40 a.m.)

Sex, Drugs and Eugenics

(Logan Richards, Chair)

Gina Trapp. “Art in the Time of Aids: Gay Art and Gay Rights in New York.”

Ryan Buhay. “A Tale of Two Campuses: LSD and the University of Saskatchewan in the 1960s.”

Amanda Shea. “When the Conversation Shifts: An Examination of Changing Discourse in the British Eugenics Review 1909-1968.”

Break (10:40 a.m.—11:00 a.m.)

Session Three (11:05 a.m. —12:00 Noon)

Conflict and Diplomacy

(Claire Thomson, Chair)

Tyler Reimer. “To Fight a King: Legitimate Violence in the Magna Carta and deditio.”

Kevin Sexsmith. “The Long and Winding Road to a Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.” 

Damian Braun. “The Trent Affair: A Popular Crisis in 19^th century Anglo-American Relations.”

Lunch in the Foyer (12:00 Noon—1:00 p.m.)

Session Four (1:05—2:00 p.m.)

History of Ideas and Historiography

(Sarah Vela, Chair)

Johnathan Brammall. “Comparative Epistemology: Ockham and Augustine on Knowledge.”

Dallas Posavad. “The Venerable Bede: The Intellectual World of a Doctor of the Church.”

Chris McGarrity. “The Persistence of Tradition: Why the Tide of the Enlightenment has not Submerged   Tradition.”

Session Five (2:05—3:00 p.m.)

The World Wars

(Damian Braun, Chair)

Matthew Kerr. “Turning Points: Intelligence and the Battle of Britain.”

David Siebel. “Trench Newspapers and Canadian Soldiers’ culture in WWI.”

Randy Knight. “The American Victory at Midway: Five Factors.”

Break (3:00—3:15 p.m.)

Session Six (3:15—4:10 p.m.)

Society and Culture in Renaissance and Early Modern Europe

(Matthew Kerr, Chair )

Bronwyn Craig. “‘Rosemunda Avenges her father’: Paul the Deacon’s Account of King Alboin in The History of the Lombards.”

Sarah Vela. “The Ripley Scroll and Early Modern Alchemical Manuscripts.”

Logan James Richards. “Boccaccio’s Decameron: A Bawdy Picture of Daily Life in Early Renaissance Italy.”

Closing Remarks (4:10-4:20 p.m.)

Fifth Annual After-Colloquium Beverage Gathering (at Louis’)