Kevin James premiered the week of Thursday, January 7 (6/9pm History Channel) as on-air genealogist for History Television's Ancestors in the Attic (more...)
Jesse Palsetia and Linda Mahood nominated for TVO's "Big Ideas Best Lecturer Competition 2010" (more...)
Matthew Hayday records postdast for prestigious "Intellectual Muscle University Dialogues for Vancouver 2010" series (more...)
Wilson and Smith Books Win Awards
 Fall 2009
Norman Smith's Resisting Manchukuo: Chinese Women Writers and the Japanese Occupation (UBC Press 2008) has won the 2008 book prize awarded by the Canadian Women's Studies Association/l'association canadienne des études sure les femmes.
 Tenants in Time: Family Strategies, Land, and Liberalism in Upper Canada, 1799-1871 (McGill-Queens University Press 2009) by Catharine Wilson, has won another prize: the 2008 Floyd S. Chalmers Award in Ontario History awarded by the Champlain Society. It has previously won two others, the Canadian Historical Association's CLIO Award for Regional History, and the Ontario Historical Society's J. J. Talman Award, which is awarded only every three years.
(see the Wilson-UofG press release...)
John Cassidy Named Office of Open Learning Director
from Guelph Academic Matters, September 9, 2008
The Office of Open Learning (OOL) has a new director. John Cassidy, who has served as interim director since October 2007, took on his new role July 1.
 Before joining OOL in 1999 as a distance learning specialist, Cassidy, a three-time U of G graduate, was a professor at the University of Toronto, the University of Windsor and Wilfrid Laurier University. He is also former manager of distance education and distance education learning technologies with the Office of Open Learning.
As a professor, Cassidy taught distance and continuing education, as well as in-class courses. He says this experience fostered his appreciation for designing courses for adult learners, who often take courses for professional development or personal fulfilment, rather than to complete requirements of a degree program.
Here at Guelph, the majority of online learners are using distance education to complement their in-class courses, he says.
As director, Cassidy oversees a staff of 55 and works with departments and colleges to develop courses and programs delivered in distance education format. He is also involved with the development of new partnerships between OOL and various external organizations to enhance U of G’s continuing education offerings.
OOL currently delivers more than 300 distance and continuing education courses, with an estimated 25,000 online learners registered from more than 50 countries.
“One of the most important elements in learning is student engagement, and distance education in particular requires an approach that is active,” says Cassidy. “It’s very important for distance learners to be engaged in their coursework through activities. A student-centred approach creates a much more effective learning experience than simple transmission of information alone.”
One of his goals is to promote the development of courses that blend in-class learning with significant online components.
“Blended learning provides students with the best of both worlds,” he says. “A lecture, particularly a great one, can be a powerful instructional tool, and when traditional teaching methods are combined with computer-mediated activities, even greater student engagement can be achieved. I think it’s a direction we’ll be moving increasingly toward in coming years, and I hope that our office will play a significant role in providing the instructional expertise required to promote blended learning on campus.”
Professor Profiles: Catharine Wilson
Excerpted from The Ontarion, January 17, 2008 | by Cathleen Finlay
Family heirlooms first sparked Dr. Catharine Wilson’s interest in history as a child. The University of Guelph History prof’s research interests now include rural history. Photo: Cathleen Finlay
 It comes as little surprise that Dr. Catharine Wilson, a U of G History professor of 20 years, prefers to spend the wee hours of the evening devouring Sherlock Holmes novels, since researching historical issues can easily be likened to the detective work of Holmes and Watson.
Dr. Wilson's curiosity in the subject of History formed as a child when family heirlooms like hairpieces, diaries, china, and furniture were passed down from previous generations. It was while working on the Huron County Oral History Project as an undergraduate, however, that Dr. Wilson's fascination with Canadian rural history really flourished.
In the early 1980s, Dr. Wilson worked with fellow historians to interview men and women who were born between 1895 and 1910 from Huron County. The project has shed light on the daily life and workings of the farm in early 20th-century Ontario. Dr. Wilson says that her participation with the collection allowed her to appreciate oral history as an untapped resource in rural history.
Prof. Wilson feels "confident that rural history is a subject worthy of examination" in academia mainly because of the fact that up until the 1920s the majority of Canada's population lived in the countryside. She notes that it is important to understand the rural mindset and lifestyle and that the country is not simply "the city in overalls."
Dr. Wilson's research goals include understanding the complexity of early pioneer life and family strategy through microhistory. In her book, A New Lease on Life: Landlords, Tenants, and Immigrants in Ireland and Canada, Prof. Wilson examines the rural family by tracing 100 families that emigrated from Ireland to Canada and comparing and contrasting their lives in both countries.
Prof. Wilson's current research interests have led her to many a ploughing match in the hopes of examining the historical connection between ploughing and masculinity. She notes that there is a great deal of rich secondary information about rural women but far less in terms of rural men and the ways in which they negotiated their masculinity.
A man's proficiency with a plough was an important indicator of whether or not he was a good farmer and was also a source of masculine pride. Ploughing technology shifted from the walking plough, associated with rugged masculinity, to the riding plough, which is connected to the image of the farmer as a modern businessman. Dr. Wilson is investigating how farmers reacted to this technological shift and the accompanying changes surrounding notions of manhood.
Dr. Wilson's interests also include reciprocal work bees, which are a form of rural, informal labour exchange. Reciprocal work bees like barn-raising and quilt-making were governed by a social code and were heavily influenced by gender and age. Prof. Wilson hopes to study the complexity of the bees and the occurrence of recreational violence through the use of artefacts.
Although she enjoys her current profession very much, if she had the option of any other job, Dr. Wilson admits that she would love to be a dancer. This, however, is no pipe dream – Dr. Wilson is currently taking tap dance lessons in her spare time. She enjoys the lessons because they not only allow her to do what she loves, but they also expose her to many different kinds of music. One of her more memorable routines, Dr. Wilson notes, was to the tune of k-os's "Crabbuckit".
When teaching a class, Dr. Wilson seeks to not only convey knowledge according to the course syllabus, but also to inspire students and encourage them to love History as much as she does. She emphasises the research portion of her courses in the hopes that students will find something that speaks to them in their historical investigations. Perhaps this is her way of encouraging a new generation to follow their detection inclinations and become the next "Sherlock".
When asked for a piece of advice for students in their time here at university, Dr. Wilson took a moment to consider the question. Her recent battle with an aggressive form of breast cancer has altered Dr. Wilson's perception of life; she admits that a few years ago she would have advised students to study hard and treat university as a job, but now she has relaxed her outlook on life. She notes the importance of relationships in one's life, and commented on how supportive and understanding the History Department has been through her struggle.
The advice she now gives to students is, "Take your time and enjoy. Savour all opportunities."
Matthew Hayday, Two Languages and One Country
from @Guelph December 5, 2007 | by Teresa Pitman
U of G history prof turns thesis into book on Canada's language policy. (Prof. Matthew Hayday holds a copy of his book Bilingual Today, United Tomorrow, a finalist for the Harold Adams Innis Prize for best Canadian book in English in the social sciences. Photo by Martin Schwalbe)
 After defending his doctoral dissertation, Prof. Matthew Hayday, History, stuffed it in a drawer for six months so he could “come back to it fresh.” That helped him with the editing process, he says, but the process of turning his thesis into a book was still hard.
“I've heard writing a thesis compared to giving birth to a child,” Hayday says. “To extend that metaphor, turning it into a book is like giving birth and then being told you have to cut off one of the child's legs. I know that sounds kind of gruesome, but it's a painful process to eliminate any of those words you've sweated over.”
The pain and plastic surgery seem to have been worth it, though, because Hayday's now-published book, Bilingual Today, United Tomorrow, was a finalist for this year's Harold Adams Innis Prize, awarded to the best Canadian book in English in the social sciences. The award is administered by the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences. Although another book was chosen as the winner, he says he feels honoured to have been a finalist.
The book, an examination of language policy under former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, focuses on the educational programs established to promote bilingualism. The topic seems a natural one for Hayday, who did a double major in history and French as an undergraduate at the University of Toronto and has been interested in Canadian politics since he was a child.
“One of my earliest political memories is of watching election results with my father when I was about seven. He got very upset because Brian Mulroney and the Conservatives had won a majority. I didn't really know much about politics or the different parties at the time, but I always remembered his reaction.” (see the story...)
Rene Worringer: "Go Overseas, Do Something Different"
from @Guelph November 21, 2007 | by Teresa Pitman
Historian heeds the advice of an academic adviser and builds a career rooted in her wide-ranging international experiences. (Prof. Renée Worringer at home with her three Belgian shepherds. Photo by Martin Schwalbe)
 What happens when you take a not-very-happy math and economics major from Minnesota's St. Olaf College and send her on an overseas semester to the Middle East?
It changes her life.
In Prof. Renée Worringer's case, that semester abroad started her on the road to becoming a history professor here at U of G and sparked a love of travel that has never faded.
During her Middle East semester, Worringer was based in Jerusalem but also travelled to Cairo, Istanbul and other places. Inspired by that experience, she went to Japan after graduation and worked there for three years, taking advantage of opportunities to visit other parts of Asia and Africa.
“My life in Minnesota had really been quite sheltered, and I grew up a lot over those years because I got to see so much of the world,” she says.
On her return to the United States, Worringer headed for the University of Chicago and spent the next 11 years doing her PhD.
“Because I was working on the history of the Ottoman Empire, I needed to learn Arabic and Turkish as well as Ottoman Turkish, which is now a dead language,” she explains.
She managed to combine her interest in Japan and Middle Eastern countries by doing her dissertation on how Japan's image became a model for reform and modernization in the Ottoman Empire. (see the story...)
Mennonite Heritage Guides Historian's Path
from @Guelph October 10, 2007 | by Teresa Pitman
Chair in Mennonite Studies at University of Winnipeg spends 2007/08 academic year
at U of G. (An avid cyclist, visiting professor Royden Loewen likes to keep his life simple and connected to the earth. Photo by Martin Schwalbe)
 University of Winnipeg historian Royden Loewen may be a Mennonite, but he wouldn't be recognized as such by many in the Mennonite community. He recalls the time he was in Boston to speak on Mennonite history and came upon a group of Old Order Mennonites — the women wearing their traditional bonnets and long dresses, the men in buttoned-up white shirts and black pants — who stood in Harvard Square singing gospel songs. To them, he was just another “worldly” person.
Loewen, who is spending this academic year at Guelph as a visiting professor in the Department of History, says his research into the journeys of “the plain people” has earned him much attention, but not likely from the conservative branches of the faith, whose members don't typically read academic works.
And don't go looking for his horse and buggy in the parking lot behind the MacKinnon Building. You're more likely to see him locking up his bicycle.
“I'm a progressive Mennonite,” he explains. “The traditional or Old Order Mennonites attract more attention because they generally dress distinctively and reject some technologies. The progressives dress like everyone else, attend university, go into business and drive cars.” (see the story...)
Historians Sweep College of Arts Teaching Awards
from @Guelph October 10, 2007
Annual College of Arts awards honour three top teachers. (Pictured from left, Prof. Linda Mahood, PhD student Chris Tiessen and instructor Jennifer MacDonald. Photo by Martin Schwalbe)
 The Department of History scored a hat trick when this year's College of Arts Teaching Awards were presented Sept. 25. The department is home to all three winners — Prof. Linda Mahood, sessional instructor Jennifer MacDonald and PhD student Chris Tiessen.
“I couldn't be prouder of these three amazing teachers,” says Prof. Terry Crowley, chair of the Department of History. “They're a credit to the department, the college and the entire University. I'm also proud to say that this triple win reflects the high calibre of teaching that has long been a tradition in the Department of History.”
Mahood, winner of the Faculty Teaching Award, has been upholding that tradition since 1995, teaching both undergraduate and graduate courses in the department.
“I believe every hard-working student deserves the chance to succeed at university,” she says. “My job is not to put obstacles in students' way, but to identify their strengths, abilities and aptitudes and to help them see how they might use them in their own intellectual and scholarly development.”
She says she works hard to present “fresh, original, well-researched and engaging lectures.” And students appreciate her efforts. Writing in support of Mahood's nomination, one former student described her as “an exciting teacher to listen to in a lecture setting or talk with in a seminar. Seven years on, I am still trying to answer questions raised while taking her class.”
Students also praise her use of her own research to make lectures more interesting. (see the story...)
Words Against the Regime
from @Guelph June 20, 2007 | by Rebecca Kendall
U of G historian's new book shows how Chinese women were able to write critically about their Japanese occupiers and earn a living doing it.
 After six years of research and writing, Prof. Norman Smith, History, has added a new title to his bookshelf. Resisting Manchukuo: Chinese Women Writers and the Japanese Occupation was released last month and is the first book to examine the lives of 20th-century women living in Manchuria and how they expressed their experiences with Japanese imperialism through their writing.
“The book shows that women were able to critique Japanese imperialism in Manchukuo and earn a living doing so in a way that most men found impossible,” says Smith, who returned from a three-week trip to China earlier this month.
“Manchukuo was a misogynistic regime, but these women were able to turn elements of that misogyny to their advantage. Whereas men were under constant scrutiny, women were able to use their writing to build careers and literary legacies for themselves and their country. Their activities provide a different perspective on Japanese imperialism.”
In China, this history has been all but forgotten, he says, adding that the exclusion of women's history in the study of nations and culture is all too common. (see the story...)
Historian Rescues 16th-Century Scottish Woman From Obscurity
from @Guelph January 31, 2007 | by Deirdre Healey
Prof uncovers story of woman executed for murder.
Prof. Elizabeth Ewan, History, has brought a 16th-century murderess back from the dead. Not literally, of course, but thanks to Ewan's detective-like research, Alison Rough has been rescued from obscurity in Scottish history and is even part of a popular tourist attraction in Edinburgh.
“It's like she's come back to life,” says Ewan. “She has been resurrected.”
The historian admits she hadn't set out to revive the story of Rough's life. But the woman's name kept showing up every time Ewan visited archives in Edinburgh to sift through stacks of records for a research project on women in late medieval Scotland.
“It was almost like she was looking over my shoulder, telling me to write her story.”
Rough was about 50 years old when she was executed by drowning in 1535 for killing her son-in-law. She had hit him on the head with a fireplace poker in defence of her daughter. But after being thrown into the public spotlight for her horrendous crime, Rough eventually disappeared from history. That is, until Ewan felt compelled to tell her story. (see the story...)
Tara Abraham Combines Love of History, Science
from @Guelph January 31, 2007 | by David Dicenzo
Historian studies methodology in biology, examining the different approaches, methods and tools biologists use to answer questions about organisms.
Prof. Tara Abraham, History, admits she can be a bit of a perfectionist at times. That trait ended up playing a significant role in the development of her academic career, drawing the Welland, Ont., native away from the field of biology and into a broader journey through the history of science.
Abraham, who joined U of G last summer, had an early interest in biology and history, excelling at both in high school. She opted to pursue the former at McMaster University, but by her fourth year, she was thinking it was time for a change. She could spend a week on an experiment and, despite being as precise as possible, the results sometimes just weren't there.
“I'd have to go back and retrace my steps, and I found that really frustrating,” says Abraham. “Over time, I decided I liked thinking about science rather than doing science. I didn't want to turn my back on science, however. I wanted to be part of it, but from a humanistic perspective rather than being in a lab all day.”
A history of science elective she took at McMaster struck a chord and was influential in steering her academic path, she says. (see the story...)
Who Really Shot Abraham Lincoln?
from @Guelph February 14, 2007 | by David Dicenzo
U of G student marries history and literature in long list of literary and theatre projects.
Humdrum just doesn't cut it for Erik Mortensen. A 19-year-old Fergus writer in his second year of an English and history double major at U of G, Mortensen says he's always been interested in edgy subjects when it comes to his work. Be it conspiracies or the paranormal, the more colourful the topic, the better.
“One of the concepts I like to apply to my writing is, if it isn't controversial, it isn't good enough,” he says.
Controversial is an apt description of his recently released novella, Avenging Abe. Set during the Civil War, the story follows Capt. Jason Gosse, a dedicated Union soldier who's assigned to protect President Abraham Lincoln on a trip through a dangerous stretch of the countryside riddled with assassins. When Lincoln is subsequently shot — and not in a theatre — Gosse and his best friend, sharpshooter Kevin Hughes, follow orders and bring the president back to Washington, where “one of the greatest coverups of all time” begins to unfold.
Told through Gosse's voice, Avenging Abe blends historically accurate detail and a wild storyline. Mortensen says the first-person account is particularly important because it provides insight into a character who remains dedicated to the cause — ultimately winning the war — despite his apprehension throughout. (see the story...)
Gil Stelter: Guelph's Heritage Guru
from @Guelph December 9, 2006 | by Nicholas Dinka
A lifetime achievement award doesn't mean Gil Stelter is done achieving yet, writes Nicholas Dinka.
It's not exactly daylily season, but even in late November it's easy to be impressed on a tour of Gil Stelter's gardens. There's the handsome koi pond, alive with plump, orange fish, and the foundations of a formal garden based whimsically on the radial plan of Guelph's old downtown. And while the daylilies themselves are in hibernation for the winter, their places are carefully marked with hundreds of little metal signs for each species and cross-bred variety, with names like 'World on a String,' 'Skinwalker' and 'Long Live Love.'
"It's all organized historically, so when people come to visit they can have a sense of the different crosses and varieties that have been created over the last century or so," Stelter said on a recent informal tour. "It let's you see how everything fits together."
It's a project that combines two of Stelter's passions. First, there's his hobby, the cultivation of daylilies -- he's an expert breeder, noted for being the first person to cross wild daylilies -- the kind that grow at highway sides -- with modern man-made hybrid plants, a process previously thought by biologists to be genetically impossible. Second, there's his previous career: prior to his retirement in 1998, he was a professor at the University of Guelph, an urbanism expert who's still known as a local heritage guru.
Urban historian with a sideline as a master daylily breeder: it may seem like an unusual cross, so to speak, but Stelter seems to be making it work. He's received numerous plaudits, including a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Ontario Heritage Trust in late November, which is given in recognition of his two decades of heritage advocacy in Guelph -- of writing articles, organizing heritage tours and hosting speaking events and working with city council on the protection of heritage sites.
There are clues to his double nature in his early roots. Born in 1933, he grew up on a farm in northern Alberta, about six kilometres from the nearest village and 50 kilometres from Edmonton. "It was very basic, like something out of a different century," he says. "We still used horses -- there was no tractor until I was a teenager. I'd haul milk to the cheese factory every morning." He says he was determined to leave the farm from an early age. "I was interested in farming, but I was determined to become part of a different world," he says. "I remember one of my teachers early on saying, 'yeah, you'll be a professor some day. I guess I was different, a farm kid who was into books."
As an undergraduate at Moravian College in Pennsylvania, he indulged his farm-kids fascination with the "exotic other world" of cities, diving into Philadelphia and New York before moving closer to home to complete a PhD at the University of Alberta with a focus on urban history. He spent a decade at Laurentian before arriving in Guelph, in 1974, and finding a place that spoke to him.
"There's this combination of agriculture and urbanity in the history of Guelph, with the connection to agricultural science and education. There was a sophistication that came with that, which you see in the quality of the early architecture, the number of buildings designed by top national architects from that time."
It was only logical, then, that he adopted the city not only as a home but also a major area of research. Over the years, he regularly supervised graduate students who delved into documents like town founder John Galt's voluminous writings, and taught a, Reading a Community, that treated Guelph as a case study in urban history.
But his interests quickly spilled over the walls of the ivory tower -- into numerous speeches to community groups, various roles in assorted historical societies, and editorials on historical issues written for the Mercury. In 2001, he spearheaded the creation of the Guelph Arts Council's Doors Open Guelph, an annual event (still active) featuring public tours of around a dozen historic buildings and houses around the city. He's also been an adviser to various city councils on heritage issues, notably as an ardent advocate for maintaining the old façade wall of the Provincial Winter Fair building as part of the new Civic Administration Building.
Over the years he's become known as a sort of guru to the local heritage community. "Thank goodness for people like Gil Stelter," says Bev Dietrich, curator of Guelph Museums. "He's done so much to preserve the heritage and history of the place."
Sally Wismer of the Guelph Arts Council agrees, adding that she sees his role as a thinker and explicator as key. "He has really looked at Guelph from a much broader perspective than just the details of what happened when," Wismer says. "He looks at things in the context of the time, but also the larger context of Guelph's overall history. Guelph's place in history is much clearer now as a result of Gil's work."
So what about those daylilies? Stelter first became interested in breeding the flowers shortly after his retirement from the university, when came up with the idea of interbreeding wild "ditchlillies" with exotic designer variants in order to improve the latter's hardiness. "It's strange. If I had a PhD in botany, I wouldn't have done this. It's supposed to be impossible to cross a modern daylily with a wild one, because the number of chromosomes is different," Stelter says.
Somehow, though, it worked, and Stelter is now the father of 'Potala Tapestry,' as well as two other new varieties of daylily. Today, he frequently travels abroad to give talks on his new varieties of the flower. He also sells his special lilies to connoisseurs, and gives frequent tours of his garden.
Dave Mussar, the president of the Ontario Daylily Society, attributes Stelter's success to his innate personality. "He's got a natural curiosity that leads him to ask questions, to explore, and to not accept things on face value," Mussar says. Sally Wismer says virtually the same thing about the reasons for Stelter's success in his history and heritage work. "He's not obsessive, but he's very detailed, thorough. You might call it perfectionism, but I think it's more a desire to get to the root of things," she says.
That almost compulsive curiosity shows few signs of waning. He's currently working on a history book on Guelph, as well as a series of essays on great world cities. For that latter project, he recently returned from a month in Istanbul, one of the cities he's been checking out as part of a project on world cities. He fell in love, he says, and has decided to name his latest floral creation "Istanbul Magic."
"Good cities are complex in that the past and the present are mixed together in them. My favourite place in the world is Prague, and you find in a place like that the past is never totally wiped out. Cities are layers of time, " he says. "Guelph is still young compared to these places, but it's evolving, getting more layered. Homogenization is a very powerful force today, but Guelph has done better than a lot of others at keeping its sense of self."
Cross a frail, overbred flower with its wild cousin, and you invest its gene pool with new energy. Preserve a city's history and heritage, and you might just be able to balance globalization with a sense of self. "I know people from other parts of the country are amazed when they come to Guelph," he continues. "Like the Bookshelf -- these little institutions we have. They're to be treasured."
Kevin James: Unearthing Family Histories and Mysteries
from @Guelph October 11, 2006 | by David Dicenzo
U of G history prof to appear on new television genealogy series airing this fall.
Most professors have a bit of the thespian in them. Standing up in front of a packed lecture hall or a large conference gathering requires an inherent ability to perform. Prof. Kevin James, History, can relate to that, though he's taken the concept further than most in his field.
In June 2005, James received an unexpected call from a talent scout who was looking for genealogists to work on a TV pilot project called Ancestors in the Attic, a History Channel program showcasing everyday Canadians trying to unearth the mysteries of their past.
James, a specialist in Scottish studies, was invited to audition and was soon enveloped in the frantic pace of the entertainment world.
“The audition was like nothing I had ever experienced,” he says. “The whole experience was so different — the professional evaluation isn't the same as that applied to academics. I didn't think the audition had gone very well, but then I heard back a few weeks later that I was one of the people they had chosen.”(see the story...)
Double-Double, But Hold the Rust
from @Guelph September 13, 2006 | by Rebecca Kendall
History prof's interest in tropical crops leads to study of coffee and its relationship with coffee rust, a destructive fungal disease.
When Prof. Stuart McCook, History, is in the middle of a grocery store, he is captivated by the products of global exchange and commerce that surround him. From the bananas that top our morning breakfast cereal to the chocolate, sugar, tea and coffee that have become regular parts of our diet, tropical crops are all around us, he says. The tropical products we consume are at the core of the research that consumes him.
“Being in a supermarket is almost a magical experience as I think about standing in the middle of a web that touches every part of the world — a web that is shaped by political, environmental and economic relationships,” says McCook, who arrived at U of G in 2003 and holds a BA from the University of Toronto, an MS from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., and an MA and PhD from Princeton.
“I think it's important as a historian to remind people how strange it is that we consume the products of so many plants from halfway around the world, yet very few from our own backyards. It's a good idea to be aware that what we consume comes from somewhere and is grown by someone. These things are not born on supermarket shelves.”
McCook is intrigued by topics related to the environmental history of tropical commodities and the societies that produce them. Although it took him 28 years to become a coffee drinker, much of his time is now spent poring over literature and research related to the popular beverage. That's because his latest undertaking is a 150-year history of coffee and its relationship with coffee rust, a fungal disease that has plagued coffee plants in many areas of the world and has had dramatic effects on national economies. (see the story...)
Dr. Carstairs' New Book Examines History of Drug Use in Canada
from @Guelph January 25, 2006 | by Rebecca Kendall
Class, race played significant role in experience of drug users, historian says.
Controlling illegal drug use through harsh restrictions and tough penalties was as much an issue 80 or 90 years ago as it is today, according to a new book by Prof. Catherine Carstairs, History.
Jailed for Possession: Illegal Drug Use, Regulation and Power in Canada, 1920 to 1961 looks at why Canada passed extremely harsh drug laws in the 1920s and what impact those laws had on the lives of users.
“It also helps us understand contemporary drug laws and public perceptions of drug users,” Carstairs says.
She notes that class and race played a significant role in the experience of drug users during the period she studied and that methods for controlling drug use were hotly debated topics.
Although opiates were once widely used in Canada through patent medicines, they were removed from the list of allowed ingredients by the turn of the 20th century. By the early 1920s, the practice of using opiates for relaxation and pain relief was morally rejected by most white Canadians and drug use was labelled a Chinese problem, says Carstairs. (see the story...)
Catherine Carstairs' Study Explores History of Health Food Stores
from @Guelph June 14, 2006 | by Rachelle Cooper
Society's growing concerns about health, desire to stay young and distrust of technology and mainstream medicine fuel health food craze.
Health food stores, once thought of mostly as “hippie bastions,” have gone mainstream, and health and organic food items now occupy entire aisles in grocery stores. Prof. Catherine Carstairs, History, says this is due to society's growing concerns about health, its desire to remain youthful and its distrust of technology and mainstream medicine.
“All of these factors have contributed to the growing health food craze,” says Carstairs, who is tracing the history and trends of Canada's health food industry and recently conducted interviews with 30 leaders in the industry.
She notes that health food really started to take off in the 1960s. Interest in vegetarianism, the environmental movement and eastern spirituality accounts for some of this growth, she says, but Rachel Carson's 1962 book, Silent Spring, also played a role.
“The book drew attention to the health risks posed by pesticides and herbicides, and by the late 1960s, many people had become distrustful of medicine and science.”
This change in people's attitudes resulted in a huge rise in the number of health food stores across the country, says Carstairs. Toronto went from having 13 such stores in 1957 to more than 100 by 1979. (see the story...)
Alan Gordon Investigates Canada's Living History
from @Guelph April 19, 2006 | by Rebecca Kendall
Prof studies how people use constructed images of history to understand the past.
 Countless children visit living history museums on school field trips each year, and Prof. Alan Gordon, History, was no exception. He was in Grade 7 when he first visited Midland's Sainte- Marie Among the Hurons, one of Canada's many historical sites and outdoor museums that draw people into the past by re-enacting life from earlier times.
“I remember the trip well,” says Gordon, who grew up in Waterloo and joined the Department of History in 2003. “I recall going in and watching a film, and afterwards there was a door that opened up magically and we walked out into the village. I returned to the museum a few years ago, and at the end of the film, it was a rickety garage door that opened. Clearly I'd created some kind of memory of the trip that, from a kid's point of view, seemed accurate but that I now know had been built up in my mind.”
It's a similar kind of relationship between history and perception that has taken Gordon from coast to coast visiting living history museums wherever he can. He's studying the way people use constructed images and perceptions of history — like those developed at living history museums — to interpret, understand and reflect on years and events gone by. (see the story...)
Elizabeth Ewan and Historical Scottish Women Turn a New Leaf
from @Guelph April 19, 2006 | by Rebecca Kendall
Biographical dictionary documents lives of Scotland's famous, not-so-famous and infamous women.
 Researching and learning about Scottish women who helped shape their homeland's national identity and culture and worked to advance the women's movement throughout the world is now easier thanks to a new book co-edited by a U of G historian.
Prof. Elizabeth Ewan, who holds a University research chair in history and Scottish studies, is one of four women — and the only one from outside the United Kingdom — who spent five years investigating the lives and contributions of famous, not-so-famous and infamous Scottish women for The Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women, the first-ever comprehensive collection of entries profiling the women of Scotland.
The book was released March 8 as part of International Women's Day celebrations at the Scottish Parliament and the National Library of Scotland and has been creating a buzz throughout the kilted nation.
The book has already been covered by the BBC, The Sunday Times and The Herald, with the Edinburgh-based newspaper Scotsman giving the book further publicity by creating a five-day, three-question women-of-Scotland quiz, with winners each receiving a copy of the text. (see the story...)
The Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women is available through Edinburgh University Press and can be purchased online at www.eup.ed.ac.uk.
Ph.D. Candidate Kim Anderson Wins Prestigious Brock Award
from @Guelph January 11, 2006 | by Rebecca Kendall
 Longtime advocate of aboriginal women recognized.
Kim Anderson is the newest recipient of U of G’s most prestigious
doctoral award. Kim Anderson, a Cree Métis writer and educator
and PhD history student, has been awarded the 2005 Brock Scholarship,
Guelph's largest and most prestigious doctoral award. Valued at up to
$120,000, the award is given to a PhD student who is considered outstanding
in his or her field of studies, research work and ability to serve as
a mentor and leader to other students in doctoral programs.
For the past decade, Anderson, who grew up near Ottawa and did her
undergraduate and master's degrees at the University of Toronto, has
been an advocate of aboriginal women and has devoted her time to researching
and writing about related issues. She has worked with aboriginal organizations
and government, producing social and health policy reports and conducting
national research studies.
She recently edited an indigenous women's edition of Atlantis, a women's
studies journal produced at Halifax's Mount Saint Vincent University,
and currently serves as chair of the Aboriginal Women's Health and Healing
Research Group. Based in Vancouver and the first of its kind in Canada,
the group promotes an aboriginal perspective in community-based research
and policy.
Here at Guelph, Anderson is actively involved with the Aboriginal Resource
Centre and is an adjunct professor in women's studies. She is also the
mother of a 10-year-old son and eight-year-old daughter. (see the story...)
Enter Stage Left, Exit at U of G
from @Guelph June 15, 2005 | by Rebecca Kendall
Former actor turned history PhD grad now oversees WebCT courses at
Guelph.
 Richard
GorrieGrowing up in Etobicoke, Richard Gorrie attended a high school
that was banned from the Stratford Festival Theatre after trip organizers
became fed up with the disruptive behaviour of class after class who
clearly didn't appreciate Shakespeare.
“Kids would throw stink bombs down the aisles and play stupid
pranks to distract the actors,” says Gorrie. “They were
pretty bad.”
How ironic, then, that only a few years later, he would develop a passion
for theatre and devote much of his life to the stage. Gorrie, who now
works for the University as courseware services manager for Teaching
Support Services, says the drama bug hit him hard.
“I started working in the theatre when all you needed was the
willingness and the ability to stay up 23 hours a day.” (see the story...)
Sofie Lachapelle Puts Science under a Microscope
from @Guelph March 9, 2005 | by Rebecca Kendall
Newly arrived professor will divide her teaching time between Department
of History and bachelor of arts and science program.
 History
professor Sofie Lachapelle says she enjoyed studying sciences but found
herself more interested in the scientists themselves. In the 19th century,
a young Belgian woman named Louise Lateau began to experience stigmata.
Starting when she was 18, wounds on her hands, feet and chest would
spontaneously open and bleed. This happened every Friday until her death
15 years later. Was she a fraud? Was she a hysteric? Was she a saint?
Her condition baffled the religious and medical communities at the time
and is a case that interests one of U of G's newest faculty members
today.
Prof. Sofie Lachapelle, History, studies the history of science, and
although some may think her focus on psychology and psychiatry, marginal
sciences and the paranormal is “weird,” she loves it. A
PhD graduate of the University of Notre Dame, she is primarily interested
in 19th-century French psychiatry and psychology. She has worked on
the history of mediumistic phenomena, psychical research and miracles
emphasizing the connection between science and religion.
In the case of Lateau, Lachapelle explored the scientific scrutiny
under which stigmata, a physical manifestation of religion, was put
in the 19th century. She says it's interesting that science can assign
a label to someone and that label shapes how society views the person. (see the story...)
Alan McDougall Explores German Youth Movement
from @Guelph December 8, 2004 | by Rachelle Cooper
 New book analyzes relationship between Communist youth group and the
young people it tried to educate and control in the '50s and '60s.
Prof.
Alan McDougall, shown here on the ice at the twin-pad arena, has switched
his allegiance from soccer to hockey since moving to Canada from England.He
still doesn't understand the obsession with Tim Hortons coffee, but
Prof. Alan McDougall of the departments of History and Languages and
Literatures has adapted to many Canadian traditions, including attending
Guelph Storm hockey games, since moving here with his wife in 2002.
After teaching on a contractually limited appointment for two years,
McDougall joined the tenure-track faculty this fall and spends 60 per
cent of his time in the Department of History and 40 per cent in the
European studies program.
Tim Hortons and hockey aside, McDougall says there are subtle cultural
differences between the United Kingdom and Canada that he recognizes
only when he catches a roomful of blank stares from his students.
“I was talking recently in class about a story involving a shopping
trolley, and it wasn't until I finished the story that I realized the
whole thing was lost because I hadn't said shopping cart.”
From his accent, you'd never guess McDougall was actually born in Victoria,
B.C., and holds a Canadian passport. (see the story...)
Specialist in Chinese Women's History adds Global Perspective
from @Guelph January 26, 2005 | by Rachelle Cooper
 Specialist
in Chinese women's history adds to global perspective in History Department
and brings new dimension to U of G's women's studies program.
Newly appointed history professor Norman Smith, the
first faculty member at Guelph to have dedicated teaching responsibilities
in the women's studies program, doesn't think it's unusual for a man
to focus on women's studies.
“I think it's one of the most interesting fields of research
today,” says Smith, who joined the Department of History Jan.
1 and will dedicate 40 per cent of his teaching time to women's studies.
“It's fascinating to watch how the study of women's experiences
changes the way history is perceived.”
A specialist in Chinese history, he admits that, when he travels to
China to do research, he gets unusual reactions when people learn what
his field is. “And when I reveal that I'm actually studying Chinese
women's history, they think I'm really insane,” he laughs.
He first became interested in his area of research when he stumbled
across a kind of writing from the south of China called “women's
writing” or nüshu while working on his MA at the University
of British Columbia. (see the story...)
Linda Mahood to Tell the Story of a Forgotten Heroine
from @Guelph June 2, 2004 | by Paula Bialski
 History
prof aims to shine spotlight on philanthropist's groundbreaking achievements
by researching and publishing biography.
Prof. Linda Mahood says British philanthropist Eglantyne Jebb, who
founded the Save the Children Fund, broke new ground with her children's
rights advocacy but is largely overlooked.
If Eglantyne Jebb lived today, it might very well be she, not U2's
Bono, winning the ears of presidents and kings. Her selfless work for
the marginalized helped and continues to help people in all parts of
the world.
Jebb, who lived from 1876 to 1928, was the British founder of the international
Save the Children Fund (SCF). She also drafted the Declaration of the
Rights of the Child, which forms the basis of SCF's work and was endorsed
by the League of Nations in 1924. An extended seven-statement declaration
eventually became the famous United Nations document Rights of the Child. (see the story...)
Renowned Scholar Named First Chair in Scottish Studies
from @Guelph May 12, 2004 | by Rachelle Cooper
 North
America’s first Chair in Scottish Studies has been appointed at
the University of Guelph, home to Canada’s oldest established
Scottish studies program and largest library collection of Scottish
materials outside of Scotland. Graeme Morton, currently a senior lecturer
in economic and social history at the University of Edinburgh, will
join U of G in August as the Chair in Scottish Studies and a professor
of history.
“This is great news for the university,” said Jacqueline
Murray, dean of the College of Arts. “Not only are we gaining
one of the world’s top Scottish scholars, but the creation of
the chair is another indication of our position as one of the world’s
foremost centres of Scottish studies.”
The permanently endowed chair was made possible entirely through $2
million in private donations, including a $750,000 gift from the Scottish
Studies Foundation, a charitable organization dedicated to the study
of Scottish and Scottish-Canadian culture and heritage.
Morton is renowned for his research into Scottish identity and nationalism.
He specializes in the historical construction of Scottish national identity
and nationalism, with emphasis on the creation of the Victorian cult
of Sir William Wallace. He is the author of William Wallace: Man and
Myth and has published dozens of articles and chapters. (see the story...)
For more information on the Scottish studies program, visit www.uoguelph.ca/scottish.
Latin America, Caribbean Experts Host International Talks on Campus
from @Guelph October 27, 2004 | by Rachelle Cooper
Well-known U.S. forensic psychologist to give keynote address on serial murders in Mexican border town.
Close to 200 experts on Latin American and Caribbean studies from 15 countries and almost every Canadian province are coming to campus Oct. 28 to 31 for the annual international conference of the Canadian Association for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CALACS). CALACS is the national organization for Latin American studies in Canada and embraces a wide range of disciplines, including history, sociology, political science, anthropology and literature.
Speakers from around the world will focus on the theme “Latin America and the Caribbean: Independence and Interdependence.” Conference panellists include scholars from the National University of Mexico, Oxford University and the University of San Carlos in Guatemala; government officials; and members of non-governmental organizations, including Amnesty International, the North-South Institute and MiningWatch Canada.
“With the University's critical mass of new and established experts in Latin American and Caribbean studies, it's fitting that we are hosting a conference of this magnitude,” says College of Arts dean Jacqueline Murray. (see the story...)
Dr. Kolapo Studies West Africa's Political and Economic Stability
from @Guelph December 2, 2003 | by Paula Bialski
 International
trade has been affecting society’s stability since the days of
Christopher Columbus and Marco Polo. Now, one University of Guelph professor
hopes that a better picture of 19th century West African history can
help him understand the effects of changes in international trade on
governance, social structure, gender structures, and political stability
in present-day West Africa.
Prof. Femi Kolapo, Department of History, believes that understanding
the influence of trade and colonialism in lower Niger River communities
will provide a better understanding of the current international economic
and political situation in West Africa.
History professor Femi Kolapo (left) discusses how foreign markets
have influenced West African societies in order to aid the area’s
social and economic development.
“What we will be able to learn is the impact of international
trade on the political stability of a country,” he says, “and
how the introduction of a new crop, new produce or new exploitation
of a resource can affect different sectors and aspects of a society.”
Kolapo is the first to link the entire Niger River sub-region with
different ecological and sociocultural backgrounds – a process
he believes will help him uncover the factors that forced each community
to change after the onset of foreign interference.
To identify the particular types of changes that happened in each society,
Kolapo will also examine factors such as each community’s proximity
to the Atlantic seaboard – which provided shipping routes to foreign
markets – and the level of each group’s participation in
new trade.
Insight from this research, he says, can help policy advisors and decision
makers determine the best course of action in West Africa’s struggles
to develop, and how the foreign “regime of intervention”
– aid programs offered by other countries intended to propel West
Africa’s socioeconomic development – can be optimized.
“I hope to understand why Africa has gradually shifted into
such a poor economic condition and what relationship this bears to possibilities
for democracy,” says Kolapo. “I also want to know how these
problems relate to the history of interaction between local West African
societies and the international market.”
The Niger River provided surrounding communities with a direct link
to international trade through the Atlantic seaboard. For example, the
slave trade was a large and lucrative market for the elite Africans
who held control. When slavery was abolished in the 19th century, Europeans
began to demand palm oil and other farm commodities instead, and a secure
market for West Africa peasant farmers – who had few opportunities
during the slave trade – finally opened up.
The shift to a new pattern of trade deeply affected the stability of
the states, and caused armed conflicts in some West African societies.
Each community evolved differently to meet the different market demands
and pressures.
“As Europe began importing new commodities, it stimulated development
in some of these West African societies,” says Kolapo. “Some
communities were able to expand their borders and became more powerful,
but some were weakened and fell into crisis. We want to examine the
factors that made this so.”
Kolapo’s research will take him to Nigeria to study the lower
Niger River communities firsthand, as well as to archival collections
in the United Kingdom, France and to available sources across Canada.
This study is being sponsored by the Social Sciences and Humanities
Research Council.
A Matter of the Past: 18th-Century Advertising and English History
from @Guelph January 28, 2004 | by Hilary Edmondson & the SPARK Program
 Advertisements
and commercials are usually seen in a fleeting light, here today and
gone tomorrow before the public grows weary of them. But it turns out
they also shed light on our society, past and present. Now, one University
of Guelph researcher is using advertising to learn about the lifestyles
and ways of thinking of the eighteenth century.
Prof. Donna Andrew, Department of History, is analysing advertisements
in Britain’s premier eighteenth-century newspaper, the Daily Advertiser,
to demonstrate her belief that commercial ads (those directed at selling
goods) have tended to replace communicative ads – ads that send
a message to the audience – right through to today.
History professor Donna Andrew is studying eighteenth-century newspaper
advertisements to gain a better understanding of how ads have evolved
over the years. (see the story...)
Historical Census Data Go Digital
from @Guelph December 3, 2003 | by Stacey Curry Gunn
Cross-disciplinary team will turn portion of handwritten 1891
census information into digital data that can be crunched any number
of ways.
 Old
census records become digital data in U of G's new Historical Data Laboratory
in the MacKinnon Building. Members of the census project include, from
left, co-ordinator Jean Dalgleish, research assistant Christina Wakefield,
Prof. Kevin James, Prof. Douglas McCalla and research assistant Sarah
Purton.
Photo by Martin Schwalbe
Cramped handwriting in black ink fills the rows of boxes, capturing
the facts for posterity. In 1891, Amelie Carson was a 38-year-old widow
of the Catholic faith who lived with her eight-year-old son, Joseph,
in a two-storey wood frame house in Hamilton. Born in Ontario to parents
from Ireland, she was a grocer who supplemented her income by taking
in two lodgers, Helena O'Callaghan, 55, and Freddie Cronan, 13. All
members of the household could read and write. (see the story...)
Department of History | 2010 MacKinnon Extension | University of Guelph | Guelph, Ontario | N1G 2W1 | (519) 824-4120 ex. 56528 | fax (519) 766-9516 |
