History News

Dr. Susan Nance has just published her latest book documenting the history of animal management in the American circus, Entertaining Elephants: Animal Agency and the Business of the American Circus (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2013).

from the jacket: Consider the career of an enduring if controversial icon of American entertainment: the genial circus elephant. In Entertaining Elephants Susan Nance examines elephant behavior—drawing on the scientific literature of animal cognition, learning, and communications—to offer a study of elephants as actors (rather than objects) in American circus entertainment between 1800 and 1940. By developing a deeper understanding of animal behavior, Nance asserts, we can more fully explain the common history of all species.

CALL FOR PAPERS  Tri-University Conference:

New Approaches to History

March 23, 2013

Deadline: January 18, 2013

The Tri-University conference is a wonderful opportunity for students and faculty to get to know each other, to share ideas, and debate the latest developments in our field. This year, the Tri-University conference will take place at the University of Guelph. The theme is “New Approaches to History” and to this end, we are featuring a keynote panel with three fantastic historians from the Tri-University.

The Department congratulates Ph.D. candidate Jason Wilson on the release of his new book from Wilfrid Laurier University Press: Soldiers of Song The Dumbells and Other Canadian Concert Parties of the First World War

From the jacket: The seeds of irreverent humour that inspired the likes of The Wayne and Shuster Hour and Monty Python were sown in the trenches of the First World War, and The Dumbells—concert parties made up of fighting soldiers—were central to this process. Soldiers of Song tells their story. Lucky soldiers who could sing a song, perform a skit, or pass as a “lady,” were taken from the line and put onstage for the benefit of their soldier-audiences.

 

 

Thursday, November 22nd at 530 pm in MACK 313 the Middle East Scholars Society welcomes:

by Teresa Pitman
Inspired by her memories, Jodey Nurse has completed her MA thesis on the Peel County Fall Fair (now the Brampton Fall Fair) and is doing her PhD research on the history of women’s involvement in fall fairs. Her work has attracted attention from CBC Radio; she was interviewed in early September for the Fresh Air program to share what she learned about the history and importance of these annual gatherings in Ontario. Nurse completed her undergrad degree in history at Queen’s University and is now studying at U of G. Today, there are 230 fall fairs. Some, Nurse admits, are struggling, especially those close to large cities where there is more competition. While the first fairs were basically livestock shows organized by gentlemen farmers, politicians and others who wanted to improve farming by better breeding of animals and plants, over time they began to aim for a broader audience.
Read the rest of the story At Guelph

This winter the Department offers four new courses:

HIST*3240 "Food History" (Dr. Mosby)

HIST*3330 "The Scottish Diaspora" (Dr. Morton)

HIST*3450 "The Vikings" (Dr. Ekholst)

HIST*4170 "Exploring Digital Humanities" (Dr. Ross)

For course descriptions visit our undergraduate programs page.

The Department congratulates Dr. Norman Smith on the publication of his latest book, Intoxicating Manchuria: Alcohol, Opium and Culture in China's Northeast (UBC Press, 2012)

from the jacket: In China, both opium and alcohol were used for centuries in the pursuit of health and leisure while simultaneously linked to personal and social decline. The impact of these substances is undeniable, and the role they have played in Chinese social, cultural, and economic history is extremely complex.

Brad Crawford is a MA student in the Department.
He studies conflict in modern Africa and the
Rwandan Genocide. - Susan

Land of a Thousand Lessons:
Reflections on a Tour of Rwanda
By Brad Crawford

Scattered throughout Kigali, the capital and largest city in the small East African nation of Rwanda, are massive billboards that read “Learning from our history to build a bright future.” The billboards evidently refer to the nearly one million Tutsis and Hutu moderates that were slaughtered during the one hundred days of the Rwandan Genocide in the spring of 1994. These billboards most likely lead some to wonder why a nation would promote the worst event in their national history so explicitly. As historians, we often cite “learning from our history to avoid the same mistakes in our future” as one of the main purposes for studying the subject. In Rwanda, this notion is consistently and actively put into practice. (click title to read the whole story)

Congratulations to History's Departmental Manager, Barb Mitterer, who was awarded the University's Exemplary Service 'Hidden Hero' Award today - a much deserved recognition of Barb's crucial work in the Department. Kudos! We don't know what we'd do without you!

Jacqueline Murray, Professor in the Department and Director of First Year Seminars at the University of Guelph, has published a new edited collection: Marriage in Premodern Europe: Italy and Beyond (Toronto: Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies, 2012).

from the jacket...
The articles in this volume provide an overview of the issues and complexities that informed marriage in the premodern West. They provide a series of ...