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College News

History: Summer Undergraduate Research Assistant Positions...

 This year the Department is pleased to offer four undergraduate research assistant positions to qualified candidates:

Revisiting the Historiography of Nigeria-Biafra War 44 Years After
- Supervisor Dr. Femi Kolapo

Hitchhiking: Canadian Youth and Travel
- Supervisor Dr. Linda Mahood

The Crown, the Court and the Casa da India: Political Centralization in Portugal 1480-1520
- Supervisor Dr. Susanna Ferreira

Transatlantic Dimension of the Revolutionary Republic of East Florida, 1817-1818
- Supervisor Dr. Karen Racine

Applications due February 4. For more information on these projects and how to apply, visit our Job Postings.

History: Fighting Fat: Canadian Obesity History - Wendy Mitchinson Talk

As part of the History and Sociology/Anthropology Food Series, on Thursday January 24th, Dr. Catherine Carstairs, the Department of History and the College of Arts are proud to present a talk by Dr.Wendy Mitchenson, Canada Research Chair in Gender and Medical History at the University of Waterloo:

"Fighting Fat: Canadian Obesity History"

The talk takes place in MacKInnon 132 from 12:00 to 1:30pm.
All welcome!
For more information contact Dr. Carstairs: ccarstai@uoguelph.ca
Get the flyer: .pdf
 

 

History: Entertaining Elephants: Susan Nance's New Book is Here!

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.

History: CFP: Tri-University Program in History Annual Conference

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.

History: Jason Wilson's New Book on Canadian Concert Parties of WWI is Out!

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.

Exploring the Dark Side of Nabobs: “Eastern adventurers” were seen as a threat

 Art history professor Christina Smylitopoulos knows. “It originally was a name for a Muslim official or leader, but it became a derogatory term used for British men who traveled to India in the hope of making a fortune and then returned to Britain fabulously wealthy and ready to climb into elite spheres of power and influence,” she explains.

History: Jodey Nurse on Fall Fairs, Then and Now

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

History: New Courses for Winter 2013!

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.

History: Intoxicating Manchuria: Norman Smith's New Book is Here!

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.