History Seminar Series: Dr. John Long on Treaty No. 9 and Education

From Dr. Derek Neal:

The Department of History invites everyone at Nipissing University and in the wider community to hear Dr John Long, speaking this Friday, December 3 at our usual time of 2:30 pm in Room A122. 

Dr Long's presentation, entitled "Promises of Education and Schooling in Treaty No. 9," considers the implications for education provision in this treaty signed by Canada with aboriginal nations of Ontario's far north in 1905 and in the 1930s.

As always, the talk is free, refreshments are served and everyone is welcome. Please contact me in case of any questions.

Hoping to see you there,

Derek Neal

Dr. Stephen Connor speaks --- History Seminar Series, Friday November 26

The Department of History invites everyone at Nipissing University and those in the wider community to hear Dr Stephen Connor this Friday, November 26, at 3:30 pm, in A122. Refreshments will be provided.

Dr Connor's presentation is entitled "Grey Zone/Green Zone: War, Invasion and Occupation," and concerns the Nazi occupation of Brest-Litovsk in 1942–44. An abstract follows this message.

Please note that the talk will begin later than most other Seminar Series talks to accommodate an Arts and Science Faculty Council meeting earlier the same afternoon.

For further information, please feel free to contact Derek Neal at derekn@Nipissingu.ca .

Abstract:

In his 2006 book, Green Zone: Imperial Life in the Emerald City, Rajiv Chandrasekaran detailed American efforts to create a new democratic Iraq.  Paul Bremmer’s Coalition Provisional Authority, he argued, administered Iraq out of step with the harsh realities of life after Saddam and spent their first year ruling and rebuilding from inside a physical and ideological bubble.   In the end, he claimed, even ever-optimistic neo-cons were mugged by reality.

While comparisons between American actions in Iraq and other earlier 20^th century invasions are, for the historian, both dangerous and not particularly fruitful, the concept of the Green Zone – the bubble – provides an interesting and compelling lens through which invasion, occupation and reconstruction can be examined.  In my own research focused on the lowest echelons of the German civil administration, I continually witness the profound disconnect between how the Nazis wished the world to be and how, in fact, it was.  In short, I examine the ways in which low-level yet indispensible Nazis were mugged by reality and what they tried to do about it.  

The invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 marked the beginning of Hitler’s real war.  In the east, he imagined, lay the living space so central to the survival of the Aryan race.  To this end, Hitler ordered the exploitation of the occupied territory in service of the war economy to ensure Germans had enough food to eat and guns to shoot.  From the very beginning, food and labour sat at the very heart of the Nazi colonial experience.

Between late 1941 and mid 1944, the civil administration in the occupied Soviet Union spearheaded efforts at systematic exploitation, spoliation, and extermination.  The question remains – what exactly did this mean for those expected to undertake these tasks ‘at the sharp end’ and for the indigenous populations who would endure them?   The case of Brest-Litovsk located in western Ukraine provides an invaluable case study to address this issue.  Over the course of the occupation, civil officials in Brest-Litovsk produced a flow of reports detailing the goals, methods and travails of implementing their particular slice of Nazi policy.  These reports paint a compelling portrait of everyday life in the region, offering an often surprisingly candid look at the aims, achievements, failures and adaptations of the occupiers. 

This paper details the practice of Nazi exploitation and details the realities facing the German civil administration at the lowest levels.  Finally, my study both provides insights into the Nazi experience in the colonial ‘wild east’ and suggests some of the more general consequences of invasion, war and occupation.

From Dr. Robin Gendron -- David Dyment speaks to the Canadian International Council on December 2

Please join the Nipissing Branch of the Canadian International Council for our next event taking place next Thursday, December 2nd when we'll be hosting Dr. David Dyment who will be speaking on "Doing the Continental: A New Canadian-American Relationship."  The talk will take place from 7-8:30 pm in the Auditorium of the North Bay Public Library at 271 Worthington St E. The event is free and open to the public. Everyone is welcome!

 

Drawing on his book "Doing the Continental," David Dyment will speak to the challenges and opportunities for Canada in its relations with the United States, including the need for new policies, priorities, and approaches for Canada to keep its interests at the forefront with an American government preoccupied by the strategic, financial, and political challenges that distract its attention from its northern neighbour.  Dr. Dyment will be available to sign copies of his book after the talk.

 

David Dyment  teaches Political Science at the University of Ottawa and Carleton University, where he is a senior research associate in the Centre on North American Politics and Society.  He has also served on the staff of the Governor General and as a senior analyst in the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.

For more information about this or upcoming events, please contact me at gendronrs@nipissingu.ca or 474-3450 ext 4395.

International Education Week

Good day everyone,

The Nipissing International Office staff are excited to inform you about the activities/presentations that are slated for "INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION WEEK."

Returning Exchange Students who have studied abroad last year will join Melissa Toupin Laforge, our Education Abroad Coordinator to share their experiences studying abroad and explain various opportunities for Nipissing U students to study, intern or work  abroad in the 2011-12 academic year. 

An understanding of international issues can be gained right here at home. Therefore, we'll provide information about how to get involved in various "globally minded" activities right here on campus too.

Consider attending to gain an understanding about these events, and we ask faculty members to make these announcements to your classes over the next week:

All information sessions are scheduled from 11:30am -12:30pm  in Room A118 on:

Monday November 15

Wednesday November 17

Friday November 19          

The Nipissing International Office will be staffing booths around campus the week of Nov 15-19th, with the assistance of international students and returning NU exchange students. Please drop by to find out "what's up on the international front," and fill out a ballot to win some prizes.

From the History Club -- upcoming events

We are coming to the end of our fall term we have finished planing the events. If you could please inform your students about these activities it would be appreciated!

1) Our Annual Book Sale is being held from Monday Nov. 15 until Friday Nov. 19 from 10:00 - 5:00 in Student Hallway (outside of B200). There are going to be books from every genre available for the low cost of $1-$12. Please stop on by and check out the selection of books!

2) Movie Night: On Wednesday November 24 in H104 the History Club is showing Dr. Strangelove, a comedy concerning the Cold War Era. Dr. Gendron will be providing an introduction at 7:00 p.m. and the movie will start around 7:30 p.m. There will be baked goods, popcorn, and other snacks will be provided. We are asking for a $2 donation to be put towards future History Club events.

3) History Pub Night: Our final winter semester pub night will be held on Thursday December 9th at 9:30 p.m. at the Bull and Quench. Take a break from the essay writing and studying to relax and socialize with others history students.

4) Seminar Series: Dr. Connor will be providing the next seminar series talk on Friday November 26th at 3:30 p.m. in room A122.  His topic is "Grey Zone/Green Zone: War, invasion, and Occupation."

5) Discussion: Please, if you have not already, join in on the discussion about scheduling. The discussion will close Thursday November 18th at 11:59 p.m. It is important that you have your opinions know so that change can happen. Thank you for those who have already shared your opinion. This discussion can be found on the Nipissing University History Club Group on Facebook.

Thanks everyone for all of the participation in the previous events! Stay tuned for our activities beginning again in the winter term. As always feel free to send us any feedback, we always enjoy hearing from you.

All the best,
Amanda Van Lanen

Anne Clendinning speaks! November 5, 2:30 PM

Tonight --- Halloween Pub -- from the History Club

Historical Halloween Pub is at the Bull and Quench starting at 9:00 P.M. Come dressed as a historical figure and the top two costumes will win a LCBO gift card. They will be judged between 11:00 and 11:30.

Model NATO

Prof. Gendron invites you:

I'm in the process again of organising this years' Nipissing University student Model NATO team.  As part of the team, a group of 5 or 6 Nipissing students take part in a conference in Ottawa early in 2011 during which they will be part of a simulated NATO meeting.  The conference includes teams from other universities across Ontario and sometimes outside the province and is a great opportunity for students with an interest in international diplomacy/debate/crisis management and the like to get involved in a very enjoyable conference and to represent NipU outside the university, while interacting with their peers from other universities.

 

An organisational meeting for the 2010-11 Model NATO team is being held tomorrow, Oct 6 from 11-11:30 in room H304.

 

Dr. Francoise Noel speaks on local history: Friday, October 1 at 2:30 pm in Room A122.

 The first departmental seminar of the year concerns the Nipissing District:

The Impact of Regulation 17 on the study of District Schools: a Case Study from the District of Nipissing

 By Françoise Noël

 

Can  the historian interested in examining the expansion of Ontario schools into the Districts in the ideologically charged period from 1911 to 1931, do so from the standard documentation available? In answer to this question this paper provides data at both the micro and the macro level originating from three sets of documents: Schools and Teachers, the Inspection Summary Registers, and the Report of the Committee Appointed to Enquire into the Condition of the Schools Attended by French-Speaking Pupils, referred to here as the Merchant Report. While these documents allow us to provide a snapshot of the Ontario school system at the beginning and end of this period, the impact of Regulation 17 on the documentation available makes the task of studying the intervening years difficult. Schools and Teachers, does not include English–French schools for the entire period between 1914 and 1926, thereby creating a significant gap in our knowledge of the system in this period. That gap can only be partially filled by using the Inspection Summary Registers as these were created for the express purpose of tracking compliance to Regulation 17 and do not contain the same information. The Merchant Report, while it provides much useful information on the schools that taught French for the period 1925-1926, also does not fill the gap in Schools and Teachers. Regulation 17 leaves behind a legacy of documentation which is ideologically biased towards the resolution and understanding of that “problem” and this continues to make it difficult to view the expansion of schools into the Districts in an ideologically neutral fashion. Our examination of a micro sample from the Nipissing District also underlines the extent to which each school was a separate entity onto itself and shows that conditions could exist in schools located only a few miles apart. Summary data of any kind can therefore provide only a limited view of the situation in District schools. The structure of the school system and its divisions into two or more sectors, depending on the period, reflects the ideological debates of the day. As historians, however, we need to look beyond these divisions and seek an understanding of the interrelationship between schools and their communities that goes beyond these boundaries.

Contest! Money!

Georgia Lyons writes:

Student Affairs is offering a monetary prize for the solution to a monthly writing challenge.  Posted on www.nipissingu.ca/studentaffairs/writingtips.asp , the "Grammar Granny Challenge" asks students to find the errors in the four short writings posted.

Natalie Zemon Davis at NU, Friday September 24!

The Department of History welcomes Professor Natalie Zemon Davis to campus on Friday, September 24, to speak in F210 (the Fedeli Room) at 5 p.m.

Professor Davis' talk is titled Decentering History: Local Storytelling and Cultural Crossing in a Global World.
Speaking partly from her own experience, Professor Davis will explore ways that the practice of history has changed, examining historical comparison through local figures (a male and female writer from different parts of the world in 1400) and through cultural crossing (how techniques in healing and justice transferred from Africa to a slave colony).
Natalie Zemon Davis is among the most widely known and influential historians in the academy. Her work on the social and cultural history of early modern Europe has reached readers far outside the university setting, perhaps most famously with The Return of Martin Guerre (1983) and most recently with Trickster Travels: a Sixteenth-Century Muslim between Worlds (2008). Earlier this year she received the Holberg International Memorial Prize in recognition of her lifetime achievement.
The lecture is free of charge and all are welcome.

For further information, please contact Dr. Derek Neal in the Department of History at derekn@nipissingu.ca .

From the History Club

First I would like to say it is good to be back and into the swing of this with the new school year. I also thought I would let you know about the new executive members for the history club for 2010/2011. The President for this year is Amanda Van Lanen, the VP is Ryan Michaelis, and the Secretary is Kimmy Demers. As well, the hotmail account has been giving us some issues concerning sending emails. Therefore, we have decided to update the email and get a new email through gmail. The new email is nipuhistroyclub@gmail.com.  I will still be checking the old email for a few weeks until everyone has switched to the new email. That is about it for now, I hope classes are going well, and I look forward to working with you to promote the History Department.

Thanks,
Amanda Van Lanen

Considering graduate school next year. Think about money!

Research Services and Graduate Studies will be holding Graduate Studies Scholarship workshops in the week of September 20 - 24, 2010.   

The date and times are listed under the Current Events link on the Graduate Studies website found under the Current Students link on Nipissing's Website.
 http://www.nipissingu.ca/graduatestudies/graduatestudies_currentevents.asp312
 

New Graduate Student Orientation

Nipissing University’s School of Graduate Studies would like to extend an invitation to our New Graduate Student Orientation (NGSO) which will be held on Friday September 10, 2010, 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., followed by a Graduate Student Reception at 4:30 p.m.

Room: Main Campus: R308 // Brantford Campus: TBA

The orientation will begin with a meet and greet followed by an information sessions from Library Services, Research Ethics Board,and your specific graduate program. The orientation will also include a trip to the new Graduate Student Centre, and University Technology Services.

After a break for lunch (please bring a lunch, cafeteria will also be open) the orientation will continue with a teaching assistantship information session with Mark Crane and an opportunity to meet with the course instructors and complete the required paper work.

Please see the NGSO agenda for more information.

Mark Crane will be hosting a welcome reception with food and refreshments at his home (654 Birchwood Cresent, North Bay) following the orientation. All graduate students and faculty are invited! RSVP your attendance to the reception to markc@nipissingu.ca. Please advise of any food allergies with your RSVP.

Please don't hesitate to contact our office if you have any questions about your upcoming studies. We can be reached at (705) 474-3450 ext 4198 or at sgs@nipissingu.ca

--
Sarah Clermont
Research & Graduate Coordinator

STUDENTS: Scholarship Workshops in September

From Janet Ross, Grant & Scholarship Coordinator:

Research Services and Graduate Studies will be holding Graduate Studies Scholarship workshops in the week of September 20 - 24, 2010.

The date and times are listed under the Current Events link on the Graduate Studies website found under the Current Students link on Nipissing's Website.

http://www.nipissingu.ca/graduatestudies/graduatestudies_currentevents.asp

Students must sign-up for a specific time and date by September 17, 2010 or workshops without attendees listed will be canceled.

Contact me at janetr@nipissingu.ca or 705-474-3450, 4558

Master's defenses at Nipissing University, August 23-September 8

Nipissing University's School of Graduate Studies is pleased to invite the university community to attend the public oral defences of students pursuing an MA in History or an MSc in Mathematics. The schedule is posted here.

Stan Lawlor, Jr.

From Todd Horton of the NU Faculty Association:

Good afternoon,

It is with deep sorrow that we inform you of the passing of Stan Lawlor Jr. Stan taught for us in the History Department for a number of years, after completing his undergraduate degree in History from Nipissing and his master's degree from the University of Toronto. Stan Jr. is of course the son of our long-standing colleague and friend, Stan Lawlor Sr.

On behalf of the membership, we send our condolences. Visitation is this evening at the McGuinty Funeral Home from 7 to 9 pm. Funeral service will be Tuesday at 11 am in the McGuinty Funeral Home Chapel.

Our thoughts are with Stan Sr. and the family at this difficult time.

Todd

Todd Horton

President, NUFA

Dr. Nathan Kozuskanich's arguments reach the US Supreme Court, again

Back in 2008, Nathan Kozuskanich, Nipissing University's Early American historian, was cited in supporting material submitted to the United States Supreme Court in regards to a case called "Heller" involving the Second Amendment to the Constitution, the one about bearing arms. Nathan's contribution was specifically to analyze 18th century American sources to see what "bearing arms" meant at the time the amendment was written and passed. His arguments did not win the day for the people who used them, but being noticed at all in that crowded forum is nothing to be sneezed at. Mountains of learned tracts have been written about the Second Amendment; his stood out anyway.

In the past week a second case concerning the interpretation of the Second Amendment, "McDonald," came up to the Supreme Court, and this time, Nathan's name and his crucial article on "bearing arms" were mentioned in the dissent of Justice Breyer. I am linking to the Google Docs version. I found it impossible to search for Nathan's last name or anything else when I followed the link to Google Docs, so I will say that when I read the judgment, the citation was on page 3 of Breyer's dissent, page 182 of the file. Justice Breyer's dissent indeed incorporates recognizable logic from Nathan's original article.

Dean Bavington's Managed Annihilation is out!

The details of this promised and promising book are here!

Dr. Françoise Noël wins a prize!

Dr. Françoise Noel, longtime member of our department, has recently been awarded
the Ontario Historical Society's Fred Landon Award, for the best book on regional history in the past three years. the book is Family and Community Life in Northeastern Ontario, The Interwar Years, a study which is both solid in the scholarly sense and entertaining, especially for those interested in the grassroots history of our area. Family and Community Life is Dr. Noel's fourth book, which makes her a very productive scholar indeed.

This announcement gives me an excuse to reproduce the cover of the book, a wonderful work by a local artist.

Natalie Zemon Davis will be at Nipissing University in September

Mark your calendars: the exact date is September 24.

Davis is one of the most eminent historians in Canada, or even North America as a whole today. She is famous for taking difficult sources and putting flesh on them dry bones. Perhaps her most well-known project was interpreting the story of a 16th-century French imposter, Martin Guerre -- a project that produced a book on the case itself, an article on her methodology, and
a movie recreating the story. This one example of her work is typical of her interest and skill in communicating with people who aren't scholars as well as those who are.

It's quite an honor to have Davis accept the History Department's invitation to speak. Take advantage of this opportunity to hear her if you can. More details as available.

Oh, yes, when we are talking about eminence and reaching a broader public, there is this recent honor to make the point.

History Club Update

From the History Club:

You are invited to our Year-End Lunch Meeting will be on Tuesday, April 6th at 11:30am in F304. We will enjoy some lunch and introduce next year's executive! Take a study break and plan to attend!

Third Annual Undergraduate Research Conference -- today and tomorrow

From David Tabachnick:

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Come out and support our students!

You are invited to the Third Annual Undergraduate Research Conference at Nipissing University this Friday, March 26th and Saturday, March 27th. If you are planning to attend, please RSVP Hilary Earl (hearl@nipissingu.ca).

Despite our late start organizing, this year's conference will be the biggest one yet!

Thank you to everyone that has volunteered their time and ideas. Because of your hard work and, of course, the research of our students, this will be an excellent event.

Program at a Glance

Friday March 26, 2010

Time Program Location

6:30 - 9:30 pm Registration Nipissing Front Lobby

7:00 - 7:15 pm Welcome Fideli Room (F210)

7:15 - 8:00 pm Keynote Address Dr. Jeff Dech Fideli Room (F210)

8:00 - 9:30 pm Poster Presentations Nipissing Front Lobby

Reception

Saturday March 27, 2010

Time Program Location

8:15 - 8:45 am Registration A246 - Small Cafeteria

8:45 - 9:00 am Opening Remarks - David Tabachnick A246 - Small Cafeteria

9:00 - 10:30 am Concurrent Sessions

#1 - Reproductive & Family Health & NATO A228

#2 - The Dionne Quintuplets A224

#3 - Atrocities in History A226

10:30 - 10:45 am BREAK A246 - Small Cafeteria

10:45 - 12:00 pm Concurrent Session

#4 - New Technologies in Research A226

#5 - Research in Education A228

#6 - Shaping Political Identities A224

12:00 - 1:00 pm LUNCH A246 - Small Cafeteria

1:00 - 2:20 pm Concurrent Sessions

#7 - Experiments in Chemistry and Biology A226

#8 - East Meets West A224

#9 - How to do Things with Numbers A228

2:20 - 2:35 pm BREAK A246 - Small Cafeteria

2:35 - 3:55 pm Concurrent Sessions

#10 - Land, People, & Politics A228

#11 - Jung, the Young, and the (Un)dead A226

#12 - Twentieth century World Issues A224

3:55 - 5:15 pm Concurrent Sessions

#13 - Re-visioning Identity A224

#14 - Plant Populations: Crops and Forests A226

#15 - Three Pillars of Nazi Germany A228

5:15 - 5:45 pm Closing Remarks - Dean Bavington A246 - Small Cafeteria

Prizes

Seminar Series: Glenn Tunnock, "The Algonquin Land Claim"

From Dr. James Murton:

For its final meeting of this year, the History Department Seminar Series is pleased to present historian and land use planner Glenn Tunnock, speaking on "The Algonquin Land Claim: A Return to Self-Determination."

The presentation will tell the story of the Algonquin’s relationship to the settlement of eastern Upper Canada since the early seventeenth century and their quest to reconnect with the land and rekindle their cultural heritage. Tunnock holds an MA degree in history at Queen's University, where he studied the Algonquin Land Claim, and is working with the Algonquin First Nation through the establishment of a scholarship fund designed to assist young Algonquin to pursue educational initiatives which will enable them to acquire the skills to assist their nation in implementing the land claim settlement (see full abstract and presenter bio below).

Friday, Mar 26, 2:30 pm in Rm A226

Refreshments will be served. Everyone welcome!

From the History Club

History Club Updates:

You are invited to our Year-End Lunch Meeting will be on Tuesday, April 6th at 11:30am in F304. We will enjoy some lunch and introduce next year's executive! Take a study break and plan to attend!

Don't forget about our annual Platonic Symposium, in conjunction with the Nipissing University History Club, on Monday, March 29th (less than a week away!) at 7:00pm in the Owl's Nest Lounge. Come out to discuss some of the greatest political and historical questions. There will be a cash bar and light hors d'oeuvres will be served. Tickets are $5 and are available through Holly Garnett, Sam Mackie, Matt Morris and Ryan Michaelis. You can also email back if you would like to arrange for a ticket!

Other Updates (Cinema Politica):

Looking for something to do before the Symposium? Cinema Politica is showing the film "Examined Life" at 5:00pm in R308 on Monday, March 29th. Everyone is welcome. A Pizza dinner will be served!

Derek Neal at tomorrow's research talk, 12:30 pm, Room A222G

From the Research Office:

You are invited to attend the
Nipissing University Research Talk Series

Tomorrow, Wednesday, March 17th
Time: 12:30 – 1:30pm
Room: A222G
(same room as last year)

Speaker: Derek Neal – History
Men of the Parish: Conflict and cooperation among clerics and laymen in 16th-century England

Refreshments will be available – please bring your own lunch

Nathan Kozuskanich leads off in "Pennsylvania's Revolution"

Dr. Nathan Kozuskanich has long studied and contributed to the early history of the United States, including a brief on the US Second Amendment that was submitted to the US Supreme Court. Now he has contributed his expertise to an important new book on the revolution in Pennsylvania, where a great deal of the political and ideological action took place. His is the leadoff essay in Penn State University's Pennsylvania's Revolution, “'Falling Under the Domination Totally of Presbyterians': The Paxton Riots and the Coming of the Revolution in Pennsylvania." The publisher says:

Pennsylvania’s Revolution embodies a new era of scholarship about the state’s Revolutionary past. It breaks from a narrowly focused study of Philadelphia and the 1776 Constitution to evaluate Pennsylvania’s internal conflicts during the Revolutionary period.

It is exciting stuff and if you want to know more, follow this link.

History Seminar Series, Immigrant Women and their Food, Friday, March 12

From James Murton:

Jennifer Evans, University of Toronto, will present some research that she originated here in the History MA program.

'It was part of everything': Immigrant women’s stories of food and cooking in postwar North Bay, Ontario
Date & Time: Friday, Mar 12, 2:30 pm in Rm A226.

A study of immigrant women’s experiences with food and cooking raises questions about how women’s everyday experiences in their kitchens related to their larger transnational contexts: How did women’s experiences in their homelands shape their perceptions of the food and cooking practices in North Bay, and what did it mean for their own cooking?

Come find out!

Hilary Earl speaks on her book

Dean Bavington alerts us to the fact that Dr. Hilary Earl has been interviewed in the podcast series New Books in History. Here's a brief summary from the NBIH webpage:

Hitler caused the Holocaust, that much we know (No Hitler, no Holocaust). But did he directly order it and, if so, how and when? This is one of the many interesting questions posed by Hilary Earl in her outstanding new book The Nuremberg SS-Einsatzgruppen Trial, 1945-1958: Atrocity, Law, and History (Cambridge UP, 2009). The book is about the trial of the leaders of the Einsatzgruppen, the mobile killing units that, in 1941 and 1942, spearheaded the Nazi effort to eradicate the Jewish people. The Einsatzgruppen murdered something on the order of a million people using almost nothing but firearms. In 1947, their commanders were brought to justice in what might be called the “other” (forgotten) Nuremberg Trials. The trial left an enormous body of reasonably fresh-after-the-fact testimony for historians to work with in trying to understand this episode in the Holocaust. Hilary does a masterful job of mining this material. She also points out that the roots of our own understandings of the Holocaust can in large measure be traced to these disturbing trails. The defendants were the first Nazi genocidaires to publicly describe what they had done and why they had done it.

And here is a link to the podcast. (Near bottom of that page.)

History Club Updates

The History Club writes:

Our next meeting will be this Thursday, March 4th at 11:30am in R306.

We are also planning a Year-end lunch for History students and faculty to celebrate the past year and introduce your new History Club executive. Please mark Tuesday, April 6th, 2010 at 11:30pm on your calendars.

Other Events: The Canadian International Council (CIC), along with Nipissing University, will be welcoming Globe and Mail Columnist Jeffery Simpson to North Bay for a special talk entitled "Sink or Swim: Keeping Canada Afloat in the New Global Economy." The talk begins at 7:00pm in the Nipissing University Theater on Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010. The cost is $5, $2 for students and free for Members of the CIC (please pay at the door).

Katrina Srigley presents "Stories of Strife? Memories of the Great Depression." Friday March 5, 2:30

Dr. James Murton writes:

We at the History Department Seminar Series are pleased (and somewhat relieved) to return to our regular format, especially since we do so with our own Katrina Srigley presenting a lively and fascinating paper on family and memory titled, "Stories of Strife? Memories of the Great Depression."

Katrina's paper focuses on four sisters' recollections of their Depression-era family and their complex and difficult relationship with their father, as a way of revealing how we use memory to shape our individual, family and community identities.

Friday, Mar 5, 2:30 pm in A224

Refreshments will be served. Everyone welcome!

History Club Potluck & Board Games Night --Tonight!

The History Club writes:

Don't forget about our Potluck & Board Games Night on Monday, March 1st, 2010 at 5:30pm in the Owl's Nest Lounge (H102). Bring some food to share and any fun board games you may have (I know I'm bringing RISK). Bring a friend!

History Club Updates: Week of February 22

History Club Updates:

Our next History Club Meeting will be Thursday, March 4th at 11:30am in room R306. Everyone is welcome to attend. Please find the minutes from our last meeting attached.

Don't forget about our Potluck & Board Games Night on Monday, March 1st, 2010 at 5:30pm in the Owl's Nest Lounge (H102). Bring some food to share and any fun board games you may have. Bring a friend!

Other Events:

The Canadian International Council (CIC), along with Nipissing University, will be welcoming Globe and Mail Columnist Jeffery Simpson to North Bay for a special talk entitled "Sink or Swim: Keeping Canada Afloat in the New Global Economy." The talk begins at 7:00pm in the Nipissing University Theater. The cost is $5, $2 for students and free for Members of the CIC (please pay at the door).

Jeffrey Simpson on Canada and the Global Economy - March 2nd

Dr. Robin Gendron writes:

On Tuesday, March 2nd, the Nipissing Branch of the Canadian International Council and Nipissing University will be hosting a talk by Jeffrey Simpson entitled “Sink or Swim? Keeping Canada Afloat in the New Global Economy.” The talk will discuss the political and economic challenges that Canada faces in prospering within the dynamic global environment of the 21st century.

Jeffrey Simpson is the national affairs columnist for The Globe and Mail and has won all three of Canada's leading literary prizes -- the Governor-General's award for non-fiction book writing, the National Magazine Award for political writing, and the National Newspaper Award for column writing (twice). He has also won the Hyman Solomon Award for excellence in public policy journalism. In January, 2000, he became an Officer of the Order of Canada. He has published eight books, including most recently The Friendly Dictatorship: Reflections on Canadian Democracy (2001) and Hot Air: Meeting Canada’s Climate Change Challenge (2007) with Mark Jaccard and Nic Rivers.

The talk will be held from 7 – 8:30 pm in the Theatre at Nipissing University (room F213). Tickets are $5 at the door, $2 for students, and free for members of the Canadian International Council.

The Canadian International Council is a non-partisan, non-profit organisation dedicated to fostering the engagement of Canadians in Canadian foreign policy and in international issues generally.

For more information about this event or the CIC, please contact Robin Gendron at 474-3450 ext 4395 or robing@nipissingu.ca.

Nipissing University MA students-- past and present -- excell

On Thursday through Saturday past, current and former students in our MA program in history took part in the New Frontiers in Graduate History Conference at York University. The program (previous link) is very impressive, but what is more impressive is that three of our people did themselves proud in such company, as knowledgeable eye-witnesses affirm. You are cordially invited to look here and see what Jennifer Evans, Michael Del Vecchio, Morgann Rymall and Lindsay Robinson were up to.

Bruce Meyer on Great Books, Today!

Bob Pipe writes:

Nipissing University is pleased to welcome author and poet Bruce Meyer to campus for a special lecture titled What’s so Great About the Great Books on February 11, at 4 p.m. in room H105. Meyer will also give a poetry reading on February 12, at 11 a.m. in room H108.

Meyer is the author of 30 books, the most recent of which are the poetry collections Mesopotamia, Dog Days, and Bread. The Golden Thread: A Reader’s Journey Through the Great Books was a national bestseller in 2000. His broadcasts on the Great Books are the CBC’s bestselling audio cd series. He is a professor of English at Georgian College where he teaches in the Laurentian University BA Program. Meyer has recently been named as a top ten finalist in TV Ontario’s Best Lecturer Series.

The lecture is part of Nipissing’s English department Speaker Series. It is free of charge and all are welcome.

From the History Club

History Club Updates:

Our next club meeting will be Thursday, February 11th, 2010 at 11:30 in R306. Please find minutes from our last meeting attached.

Don't forget about our Potluck Dinner and Board Games Night on Monday, March 1st at 5:30pm in the Owl's Nest Lounge (H102). Bring some food to share, your favourite board game (I know I'll be bringing RISK) and your friends!

Mark your calendars! Our 3rd Annual Platonic Symposium is tentatively scheduled for Monday, March 29th. Tickets will once again be $5 each, for a great night of discussion, drinks and food. This event is joint with the Nipissing University Student Political Involvement Network.

Upcoming book from Dean Bavington

Dean Bavington is an assistant professor and Canada Research Chair in Environmental History at Nipissing University. His first book, from University of British Columbia Press in May, will have a big impact on resource debates.

Here's the publisher's blurb:

Managed Annihilation: An Unnatural History of the Newfoundland Cod Collapse
Dean L.Y. Bavington

The Newfoundland and Labrador cod fishery was once the most successful commercial ground fishery in the world. When it collapsed in 1992, fishermen, scholars, and scientists pointed to failures in management such as uncontrolled harvesting as likely culprits. Managed Annihilation makes the case that the idea of natural resource management itself was the problem. The collapse occurred when the fisheries were state managed and still, nearly two decades later, there is no recovery in sight. Although the collapse raised doubts among policy-makers about their ability to understand, predict, and control nature, their ultimate goal of control through management has not wavered – it has simply been transferred from wild fish to fishermen and farmed cod.

Unlike other efforts to make sense of the tragedy of the commons of the northern cod fishery and its halting recovery, Bavington calls into question the very premise of management and managerial ecology and offers a critical explanation that seeks to uncover alternatives obscured by this dominant way of relating to nature.
– Bonnie McCay, Department of Human Ecology, Rutgers University

Next History Seminar: Dreaming of Nipissing: Friday, Feb 5, 2:30 pm, A226

From Dr. James Murton:

Following from the nearly soldout panel discussion of this past Friday, the History Department Seminar Series is proud to announce our second panel discussion of the year, "Dreaming of Nipissing."

The discussion which will feature Sal Renshaw, Charlotte Innerd, and Jeff Dech on the subject of "where we go from here" -- their own takes on the future of Nipissing.

Sal Renshaw is a member of the Departments of Religions & Cultures and Gender Equality and Social Justice, and is well known to anyone involved with Nipissing for her tireless work as Chair of GESJ, with the Women's Centre and International Women's Week, and on a bewildering number of committees. Charlotte Innerd is Manager Reference and Information Services at the Education Centre Library and brings the perspective of the library to our discussion. Jeff Dech is Forest Bioproducts Research Chair in the Department of Biology and a former Nipissing undergraduate. Please come and join in on discussing the future of our university!

Friday, Feb 5, 2:30 pm, A226.

Refreshments will be served.

For more information go www.nipissingu.ca/history and click on Upcoming Events.

See you there!

History Club Updates, week of Feb. 1

From the History Club:

Our next club meeting will be Thursday, February 11th at 11:30 in R306. As always, new members are welcome to attend!

We are planning this year's Book Sale Fundraiser for February 2nd and 3rd (and possibly the 4th). We are in need of donations of used books of any kind to sell, which can be dropped off at Professor Connor's office (3rd floor of H-Wing). We are also looking for volunteers to sell the books and set up on February 2nd and 3rd. Please find attached a schedule for selling, if there are some time slots that you can commit to, it would be much appreciated. Also consider coming by (outside the library) to buy a book or two! Many thanks in advance!

Something to put in your calendar: We are planning a History Potluck Dinner and Board Game Night for Monday, March 1st, beginning at 5:30pm in H102. Everyone is welcome to attend. Bring a dish to share and your favourite board game!

The Canadian International Council (CIC) is hosting another talk, this time with special guest Chris Kuntz from REpower systems Inc. on "Wind Power in Canada and the World." The event will take place in the Nipissing University Theatre at 7:00pm on Thursday, February 4th. Everyone is welcome to attend!

History Club Updates

Our Next History Club Meeting will be Thursday, January 28th at 11:30pm in room R306. Everyone is welcome to attend! Please find the minutes from our last meeting attached.

We will be having a New Year's History Pub Night on Thursday, January 28th beginning at 9:00pm at the Bull and Quench North Bay. This a great opportunity to relax and have a drink with your fellow students and history faculty.

We are planning this year's Book Sale Fundraiser for February 2nd and 3rd (and possibly the 4th). We are in need of donations of used books of any kind to sell, which can be dropped off at Professor Connor's office (3rd floor of H-Wing). We are also looking for volunteers to sell the books and set up on February 2nd and 3rd. If you can spare an hour or two, please email back with the time you can commit. Many thanks in advance!

The Canadian International Council (CIC) is hosting another talk, this time with special guest Chris Kuntz from REpower systems Inc. on "Wind Power in Canada and the World." The event will take place in the Nipissing University Theatre at 7:00pm on Thursday, February 4th. Everyone is welcome to attend!

History Seminar Series, "Teaching Teaching History." Friday, Jan 29

Catherine Murton Stoehr writes:

Bring the Students!

For the next History Seminar Series, "Teaching Teaching History," Todd Horton, Jennifer Straub, Bob Fix and John Allison of the Faculty of Education will discuss the challenges, dangers, and rewards of teaching others to teach history. How do you foster an understanding of and appreciation for the past in children and teenagers? How do you and can you present history in the public schools? What can young children learn about the past? These and other questions will be considered in a conversation that promises to be lively and illuminating.

Friday, Jan 29, 2:30 pm in Rm A226

For more information go to www.nipissingu.ca/history and click on upcoming events.

News from the History Club

The club says:

Our Next History Club Meeting will be Thursday, January 28th at 11:30pm in room R306. Everyone is welcome to attend! Minutes from our last meeting will follow next week.

We will be having a New Year's History Pub Night on Thursday, January 28th beginning at 9:00pm at the Bull and Quench North Bay. This a great opportunity to relax and have a drink with your fellow students and history faculty.

Other Events:

Our friends over at the Political Science Club will be hosting a Lunch and Lecture about the Prorogation of Parliament on Monday, January 25th, 2010 from 11:30-12:30 in A224. The speaker will be Dr. David Tabachnick. Everyone is welcome to come for some lunch, listen to a talk on prorogation and then ask questions and discuss.

Tonight at the N.B. Public Library: Canadian Arctic Defence

Dr. Robin Gendron writes

This is just a reminder that Commander Alex Grant of the Canadian Navy will be speaking tonight on Canadian Arctic Defence. The talk takes place at 7 pm in the auditorium of the North Bay public library on Worthington and it is free and open to the public.

The talk is being sponsored by the Nipissing Branch of the Canadian International Council.

Mackenzie King Scholarships for graduate students -- internal deadline Feb. 1

The Mackenzie King Scholarships were established as an independent trust under the will of the late Rt. Hon. William Mackenzie King (1874-1950).

Two classes of Mackenzie King Scholarship are available to graduates of Canadian universities: the Open Scholarship and the Travelling Scholarship. Both are to support graduate study.

The Open Scholarship is available to graduates of Canadian universities who pursue graduate study in any discipline, in Canada or elsewhere. One Open Scholarship is awarded each year. The value has recently been about $10,000 but it is subject to change.

The Travelling Scholarship is available to graduates of Canadian universities who pursue graduate study in the United States or the United Kingdom in the areas of international relations or industrial relations. Recently four scholarships of $11,000 each have been awarded annually, but the number and the amount are subject to change.

This site provides information about applying for the awards, criteria for applicants, and downloadable application forms. As well, you can find out how to contact us with specific questions, or for for more information.

The application forms on the website (www.mkingscholarships.ca) may be used even if they don’t bear the current competition date.

Applications for the Mackenzie King Scholarships must be received by Nipissing University's Financial Aid Office by February 1st to support study in the following academic year.

Nathan Kozuskanich co-authors a brief for an upcoming US Supreme Court case

Dr. Nathan Kozuskanich writes:

I am sending you a link to a press release announcing the release of an amicus brief I co-authored with Jane Calvert of the University of Kentucky for the upcoming US Supreme Court case, McDonald v. City of Chicago. This is the second case relating to the Second Amendment to hit the Court in the past two years (the first being the Heller case--my published research was cited as an authority in several Heller briefs last year).

The Second Amendment to the US Constitution is the much-contested one guaranteeing the right to bear arms; what that means is the subject of Dr. Kozuskanich's brief. An "amicus brief" is an argument submitted by "friends of the court," people with an interest in the case even though they were not involved in it originally. This brief is based on detailed research on the historical context of the Bill of Rights.

You can read the brief here.

History Club meeting: Tuesday, January 12 at 11:30 am in room R306

From the History Club:

A reminder that our first meeting of the semester is this coming Tuesday, January 12th at 11:30am in Room R306. We will be discussing our plans for the semester, including a possible change in meeting time/location.

Yvonne Hunter speaks on Friday, January 8

Please help the History Department open the new year by attending our first seminar, by this promising graduate of our BA and MA programs.