Faculty and Students Receive Research Grants

December 22, 2014 – Thunder Bay and Orillia

Faculty and students in the Department of History have received over $185,530 in funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) to help answer some fascinating historical questions.SSHRC Logo

Dr. Pallavi Das is receiving an Insight Development Grant of $58,530 over two years to examine the social-economic impacts of climate change and how people respond to it. The focus of the study is a horticultural community in the Himalayas.

This research will examine the impacts of climate change on people from 1940 until 2013 in the Himalayas. It will stress the experience and perception of ordinary people while also considering experts, government officers and business owners. Mountain ecosystems and communities such as those in the Himalayas are more vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change.

Four members of the Department (Michel S. Beaulieu, Pallavi Das, Ronald Harpelle, and Steven Jobbitt) are part of a three-year $90,000 SSHRC Aid to Small Universities Grant led by Dr. Das to build research capacity by encouraging new research activities among faculty with diverse interests and experience. Focusing on issues related to local, regional, and global development, the research group brings together scholars from multiple disciplines (included faculty from Natural Resources Management and Sociology) working on issues pertaining not only to Canada, but also to Latin America, India, Africa, and Europe.

Two history graduate students are also among four students who have received awards for their research projects.

Second year MA student Kimberly Shirley is receiving a SSHRC scholarship for $17,500 to examine how immigrants influenced the culture of death in Canada. She will examine symbolism on the grave markers of Europeans who immigrated and settled in and around Thunder Bay.

First year MA student Richard Mastrangelo also received a $17,500 SSHRC scholarship to explore the history of the development of single-industry mining communities in Northern Ontario. He is exploring the social and cultural effects of reliance on a single industry from the perspective of miners, their families, and other regional actors such as Indigenous Peoples.

Book Co-Written by Alumna Receives International Award

Congratulations to alumna Laura Nigro (HBA 2007, MA 2008) whose co-authored book, A Century of Sport in the Finnish Community of Thunder Bay, received a Communication Award and Best in Show from the International Sports Heritage Association.Cover of A Century of Sport

Published by the Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame and the Thunder Bay Finnish-Canadian Historical Society, the book explores how the local Finnish community developed clubs and produced athletes from its earliest days of arriving in the region. It also has pictures, interviews and biographies from the past 100 years. It's the unique content and hard work that set the book apart from other entries.

Information about how to order the book can be found at http://www.nwosportshalloffame.com

Department of History Peer Mentors Establish Study Halls

The Department of History's Peer MenStudy Hall Imagetors are going to be hosting "study halls" during first two weeks of December. There will be at least two mentors on hand during these study halls, and history students at all levels (and especially HIST 1100 students) are welcome to drop by to study, or to ask questions and get some guidance from the mentors.

All will held in Ryan Building 3023. There are 4 two-hour study sessions booked (see the schedule below).

Wednesday, Dec. 3 (5:00-7:00)
Thursday, Dec. 4 (1:00-3:00)
Monday, Dec. 8 (5:00-7:00)
Wednesday, Dec. 10 (1:00-3:00)

Faculty Member Elected as Vice-President of the Champlain Society

28 October 2014 - Thunder Bay & Orillia

Chair and Associate Professor of History Dr. Michel S. Beaulieu has been elected as Vice-President of The Champlain Society at its recent Annual General Meeting.Champlain Society Logo

For over one hundred years, The Champlain Society has echoed the voices of some of Canada’s most eloquent citizens throughout its mission to increase public awareness of, and accessibility to, Canada’s rich store of historical records.Through its books and Digital Collection, the Society makes the adventures, explorations, discoveries, and opinions that have shaped Canada available to all who have an interest in its past.

Dr. Beaulieu joins an esteemed group who have previously held the position. They range from noted academics such as Harold Innis, Donald Creighton and Jennifer Brown to former Ontario Premier Leslie Frost and former Prime Ministers Robert Borden and R.B. Bennet.

More information about the society can be found at http://www.champlainsociety.ca

Alumni and Faculty Nominated for Publication Awards

25 October 2014 - Thunder Bay

The Department of History is pleased to announce that our alumni and faculty have received 8 nominations for the Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society’s 2015 Publications Awards.Thunder Bay Museum Logo

Adjudicated by an independent panel of jurors, the awards are given out every two years for the best publications dealing with the history of Northwestern Ontario. Awards are given in four categories: the M. Elizabeth Arthur Award (full-length scholarly works); the J.P. Bertrand Award (scholarly articles); the Gertrude H. Dyke Award (full-length popular works); and the George B. Macgillivray Award (popular articles).

Congratulations to Michel S. Beaulieu, Mark Chochla, C. Nathan Hatton , Roy Piovesana, John Potestio, and Beverly Soloway.

Recipients of the awards will be announced at the Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society's President's Reception held on Sunday, 4 January 2015 between 1:30 and 3:30 pm. at the Thunder Bay Museum (425 Donald Street East).

Information about the awards and past winners can be found at http://www.thunderbaymuseum.com/publications/awards/

Department Member Awarded Ontario Arts Council Grant

Thunder Bay - 16 October 2014

Award-winning filmmaker and Department of History Contract Lecturer Kelly Saxberg has been awarded a Northern Arts Grant from the Ontario Arts Council for her current project One Woman's North: The Incredible Journey of Sheila Burnford.Ontario Arts Council
 
One Woman's North is a feature length documentary about a writer adventurer who embraced her environment and the culture and lifestyle of North American Indigenous Peoples who lived on the land and closest to nature. Sheila Burnford grew up in Scotland, survived the Blitz in London, emigrated to Thunder Bay, and spent the last 20 years of her life either at her cabin on Loon Lake; summers in remote reserves in Northern Ontario or an Arctic community in Nunavut or her writer's garret in the home she shared with her second husband in Hampshire, England. The 1963 Disney movie based on her classic novel The Incredible Journey made her briefly famous, but her real accomplishments as a writer where yet to come. 
 
Saxberg is working closely with Sheila Burnford's daughter, Dr. Elizabeth Jonquil Covello who has given the project access to the family's archive of her mother's original manuscripts, documents, letters, photographs, film and audio recordings. It is an amazing record of an incredible woman. 

Alumni and Community Partners Honoured with Awards

7 October 2014 - Thunder Bay & Orillia

On the 7 October the Department of History was proud to recognized the contributions of two alumni and two community partners at its annual Awards Reception.

Recipients of this year’s Alumni Honour Awards were Elinor Barr (BA 1974, HBA 1989) and Mark Chochla (BA 1967, HBA 1975) for their contributions to their respective professions, the field of history, and ongoing support for the department.

The Department also present the City of Thunder Bay Archives and Beth Boegh with Community Partnership Awards for their important role in the establishment and continuing success of our undergraduate and graduate programs.

Photos of the event can be found at https://www.lakeheadu.ca/academics/departments/history/photo-gallery

The Alumni Honour and Community Partnership awards reception is held each year in an effort to recognize the achievements of talented and noteworthy alumni and community partners who have made significant contributions to their chosen field(s) and bring prestige and honour to the Department of History through their connection to the institution as graduates.

New Work Makes Substantial Contribution to Knowledge of the First World War

Cover of the 2014 Issues of Papers & Records

To mark the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War, the latest issue of the Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society’s journal, Papers & Records, is devoted to Northwestern Ontario’s experience during the conflict.

Original work by alumni, current students, and faculty members within the Department of History and Northern Studies reflect the contribution - both at home and abroad - of a regional community to an event that help shape the twentieth century. This issue is also the last to be co-edited Dr. Peter Raffo.

Copies can be purchased at the Thunder Bay Museum and will also be available at the Symposium on the First World War being held on the 8 November.

Department of History and Thunder Bay Museum Partner to Bring Exhibits to Campus

Image of Museum Display Case

30 September - Thunder Bay

The Department of History and the Thunder Bay Museum have entered into a partnership to bring museum exhibits to the Thunder Bay Campus. Every term, a new exhibit exploring the region’s past will be installed on the third floor of the Ryan Building.

In recognition of the centennial of the First World, the inaugural display is focused on our region’s military history. The theme is also in keeping with this year’s annual military symposium which will explore the history and legacies of the First World War.

For information about the symposium, including a draft agenda with times and titles of presentations, click here.

To see this term's display, go to the third floor of the Ryan Building. It is located directly across from room 3025.

Passing of Jean Morrison

26 September 2014 - Thunder Bay

The Department of History was saddened to learn alumna Jean Morrison passed away on 22 September 2014 at the age of 87. For over 47 years, Jean played an important and prominent role in the historical community within Thunder Bay, Ontario, and across Canada.

In 1974, she became the first woman to receive a Master of Arts degree in History from Lakehead University and her thesis, "Community in Conflict: A Study of the Working Class in the Canadian Lakehead, 1903-1913,” brought national attention to the history of Northwestern Ontario and remains a seminal work in Canadian Labour History.

Photo of Jean Morrison

Until retirement in 1990, Jean served as research historian at Old Fort William (now Fort William Historical Park) and established herself as a leading national expert on Fort William and the North West Company. In recognition, Fort William Historic Park’s named its library the “The Jean Morrison Canadian Fur Trade Library.”

A prolific writer, she wrote dozens of books and articles on Canadian labour and fur trade history winning numerous awards and accolades in the process. These included the Ontario Historical Society’s J.J. Talman Award in 2009 for her last book Labour Pains: Thunder Bay’s Working Class in Canada’s Wheat Boom Era. In 2013, the Department was pleased to award Jean an inaugural alumni honour award for her outstanding contributions to the field of history.

Jean was a significant figure and force within the historical community in Northwestern Ontario and beyond. Her advice, knowledge, and willingness to help set an example to generations of historians. Her friendship and guidance will be sorely missed.

A complete obituary can be found at http://www.chroniclejournal.com/obituaries/morrison/jean

A memorial Service will take place at Fort William Historical Park, Friday Oct. 3, 2014 at 2:30pm. On-line condolences may be made through http://www.nwfainc.com

Donations may be made to Amnesty International, Lakehead Unitarian Fellowship, Thunder Bay Historical Museum, Thunder Bay Symphony or a charity of one's choice.

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