Dr. Dufresne Appointed Research Chair

 

 

Lakehead Announces Research Awards, Appointments, and Honours

(March 7, 2008, Thunder Bay, Ontario) Lakehead University is pleased to announce a number of research honours, presented during the University's Research and Innovation Week 2008.  The awards include four Research Chairs, Distinguished Researchers, High Output Publication Excellence (HOPE), and Contribution to Research.
"Our researcher's capabilities and achievements add to the University's capacity as a research-intensive institution, and contribute to building a knowledge-based economy in Thunder Bay and northwestern Ontario," says Dr. Rui Wang, Vice-President of Research at Lakehead University.  Lakehead University President Dr. Fred Gilbert also acknowledges the ongoing achievements of Lakehead's researchers, and the important role their works play in moving the University's research growth forward.  "Our research developments and successes not only generate interest and awareness around the globe, but also add to Lakehead University's reputation as a growing world-class research institution."

Research Chairs Appointed
Four Chairs have been awarded - two within the discipline of Social Sciences and Humanities, and two within the discipline of Natural Sciences and Engineering.  These are:

Dr. Lori Chambers, Department of Women's Studies
Dr. Todd Dufresne, Department of Philosophy
Dr. Steve Kinrade, Department of Chemistry
Dr. Baoqiang Liao, Department of Chemical Engineering

The next Lakehead University Research Chairs call for proposals will take place in the Fall of 2009 to allocate an additional two Chairs.   This is a pilot program that will be evaluated once all six Chairs have been awarded.

Distinguished Researcher 2006/2007
2006 Recipient
Dr. Ron Harpelle, Department of History
2007 Recipient
Dr. Todd Dufresne, Department of Philosophy
2007 High Output Publication Excellence (HOPE) Award
Peter Holt Hindle, Graduate Student, Chemistry

Contribution to Research Award 2006/2007
2006 Recipients
Dr. Han Chen, Faculty of Forestry and the Forest Environment
Dr. Mary Lou Kelly, School of Social Work
Dr. Sharon Dale Stone, Department of Sociology
2007 Recipients
Dr. Lori Chambers, Department of Women's Studies
Dr. Alexander Serenko, Faculty of Business Administration
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Media: For additional information, or to arrange interviews withDrs. Gilbert or Wang, or any of the recipients mentioned above, please contact Heather Scott, Communications Officer, Lakehead University, 807-343-8177,commun@lakeheadu.ca; or Eleanor Abaya, Director of Communications, Lakehead University, 807-343-8372, eabaya@lakeheadu.ca.
 

Dr. Dufresne Awarded as Lakehead University's Distinguished Researcher 2007

 

 

Lakehead University Names Freud Expert as 2007 Distinguished Researcher

(March 7, 2008, Thunder Bay, Ontario) Lakehead University's Senate Research Committee has named Philosophy Chair and Professor Dr. Todd Dufresne, one of the nation's foremost experts on Sigmund Freud, as its 2007 Distinguished Researcher.  
 
This award, alongside Dufresne's extensive list of achievements, will further benefit Lakehead's Social Sciences and Humanities disciplines.  Aside from academic recognition, one of the most important accomplishments a faculty member can claim is securing grant funding. "Researchers in the Social Sciences and Humanities face intense competition and low success rates for such funding," Dufresne notes.  Not only has Dufresne achieved recognition with this award, but over the past nine years, he has also attracted two Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) grants totalling over $70,000.
 
Since arriving at Lakehead University in 1998, Dufresne has published three books on psychoanalysis - two of which were published by the prestigious Stanford University Press. He has also published dozens of journal articles and book chapters.  In 2006, he was recognized by Lakehead University as one of its "40 Research Stars."  At Lakehead, only five faculty members share the teaching load of 2,500 years of philosophy among hundreds of  students, and although Dufresne's ongoing academic and research endeavours certainly keep him busy, he says "the hustle and bustle are well worth the end result." 

Published in 2007, Dufresne's latest book is entitled Against Freud: Critics Talk Back.  It features interviews with world-renowned scholars of psychoanalytic theory and practice to show how wrong Freud's theories were.  As Dufresne explains, "The book isn't just about Freud's botched science, but about the bankruptcy of psychoanalysis as a socio-cultural movement." While Dufresne's opinions were still controversial in the 1990s, he feels his efforts to disprove Freud have gone hand-in-hand with the broad cultural decline in the belief of psychoanalysis.

Dufresne suspects he has one or two books left to write on Freud, and has already started focusing his efforts on other areas.  He has started collaborating with a small group of people in the University to work on creativity and economic development, and hopes the work will provide a vehicle to attract grants to conduct collaborative research of real relevance to Northern Ontario.  With a long-term goal of establishing the Advanced Institute for Globalization and Culture at Lakehead University, Dufresne is optimistic.  "We have some real opportunities to attract significant grants, conduct important research, and collaborate with people both within and outside the University."

Dufresne was born in Fort Frances and attended Hammarskjold High School in Thunder Bay.  He obtained his undergraduate degree in Philosophy at the University of Western Ontario, and went on to earn his MA and PhD in Social & Political Thought at York University in Toronto.  Prior to his graduation, he had already published two books and edited collections on Sigmund Freud.  Dufresne has served as Department Chair since 2002, and was recently appointed one of Lakehead's four new Research Chairs (Social Sciences and Humanities). 
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Media: For additional information, or to arrange interviews withDr. Dufresne, please contact Heather Scott, Communications Officer, Lakehead University, 807-343-8177, commun@lakeheadu.ca; or Eleanor Abaya, Director of Communications, Lakehead University, 807-343-8372, eabaya@lakeheadu.ca
 

New Book Published in the Department of Philosophy

 

The Economy as Cultural System: Theory, Capitalism, Crisis has just appeared in soft and hard covers at Bloomsbury Books.  In ten chapters, new and established scholars (Thomas Kemple, Mark Kingwell, Franco Berardi, and Joel Faflak) examine contemporary capitalism in the light of social and cultural theory.  Imre Szeman (Alberta) calls the book "fascinating and theoretically astute," while Jodi Dean (Hobart and William Smith) calls it "provocative."  The editors, Todd Dufresne and Clara Sacchetti, teach in the Department of Philosophy, and completed the book during their year at The University of Toronto. 

The book can be seen here: http://www.continuumbooks.com/ books/detail.aspx?BookId= 168459

 Read the Lakehead University Communications Release.

Dr. Dufresne Writes Lead Review for Globe & Mail

Lakehead Professor Writes Lead Review for Globe & Mail

Dr. Todd Dufresne, Lakehead University Philosophy Professor and Research Chair of Social and Cultural Theory, recently reviewed two books in a lead article in the Globe and Mail. Entitled 'Is psychiatry a failure?', Dufresne reviews "Perceptions of the mind," by Canadian psychiatrist Joel Paris and "Doctoring of the mind," by UK clinical psychologist Richard Bentall.

The article and Dr. Dufresne's reviews are available in the July 25, 2009 print edition of the Globe and Mail and on the Globe and Mail website.

 

Dr. Dufresne's Books Translated and Published 2010

Lakehead's Department of Philosophy is pleased to announce that Dr. Todd Dufresne's two books, entitled Killing Freud and Tales From the Freudian Crypt, have been translated and published this year. Killing Freud appeared in Indonesian translation as Killing Freud: Kultur Abad Kedua Puluh dan Kematian Psikoanalisisin.  Chinese and Greek translations are also forthcoming.

In late July, Tales From the Freudian Crypt appeared in Japanese at the venerable press, Misuzu-shobou.  Last week, Tamaki Saito, the famous Lacanian psychiatrist, gave it a positive review in Asahi-shinbun, Japan's high-quality newspaper.  This prominent feedback has helped propel the book to a first-place ranking among Japan's Amazon sales within the category of Contemporary Thought.

 

Dr. Jaro Kotalik, "Fatal Flaw" and "Ethics of Vaccination"

Lakehead Physician and Bioethicist Published in Ottawa Citizen

Dr. Jaro Kotalik, Professor of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Philosophy, was recently published in two Ottawa Citizen newspaper articles.  The two op-ed articles comment on ethical issues in pandemic planning and response in Canada. The first article, entitled "Fatal Flaw" was published on July 16, 2009 and the second article, "Ethics of Vaccination," was published on August 28, 2009.

Dr. Jason Blahuta Invited to Speak on Popular Culture at the University of Maine Farmington

Dr. Jason P. Blahuta of the Department of Philosophy has been invited to speak at the University of Maine Farmington as part of the Philosophy and Popculture Speaker Series. On December 4, 2008 he will present two talks: "Judgment Day Is Inevitable: The Futility of Trying to Change History in the Terminator Movies" and "Video Games, the Creative Experience, and Moral Obligations: Reflections on a Wasted Youth."

The former is scheduled to appear in "The Terminator and Philosophy," a volume in Blackwell's Philosophy and Popculture series, and the latter presentation pertains to research Dr. Blahuta and Dr. Michel Beaulieu of the Department of History have conducted for the book, Final Fantasy and Philosophy, also from Blackwell.
 

Dr. Todd Dufresne 2007 Distinguished Researcher Award Recipient Giving Public Lecture

The Senate Research Committee in conjunction with Research & Innovation Week 2009 cordially invites you to attend a public lecture by the 2007 Distinguished Researcher Award Recipient and Lakehead University Research Chair, Dr. Todd Dufresne, Professor, Department of Philosophy.
 
Dr. Dufresne will deliver his lecture 'The making of a "Freud Basher": or,
Reflections of a "Supercilious Neurotic Jerk".'
on Tuesday,  February 24, 2009 at 2:30pm in Ryan Building 2024.
 
Everyone Welcome
Complimentary Refreshements

Dr. Todd Dufresne Edits Freud

Lakehead Professor Dr. Todd Dufresne Edits Freud

Philosophy professor Dr. Todd Dufresne recently edited the new Broadview Press edition of Freud's The Future of an Illusion.

"...Dufresne brings a fresh and incisive understanding to a book that, despite well-justified skepticism about its scientific merits, remains a thought-provoking and quintessentially Freudian explication of religious belief." - Frank J. Sulloway, University of California, Berkeley, and author of Freud, Biologist of the Mind: Beyond the Psychoanalytic Legend.

Complete comments on the new edition of The Future of an Illusion can be read at Broadview Press.

 

Dr. Todd Dufresne Invited as Associate Scholar at University of Toronto Institute

Dr. Todd Dufresne Invited as Associate Scholar at University of Toronto Institute

The Department of Philosophy's Dr. Todd Dufresne has accepted an invitation for a three-year term as Associated Scholar at the Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology (IHPST) at the University of Toronto. The IHPST is a graduate studies and research institute offering MA and PhD degrees. The discipline cuts across the sciences and humanities, with courses that treat science, mathematics, medicine, and technology as historically significant and integral components of the development of knowledge, culture, and society. The IHPST has Associated Scholars from universities worldwide, including University of Toronto, Oxford University, and University of Nairobi. Information about the IHPST can be located at http://www.hps.utoronto.ca/
Through the Institute Dr. Dufresne will benefit from various resources at the University of Toronto including library, office space, and secretarial assistance as well as access to a schedule of rotating lectures.
Professor Dufresne's area of research is Freud and psychoanalysis, and his work at the Institute will include completing a small book entitled "The Wreckage of Interpretation" which will cover the early history of trauma that began with the great train wrecks of the mid-1800s.

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