A Message from the Dean

In some years, especially when the sky dribbles constant grey onto our heads, encouraging us to watch our feet rather than the heavens, February can seem to drag on for ages.  Well, as luck would have it, February is indeed longer than usual this year – so your lingering suspicion that the end of term is not as close as it should be might be justified by the sneaky insertion of a 29th day this month.  Even smuggling it into the weekend doesn’t hide this from our scrupulous attention to detail.  Of course, for those of us with deadlines on Monday (and there are A Lot of Deadlines on Monday), the extra day might offer some ambiguous (dis)comfort.  In any case, it seems that the future of the Leap Year is now in question; the days of the 29th of February might well be numbered, albeit not for another 3,000 years or so.

Meanwhile, February in the Humanities has been replete with more than rain.  As we look forward to IdeaFest once again, we see more faculty members being recognized for their amazing accomplishments and contributions.  In this issue of our newsletter, we also meet a student (!) and, with thanks to our new Communications Officer, Philip Cox, we ponder the kinds of things that might make us go ‘Hummmm’ – all debts to C+C Music Factory happily acknowledged.  And all of this happened in the regular days of the month; I can’t wait to see what everyone gets up to on the 29th.

- Chris Goto-Jones

Jordan Stanger-Ross receives

Provost’s Award in Engaged Scholarship

Sherri Kajiwara, director and curator of Nikkei National Museum, and Stanger-Ross in October 2017

with some of approximately 300 letters now part of the Landscapes of Injustice project. Photo: Chorong Kim.

We are very proud to announce that Jordan Stanger-Ross (History) has received the Provost’s Award in Engaged Scholarship for his dynamic work, which exemplifies the highest ideals of community-university engagement. For the full article, click here.

Get to Know a Researcher:

David Zimmerman

Professor David Zimmerman (History) reflects on his work. Photo: Philip Cox

David is the author of 5 books and over 20 articles on various aspects of naval and military history, the early history of the Society for the Protection of Science and Learning, and academic refugee crises in Europe and Canada. He is currently writing the final chapter of a new book, entitled Ensnared Between Hitler and Stalin: Academic Refugees in the USSR. We sat down with him last week to learn about his current research. For the full article, click here.

In the Media

• Mitch Hammond (History) Coronavirus Op-Ed in the Times Colonist: Pandemics show we are all modern

• Wendy Wickwire (Emeritus, History) on BBC Shetland: The Books Program with Mary Blance

• Laura Parisi (Gender Studies) on the Global Development Primer:
  Chocolate, Flowers, Diamonds & Disappointment: Why the Political Economy of Love Ruins the Romance of Valentine's Day

If you or one of your colleagues appear in the media, let us know. We’re always looking to help you broadcast your message as far as it will go!

Grants, Awards & Accolades

• Alumni Lucky Budd (BA ’00, MA ’05) and Jason Dewinetz (BA ’00) received Distinguished Alumni Awards, as reported in our last newsletter. See photos from the event here.

• Pierre-Luc Landry (French) received a Community Engaged Learning Grant for “Designing a children’s literature course through experiential learning and community-engaged learning: rising up to the challenges faced by the Francophone communities in Canada,” in collaboration with Radio Canada and Ecole Victor Brodeur.

• Moustapha Fall (French) received a Strategic Initiative-International grant for “FRAN 265 Connection Course: A Bridge between Classroom Learning and Community Knowledge.”

• Misao Dean (English) received a Community Engaged Learning Grant for “A Colonial Library,” in collaboration with Point Ellice House.

• Ulf Schuetze (Germanic and Slavic Studies) received a Course Design/Redesign (CDR) Grant for “Grammar review and retold (German language program).”

• Julia Rochtchina (Germanic and Slavic Studies) received a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Grant for “Emotional components in Kahoot! Russian Grammar Quizzes: Towards Better Learning Outcomes?”

• Helga Thorson (Germanic and Slavic Studies) received a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Grant for “The Effects of Holocaust Education on Defying Hatred in the Community: Field School Versus Classroom-Based Learning.”

• Wendy Wickwire’s book At the Bridge has been shortlisted for the George Ryga Prize for Social Awareness.

Have you or one of your colleagues received a grant, award or accolade? Keep us in the loop so that we can ensure your successes are properly celebrated!