The Bilson Lecture series was established by the Department of History to honour the memory of Dr. Geoffrey Bilson, a member of the department who died suddenly in 1987. In addition to his academic work on American history, Geoff Bilson wrote several acclaimed works of children's fiction: the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People was established in his honour by the Canadian Children's Book Centre. The Bilson Lecture series is intended to honour both sides of Geoff Bilson's writerly interests.

For the 2008 Bilson Lecture, we are delighted to present one of Canada's leading writers of historical fiction for children, Sarah Ellis, whose talk is entitled The Historian As Chrysanthemum. The lecture will be held Monday, November 3 at 7:30 pm at the Radisson Hotel, Room Michelangelo C (reception to follow). EVERYONE WELCOME!

Sarah Ellis was born in Vancouver. During her ten years as a children's librarian she discovered a delight in performing—in puppetry and storytelling. At the same time she became interested in writing about children's books, spending a year at the Center for the Study of Children's Literature at Simmons College in Boston. She now writes a review column for Quill and Quire and lectures internationally on Canadian children's books. It seems inevitable that having had this much pleasure from children's books she would one day try her hand at writing juvenile fiction herself. A dozen books later she is well and truly hooked.

Click here to learn more about Sarah Ellis and her books.

Hope to see you there!

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 22nd!!!

The Inaugural Dave de Brou Memorial Lecture in History


On October 22, 2008, Dr. Valerie Korinek, head of the History Department and author of Roughing It in Suburbia: Reading Chatelaine Magazine in the Fifties and Sixties, will be presenting a public history lecture titled “Re-orienting Prairie History: Three Portraits of Prairie Activism."
(click on image to enlarge)

Valerie Korinek's lecture introduces members of the general public and university community to the histories of gay and lesbian communities in the prairie provinces in the post-WWII era. “Re-orienting Prairie History” utilizes three case studies of four prairie residents – Norman Dahl, Lilja Stephanson, Evelyn Rogers and Maureen Irwin – to illustrate how a more inclusive social history of the contemporary prairies challenges our pre-conceived notions of the place and its possibilities. The lecture is accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation.

The lecture promises to be marvelous in its own right, but it also represents the start of something very special for our department. It is the first in a new annual lecture series created and hosted by the History Graduate Students Commitee (HGSC) in honour of the late Dave de Brou, an inspirational colleague and teacher who died suddenly in 2004.

Admission is free and all are welcome to attend. The lecture will be held at the Frances Morrison Library Theatre, 311-23rd Street East. Doors open at 6:00pm and the lecture will begin at 7:00pm. Refreshments and snacks will be provided. Contact jac911@mail.usask.ca for more information.

The HISTORY
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT
ASSOCIATION & the DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY

present…

The seventh annual HUSA
History Film Series!
Kicking off with...
Spartacus!

Forty years before Gladiator… came the greatest Roman history film ever made. This 1960 epic about rebel slaves resisting Roman rule starred Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Peter Ustinov, and Tony Curtis. It was co-directed by Anthony Mann and a young Stanley Kubrick, who went on to create hits like Dr. Strangelove, A Clockwork Orange, and 2001: A Space Odyssey. Winner of the Golden Globe Best Picture and four Oscars, Spartacus is rivalled only by Charlton Heston’s Ben-Hur (1959) for grandeur of vision and historical drama. It perennially polls as one of the top 100 films of all time, not least because, in the famous "oysters and snails" exchange between Olivier and Curtis, it boasts one of the goofiest homoerotic slip-this-past-the-censor scenes ever filmed. EVER. Don't miss it!

How much of Spartacus is history? And how much is drama? Join the revolt and come find out!

Introduced by Angela Kalinowski, Dept. of History/CMRS

DATE & TIME: Thursday, October 23 @ 5:30 p.m.

PLACE: Arts 134

ADMISSION: free! (refreshments available for a small fee)

Everyone welcome!

Bill Waiser's latest book, Who Killed Jacki Bates? (Fifth House, 2008) made all of here at What's Up cry, and it seems we weren't the only ones. We cried because we were moved, and we were moved not just by the profound sadness of the story but by the skill with which Bill told it. So it comes as no surprise to us to learn that Who Killed Jacki Bates has been short-listed for three Saskatchewan Book Awards this year:

· Non-Fiction Award

· Saskatoon Award

· Book of the Year Award

See our posting of September 2nd, below, for more details relating to the book, or click here.

McNally Robinson is hosting a book launch for our own Erika Dyck, who will be reading from and signing copies of her excellent new book, Psychedelic Psychiatry: LSD from Clinic to Campus on Thursday Oct 23 2008 7:30 pm in the Art Alcove of the McNally Robinson bookstore on 8th Street. Everyone welcome. (Click here to see the full list of McNally Robinson's upcoming events.)

In case you don't have your copy yet, Psychedelic Psychiatry is the tale of medical researchers (many of them right here in non-halucagenic Saskatchewan!) working to understand LSD’s therapeutic properties just as escalating anxieties about drug abuse in modern society laid the groundwork for the end of experimentation out there (or rather, around here) at the edge of psychopharmacology.

Erika, who joined us this fall, is an associate professor in our department.

This coming Monday at noon the College of Law is presenting a public lecture you might well want to catch.

Daniel Ish, QC, Chief Adjudicator, IAP, Indian Residential Schools, will speak on the topic of "Redressing Historical Wrongs: Indian Residential Schools Compensation". That's 12pm, Monday October 20th, in the College of Law, Room 150, Macpherson, Leslie & Tyerman Lecture Theatre. Everyone Welcome.

Ever wonder what that person in the elevator with a distracted but decidedly faculty-ish air about them who exits on the sixth, seventh, or eighth floor actually teaches?
Here's your chance to find out! Because.....

The anxiously anticipated umpteenth annual
HUSA
Meet the History Profs Night
is upon us
and
you are invited!
Thursday October 9th from 6-8pm at Louis'.

Schmooze with faculty old and young!

Network, live and unplugged, with your peers!

Chew something deep-fried and raise a glass to whatever you like!

No need for a ticket! No need to reply to this invitation! Leave your furs at home! Just turn up!

Don't miss this priceless opportunity!

Priceless, in the sense that it is absolutely free* to any student enrolled in a History or CMRS class.

Especially you.

* Admission and nibbles free, assorted beverages available for purchase
Anyone with any history welcome

In one of its more extensive outreach operations, on October 22nd the University of Saskatchewan will host a reception at the eighteenth-century London (England) home of distinguished History alum and investment banker Calvin Redlick. Calvin has had a remarkable career since sailing off from this fair floor to pursue a law degree in Wales. Read more about Calvin, his Sask roots and extensive international branches, in this 2003 profile from Green & White, the U of S alumni magazine.

Given Calvin's History background, it makes perfect sense that the featured speaker that evening will be none other than our own Bill Waiser, who will speak on the theme of "Saskatchewan 101: Making Sense of Saskatchewan History".

The link, not to say collision, between the past and the present took on an alarming currency this past summer, when Russian and Georgian forces exchanged blows. Who better to provide Saskatoonians with an informed backgrounder than our own Russian history expert John McCannon, shown here August 18th, being interviewed by Jeff Rogstad of CTV.

History faculty and family members braved the wind and rain on Sunday, October 5, to take part in the 13th Race for Recovery, held annually to raise funds for Saskatoon's Hope Cancer Help Centre.  Larry Stewart, one of the event's top fundraisers, took part in the 10k run.  John McCannon also ran the 10k,finishing 5th overall and 3rd among male runners.  Martha Smith-Norris's husband Rob and daughter Jacqueline were out in force as well, completing the 2k walk.  Congratulations, and thanks, to all the participants.

Congratulations to Walter Klaassen (fellow in CMRS, adjunct professor in History, and proud father of Dr. Frank Klaassen) on the publication of his most recent book, a biography of Pilgram Marpek, the 16th century Anabaptist leader: Marpek: A Life of Dissent and Conformity (Herald Press, 2008).

McNally Robinson will be holding a book launch, with reading and signing, in honor of this event this coming Wednesday, Oct. 8, at 7:30. Everyone welcome.