Historians’ Corner – October 2024

McGill’s department of History and Classical studies is delighted to announce the arrival of Dr Evan Vance (PhD, University of California, Berkeley) as Assistant Professor and MacNaughton Chair in Classics. Dr Vance is a historian of archaic and classical Greece whose research focuses on the intersection of religious and economic activity. His current book project, titled Trading with the Gods: Sacred Wealth and Institutional Development in Archaic Greece, 700-450 BCE, traces how the life cycle of valuable objects belonging to cults shaped the development of community norms around public wealth and authority as the Greek city state became more institutionally robust. Other past and ongoing projects focus on classical education in Native North America, social mobility in archaic Greece, and the finances of Greek religion. Before coming to McGill, Evan spent five years at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens, first as a graduate student (2019-2022) and then as a Loeb Classical Library Foundation Post-Doctoral Fellow (2022-2024).

Launch of a new podcast series: Voices Revealed
Library and Archives Canada is pleased to announce the launch of a new series as part of its popular podcast Discover Library and Archives Canada. Voices Revealed draws on the vast and little-known oral history collections from our archives, amplifying the voices of underrepresented and marginalized communities. This innovative series will feature several seasons, each exploring a variety of themes. Listeners will discover diverse and complex stories that have long brought people together, but have also driven them apart. Voices Revealed highlights stories of injustice, conflict, resilience and reconciliation, all of which help us understand how the past powerfully defines the present, while offering new perspectives for our collective future.

This fall marks the fifth anniversary of Leslie Weir’s appointment as Librarian and Archivist of Canada. She is the first woman to be appointed to the position since the National Library of Canada and the National Archives of Canada merged to form Library and Archives Canada in 2004. Going forward, the CHA looks forward to working with Ms. Weir and her team.

Ian Radforth, professor emeritus, University of Toronto, has been nominated for the 2024 Heritage Toronto Book Award for Expressive Acts: Demonstrations in the Streets of Victorian Toronto.

There will be a tribute to Joy Parr on October 25 @ 1:00PM EST in the Community Room of the Weldon Library at Western University. Zoom attendance is possible. Details and registration can be found here: https://westernsocialscience.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5zOVefHLDumGtyC.

Steven High, Concordia University, has received the Royal Society of Canada’s J.B. Tyrrell Historical Medal. Dr. High’s innovative approach to oral and public history, especially in relation to the study of the structural violence of deindustrialization, has earned him a global reputation for excellence in historical research. His award-winning research has put Canada at the centre of important global conversations about what a “just transition” might look like given past failures. He is a public-facing scholar, long committed to engaging wider publics.

The Canadian Historical Association congratulates the following colleagues who have been elected to the Royal Society of Canada.

Catherine Carstairs, University of Guelph, is a nationally and globally renowned scholar and historian whose work focuses on health and inequity. Her award-winning work demonstrates how racism, colonialism, gender inequity, ageism and class have shaped our past and created health inequalities today. With a longstanding record of international and interdisciplinary collaborations, her research has had a major impact on the discipline of history and generated wide-spread media interest.

Cynthia Comacchio’s award-winning studies on childhood and youth in Canada have made significant inroads into the historical cultures of the young. Professor emerita at Wilfrid Laurier University, she is especially interested in how self-formation is mediated by shifting class, gender, sexuality, and racial prescriptions, and influenced by new technologies and media. Her inaugural application of interdisciplinary and transnational frameworks, regarding age and generational relations, place her in the top rank of Canadian social historians whose work is internationally recognized.

Mark G. McGowan, University of Toronto, is internationally recognized as the leading expert on Irish migration and settlement in Canada. His original and innovative research methodology has resulted in pioneering publications on the Irish diaspora in the North Atlantic world, sectarian relations, religious education, and Irish Famine orphans. His research has prompted diplomats, scholars, educators, and religious leaders, to seek him as an advisor, research collaborator, and principal investigator on special projects.

Jim Phillips, University of Toronto, is a leading figure in the field of Canadian legal history. Phillips has been an intellectual leader in the expansion of legal scholarship beyond traditional doctrinal limits. His work ranges over intellectual history, socio-legal studies, case studies, and comparative legal history. Phillips’ research has made the history of law a dynamic tool for interrogating Canada’s past, present, and national identity.

Heidi Tworek, University of British Columbia, is Canada Research Chair, Professor of History and Public Policy, and Director of the Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions at UBC. She is now a Member of the Royal Society of Canada College. Multi-award-winning author of one book and over 45 journal articles and book chapters, Tworek researches the global history and policy of communications and media. She is a Senior Fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation.