McGill History Students Association
855 Sherbrooke St. East H3A 2T7 Montreal, QC, Canada

Join us to celebrate the launch of the History Department's undergraduate journal, Historical Discourses Vol. XXXV! This year's journal theme is "Historical Manufacters" and features seven incredible undergraduate papers. Come out to hear more from the authors, and to celebrate all of the wonderful work the Historical Discourses team invested in Vol. XXXV. -- This event will be held virtually, with zoom link TBA. If you have any questions don't hesitate to reach out!

New podcast episode out! This week we're joined by Robin Vochelet, a current IDSSA student, whose research focuses on the role of historical narratives in the development of post-independence Singapore. Click on the link below to listen or keep scrolling to read more! https://anchor.fm/hsa-mcgill... What fascinates me most about East and Southeast Asia is the incredible diversity of social, historical, economic, and political developments throughout the region. Throughout my time at McGill, I have had the opportunity to further dive into the complex changes currently occurring in the region, as well as understand the kinds of historical discourses and narratives that were used by both colonial and post-colonial powers to shape nationalist discourse. My research focuses on the development of post-independence Singapore, and the processes used by the island-state’s first Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, to foster ethnic cohesion and integration in the city. Mainly, I cover the Mother Tongue Policy, which Lee used to create a sense of equality among the city’s many ethnic groups upon independence as well as promote connection to their linguistic roots, and the controversial theory of Asian Values. This theory was used by Lee to justify authoritarianism among East and Southeast Asian people due to the emphasis on order, stability, and community. Although the theory has been largely debunked by political scientists, I look at the ways in which the historical narrative used to shape this set of values echoes Lee’s commitment to traditional Chinese Confucianism

Hello everyone! Thank you to all of the candidates for their rigorous campaigning thus-far, and thanks to everyone who has been providing signatures. The HSA would like to clarify that, at the discretion of the HSA Electoral Officer, there will be a grace period until Saturday at 5:00PM EST for any and all candidates to submit their materials. Candidates requiring more time than this can and must contact the HSA individually with an explanation in order to assure their nomi...nation will be considered valid. For all roles which have less than two valid candidates for the position as of Saturday at 5:00PM, the submission deadline will be extended to Wednesday, March 24th 2021 at 5:00PM EST. Please note clearly that the extension until Wednesday will only apply for positions that either have no candidates or are uncontested. If you have any questions about this, please contact [email protected]. Thanks all!

Hello everyone! Friendly reminder that if you're interested in nominating yourself for a HSA Executive position, to submit your 30 signatures as well as your signed candidate nomination kit to [email protected] by Friday at 5pm. If you require an extension or accommodations on this timeline, simply reach out to us! We will be happy to do whatever we can. Nomination Kit: https://drive.google.com//1yoiJK4GmTBpS4Fora6oz7YnKS/view... Template for signatures: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ShareFormPage.aspx