UBC Department of History

This is happening tomorrow and you're invited! See below for details: Pivot to Digital: Stories of Business Transformation. Don’t miss this opportunity to be inspired by how UBC alumni are navigating this challenging and uncertain time with creativity, flexibility, and determination! One of the alumni on this panel is a UBC History alum, Janice Li, who graduated in 2015 and is now Assistant Curator at the Victoria & Albert Museum (London, UK)! ... Click the link to see the full event details and speaker bios!

Interested in having your work published in a peer-reviewed journal? Submit your best history research papers to the UBC JHS by December 28, 2020!

How can lessons learned during and after the 1918-20 Influenza epidemic inform Vancouver’s current city planning responses to COVID-19? Linking the past to our future, the Vancouver City Planning Commission’s Chronology Project is holding a panel discussion 102 years after that heartbreaking day when the virus claimed so many lives October 27, 2020 to explore how the 1918 influenza changed Vancouver and whether we should anticipate similar changes in the months and years ahead. The panel is part of a VCPC series of discussions on the post-pandemic city.

Meet our alumnus, Sam Fenn, who is now a documentary radio producer working at the cross-section of academic knowledge and community practice. Prior to his career in journalism, Sam completed a Bachelor’s Degree and Master’s Degree in the Department of History. Find out about Sam’s academic experience and how it inspires his work in documentary podcasting in the below Q&A. UBC Faculty of Arts

Join the Institute of Asian Research at the UBC School of Public Policy and Global Affairs for this event! By exploring different examples of sexual violence in Asia presented by three different panelists, we hope to generate an informed discussion on how to understand and respond to sexual violence perpetrated by the state across Asia. In addition, in honour of the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Security Council Resolution on Women Security, we hope to discuss th...e limits of current global governance in addressing the issue of conflict-related sexual violence. This webinar aims to stimulate conversation around conflict-related sexual violence as a way to remind ourselves that sexual violence remains a major issue that is often overlooked. We hope to inspire people to educate themselves and join in the movement in part to prevent sexual violence perpetrated by the state. For further information please find it at this event link: https://sppga.ubc.ca//hush-its-all-in-the-past-exploring-/

Professor Henry Yu speaks about what inspired the new exhibit ("A Seat at the Table") in Vancouver's Chinatown, the meaning behind the title of the exhibit, and why it's important to include stories of those who are "forgotten," in history. "Perhaps a better history of belonging in Canada is one where all of us who aren’t Indigenous understand ourselves as perpetual guests on Indigenous territory. That’s part of decolonizing the story of BC. That’s why this exhibit exists. https://history.ubc.ca//new-exhibit-symbolizes-the-chines/

Good morning, UBC History! Check out this article written by postdoctoral fellow Kristie Flannery!

Sharanjit Kaur Sandhra, PhD candidate, invites UBC History students, staff, and faculty to a talk they're giving this Sunday for Friends of BC Archives. Join Sharn for a brief history of South Asian migration and settlement in British Columbia and an exploration of how official ‘archives’ result in the erasure of BIPOC (Black/Indigenous/Peoples of Colour). Through a close look at a handful of very specific and iconic archival images in British Columbia, Sharn will demonstrate the impact, urgency, and need to expand notions of the ‘archive’ to become inclusive spaces. See below for more information: https://friendsofbcarchives.wordpress.com/upcoming-events/

All History Honours, Majors, and Minors are invited to attend this year's annual Welcome Back event! With opening remarks from Professor John Roosa, mini speeches from inspiring alumni, and short talks from the folks at Go Global and Co-op, this event will help you learn more about the opportunities available to you at UBC History. Check your inboxes for an upcoming email that contains the Zoom link you need in order to join us on Tuesday September 22nd at 5 p.m. Vancouver time (PST). See you then!

Join Simon Fraser University Department of History for "Witnesses to History: The Life and Death of a Town Called Buczacz," the first event in a series, happening at 6 p.m. on September 24th! More information and detailed speaker bios are available here: https://witnesses-to-history-town-called-buczacz.eventbrite RSVP to reserve your spot to this fascinating, online, and free speaker event.

Welcome to all incoming and returning #UBC History students! We are thrilled to have you for this unique upcoming academic year, no matter where you are studying from! Remember: excellence requires support--reach out to to someone if you have questions, issues, problems, and require help. Get your learn on, #UBC! May the year commence!

"[I]t was... this way that they were sort of insinuating themselves in childhood." Tamara Myers comments on the history of police in schools with the Officer Friendly program in this article from Slate. https://slate.com//officer-friendly-police-copaganda-histo

"The views of the Black and Chinese men denied admission to the pools speak eloquently to what... they believed to be the prerequisites for belonging." This article, authored by Tina Loo and Meg Stanley, explores race and exclusion in the pools of Banff National Park in the twentieth century. https://niche-canada.org//getting-into-hot-water-racism-a/

On September 11th, Heidi Tworek will be lecturing on 'Science Communication and Dealing with Uncertainty in the Era of COVID-19' as part of the R. Grant Ingram Distinguished Speakers Series at St John's College, UBC. Dr Tworek will be discussing the issues that have arisen with COVID-19 and science communication, and what this means for academics. Register here: https://stjohns.ubc.ca/r-grant-ingram-series/

Henry Yu was quoted in this article from the Globe and Mail on the new exhibit on Chinese Canadian history, A Seat at the Table. This exhibit emphasizes the stories of Chinese Canadians in British Columbia's history. https://www.theglobeandmail.com//article-vancouver-exhibi/

David Borys was quoted in this article about a First World War soldier's newly rediscovered Bible. https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca//to-bob-from-mother-a-

"The imbalance of power between the Silicon Valley platforms and UK citizens has become alarming for our democracy." More important work from Heidi Tworek: check out a new article on tech firms and democracy in The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk//us-uk-trade-deal-facebook-g

Prof. Timothy Cheek was quoted in this New York Times article on Chinese academics and governmental authoritarianism. https://www.nytimes.com//china-hong-kong-national-security

Heidi Tworek commented on disinformation campaigns in this article on the approaching presidential elections. https://niemanreports.org//as-the-november-election-appro/

The Clean Body: A Modern History by Peter Ward was reviewed by Keith Thomas in the London Review of Books. https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-pa//n14/keith-thomas/noisomeness

Davis McKenzie, co-creator of a new interactive book about his grandmother Elsie Paul, As I Remember It: Teachings (ms tw) from the Life of a Sliammon Elder, spoke with Redeye Radio about the project. The book was co-created by Elsie Paul, Harmony Johnson, Davis McKenzie, and professor Paige Raibmon. Listen to the podcast episode here: https://www.spreaker.com//digital-book-shares-the-teaching Find As I Remember It: Teachings (ms tw) from the Life of a Sliammon Elder here: http://publications.ravenspacepublishing.org/as-i-rem/index

Listen to this conversation with Dr. Heidi Tworek on the CBC with Stephen Quinn. Tworek discusses health communications and how to prompt the public to continue COVID-19 prevention measures. https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-91-the-early-edition

Check out this in-depth interview with Sebastian Prange on his new book, Monsoon Islam (Cambridge 2018), which studies how Monsoon Islam developed in response to concrete economic, socio-religious, and political challenges among Muslim trading communities of the Indian Ocean.

Watch this conversation with the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West (ICW) and professor Coll Thrush as part of the institute's series on islands and coasts. Thrush discusses the "Graveyard of the Pacific"- an area with thousands of shipwrecks off the coast of OR, WA, and BC. https://vimeo.com/434170357

Henry Yu comments on the history of land covenants, which prevented non-white individuals from purchasing certain properties, in Vancouver and Canada. https://globalnews.ca//vancouver-councillor-racism-bc-rea/

HIST 104F studies encounters between cultures as a major factor in historical change. The course traces dynamic processes of encounter and change over the past 1000 years or so, looking at how cultural encounters have shaped the course of history. The course focuses on case studies, allowing students to uncover connections and patterns, and to understand how individual people created their own meanings and their own understandings of the world out of the materials that their culture gave them. Read a Q&A with Joy Dixon on her course here: https://history.ubc.ca//hist-104f-cultures-in-contact-a-q/ Register here: https://courses.students.ubc.ca/cs/courseschedule

HIST 104H: Killer Commodities, Coffee, Sugar and Tea explores the rise of these goods over time and in various places. Beginning with their establishment as economic anchors to the political, social and cultural impact of these goods, the course explores the intersections of land access, labor, markets, distribution networks, consumption, slavery, wars, and power in the shaping of the modern world. Register here: https://courses.students.ubc.ca/cs/courseschedule

Dr. Heidi Tworek was quoted in this article about the potential of a COVID-19 vaccine. https://www.kitv.com//what-you-need-to-know-about-coronavi

"You will be introduced to different ways that people record their past. You will engage with theories of what history is and what it can do. You will see history as a craft, an imaginative enterprise, and a calling." HIST 399A: Theory and Practice of History studies the history of historical inquiry, with particular attention to theoretical and methodological debates among historians. Read a Q&A with instructor David Morton on the course here: https://history.ubc.ca//hist-3...99a-the-theory-and-practice/ Register here: https://courses.students.ubc.ca/cs/courseschedule

HIST 440 explores the history of health in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in Europe, the Americas, and around the world. Focusing in particular on public health, population politics, and international collaboration, it asks how health policies have set the boundaries of inclusion and exclusion and how medicine has shaped nation-states, empires, and international relations. Register here: https://courses.students.ubc.ca/cs/courseschedule

HIST 106 studies the impact humans have had on the environment, and the ways in which the physical environment has shaped human history, through climate, agriculture, energy use, and urbanization. Register here: https://courses.students.ubc.ca/cs/courseschedule

Only July 25th, Professor Henry Yu will be hosting a follow-up to his previous webinar on collecting family history. Participants will learn about gathering and presenting their family migration stories. Register here: https://pchc-mom.ca//follow-up-webinar-family-history-fro/

HIST 357: History of Mexico examines themes in the last five hundred years of Mexican history, with an emphasis on the critical reading of primary sources and the use of a variety of texts that may include letters, diaries, paintings, photographs, novels, and movies. Register here: https://courses.students.ubc.ca/cs/courseschedule

Soccer generates powerful emotions and stories. HIST 450A: The Beautiful Game?: A Soccer History of Latin America uses soccer as a lens to interpret aspects of the past and present in Latin America. Its interest is in such themes as the relationship between soccer and national imagining, and the role of soccer in constituting various identities, including race, class, and gender, and of local, regional, and national belonging. Register here: https://courses.students.ubc.ca/cs/courseschedule

For History students in search of electives, the UBC School of Nursing offers three courses open to all students: NURS 180 Stress and Strategies to Promote Wellbeing, NURS 280 Human Sexual Health, and NURS 290 Health Impacts of Climate Change. Find them here: https://nursing.ubc.ca/nursing-electives

"I ... hope [students] will gain a new appreciation for imperial history by tackling the subject from an unconventional perspective." Read this Q&A with Jessica Hanser about her upcoming course, HIST 310: The British Empire to 1850. She discusses her approach to the study of the British Empire- from close reading and analytical writing, to watching Hamilton and reading Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park. https://history.ubc.ca//hist-310-the-british-empire-to-18/ Register for HIST 310 here: https://courses.students.ubc.ca/cs/courseschedule

"If you write about the same historical subject at two different times in your life, you will write two different histories. And yet some call this a social science. Read about David Morton's upcoming course, HIST 399A: Theory and Practice of History. This course will look at how history is written and understood. In this Q&A, Morton discusses his approach to the study of history- which includes having students write their own autobiographies. https://history.ubc.ca//hist-399a-the-theory-and-practice/ Register for HIST 399A here. https://courses.students.ubc.ca/cs/courseschedule

Associate professor Tara Mayer spoke with American photographer and activist Sheila Pree Bright about her documentation of the BLM protests and the importance of "captur[ing] a fuller spectrum of experiences and emotions than those presented in mainstream media." Watch the video here: https://pwias.ubc.ca//photographing-the-black-lives-matter

"[H]istorical examples give us food for thought about our current experience with COVID-19, and how many of the same factors are at play." Health and disease are hotly debated topics in the present moment. Read a Q&A with Benjamin Bryce about his upcoming course, HIST 440: History of Health in the Modern West. He discusses how his course's focus on the the history of health in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries can help students understand our current health crisis. https://history.ubc.ca//hist-440-history-of-health-in-the/ Register for HIST 440 here: https://courses.students.ubc.ca/cs/courseschedule

UBC History’s Paige Raibmon worked with Elsie Paul, Harmony Johnson, and Davis McKenzie to turn Elsie Paul’s Teachings from the Life of a Sliammon Elder into a beautiful digital gift for the general public. The Tyee recently featured this innovative RavenSpace production, which is freely accessible at http://publications.ravenspacepublishing.org/as-i-rem/index Read The Tyee's article here: https://thetyee.ca///Tlaamin-Elder-Beautiful-Digital-Gift/

"We will dive into modes of resistance and control from a range of perspectives including: female anarchists, government agencies, artists, indigenous voices, the Korean diaspora, architecture, the mass media, activists and protestors." Read a Q&A with Kelly McCormick on her course, HIST 376. McCormick plans for students to explore online archives, write 'visual essays', and take a new approach to Japan's history. https://history.ubc.ca//hist-376-modern-japanese-history-/

"The parts of the course that I find the most exciting are the ones where we have an opportunity to work through the original documents and data together." Not sure what History courses to take? Check out this Q&A with Joy Dixon, instructor of HIST 104F: Cultures in Contact. This course studies "encounters between cultures as a major factor in historical change". Learn about the course's assignments, what skills you'll gain, and why Joy Dixon is excited about this course. ... https://history.ubc.ca//hist-104f-cultures-in-contact-a-q/

Check out this Q&A with Alexey Golubev, assistant professor of Russian history at the University of Houston, and UBC History PhD graduate. Alexey answers a few questions about his time at UBC, his upcoming book, his fellowship with the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University- as well as advice for other students considering a PhD. https://history.ubc.ca//qa-with-ubc-history-phd-graduate-/

Check out the interview linked below with Dr Heidi Tworek, joint member of the UBC School of Public Policy and Global Affairs and the UBC History Department. She discusses her work on media, democracy, and the digital economy, as well as health communications.

UBC History alum Vivien Chang authored this piece in the Washington Post on Black Lives Matter as a global and transnational movement. https://www.washingtonpost.com//black-lives-matter-is-now/

"it is difficult to see the possibility of Hong Kong returning to peace anytime soon." UBC History professor Leo Shin contributed to this article from the CBC on the new Hong Kong security law, which was protested in Vancouver. https://www.cbc.ca//british-columbia/vancouver-hong-kong-p

"As TikTok inevitably rockets up the agenda, it highlights some serious flaws in our current approach to platform regulation." From Heidi Tworek- a new piece on regulating TikTok. https://www.cigionline.org//why-doesnt-tiktok-get-policy-m

"In practice... armed officers in schools reinforces discrimination against racialized youth." Read this important article from Tara Myers on the argument for defunding police in schools. http://activehistory.ca/2020/06/defund-the-police/

More from Henry Yu on anti-Asian racism and the results of a new poll. From the article: "Treating incidents of racism and discrimination as isolated incidents bolsters denial and silence about racism in Canada, Yu says." https://www.cbc.ca//new-poll-reveals-chinese-canadians-exp

Henry Yu shared his comments in this article from CTV on collecting statistics on anti-Asian racism in Canada. https://www.ctvnews.ca//filling-the-gap-in-data-on-anti-as

The Interdisciplinary Histories Research Cluster is offering seed grants and workshop funds fostering research that focuses on their key strands: Reclaiming the past, representing the past, documenting the past, and reconciling past and present. Graduate students and newcomers welcome. Deadline August 3rd. Apply here: https://histories-cluster.ubc.ca/calls-applications/cfp

Please join us in congratulating UBC History's Suyesha Dutta!

Join UBC History professor Henry Yu at a webinar on June 27th on conducting family history during social distancing- what tools to use, what questions to ask, and more. Sign up here: https://pchc-mom.ca//family-history-from-a-distance-webin/

Congratulations History graduates of 2020! It’s been an unexpectedly challenging end to your university studies. I hope you and your families are staying safe, and that you’re doing what you can to support others during these difficult times. I hope you’re able to take a moment to celebrate your accomplishments, and then put your History training and degree to good use. The world needs you now more than ever. Like most of you, History faculty are stuck at home during thi...s graduation season. But we have Zoom! We’ve prepared a sendoff suitable for this age of remote-everything. Please stop by: https://history.ubc.ca/congratulations2020/ Prof. Eagle Glassheim Department Head

Ubyssey culture editor and UBC History major Danni Olusanya was interviewed in this article from the Tyee. "I want to create a network where people feel I am an Indigenous student, or a Black student, or a Christian, or a trans student, or non-binary, and I have something to say." https://thetyee.ca//Campus-Newspaper-Acknowledges-Anti-B/

UBC History PhD candidate Sharanjit Kaur Sandhra will be hosting a webinar on June 24th on dismantling institutional racism in museums. You can sign up here: https://members.museumsassn.bc.ca//064efbdc2e5fe882be946/1

Heidi Tworek comments on sightings of Confederate flags in BC in this article from Castanet. https://www.castanet.net//Confederate-flags-being-noticed-

Henry Yu was quoted in this article in the Tyee. Yu discusses the province's relationship with China in this discussion of anti-Asian racism. https://thetyee.ca///10/White-Supremacy-BC-China-Syndrome/

Cited Podcast has released a new episode on history and memory, co-sponsored by UBC’s Public History Initiative and the Social Science and Humanities Research Council. Their new episode, I Can't Breathe, links police brutality, COVID-19, environmental issues, and systemic racism. Listen here: https://www.citedpodcast.com/podcast/i-cant-breathe/

Joy Dixon was quoted in this article from the Vancouver Sun on the potential of renaming Gladstone Secondary. https://vancouversun.com//time-to-rename-school-named-for-

UBC Public Humanities Hub is hosting Marketing the Monograph: A Conversation on How to Promote Your Book, a workshop on getting your humanities book read, on June 17th. Dr Heidi Tworek will be discussing how she promoted her book, "News from Germany: The Competition to Control World Communications, 1900-1945". Sign up here: https://publichumanities.ubc.ca//marketing-the-monograph-/

Working with UBC students, Dr. Pheroze Unwalla has established a new interdisciplinary MIDDLE EAST STUDIES (MES) minor program. Broad in geographical and temporal scope, the program trains the next generation of global citizens and leaders to understand one of the most controversial and misunderstood regions in the world. Student are able to to self-declare for the minor during registration. For further information, please visit https://mes.arts.ubc.ca and/or contact the Program Chair at [email protected].

Interested in the Middle East? Check out this new course from the brand-new Middle East Studies program: MES 300 THE MIDDLE EAST: CRITICAL QUESTIONS & DEBATES. Open to all UBC students, this interdisciplinary course introduces students to the study of the Middle East. It will engage with crucial questions and debates that continue to shape scholarly and public perceptions of this widely misunderstood region. Adopting a critical perspective on area studies, the course will ex...pose the ‘Middle East’ as a problematic construct that holds the potential to limit our imaginations, distort our understanding of its diverse cultures, and obscure the connections between it and other areas of the world. The course will grapple with how best to navigate the complex challenges inherent to Middle East Studies and contest the paradigms that posit the Middle East as exceptional in the worst sense of the term. Register here: https://courses.students.ubc.ca/cs/courseschedule

History undergrads: check out this exciting interdisciplinary course from UBC Language Sciences. Living Language: Science and Society studies the scientific study of language as it applies to all domains of human life, in the creation and acquisition of spoken language through writing systems, texts of all kinds, arts, culture, science, and technology. The course is designed for upper-level undergraduate students in any discipline and from any faculty who are interested to learn more about how language works, what it does, and why. Find out more here: https://languagesciences.ubc.ca/course

Please join us in congratulating Tina Loo for her win of the 2020 Best Book in Political History Prize from the Canadian Historical Association! Loo’s book, Moved by the State, Forced Relocation and Making a Good Life in Postwar Canada (UBC Press, 2019) studies the history of forced relocations in Canada. https://history.ubc.ca//congratulations-to-tina-loo-winne/

UBC History joins with UBC President Santa Ono in condemning racism and injustice. Discrimination, prejudice, and police violence have no place in our community. As historians, we're uniquely equipped to understand how systems of oppression form and how they impact our present, and we must work to improve our future. UBC History is proud to stand with the fight against racism. #BlackLivesMatter... Read the President's statement here: https://president.ubc.ca//2/06/01/together-against-racism/

On June 10th, Dr Heidi Tworek will be participating in a roundtable at the Harvard International & Global History Seminar, on the topic "Covid-19, the WHO, and International Society". You can register here: https://highs.fas.harvard.edu/highs

"It is worth considering whether the ...protections granted to social media companies for content posted on their platforms should apply to questions of public health." Dr Heidi Tworek says in this new piece in Brookings TechStream. Tworek looks at the Food and Drug Administration laws from the twentieth century to ask how we can control the spread of dangerous COVID-19 misinformation online today. How do we regulate the internet? https://www.brookings.edu//should-there-be-a-public-healt/

UBC History's Peter Ward, author of The Clean Body, talked to the CBC about Ignaz Semmelweis, an early pioneer of handwashing. Why did his contemporaries initially resist the introduction of handwashing, and what can this tell us about the way new ideas are recieved today? https://www.cbc.ca//the-dirt-on-handwashing-the-tragic-dea