kudos
Congratulations to Classical Studies MA student Shimi Ehrlich, who recently presented a poster at the Archaeological Institute of America Annual Meeting which won the prize for the Best Poster at the meetings. read more
Congratulations to Mona Murdoch, this year's recipient of the Women's Caucus Essay Award.. Her essay, "Crossroads of Consumerism," which offered a critical reading of Katherine Mansfield's "The Tiredness of Rosabel," was selected by a panel of judges as the best submission in the undergraduate category.
CulturePlex honoured with Best Paper Award
Their paper, “The art-space of a Global Community: The Network of Baroque Painting in Hispanic-America” reflects the results of a multi- disciplinary collaboration in Digital Humanities that focuses on the multi-scale analysis of the network of Baroque paintings in the territories of the Hispanic Monarchy from the 16th through the 18th centuries. Read More
News archives
Young poet wants to unite all disciplines through writing
It was through personal loss Alex Carrillo-Hayley gained an appreciation of how important writing would become to her life.
The fourth-year Western University student recently became the school’s inaugural student writer-in-residence, in what is likely the only program of its kind in North America.
It was through a poem she crafted at age 12, after the death of her grandfather, Arthur Edwin Hayley, that she realized how words could transform.
“I wrote a poem about his life, which I was later asked to read at his eulogy, and it really helped me cope with the loss of him,” said Carrillo-Hayley, 21. Read More
Writer in residence to give creative writing voice
The Western literary community added two new members this week, both expected to bring a world of insight across campus.
The Department of English and Writing Studies, together with the University Students’ Council (USC), named fourth-year English student Alexandra Carillo-Hayley as Western’s first Student Writer in Residence, starting this term.
“This is a pilot project, an experiment. As far as I know, this is a unique program – no one else has a Student Writer in Residence,” said Manina Jones, the department vice chair. Read More
Within days, Kierston Drier’s letter went viral.
The note she wrote and taped in a University College restroom stall – a gesture of compassion to young women who, by way of graffiti, shared their innermost struggles – was everywhere, with thousands of likes, shares and comments on Facebook, The Huffington Post, the National Post, making even the cover of Yahoo! News, among other outlets. Read More
Gabrielle Ceraldi is sure it is a perfect fit for today’s generation of Western students.
A Western English professor, she is excited to teach The Many Faces of Harry Potter, a semester-long course that will look at all seven books of the series, alongside thematically related short works of fiction, like George Orwell’s 1984 .Read More
Students greeted the news that Western’s Department of English and Writing Studies will be offering a half-course on J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels next year with anticipation and derision.
One student tweeted that on hearing the news, she upgraded graduation plans from a four to a five-year degree. Another announced that the barbarians were at the gates in the form of this obvious bird course.
Lost in the excitement was a discussion of why, at this time, the English and writing department had decided to introduce this course. There are several reasons.
Feminist culture jamming employs techniques which catch people off guard, unsettle established ideas and erode patriarchal culture by mounting a challenge from within its institutions. The witty, often irreverent, reworkings of patriarchal culture embodied by feminist culture jamming engage audiences to help dispel the tired stereotypes of humourless ‘feminist killjoys,’ channel genuine critique and anger, and engender understanding and insight. Read More
As a philosopher whose main area of research is ethics, and as a cyclist, I’m saddened, angered and intellectually puzzled by Lance Armstrong’s behaviour and recent confession.
Like many, I’ve followed his career closely. It’s a compelling saga, triathlete turned Tour de France champion seven times over, with a life-threatening battle with cancer along the way. In the past, I believed Armstrong when he said he was clean, when time after time he denied accusations of doping, and when he said he was the victim of Read More
Celebrating the launch of a new Italian major, the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures brought a world-famous Italian theatre Commedia dell-Arte performance to Conron Hall, January 15th. Prior to the event, world-renowned performer Mace Perlman, hosted workshops with studens, teaching them the art of italian theatre performance.
By looking at someone’s shoes, you can tell a lot about the person wearing them.
That old adage certainly rings true when looking at children’s shoes from ancient Rome. Just ask Elizabeth Greene, a Classics professor, who, at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America this month, presented research showing children of Roman military families wore footwear that reflected their social status.
“For a really long time, until the 1990s, really, no one thought about or studied families in the Roman army because soldiers weren’t legally allowed to marry,”Greene said. Read More
Mcintosh Gallery marks 70th Anniversary
Legendary Canadian artists Jane and Tony Urquhart bring lessons from their travels to Western to help celebrate the McIntosh Gallery’s 70th anniversary. Their lecture, Power and Place: Landscape in the Visual and Literary Arts, will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 20 in Conron Hall, University College.For more than 30 years, the Urquharts, who live in Colborne, Ont., have travelled together regularly. These trips, and the way in which travel has informed their remarkable work, will be the subject of this illustrated presentation Read More
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Imagine that a close family member of yours was involved in a terrible car accident.
The accident caused a traumatic brain injury that, despite the best efforts of physicians, has left your family member with a nebulous prognosis and severely diminished levels of consciousness. The attending neurologist explains to you that your family member has received a diagnosis of vegetative state — a disorder of consciousness characterized by cycles of wakefulness without concomitant awareness. Read More
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Since childhood I have loved the "Note on the type" that one finds at the end of many books. It generally says something like: "This book was set in Janson from matrices first cut by the Dutchman Anton Janson, a practicing founder in Leipzig during the years 1668-1687. The delicate serifs of Janson give a sense of peace and repose, while the sturdy hasts convey strength and stability." As a teenage reader, I was amazed at both how old some typefaces were and how many affective qualities were attributed to them. Read More
Western-led team delivers world-first ethics guidelines
Led by Charles Weijer of Western’s Rotman Institute of Philosophy, in association with Jeremy Grimshaw and Monica Taljaard of the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, an international team of researchers has issued world-first ethics guidelines governing cluster randomized trials (CRTs).... Read More
It’s 11:30 a.m. and this is how the morning has gone for the 71 students in Science One at the University of British Columbia—one of the rare small-class programs that brings big universities down to a more human scale. It started with a physics mid-term, which most of these high achievers feel good about. Then a quick, unscripted shift into biology... Read More
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In life and art, you never know what you’re going to get. And that excites Jamie Q.
This is the approach the London artist took in creating a new art book, The Possibilities Are Endless, published by Western’s McIntosh Gallery Curatorial Study Centre and launching this Friday at the Forest City Gallery. Read More
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As Western’s Writer-in-Residence program, hosted by the Department of English, celebrates its 40thanniversary this year, it’s important to keep its role and necessity in mind, said Manina Jones, professor and vice-chair in the English department. Read More
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Next fall, Western will welcome 25 undergraduate students to its new School for Advanced Studies in the Arts and Humanities (SASAH), a unique-to-Canada program offering what organizers call an elite liberal arts education. Read More
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Be it as an architect, artist or graphic designer, Edgar Yanez Zapata finds himself focused on the relationship between art and urban space, or what he calls “laboratories for the arts.” While the physical location can’t help but affect his work, it’s the ‘inner self’ that makes his work come alive. Read More
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It’s not just the numbers – that number on the scale, number of calories you eat or the size of your jeans. It can’t be your shape, your image or even a label you ascribe to your body – or any body, for that matter.
So, then, what is fitness? What does it mean to be ‘fit’? Read More
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The Rwanda: Culture, Society and Reconstruction course in the Department of French Studies, taught by professor Henri Boyi, involves a five-week international service-learning experience in Rwanda. This course started four years ago. Western News asked three students from that class – Anne-Marie Dolinar, Kylie Erika Spadafora and Martha Elliott – to reflect on that trip. Here’s what they had to say, in part. Read More
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A first-of-its-kind minor in Canada will help students examine some of the oldest questions using the newest technologies.
A new minor at Western – one in Digital Humanities – offered, for the first time this year, through the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, is bridging the past and future through innovative courses that will foster culturally and digitally literate students... Read More
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As a fashion historian, I feel it is my duty to own around 120 pairs of shoes. I have shoes in every conceivable color, height, and style, for every season and every possible activity. I buy several additional pairs every year, at vintage stores, department stores, Italians selling streetside at Rome, the Goodwill. I have mules and Mary Janes and cowboy boots, ballet flats, t-straps, and sandals. But my favorite are the stilettos... Read More
In recognition of their significant achievements and contributions to the community, 29 deserving local residents were presented with Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medals in a ceremony held at the Windermere Manor... Read More
A paper by Western Philosophy professor Wayne Myrvold, a member of the Rotman Institute of Philosophy, has been named among the 10 Best Papers of 2011 by Philosopher’s Annual. Statistical Mechanics and Thermodynamics: A Maxwellian View was published in Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics, Vol. 42.l... Read More
After the blistering heat of the long weekend, the last thing on most Londoners’ minds is winter. So why did Western’s Summer Shakespeare choose The Winter’s Tale for its 32nd production, opening Tuesday? Read More
Today’s graduates, trained with the tools of language and words for their future professions, must use them wisely while being acutely aware of how they’re used by others, said author Joan Barfoot.
Barfoot spoke to 369 graduates from the Faculty of Arts and Humanities and the School of Graduate& Postdoctoral Studies at the Tuesday, June 19 morning session of Western’s 299th Convocation... Read More
Matthew Leisinger came more than 4,000 kms from his hometown of Prince George, B.C., to earn an undergraduate degree in Philosophy from Western. So what’s another 1,000 kms – especially when he’ll find himself walking the hallowed halls of Yale University this fall?... Read More
As a journalist, Joan Barfoot was used to jumping into stories in medias res – in the middle of things.
Exposing her to diverse situations and subjects, good preparation this might have been for the now acclaimed author of 11 novels, but it wasn’t enough..“In journalism, you find the frustration of never getting to see the end of stories. You never get to see the beginnings, either, and you never get to see where people’s lives or where things went. I wanted to see where the stories might actually go,” Read More
On Sept. 7, 2011, one day before he would lead the university’s first strike in a quarter century, and first-ever by an academic unit, Bryce Traister was trying to focus on something else entirely.
Heading his first Department of English meeting, the “very nervous” rookie chair wanted to be in that moment only. “This was a very big deal for me,” he said. Read More
Nicole Cheese didn’t know what she would discover when she looked through her camera’s viewfinder. What she captured amazed even her.
Offered by the Faculty of Arts & Humanities for the first time last semester, the third-year course Special Topics in Film Studies: Service Learning took students out of the classroom and into the communitywhere they spent nearly four months at a number of community-based organizations.... Read More
Western professor Alain Goldschlager, Department of French, recently received the Ontario Volunteer Service Award, recognizing 30 years of service with B’nai Brith Canada, the National Task Force on Holocaust Education and the League of Human Rights. For a man who started “as a simple soldier” conducting voluntary research during the trial of Ernst Christof Friedrich Zündel, his work evolved into a lifetime of local, national and international leadership positions.. Read More
Whether she’s writing or telling them to an audience, such are the stories Ivan Coyote likes to tell.
“I’m not just sharing my stories. I’m a storyteller,” said Western’s 2012-13 James A. and Marjorie Spenceley Canada Council for the Arts Writer-in-Residence, hosted by the Department of English.
"I comment on the life around me. That’s what I find most motivating ... Read More
Imagine being able to write your own academic ticket to an Ivy League school of your choice.
That’s just what Emily Kress was able to do.
Thanks to Western’s Initiative for Scholarly Excellence, the 21-year-old got a head start to her post-secondary studies... Read More
Social media, the very tool that's brought the world together, is likewise responsible for worldwide alienation, according to one Western student ... Read More
It may not be the common perception of London, but according to a group of Western Students, the Forst City was - and still is - the home and artistic hub for artists from around the world. ... Read More
Professor Henri Boyi from the Department of French Studies has been awarded the 2012 Humanitarian Award for his work with students in Rwanda... Read More
Michael Milde has been appointed to a five-year term as Faculty of Arts and Humanities dean, starting July 1. He has been serving as acting dean since Jan. 1, 2011. Read More
El Cerrito is a documentary by the creative duo, and Western Film Studies faculty members, director Juan Andrés Bello and producer Constanza Burucua. The film has had a successful run on the documentary film circuit, capturing nearly a dozen awards from festivals around the world. Read More
by Adela Talbot Western News
January 5, 2012
Mohammed Afana is putting The University of Western Ontario on the map. Literally. A first-year PhD student in Hispanic Studies, with research focused on digital architecture, Afana is developing a 3D model of campus for Google Earth that will serve as a stepping stone for a mobile application making Western accessible to anyone, anywhere, anytime. Read more
John Bell, a philosophy professor with an adjunct appointment in the Department of Mathematics, was able to skip three grades and was set to graduate high school at the age of 14.
John Bell has been described as ‘potentially one step below Einstein.’ While he laughs at the comparison now, there is no denying this teen prodigy has left a significant mark on the philosophy of mathematics Read more
When Steven Bruhm discusses horror, it’s more than a passing Halloween fascination. As managing editor of Horror Studies – an international peer-reviewed academic journal devoted to the study of the artistic merits of horror – the English professor eagerly anticipates the publication’s next issue, a special edition on horror fiction titled Decomposing Fiction. Read More
Elizabeth Greene has spent the best part of the last decade in the hills of northern England playing in the dirt. And she can’t think of a better way to earn a living.
“It’s just cool and fun digging in the dirt. It’s the best,” says Western’s new professor in Roman archaeology (Department of Classical Studies). “I can make mud patties in the summer when I’m bored.” Read More
Arianne Vanrell
Vellosillo had a problem.
As a conservator and restorer for The Museo Reina Sofia, a major museum of contemporary art in the Hispanic world, she needed to collaborate with fellow restorers and curators across hemispheres and languages. Read More
awards
Steven Bruhm, Department of English, Faculty of Arts and Humanities: The Wright Award is given in recognition of Bruhm's wide-ranging and enterprising initiatives in the fields of Queer Theory, Psychoanalytic Criticism, Gothic Literary Studies, Dance Criticism, and Cultural Studies.
Carolyn McLeod, Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts and Humanities: The Wright Award is given in recognition of McLeod's highly significant contributions in the field of Bioethics. Particularly impressive is the impact and influence of her work on two distinct constituencies, the specialist philosophers in her field and the practising physicians and other health care professionals.
department Links
- Classical Studies
- English and Writing Studies
- Film Studies
- French Studies
- Modern Languages and Literatures
- Philosophy
- Visual Arts
- Women's Studies and Feminist Research
- Linguistics Program
- Writing, Rhetoric, and Professional Communication