“Give me chastity and continence, but not yet.”
– Saint Augustine of Hippo (not just a regular saint)

– Tweet of the Week! (@HSA_McGill) –

In her letters home, Princess Palatine Elizabeth Charlotte constantly complained about the constant smell of ‘piss’ at Versailles, as nobles urinated and spat freely in its corridors. #fabulous #3Dhistory

– The Preamble –

Good morning everyone,

Just wanted to give a shout out to the planning committee of Menage a Toga, (including our very own VP Events, Josie) for hosting such an amazing event last Friday! From what I remember, it really felt like a time when philosophers, artists, and scientists lived and danced to Destiny’s Child in harmony. Also, I’m really glad that so many of you are enjoying Reign, it really is the best thing ever. As the representative of serious undergraduate academics in the Department of History, the HSA is currently trying to organize a public viewing of Reign with Professor Paula Clarke, as she guides us through a critical interpretation of the Mary-Francis-Bash love triangle, and tells us the actual punishments in an early modern ecclesiastical court for wearing spaghetti strap gowns and dancing lasciviously to The Lumineers. Let’s cross our fingers that she agrees to do it, but in the mean time, we have 4Lores to look forward to!

– The Main Event –

FourLores – A Night With Marxist Vampires, Anatolian Monsters, Medieval Ghosts, and Latin American Devils
Thursday, 30 October, 6:30-8:30pm (ARTS 160)

I’m sorry Abraham Lincoln, I’mma let you finish, but Karl Marx remains the greatest vampire hunter of all time.

On the night of the 30th, Professor Gavin Walker will tell you why, as one of the “Four Lores” that make up the HSA’s inaugural Halloween seminar. Taking place in ARTS 160, Professors Walker, Wallis, Casale, and Studnicki-Gizbert will each tell us about a supernatural subject in their respective fields of studies. With undergrads, graduate students, faculty members and their children attending, this will be an informal social event as the Department celebrates Halloween in the nerdiest way possible!

The first hour (6:30-7:30) will be dedicated to presentations:

Dr. Faith Wallis: “Life, Death, and the Worlds in Between: Medieval Stories about Ghosts and the Un-dead.”

Dr. Daviken Studnicki-Gizbert: “The Devils of the Mines: the Symbol of the Mukis in the Material History of the Andes”

Dr. Gavin Walker: “The Figure of the Vampire in Marxist Discourse”

Dr. Giancarlo Casale:  “Magic, Fear, Loathing and the Special Victims Unit in Sixteenth-Century Cairo”

The second hour will be an informal round-table discussion open to questions from all, followed by general mingling and candy eating. Feel free to bring come dressed up, especially since most people will be heading to the real 4Floors right after the seminar. Like every good Halloween event, there will be an abundance of drinks, candy, and snacks to enjoy! Unfortunately, we actually weren’t able to get a liquor license, so don’t come expecting alcohol: unfortunately, all you’re going to get is a good time.

– Applications for Important Things – 

Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Endowment Fund For Study in a Second Official Language Award
Deadline: November 14

– $7000 CAD tenable for one academic year
– Transportation expenses for one round trip (economy) by the most direct and economic means of transportation between the recipient’s place of residence and the university to be attended.
– A letter of congratulations signed by the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages.

Okay, so now that we know how much money you can get, let’s look at the actual award:

To encourage young Canadians who wish to improve their proficiency in their second official language to pursue studies, on a full-time basis, at a university which functions in the other official language and in a milieu in which that language predominates.

I’ve attached the guidelines to the e-mail, so check it out if you’re interested. The deadline for students to submit an application to Susan Sharpe in the Faculty of Arts (Dawson Hall) is Friday, November 14, 2014.

Through Verterans’ Eyes MA Fellowships
Deadline: 1 February

Attention senior-year students! The LCMSDS and Department of History at Wilfrid Laurier University are inviting applications for the second round of Through Veterans’ Eyes MA Fellowships! Students should be interested in the area of First World War veterans’ health, families, and civil re-establishment, and will work with as a team with several Professors and PhD students on the Through Veterans Eyes: Digital Approaches to the Hidden Histories of Veterans and their Families, 1914-1970.

This fellowship is valued at $20,000 (plus $1,500 in research travel funding). Applications must be submitted to the Tri-University Ma Program in History by no later than 1 February 2015. For more information contact Dr. Mark Humphries at mhumphries@wlu.ca.

Attend the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women with IRSAM!
Deadline: October 29

IRSAM is one of two student groups in the world to have a seat at the United Nations with its consultative status.  And now you can apply for the unique opportunity to represent IRSAM, McGill and youth all around at the world at United Nations Headquarters in New York at the Commission on the Status of Women in March as part of IRSAM’s delegation. Participate and contribute to debate in the conference and engage with leading diplomats and UN officials from across the world both in the conference and in direct meetings organized by IRSAM. Please note that participation in IRSAM external events will be required. Applications are due 12:00am on Wednesday October 29th (link to the form).

If you have any questions please email Director of ECOSOC Outreach Sara Gold at ecosoc.outreach@irsam.ca or VP External Relations Nicholas Buhne at external@irsam.ca

“Know Your Academic Rights” Research Project 

Interested in improving the educational experience at McGill? The Know Your Rights campaign is a full-year project focused on informing students of their academic rights and empowering them to take the steps to ensure our education is as fair as it should be. The project critically evaluates crucial documents such as the McGill Student Charter of Rights and the Student Assessment Policy, and has three main focuses: Researching existing student rights and how they are enforced; Promoting these rights to the wider student body; and Advocating for improvements to the existing policies. There are plenty of opportunities to get involved, no matter your interests or experience! Email Jacob Greenspon at artssenator2@ssmu.mcgill.ca for more information.

– Other Events –

Panel Discussion: Occupy Central & Hong Kong’s Democratic Crisis
Wednesday October 29, 5:30-7:30pm (Stewart Bio Room N2/2)

The Asia Pacific Law Association of McGill has organized a panel discussion on Wednesday where 6 experts from McGill, UBC and the Université de Montréal will have a debate about Hong Kong’s democratic crisis. The event is politically neutral and is meant to give students an in-depth understanding of the current crisis from a multidisciplinary standpoint.

The panelists:
Professor Jakub Adamski, McGill University, Faculty of Law
Professor Nandini Ramanujam, McGill University, Faculty of Law
Professor Marie-Eve Reny, Université de Montréal, Department of Political Science
Professor Timothy Cheek, UBC, Centre for Chinese Research
Professor Yves Tiberghien, UBC, Institute of Asian Research
Professor Leo K. Shin, UBC, History and Asian Studies

Please RSVP to aplam.mcgill@gmail.com

MISC Montreal Launch

Tuesday 4 November, 4pm (Faculty Club, 3rd Floor)

The McGill Institute for the Study of Canada will be hosting its Montreal Book Launch in celebration of Canadian authors. Join Gordon Darroch, editor of The Dawn of Canada’s Century, Michael Darroch, co-editor of Cartographies, and Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail, author of Polar Winds, as they speak about the research and ideas that shaped their respective books. Presentations will be followed by a reception. Space is limited so RSVP at misc.iecm@mcgill.ca.

– Calls For Submissions – 

Journeys through the Middle Ages and Renaissance Worlds
Deadline: 14 December

The Mardinalia Research Collective, the Medieval Studies Course Union and the Program of Medieval Studies at the University of Victoria, B.C., wish to extend an invitation to their student conference to be held March 6-8, 2015 at the University of Victoria on the topic of Journeys through the Middle Ages and Renaissance Worlds. Students are invited to submit proposals for papers (20 min), creative performances, or art works pertaining to all types of journeys, from the 4th century CE up to the 17th century. Please submit to journeys@uvic.ca by no later than 14 December, 2014.

Tufts Historical Review
Deadline: 15 November

The History Society of Tufts University, in conjunction with the Tufts Historical Review Editorial Board, has announced a call for submissions for the Seventh Edition of the Tufts Historical Review, an academic journal of global history that seeks undergraduate and graduate papers. They are looking for articles between 2,500 and 8,000 words that explore the theme blood from a variety of historical perspectives. Submissions are due to tuftshistoricalreview@gmail.com by November 15, 2014.

This year’s theme is BLOOD. Blood is a symbol ubiquitous in the study of history – family, mortality, warfare, medicine – blood binds them together like a thread through the course of human development. As a symbol of war, blood and iron bound Germany; and as a symbol of family, blood crowned King Henry VIII. In a more literal sense, Prince Alexei’s disease of the blood brought Rasputin to court, and Hippocrates’ theory of humors defined medical practice for centuries.

Hirundo

Deadline: January

Hirundo is currently accepting submissions! This is your opportunity to have your work travel far and wide to reach a large audience and contribute to the development of Classical Studies. Our doors are now open! We welcome submissions of essays, original poetry, plays, Greek or Latin translations, artwork, or original photographs from current students and alumni. Hirundo follows the citation and guidelines of The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th edition. Please attach a full list of references in bibliographical format.

Papers need to be at least 8 pages long and must have received an A or an A-. Only undergraduate papers are accepted. You may submit maximum 2 papers. All submissions must be in Word (or PDF).

Original photographs may be in colour or black-and-white. Submissions should include an informative caption describing the significance of the photo. All submissions must be in JPEG or PNG format. Keep in mind!–all photos will be reviewed for possible publication on the cover of the journal.

Only submissions sent from your official McGill address will be accepted.
E-mail your work to hirundo.history@gmail.com.
Also, the journal will be publishing a series of interviews with some of the department’s guest lecturers. Anyone who is interested to conduct an interview is welcome to contact Clara Nencu at hirundo.history@gmail.com. It is mandatory to attend the professor’s lecture beforehand.

Western University’s The Mirror
Deadline: 4 November

Canada’s oldest undergraduate history journal, The Mirror, is looking for submissions from all history students in Canadian universities. Published by Western University in London, Ontario, the journal contains undergraduate essays covering a wide range of historical topics, as well as historiography papers and book reviews. Obviously you should submit your best work to McGill’s very own Historical Discourses first, but if you’re looking to become a national superstar in the world of undergraduate history journals, this is a great opportunity:

Submissions should be 12-25 pages in length and must include a correctly sourced bibliography. All papers must also have been written for an undergraduate history or history-based course at the second year level or above, and must have received a grade of at least 80% (an ‘A’). All authors are limited to, but encouraged to submit, a maximum of three papers for consideration, and must also provide their contact information (name, email address, and telephone number). It is also worth noting that it is not uncommon for us to publish papers that, while imperfect in their original state, show great potential, and all papers chosen for publication will undergo a comprehensive editing process. Therefore, if you do have a paper that meets the above criteria I highly recommend submitting it for consideration: you never know what the editorial board might see, or how your essay might compare to other papers in creativity, style, and subject matter. All of these are important, but not the only, qualities we seek in papers for publication for the 35th edition of The Mirror.

For Western students, we require that the original copies (with professor’s comments and final grade visible) be delivered to the department office. Anyone who lives outside of London, however, is more than welcome to mail a photocopy of their essay(s). Electronic copies are not preferred, but will be accepted in certain cases. The deadline for submitting essays is 7:00 PM on Tuesday, November 4, 2013, and publication decisions will be made by the end of the month of November. All authors, regardless of the end result, will be notified as soon as these decisions are made.

Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact uwo.mirror@gmail.com.

The HSA and You
As always, if you have any questions, concerns, or comments, please contact your benevolent leaders!

President – Disha Jani (Thursday 1:30-2:30pm)
mcgill.hsa.president@gmail.com

VP Finance – Emma Meldrum (Thursday 12-1pm)
emma.meldrum@mail.mcgill.ca

VP Internal/Events – Josie Teed (Friday 1:30-2:30pm)
mcgill.hsa.internal@gmail.com

VP Communications – Ben Wong (Tuesday 12-1pm)
mcgill.hsa.communications@gmail.com

VP Academic/External – Eden Rusnell (Friday 10-11am)
mcgill.hsa.external@gmail.com