The Preamble

Welcome back, and happy 2015 everybody!

I hope you all had wonderful winter breaks, hopefully in warmer locales (it’s honestly colder than 18th Century Austro-Prussian relations right now). Just a reminder that everyone’s unofficial transcripts will be updated on the 5th, because McGill knows that there is no better way to start off a new semester than with last year’s mistakes/successes freshly carved into your transcript. Like any good Habsburg successor state, feel free to blame your not-so-amazing immediate past on tyrannical authorities, supernatural forces, and/or haters. Stretch history back until the last time you won something (scholarship, minor war, beer pong, etc.), and erase everything in between to create a narrative of boundless success and prosperity as you enter a new semester. Rinse and repeat until complete collapse or graduation. You’ll be fine! Here’s what’s happening this week:

Before letting Jesus take the wheel in your academic life this semester, why not speak to one of your wonderful departmental advisers? Both the HSA and the Department of History will be available to help you out!

1. The HSA office is in the Leacock Building, Room 629, so if you have any general questions about McGill history or opinions on classes, please feel free to visit and speak or send an e-mail to any of the execs. You can also post your problems on the HSA Facebook page. There’s really no such thing as a stupid question; I chose my first-year classes based on the presence of flaming chili peppers and English accents, so I’m really not in a position to judge you.

2. If you’re looking for the best advice, why not speak to an actual professor? Most of the department’s academic advisers will be holding extended office hours during the Add/Drop period. Make sure to visit the professor that is responsible for your respective program; for a full list of advisers, visit the Department of History website.

Minor Concentration
Prof. Shanon Fitzpatrick
Office:  Leacock 628
Office hours: Tuesday and Thursdays 1:30-3:30

Major Concentration
Prof. Michael Fronda
Office: Leacock 826
Office hours: Mondays 10:00-noon

Joint Honours
Prof. Jason Opal
Office: Leacock 821
Office hours: Fridays 9:00-noon

Honours
Prof. Daviken Studniki-Gizbert
Office: Leacock 622
Office hours: Tuesdays/Thursdays 3:30-4:30

3. There’s always Arts OASIS, if you don’t love yourself (it’s really really busy during this time, and they offer extremely general advice).

Applications for Important Things

AUS Reading Groups – Call for Proposals
NOTE: If you need members for your reading group, do not hesitate to send me an e-mail and I will put it on the listserv

Arts students! Ever wished you could study e.e. Cummings in more depth? Maybe you’re dying to read de Beauvoir’s Second Sex? Well, if there’s any author or text that you wished you could read but just haven’t had the opportunity, you might be interested in forming an AUS Reading Group!

The Winter 2015 semester will see the pilot of the AUS Reading Group Project, which aims to encourage undergraduate-led research, discussion and collaboration. Groups will be eligible to receive AUS funding in order to facilitate the cost of materials and increase accessibility! If you’re interested in putting together a Reading Group on a topic of your choice, please fill out this short form and submit to Bianca Waked at bianca.waked@mail.mcgill.ca.

Deadline: 31 January

The PIP offers a paid ($23,000) ten-month internship that gives interns the opportunity to work for MPs on both sides of the House of Commons, participate in a weekly seminar, produce an original research paper and undertake comparative study tours to legislatures in Canada and abroad. All Canadians and permanent residents under 35 years of age with a university degree are eligible to apply. PIP is a non-partisan initiative of the Canadian Political Science Association delivered in collaboration with the House of Commons and supported by public and private sector sponsors.

More information on applying can be found here.

Visit the PIP Web site and submit an application online before midnight on January 31, 2015. It is an unforgettable year and provides invaluable experience for graduates seeking either academic or professional careers.

Calls for Submissions

Historical Discourses
Deadline: Mid-January

Historical Discourses, McGill’s undergraduate history student journal, is currently accepting submissions for our 2015 publication. Since 1991, the journal has presented the best and the brightest writing in undergraduate history. The reason why I think Historical Discourses is quite frankly the most academically stimulating student journal on campus is because they won’t just copy and paste your essay. An amazing editorial board will actually lead you through the same peer review process that all academics go through, with the end goal of bringing out the best in your best work.

We are looking for strong pieces of history writing either based on primary sources or historiography. The paper should be no longer that 30 pages and have received an A or A-. This year we are also taking part in an exciting new collaboration with the University of Edinburgh. If you have an essay on Canadian history of between 10 and 15 pages please submit it for publication in their history journal, Retrospect. All submissions should be emailed to historicaldiscoursesmcgill@gmail.com.

If you want to see past issues of Historical Discourses, feel free to stop by the HSA office (Leacock 629): we have the entire back catalogue.

Deadline: 31 January

The McGill Journal of Middle East Studies (MJMES) is now accepting submissions for its 2014-2015 issue! Papers must be at least 10 pages in length, concern the modern Middle East, have received a grade of A- or higher (we will also accept ungraded papers that have been written outside the classroom), and written in English, French or Arabic. We also encourage you to submit photo essays and cover photos! Submissions must be sent to mejournal@gmail.com by January 31st, 2015. The journal is also currently accepting shorter contributions, pieces ranging from 500 – 1000 words, on a rolling basis for its blog: (http://mjmes.wordpress.com/).

The Journal is an excellent opportunity to gain experience in writing, submitting, and revising articles for an academic journal. If selected for publication, an author’s article will be printed in the Journal and distributed to various libraries and institutions around the world as well as on our website, http://mjmes.com/. Please do not hesitate to contact us with questions or concerns!

Columbia University’s Journal of Politics and Society
Deadline: 12 January

Columbia University’s Journal of Politics and Society, an academic journal of social sciences and history, is currently accepting student papers for 2015. The Journal is distributed nationally among academics on EBSCO, Google Scholar, and the Library of Congress, and is seeking outstanding student research papers from seminars, upper-level electives, independent study and thesis programs. The preference is for papers between 20 and 50 pages, thought all submissions will be considered, and the deadline is 12 January 2015.”

The deadline for student paper submissions is January 12th, 2015. To download a Call for Papers PDF, please visit our website.

If you care to learn more about the organization or to view past editions of the Journal, please visit www.helvidius.org.

The HSA and You

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

President – Disha Jani
mcgill.hsa.president@gmail.com

VP Finance – Emma Meldrum