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Spring Lecture

Event poster; details provided in caption. Headshot of Dr. Tedla Desta.

Laurier Archives and Special Collections hosts an annual Spring Lecture on a topic connected to our collections.

2024 Spring Lecture

Exploring Laurier Archives and Special Collections from a Different Perspective

When: Wednesday, May 1 at 2:00pm ET

This lecture will present seldom-discussed archival findings from Wilfrid Laurier University records, with a specific emphasis on land and students and faculty from racialized backgrounds. Furthermore, it will examine the changes in archiving and cataloguing methods implemented by other libraries in response to similar research experiences.

Tedla Desta, PhD, has an interdisciplinary research and teaching background. Dr. Desta earned his PhD at Trinity College Dublin (Ireland). After completing his doctoral program, he worked at the Faculty of Education, Queen's University (Canada), and the Department of History, University of Toronto (Canada). He was a sessional lecturer and a researcher at Trinity College Dublin, Maynooth University (Ireland), Université de Neuchâtel (Switzerland), and Tshwane University of Technology (South Africa). He has also conducted field research in Kenya and Ethiopia. While completing his postdoctoral research at Wilfrid Laurier University (Canada), he also teaches at Martin Luther University College (Canada).

This free online lecture is hosted by Laurier Archives and Special Collections. Please note that Laurier's Zoom license requires you to sign in to Zoom prior to joining the webinar. Registration is required.

Previous Lectures

2023: Antarctica: Passion and Obsession 

Internationally acclaimed photographers, authors and private-press publishers Pat and Rosemarie Keough shared insights into their fine-press artists’ book, ANTARCTICA. Discussion encompassed their Antarctic exploration, imagery, design considerations, state-of-the-art lithography technology, centuries-old hand-binding skills, and archival vegetable leather tannage.

2022: “Sovereignty on Thinning Ice”? Characterizing Arctic Sovereignty and Security – Past, Present and Future 

Dr. P. Whitney Lackenbauer is Canada Research Chair in the Study of the Canadian North, Professor in the School for the Study of Canada at Trent University and Network Lead for the North American and Arctic Defence and Security Network. In this lecture, he discussed his research into Arctic security, history, and contemporary policy as well as his involvement with the Canadian Arctic Resources Committee.

2018: Glaciers and Climate Change in the Karakoram Himalaya: Archives of an Anomaly 

Dr. Ken Hewitt, Professor Emeritus of Geography and Environmental Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University and founding member of the Cold Regions Research Centre, reflected on his career studying glaciers in Northern Pakistan.

2017: Talkin’ ‘Bout Those Generations: Lutheran Youth Experience in Canada

Trevor Stace, a doctoral candidate in the Department of History at Wilfrid Laurier University, discussed the experiences of young people in the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada.

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