FAHSS View Newsletter 2-Humanities & Culture

The FAHSS View newsletter - Humanities and Culture



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Message from Dr. Cheryl Collier, Dean


Dr. Cheryl Collier, Dean of FAHSS standing in the Quad
We are delighted to share with you our second issue of The FAHSS View!

Below you will see some of the wonderful award-winning and impactful activity that took place over the past year and that continues in the area of the Humanities and Culture inside of the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Windsor.
 
Our students, faculty, and staff in the departments of English and Creative Writing; Languages, Literatures and Culture; and Philosophy have been recipients of key teaching, leadership and disciplinary awards and recognition for their efforts. It is truly impressive to see the depth and breadth and influence of their collective dedication to help us all appreciate and understand the history, stories, and ideas that give meaning to our lives and to our world. 
 
As Dr. Katherine Quinsey, Professor of English and Creative Writing and recipient of the University of Windsor’s 2023 Education Leadership Award eloquently summarizes, this work is “really about leading people out beyond the limitations of themselves and their own preconceptions, to realize the world is just so much bigger, so much more complicated, and so much more exciting and interesting than they could ever have imagined.”
 
I hope you enjoy reading more about the exciting activity in the Humanities at Windsor in this edition of our newsletter and be sure to watch for the upcoming 2023-24 season of the Humanities Research Group coming soon.
 
We will also be sharing two new issues of The FAHSS View in the coming months to highlight some of the important activities taking place inside of the Social Sciences and Professional Studies in FAHSS. 
 
Until then, we wish you all a happy spring!
 
Dr. Cheryl Collier


The City of Windsor has appointed Peter Hrastovec its poet laureate. Photo by Ted Kloske.Alumnus named city’s poet laureate

UWindsor alumnus Peter Hrastovec (BA 1979, LLB 1982) plans to focus on the beauty of Windsor’s diversity as the city’s poet laureate. The city announced his appointment Thursday through approximately 2027.

“The many voices of our people from all over this planet can be heard as if in a chorus,” Hrastovec says. “In this role, I want to be a touchstone to the city’s soul, to help guide and educate our citizenry as well as elevate and promote all the elements that inspire our daily lives.

“Here, we nurture and support talent and revel in an international border – a ribbon of friendship – that is an unparalleled wonder that opens opportunity for all of us.”

A published poet and performing artist in local theatre, Hrastovec is also a practising lawyer and has served as a sessional instructor in the UWindsor Faculty of Law.

His poems have appeared in three solo volumes of work: In Lieu of Flowers (2012), Sidelines (2015), and There Will Be Fish (2022), all published by Black Moss Press.

Mayor Drew Dilkens welcomed Hrastovec to this position: “I trust that he will help this program continue to thrive and have a positive impact here in our community and beyond our borders.”

Creators appointed to posts in the City of Windsor’s Poet Laureate & Storytellers Program share stories through poetry, literature, spoken word and oral history. In addition to Hrastovec, the program includes poet laureate emeritus and UWindsor resident writing professional Marty Gervais, Indigenous storyteller Theresa Sims, and multicultural community storyteller Teajai Travis.

Read more about Hrastovec’s appointment here.


Jeff Noonan, PhD, Philosophy, is the Undergraduate Coordinator in the Philosophy department.

Teaching to Dr. Noonan is framing a problem so that students can approach it and communicating in such a way that students work to explore their own solutions. "I don't want to tell people what to think, that's not education."
Video produced by Anthony Fanara, 4th year Communication, Media & Film student.


Cole Pauls is a Tahltan comic artist, illustrator, and printmaker hailing from Haines Junction, YukonEnglish and Creative Writing’s Writer-in-Residence Cole Pauls

As English and Creative Writing’s Writer-in-Residence Cole Pauls concludes his time on the University of Windsor campus (Jan. 17 – Feb. 16) he looked back at his experiences talking to students and Windsor in winter.
 
Pauls is a Tahltan comic artist, illustrator, and printmaker hailing from Haines Junction, Yukon. Residing in Vancouver, Pauls focuses on his two comic series, the first being Pizza Punks — a self-contained comic strip about punks eating pizza — the other the award-winning Dakwäkãda Warriors.
 
Pauls introduction to our community started by attending a Round Dance.
 
English and creative writing professor Sandra Muse, and Kat Pasquach, Aboriginal Outreach Coordinator at the Aboriginal Education Centre invited Pauls to a “Round Dance” Indigenous cultural event that was held at a Windsor elementary school on Jan. 20th.
 
“The organizers bought 10 of my books to give out as prizes to the dancers. I got to dance and made friends and new connections that day,” he says. “If I had known about the round dance before leaving Vancouver, I would have packed my regalia.”
 
The organizers also set up a small table for Pauls where he displayed and sold his comics and talked to students.
 
Tina DeCastro, Indigenous Consultant with the Greater Essex County District School Board, invited Pauls to talk to students in grades 7 and 8 in three sessions over two days. The first day’s sessions were over Zoom, but on day two he presented in person to three classes in one large hall.
 
“I explained my art and my books, but really focused on how I got from grade school to now – basically my journey to and through university,” Pauls says.
 
Pauls is a graduate of Emily Carr University in BC. He received a BFA, Illustration in 2015.
 
During his residency, Pauls talked about his work and career to students in several English & Creative Writing classes and at a campus event held at Leddy Library’s Collaboratory on January 26th organized by Jacobs; and an event at Windsor Public Library’s John Muir branch in Sandwich on Feb. 8th organized by Pauls’ publisher.
 
Pauls was also available for one-on-one writing and creative consultations with students or members of the public during his weekly office hours.
 
“I enjoyed really engaging conversations with students,” says Pauls. “Students had questions about how I lay out my stories, about being published, self-publishing options, and other business questions.”
 
Describing his creative process, Paul says, “I get a lot of ideas and make notes on my phone.”
 
Pauls thinks visually. So, he creates a workbook with storyboard squares. When he’s working on a new story, he roughs out each scene using this these squares.
 
“I’m writing a horror comic currently. I’m spending time creating the monster – working on the character design of what the monster will look like,” he explains. “When I was growing up there was a horror story based on a giant owl that could eat you. I’m subverting this traditional story and making it my own, a modern take.”
 
If you are hoping to meet Cole Pauls in person, he will be in Toronto April 29-30 for the Toronto Comic Art Festival.


The University of Windsor conferred the title of Distinguished University Professor on Philosophy professor Christopher W. Tindale, PhD during the Fall 2022 Convocation celebrations.Dr. Christopher Tindale,  Distinguished University Professor

The University of Windsor conferred the title of Distinguished University Professor on Philosophy professor Christopher W. Tindale, PhD during the Fall 2022 Convocation celebrations.

Dr. Tindale is co-editor of the journal Informal Logic and the book series “Windsor Studies in Argumentation,” and director of the Centre for Research in Reasoning, Argumentation, and Rhetoric. His most recent books include How We Argue and The Anthropology of Argument: Cultural Foundations of Rhetoric and Reason (2021).

Dr. Tindale’s research concentrates on argumentation and rhetoric, including the development of argumentation in ancient Greek philosophy. He is currently engaged on two projects: ‘Argumentation and Extremism’, and ‘Plato’s Reasons’.

His theoretical work stresses the experiential dimensions of argumentation, giving attention to audience reception and the role of the addressee in the argumentative situation. The cognitive environment, as the space in which conviction is experienced and then personalized in persuasion, has been developed in the work since the mid-nineties, culminating in the replacement of Perelman's notorious universal audience with this idea.

His practical work is reflected in textbooks that translate state-of-the-art research to inform the practice of everyday reasoning. This is to be seen in the Oxford textbook (co-authored with Leo Groarke) in its fifth edition, the work on fallacies (2007), and the original German text (2013) that is the first in that language to integrate logical and rhetorical features of argumentation.

Dr. Tindale received his PhD from the University of Waterloo. He worked for almost 20 years at Trent University in Ontario, moving in 2006 to the University of Windsor to become a fellow of the Centre of Research in Reasoning, Argumentation, and Rhetoric and a professor in the department of Philosophy. He also lectures in the Argumentation Studies PhD and supervises students in that program. He is the co-editor (with J. Anthony Blair) of the journal Informal Logic; and the co-editor (with Leo Groarke) of the Windsor Studies in Argumentation book series.



English and Creative Writing professor Katherine Quinsey’s decades of commitment have earned her the Educational Leadership Award,English and Creative Writing professor recognized for educational leadership

English and Creative Writing professor Katherine Quinsey’s decades of commitment have earned her the Educational Leadership Award, from the Office of the Provost and the Centre for Teaching and Learning. The award was presented on March 1, 2023.

When Dr. Quinsey, who just retired, first started teaching, she knew it was what she wanted to do for a living. She was 25, had just finished her PhD, and got her first teaching job at the University of Ottawa.

“I felt at home, I felt this is my vocation. This is really what I was meant to be doing,” she said.

Dr. Quinsey loved working with students, learning alongside them, and her predominant view of teaching is the original meaning of the word education: to lead out.

“It's really about leading people out beyond the limitations of themselves and their own preconceptions, to realize the world is just so much bigger, so much more complicated, and so much more exciting and interesting than they could ever have imagined,” Quinsey said. “I think it's absolutely essential, not only for my own and the student’s well-being, but for the well-being of the world today. People are often locked inside their own subjective worldview.”

Her love of teaching grew to extend beyond the classroom and into curricular and program development. Shortly after receiving tenure at the University of Windsor, she had to step unexpectedly into the role of department head.

During her time as head, she drafted a departmental five-year plan, including a new focus on experiential learning, and the department completely revised its undergraduate curriculum. Read more ...


Alumna Jen Ferguson is the author of The Summer of Bitter and Sweet,Creative writing alumna wins Governor General’s Literary Award

Cover of the Governor General’s Literary Award in Young People’s Literature winning book by Jen FergusonUniversity of Windsor alumna Jen Ferguson (MA 2010) won the Governor General’s Literary Award in Young People’s Literature – Text for her latest novel The Summer of Bitter and Sweet, published by Heartdrum imprint of HarperCollins.

The award’s peer assessment committee — Michael Hutchinson, Sharon Jennings, and Wesley King — described Ferguson’s work as a timely novel that flows from the author’s Métis and Canadian roots.

The Summer of Bitter and Sweet features vibrant prose, real family conflict, and a raw and evocative commentary on the struggles of being different in a small-town, prairie setting. Touching on subjects that speak to today’s challenges for 2SLGBTQI+ youth, the complex story delivers an emotional impact,” the committee wrote. “The recipe notes about ice cream add a scoop of sweetness to level out Lou’s sometimes bitter realities.”

The award winners are deemed the 14 best books published in Canada in 2022 by selection committees that chose them from among 70 finalists in seven categories, in both English and French.  The awards were announced on Nov. 16 by the Canada Council for the Arts.

Indigenous Studies logo       Did you know?



The Faculty of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (FAHSS) offers an interdisciplinary undergraduate Minor in Indigenous Studies program. Courses offered include Indigenous literature (English), Aboriginal history, political science, philosophy, and an introductory “Indigenous Topics” course. Additional courses are in the works. A minor consists of six courses.
 
In keeping with the recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), this minor was developed by Indigenous faculty members in FAHSS. These faculty are also members of the University of Windsor President’s Indigenous Peoples Scholars. The University of Windsor is committed to furthering programs which build stronger, more meaningful partnerships with Indigenous students, scholars, and communities. Through respectful dialogue and collaboration, we must learn how to become more welcoming, open, visionary places of inquiry and knowledge making. These efforts will enhance access and encourage success for Indigenous students while ensuring the possibility of justice for everyone in our communities.

Meet the President's Indigenous Scholars in FAHSS
 

As a field archaeologist, UWindsor professor Robert Weir’s specialty is bronze coins found at excavationsArcheology is all about storytelling

Archeology is all about storytelling, telling an object’s story. As a field archaeologist, UWindsor professor Robert Weir’s specialty is bronze coins found at excavations.
 
When not teaching courses in archaeology, ancient languages, Greek civilization, or Greek history in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, Dr. Weir researches ancient coins and for the past decade, antiquarian books.
 
 “They (bronze coins) are in bad shape, and you have to know what to look for,” Weir says. “Same with old books. You look at the fibers and the paper … I’ve developed an eye for what to look for and where to look -- a ‘spidy sense’. One informs the other. Archeology informs my book research. They have a lot in common.”
 
A year ago, Weir gave a Humanities Research Group talk on how he identified a 1575 book of Horace’s work in Latin that was heavily annotated, as having once belonged to William Shakespeare. Weir used technology to reveal the annotations and has found corresponding references in Shakespeare’s early plays. Read the article
 
This fall, Weir was invited by the Classical Association of Canada to be the CAC's Western Tour Lecturer for 2022. Over a 16-day lecture tour to nine universities in six cities, he gave a series of lectures at the University of Victoria, University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, etc., on his work as an archaeologist and his discovery that a 1575 collection of Horace's poetry once belonged to Shakespeare.
 
In addition, he was invited to the University of Ottawa to give a talk about a completely different find.
 
This talk was to accompany and explain the significance of a donation that Weir was simultaneously making to the small archaeological museum at University of Ottawa -- the donation of a new and unique, Roman-era coin that is the first physical evidence for the existence of the Greek city of Stymphalos in about 200 AD.
 
“As luck would have it, I was one of the excavators of Stymphalos in Arcadia, a Canadian dig, about twenty years ago and I am currently in charge of publishing the coins that we found there,” he explains. “In our years of excavating, we found nothing later than about 40 AD at Stymphalos, so this coin minted by the Stymphalians and glorifying the emperor of the day (Caracalla) breaks new ground. “
 
And so, when he saw an unidentified bronze coin in a Toronto coin dealer’s shop a few years ago, Weir knew what it had to be and bought it for $30.
 
Last May, Weir presented his discovery at an academic conference and offered to donate the coin to any public institution that wanted it (many archaeological journals refuse to publish antiquities in private ownership, so this was his solution that!). A graduate student from the University of Ottawa was in the audience that day, so they got the coin. Weir’s paper and the coin handover occurred in Ottawa in November 2022.
 

Robert C. Pinto, professor emeritus, PhilosophyFAHSS Philanthropic Projects – March 2023

Philosophy
The Robert C. Pinto Lecture Fund was created to fund the Robert C. Pinto Memorial Lecture Series. The vision was to create a lecture series in the name of Dr. Robert C. Pinto, professor of Philosophy at UWindsor from 1963 until he retired Emeritus in 1999. Dr. Pinto was one of the founding fellows of the Centre for Research in Reasoning, Argumentation, and Rhetoric (CRRAR). The fund was started in 2019 but additional donations are needed for the series to continue. To learn more about Dr. Pinto, please see: In Memoriam: Dr. Robert C. Pinto
English and Creative Writing
Each year there are four (4) Creative Writing courses in which students contribute their work for it to be printed in a chapbook. It creates a lovely keepsake for the students and is something that can be gifted to family and friends. However, it does not come free of charge. The printing of each edition is approximately $350/year and students bear that expense. To learn how your donation could help students defray the costs of printing, please contact Camille L. Armour, Senior Development Officer in FAHSS, at c.armour@uwindsor.ca

 
Language Literature and Culture (LLC)
In response to the local community’s growing needs, Arabic Studies, previously offered as a degree minor, will now be offered as part of a new BA (General and Honours) Modern Languages with Second Language Education. Funds are needed to hire sessional instructors so this series of courses can be offered. To learn how your donation can help FAHSS offer the series of language and culture courses in Arabic Studies, please contact Camille L. Armour, Senior Development Officer, in FAHSS, at c.armour@uwindsor.ca
 

English and Creative Writing publications of note

With monies from the University's Diversity, Indigeneity, and Anti-Racism Professional Development Funds Grant, the Department hosted four writers who met with students either in person or online via Teams. Writers Moez Surani (via Teams) and Anahita Jamali Rad (in person) visited classes during fall 2022; and Marie Annharte Baker (via Teams) and Wayde Compton (via Teams) were hosted this winter.
 
Richard Douglass-Chin, Associate Professor, is the winner of the Faculty Award, 2023 UWindsor Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion Awards. The awards celebration takes place March 30th.
 
MA alumna Jade Wallace; winner of the University of Windsor's 2022 Governor General's Gold Medal.
 
BA Alumna Victoria Abboud long listed for the 2022 CBC Nonfiction Prize, 
 
André Narbonne’s novel Lucien & Olivia (Black Moss Press); long-listed for the 2022 Scotiabank Giller Prize.
 
Marty Gervais, founder and publisher, Black Moss Press; published André Narbonne’s 2022 Scotiabank Giller Prize long-listed novel Lucien & Olivia
 
Susan Holbrook's 2022 chapbook Canon (Zed).
 
Nicole Markotic's 2022 book of poems After Beowulf (Coach House Books)
 
Karl Jirgens 2022 book of short stories The Razor's Edge (The Porcupine's Quill Press) was just announced a finalist for the 2022 Forword Indies Awards!! Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards were established to bring increased attention from librarians and booksellers to the literary achievements of independent publishers and their authors.
 
Dale Jacobs 2022 edited collection of interviews Jeff Lemire: Conversations (UP of Mississippi)
 
Susan Holbrook's 2021 poetry book ink earl (Coach House Press); shortlisted for the ReLit award.
 
Recent MA alumnus Gord Grisenthwaite’s novel, Home Walz (Palimpsest Press); finalist for the 2021 Governor General Award for Fiction.
 
Dale Jacobs, General Editor of The Windsor Review; Read the most recent issue
 

Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures / Département de langues, littératures et cultures  New


Dr. Tanja Collet was awarded funding by the Taalunie, an international regulatory institution that governs issues regarding the Dutch language, for a two-day conference on the decolonial debate in Belgium and the Netherlands to be held on May 27 and 28 at Congress . She is also the new editor-in-chief of the Canadian Journal of Netherlandic Studies. Issues can be accessed here: Journals Archives - Canadian Association for the Advancement of Netherlandic Studies (caans-acaen.ca).

Dr. Jean-Guy Mboudjeke recently completed the French translation of The Listener in The Shadow of The Holocaust authored by Irene Oore and published by The University of Regina Press, 2018. His translation will be published by French publishing house Les Éditions L'Harmattan.

 
Dr. Giuliana Salvato was awarded funding by the Centre for Teaching & Learning for her project: The Salience of the Body in Second Language Classes at the University of Windsor.
 
Dr. Victor Sevillano-Canicio was the 2022 recipient of the Organization of Part-time University Students (OPUS), Faculty Award. And Dr. Antonio Rossini was the 2022 recipient of the OPUS Friend of Student Award.

Introducing newer members

of the FAHSS Dean's Office team
 

Marnie Kuhn with her dog "Wolfie" on a picnicMarnie Kuhn, Financial Coordinator

Marnie Kuhn moved into the Financial Coordinator role in the Dean’s Office in Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (FAHSS) in July 2021.
 
Marnie has now been a University of Windsor employee for 21 years! She was a student at UWindsor from 1998 and started her employment with the institution in 2002. She has worked in a variety of administrative capacities over the years.
 
Marnie enjoys being challenged and strives to help solve problems. Her favourite part about working at FAHSS is the team that she works with, as well as meeting remarkable people from across the faculty.
 
Marnie is a proud dog mom, and she enjoys taking her Shorkie-Poo (Shih Tzu, Yorkie & Poodle mix), Wolfgang (Wolfie) for walks. Pre-pandemic, Marnie travelled to many different parts of the world visiting 22 different countries.
Marnie can be contacted at mkuhn@uwindsor.ca.
 

Sheri Lowrie is the Recruitment Officer for all arts, humanities and social sciences programsSheri Lowrie, FAHSS Recruitment and Outreach Coordinator

Sheri is very excited to get underway in her new role. She joined the FAHSS Dean’s Office in January 2023! Sherie has been advocating for this position for over a decade!
 
“I began working for the University when I was going into my third year of my undergrad in 2002. I was a student coordinator for our Head Start Orientation program and fell in love with helping students transition to university,” says Sheri. “I worked in student accessibility and on the executive team for the UWSA gaining a lot of experience and building my skill set and resume.”
 
Sheri was hired by the university’s Student Recruitment Office right after graduation in 2004 as a Liaison Officer and she started to travel Ontario visiting high schools and presenting to students and their families about the great opportunities here at UWindsor.
 
“Never would I have known in high school that being a recruiter was my true calling. It captures all the aspects of the things I thought I might want to do – be a journalist, be a news anchor, be a motivational speaker, be a politician, be a lawyer,” she says. “I never knew what I would become but when I became a recruiter, I knew it was me.”
 
Over the past 21 years Sheri has held positions as a development officer, program administrator and an academic advisor.
 
Some of the aspects of her new role that excite Sheri the most is that she can focus on recruitment and outreach efforts for programs in the arts, humanities, and social sciences exclusively.
 
“I am so excited to get out into the community to help students see what cool experiences they have waiting for them in FAHSS,” says Sheri. “We need to shift the mindset of young people to the realization that you can do anything with an arts degree.”
 
Sheri says her biggest recommendation to young people is to travel the world. Looking back at her experiences backpacking across Europe and working in New Zealand and then travelling the country living in a van pushed her to grow and become comfortable with her independence.
 
Sheri was elected as a town councillor for the municipality of Kingsville in the last municipal elections.
 
“I have an incredible passion for my community and by becoming a councilor has given me a voice at the table to represent a demographic that wasn’t necessarily being heard. It allows me a chance to make an impact in the future direction of our town,” says Sheri. “I also wanted women and girls in the community to see that we can have small kids, raise our families but still go after big things!”
Sheri can be reached at sherio@uwindsor.ca

Tracy MacLeod is the manager of administration in the faculty of arts, humanities and social sciencesTracy MacLeod, Manager, Administration

Tracy MacLeod moved into the Manager Administration role in the Dean’s Office in Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (FAHSS) in January 2022.
 
Tracy started her career with the University of Windsor in 2014 and has held the roles of Employee/Labour Relations Associate and Human Resources Manager. A proud Alumna of the UW Tracy has fond memories of her time as an undergraduate student in FAHSS before moving to complete her studies at the University of Western Ontario.
 
This role has provided Tracy the opportunity to learn more about working in a large faculty and navigating its complexities. What she enjoys most about the role are her interactions with the remarkable students, staff, and faculty in FAHSS and her colleagues in the Dean’s Office which she describes as “simply the best”!
 
Tracy can be reached at tmacleod@uwindsor.ca.

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Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences hosts many concerts, recitals, exhibitions, screenings, workshops, and guest lectures throughout the school year. Sign up to receive our occasional event emails about all the events happening!