The McCain fireside lounge was bustling with scholarship earlier this month at the annual Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) book launch.
The event, held on March 2, celebrates books and book chapters from FASS faculty that have been published over the past year. Many of the books were on display as faculty members, students, staff and special guests perused the publications.
鈥淭o come celebrate all of this wonderful work by our faculty in FASS, it鈥檚 just great to be a part of it, to celebrate what the institution is all about,鈥� said President Richard Florizone, who dropped into the event together with Provost Carolyn Watters.
鈥淭he work coming out of the faculty continues to be high profile,鈥� said Jure Gantar, acting dean of FASS. Also in attendance at the event was Political Science Professor and Chair Frank Harvey, who earlier that same day was announced as the Faculty鈥檚 new dean, taking the helm in July.
鈥淭hese are the kinds of events I love to attend,鈥� he says, noting he used to help organize the event when he was associate dean of research for FASS. 鈥淭he research accomplishments in this Faculty: they鈥檙e wonderful.鈥�
Sci-fi and global connections
Jason Haslam (English) was proud to display three works of his that came to fruition this year. His book Gender, Race and American Science Fiction is something he鈥檚 been working on for over five years.
鈥淚 was interested in both how popular culture and science fiction can reinforce certain biased perspectives, but also challenge them,鈥� says Dr. Haslam, whose courses include a first-year pop culture class and a graduate course on American utopias. 鈥淚 look at some African American authors, some queer authors who challenge our representation of gender.鈥�
John Kirk, a faculty member of in Dal鈥檚 Department of Spanish and Latin American Studies and one of Canada鈥檚 most prominent experts on Cuba, had two books in the event. Jos茅 Mart铆, mentor de la revoluci贸n cubana is an analysis of the socio-political thought of the early leader of Cuba鈥檚 independence movement. The other, Healthcare without Borders: Understanding Cuban Medical Internationalism, is the result of a decade of research into Cuba鈥檚 international medical collaborations.
鈥淐uba currently has more medical staff working in developing countries than all G-7 countries combined,鈥� says Dr. Kirk. 鈥淚t really is the greatest story never told. I hope [readers learn] about the many facets of Cuba's medical collaboration with an open mind, and try to understand the enormous contribution of Cuban medical personnel.鈥�
Political movements and poetry
Also with two books in the launch was Howard Ramos from the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology. Social Movements, a collaboration with Suzanne Staggenborg (his former graduate supervisor), is a revised third edition in which Dr. Ramos co-authored all chapters with a focus on Canadian social movements and events.聽 Protest and Politics: The Promise of Social Movement Societies is an edited collection, together with Kathleen Rodgers of McGill, that explores the 鈥渟ocial movement society鈥� thesis.
鈥淭he thesis argues that argues that in recent time the lines between mainstream electoral politics and contentious protest politics have blurred and this has meant that protest politics is now part of the normal means of doing pursuing and contesting power,鈥� explains Dr. Ramos, whose research on social movements spans nearly 20 years.
Another publication on display was the first modern collection of John Thelwall鈥檚 poems, compiled by English prof Judith Thompson.聽 Bringing back to life Thelwall鈥檚 work is something Dr. Thompson is greatly passionate about.
鈥淗e鈥檚 an interdisciplinary figure, the first modern speech therapist, a poet and much more,鈥� she says. 鈥淗e was a neglected figure who gave a voice to the voiceless鈥攑olitically, poetically and therapeutically. He lived about 200 years ago and for a variety of reasons including political repression, a lot of it was blacklisted or lost.鈥� Dr. Thompson is currently working on a biography of Thelwall she hopes to display at a future FASS book launch.
Family connections
A popular selection was David McNeil鈥檚 book about his father鈥檚 time in the NHL. Gerry McNeil was a goaltender for the Montreal Canadiens who controversially quit. His time in the NHL may not have been long, but it was certainly timely 鈥� he was part of the first televised hockey game and won a Stanley Cup.
When the 1990s rolled around, David realized his father wouldn鈥檛 be around forever and made a point of recording Gerry鈥檚 memories. David, who wasn鈥檛 yet born when his father played in the NHL, heard stories about Maurice Richard and Jacques Plante. Dr. McNeil says the book is not only a tribute to his father but also 鈥渢o the news writers and photographers of the time.鈥� He says 鈥渢he book is largely about the media history.鈥�
Many cheerful faces could be seen throughout the afternoon and academics caught up on what their colleagues were working on now. This annual event continues to be a favorite for many.
For the full list of publications from FASS in 2015, .