For graduate students Katrina Keefer, Pauline Harder, Amber Johnson and Kristoffer Archibald, it was their first time presenting their work to the Trent community. Their papers covered an impressive range of historical subjects, from American history to the Anglo-Norman conquest of Ireland, to the development of arctic imagery to promote tourism in Canada’s far north.

Assistant professor Dr. Andrea Geddes Poole discussed her latest work examining the historical connection between philanthropy and citizenship in the Victorian era. Along a similar vein, associate professor Dr. Van Nguyen-Marshall presented her recent study about the role of voluntarism among the middle class in Saigon which emerged as a distinct economic and cultural group during the period of 1954 to 1975. Her scholarship cast a unique lens on the lived experience of South Vietnamese people and the political forces at play before, during and after the Vietnam War.

Following the "A Day in History" presentations, the department hosted a book celebration dinner to recognize those faculty members who had published books in the last year. Guests of honour included Dr. Dimitry Anastakis, who wrote Car Nation and edited The Sixties, Dr. Nguyen-Marshall, author of In Search of Moral Authority, and Dr. Graham Taylor who wrote The Rise of Canadian Business. Professor Emeritus Elwood Jones was also feted that evening for his two recent books published in 2008, Fighting Fires in Peterborough and Strike Up The Band - Memories of Peterborough Concert Bands Through 150 Years.

For more information about the Department of History, or Graduate Studies in History, please visit their websites.