History

News Stories

Kelly Black looks off to the horizon with a mountain in the distance.

5 Questions with Kelly Black

September 27, 2022

Kelly Black, a Vancouver Island University Adjunct History Professor, received the Anne and Philip Yandle Best Article Award from the BC Historical Federation this June. The article, “Explaining Settlers to Ourselves: Rethinking interpretive narratives at heritage sites” was published in the spring 2021 edition of British Columbia History magazine. Black has more than a decade of experience in... Read more


An aerial photo of the Nanaimo tramway.

VIU students create community exhibit at Nanaimo Museum

June 15, 2022

Exhibit, which explores the history behind some of city’s more unusual street names, runs until June 25. Nanaimo is home to many streets with less-than-common names, such as Dingle Bingle Hill Road and Bergen Op Zoom Drive.  Between January and April, students in two upper-level history courses at Vancouver Island University (VIU) researched the intriguing stories of how these roads acquired... Read more


Dr. Whitney Wood sits at a desk with a shelf of books behind her.

VIU Researcher Exploring Changing Attitudes Towards Childbirth

December 2, 2021

Project focuses on “natural” and medicalized childbirth in mid-to-late 20th century Canada. Building on a decade of work on the histories of women's health, bodies and pain, Dr. Whitney Wood, VIU’s Canada Research Chair in the Historical Dimensions of Women’s Health, is exploring changing attitudes towards childbirth in mid-to-late 20th century Canada.  Beginning in the 1930s, and especially in... Read more


Graphic with text Gender, Health & Social Justice written on it.

Speaker Series Highlights Innovative Research in the History of Gender and Health

November 9, 2021

The Gender, Health and Social Justice Speaker Series presented by VIU and the University of Saskatchewan is offered for free via Zoom and kicks off on November 19. A speaker series running this winter and spring will introduce attendees to the innovative scholarship being done by early-career researchers in the history of gender and health. “The conversations taking place around this research... Read more


Ozoz Sokoh, wearing a bright yellow shirt, stands in a garden area.

VIU Symposium Examines Intertwined Histories of Gender, Food and Sovereignty

June 10, 2021

Keynote speaker Ozoz Sokoh highlights how food is an important aspect of people’s history and heritage. Vancouver Island University (VIU) scholars and panelists from around the globe are examining how the histories of food and sovereignty are intimately intertwined during a symposium this June. The Food and Sovereignty symposium, hosted virtually by VIU and the journal Gender & History June... Read more


: Dr. Yoichi Mukai, a VIU Modern Language Studies Professor; Dr. Kelly Black, a VIU Adjunct History Professor;  Dr. Joy Gugeler, a VIU Creative Writing, Journalism and Media Studies Professor, and Stephanie Johnson, a member of School District 68

VIU Faculty Create Understanding Through Colloquium Lectures

January 14, 2021

People can attend the Colloquium Series lectures from the comfort of their own homes this spring and gain an appreciation of how important the arts and humanities are to understanding today’s world. Vancouver Island University’s (VIU’s) Arts and Humanities Colloquium Series returns this spring with a thought-provoking lecture lineup that delves into the intricacies of language; re-evaluates... Read more


Photo of Dr. Richard Lane, smiling with greenery behind him

Researchers Developing a Better User Interface for Historical Archive

December 2, 2020

VIU researchers are mapping historical data contained in the Canadian Letters and Images Project and creating a sophisticated interface so scholars, students and the public can gain better access to information contained in the archive. Researchers at Vancouver Island University’s (VIU’s) MeTA Digital Humanities Lab are using advanced computer software to help map large quantities of historical... Read more


Terri Doughty, a VIU English Professor, will use Swedish artist Elsa Beskow’s work to illustrate how children’s picture books can contribute to a shift in perspectives in the plant-human relationship, during her Colloquium Series lecture.

VIU's Colloquium Series Lectures Live Streaming this Fall

September 17, 2020

Annual lecture series delves into a variety of topics including respectful relations between humans and plants, understanding women’s pain and examining London’s last Frost Fair. The show will go on for Vancouver Island University’s (VIU’s) popular Arts and Humanities Colloquium Series this fall. “The Colloquium committee is excited to be able to continue the Series in this academic year,” says... Read more


Gender Symposium Shines Light on the History of Healing and Caring

June 11, 2020

VIU researchers received a $19,050 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Connection Grant to host symposium. Vancouver Island University (VIU) researchers are shining a spotlight on the ways in which gender has played a consistent role in determining what forms of healing and caring are recognized, institutionalized and rewarded. VIU’s Dr. Cheryl Krasnick Warsh, Dr. Cathryn Spence, Dr.... Read more


Cold War Propaganda, Graphic Narratives and Magical Music Explored in Series

January 22, 2020

Spring Arts and Humanities Colloquium Series allows faculty to share their scholarly and creative work.  Action-packed television shows in the 1950s entertained many children, but also served as a powerful Cold War propaganda tool that conveyed messages about security, ethnicity and gender, say VIU History professors Dr. Cheryl Krasnick Warsh and Dr. Katharine Rollwagen. They’ll discuss how... Read more