Arts & Humanities

News Stories

James Mark smiles while holding a violin.

VIU professor explores Bach’s Chaconne for Solo Violin during first spring Colloquium lecture

January 27, 2023

The series kicks off on February 10 with a presentation by Nanaimo violinist and composer James Mark. Vancouver Island University’s (VIU’s) Arts and Humanities Colloquium Series explores the topics of Bach’s Chaconne for Solo Violin and what it means to hold space for queerness in the classroom during two lectures this spring. “We’re excited about the two presentations that are lined up for the... Read more


Interior of the View Gallery with paintings hung on the wall and a wooden human body art piece on the floor.

VIU’s The View Gallery Presents Escape Artists

April 22, 2022

Bachelor of Arts Major in Studio Art graduating student exhibition runs from April 20 to May 13. After a year of taking studio art classes online, the 11 students in this year’s graduating student exhibition Escape Artists hit the ground running last September – challenging themselves in the final year of their Vancouver Island University (VIU) undergraduate degree. The result is the diverse... Read more


A headshot of Susan Juby.

5 Questions with Susan Juby

April 4, 2022

Susan Juby, a Nanaimo-based author and Vancouver Island University Creative Writing Professor, had two new novels hit the bookshelves this March. Mindful of Murder, released March 8, features Helen Thorpe, a smart, preternaturally calm and deeply insightful butler who uses her sleuthing skills to unravel the mystery of the death of her former employer Edna. Helen is the executor of Edna’s will.... Read more


Leon Potter, a VIU Theatre Professor, faces the camera, smiling.

VIU Theatre Professor explores a “Grotesque” Satirical Play During First Colloquium Lecture

January 10, 2022

Arts & Humanities Colloquium Series returns this spring with a thought-provoking lineup. Vancouver Island University’s (VIU’s) Spring Arts & Humanities Colloquium Series will take audience members on a journey through the theatre of grotesque, and audio media techniques and creative pathways for producers and audiences. The Colloquium Series began in 2009 with the aim of creating... 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


Dr. Jennifer Griffiths smiles while crossing her arms.

Colloquium Series Shines Light on the Importance of Arts and Humanities in Today’s World

September 21, 2021

Lectures return to the stage at VIU’s Malaspina Theatre this fall. Vancouver Island University’s (VIU’s) Arts and Humanities Colloquium Series returns this fall with an engaging lineup that explores women’s contributions within the avant-garde movement, gender roles and expectations of strong female characters and how the T. Eaton Company’s marketing strategies commodified youth culture. The... 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


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


Dr. Whitney Wood joins VIU’s as the new Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in the Historical Dimensions of Women’s Health.

Birthing a New Perspective on Women's Health

July 17, 2019

Delving into the historical roots of childbirth experiences, VIU’s new Canada Research Chair hopes to improve women’s encounters with the health-care system during this critical time.  Home birth, water birth or hospital birth; medicated or unmedicated; doctor or midwife – the ways in which women give birth and perceive a “good” childbirth have vastly changed over time; however, women have always... Read more


VIU Writers Tackle Assimilation, Cultural Collaborations and Acceptance in Spring Colloquium Series

January 22, 2018

Free public lecture series hosted by the Faculty of Arts and Humanities starts Friday, January 26  From overwriting the Bard, to Seamus Heaney’s contributions to the world, to a unique playwriting collaboration, community members will get to look at the world from several different writers’ perspectives during The Arts and Humanities Colloquium Series spring lineup. The Colloquium presentations... Read more