This Month in FASS
The latest news and events from the Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences at Dalhousie University

The FASS monthly e-newsletter - November 2021 edition

FACULTY ANNOUNCEMENTS

Academic Assistance for FASS Students

Dr. David Matthias, Assistant Dean (Student Matters) is available to respond to any questions and concerns you may have about your academic progress, academic regulations, and degree completion. Feel free to email him at david.matthias@dal.ca

DEPARTMENTAL ACADEMIC ADVISING
Please consult your department's academic advisor if you require specific advice about your major, honours options and program requirements.

Call for nominations - The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Award for Excellence in Teaching

The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences is committed to excellence in teaching. It has established a teaching award that honours, each year, a faculty member who has made an outstanding contribution to teaching, mentoring, and serving the students of the Faculty. This award is intended above all to underline the fundamental importance of effective and/or innovative pedagogy.

To learn more about the award, the nomination process and eligibility criteria, please visit this link. Nominations and all supporting documents should reach the Committee no later than January 31, 2022.
 

Creative Writing Program/ English Department

The Creative Writing Program in the Department of English, with support from the Canada Council for the Arts and in partnership with the Writers Federation of Nova Scotia presents: 

Double Date: A Reading Series of Writing Couples

Double Date investigates the compelling, romantic, and perhaps at times vexing phenomenon of writers who not only make art but choose to also make a life together. By hearing writers speak to their creative practice as couples, read from their own work, and answer questions from the audience, we hope that as writers and readers we can learn more about the relationships we kindle with our most beloved humans and the relationships we develop toward our creative literary practices. 

Events will be held via zoom in the fall and in-person on campus in the spring. All events in Atlantic Time. See the poster for all four events here.

Friday November 5th 3:45pm to 5pm - Merilyn Simmons and Wayne Grady
(Creative Non-Fiction - via zoom)
Registration is required. REGISTER HERE 

Friday November 19th 3:45-5pm - Cedar Bowers and Michael Christie
(Fiction - via zoom)
Registration is required. REGISTER HERE

Friday February 11th 3:45pm-5pm - Hannah Moscovitch and Christian Barry
(Drama - in person - Scotiabank Auditorium)

Friday April 1st 7pm - 8:30pm - Truth Is... and Beth Anne Ellipsis
(Spoken Word - in person - Rowe 101)
 

Fountain School of Performing Arts


Dalhousie Wind Ensemble:

Noise
Thursday, November 25
7:30 pm
St. Andrew's Church

In collaboration with the Dalhousie School of Architecture, the Cities and Environment Unit, and students of the Fountain School, Noise will feature music from the great wind epochs of the past 400 years. Using new designs, 3D printed augmentations, and band shells, the wind ensemble will sound better than ever - even if distance is still a factor in performance. Directed by Jacob Caines.              

Pie’l aq Ki’kwa’ju
Wednesday, December 1
7:30 pm
Rebecca Cohn Auditorium

Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf reimagined through inter-cultural collaboration. Featuring Mi’kmaq artists and student performers from across the Fountain School of Performing Arts. Conducted by Leonardo Perez.

Partners in Jazz
Thursday, December 2 
7:30 pm
St. Andrew's Church

Dalhousie Jazz Ensemble in partnership with Halifax Regional Arts Senior Jazz Ensemble
This annual event features both ensembles performing exciting big band arrangements offering an evening of wonderful music. The Dal Jazz Ensemble is directed by Chris Mitchell.

Dal Theatre:

People, Places & Things
By Duncan MacMillan
Directed by Matthew Thomas Walker
November 30 to December 4, 2021, Sir James Dunn Theatre

Emma, an actress, collapses in the middle of a performance, no longer sure of who she is. So begins Duncan MacMillan’s spectacular and theatrical study of one woman’s turbulent battle with addiction and recovery. Emma’s cyclical journey of hope and self-harm as she searches desperately for her true self is a layered examination of how we create social masks in everyday life to avoid accountability. Is it possible to be free of them?

Visit this link to learn more about the subject matter and content warnings.
This show is not recommended for children under 13.
 

History Department

Undergraduate History Society

Wednesday November 3: We will be holding our monthly General Meeting in the McCain Fireplace lounge at 5:30pm. Come to get updates from the executive and mingle with other members, and have some snacks. Everyone is welcome!

Saturday November 6: We will be taking a ferry to McNabs Island in the harbour. It will be a full day of hiking and exploring the historic sites on the island. We will depart from the Cable Wharf at the Halifax waterfront and take a private ferry to the island at around 10am. When we arrive, we will explore the trails and many historic sites found across the island. There are forts, lighthouses, and many lookouts. We will depart at roughly 4-5pm and take the ferry back. The cost is $25 per person. Here is the signup sheet.

Thursday November 18: We will be having another boardgame night at the Boardroom Café on Barrington Street. Come to play some boardgames, hangout with fellow students and society members and take a break from studying. The event starts at 8pm and you can stay as long as you want.

Wednesday November 24: We will be hosting a study session in McCain room 2016 from 7pm - 10pm for anyone who wants to come to study and/or ask questions about assignments or classes. Upper year students will be there to help anyone with writing, citations, or other elements of writing a history essay.

Follow us on Instagram to stay notified of our events and happenings: @Dalhistorysociety.
Proof of Vaccination is required for attendance at all events.

Stokes Seminar Schedule

The Stokes Seminar happens on Fridays, between 3:30 and 5:00 p.m. in Room 1170 of the McCain Building (next to the Dept. of History).

For further information about the Seminars and future seminar dates and presentation details, please visit this link.

November/December schedule:

November 5 – Dr. Colin Osmond (Mount Saint Vincent University) - “Reflections on the Utility of ‘Settler Colonialism’ as a Theoretical Lens in Canadian History”

November 19 – Dr. Billy Keniston (University of Illinois) - “Cover Stories & Undercover Stories: Apartheid South Africa, 1969-1984”

November 26 – Dr. Jamie Jelinski (Dalhousie University) - “Who and Where was ‘Sailor Joe’?: Tattooing, Popular Entertainment, and Investigation by the FBI and RCMP, 1899-1965”

December 3 – Trends in History Session with Drs. Will Langford and Aaron Wright (Dalhousie University): “Water Power: A discussion of Brittney Luby’s Dammed: The Politics of Loss and Survival in Anishinaabe Territory"
 

International Development Studies

Safe Space for White Questions 
November edition
Wednesday, November 24, 2021
2pm - 3pm

This is a series of free, public, monthly drop-in sessions that are open to all but aimed at people who identify as white and are interested in working toward collective liberation. Come ask the questions about race, racism, social change, and social justice you always wonder about but feel nervous asking. You won't offend us (unless you're trying to—please don't do that!).

The event will be moderated by Alex Khasnabish (Mount Saint Vincent University) and Ajay Parasram (Dalhousie University).

This event will be live-streamed via Fernwood Publishing's YouTube channel. Watch live (and find recordings of past editions) HERE. 

Can't make it but still have questions you'd like answered? Please leave your questions HERE.
 

Italian Studies

CAFFE’ ITALIANO VIRTUALE (in Italian and English) 

Wednesday, November 3, 1 pm
and
Wednesday, November 17, 1 pm  

The Virtual Italian Cafè is an online meeting, open to all, aiming at fostering the communicative skills in Italian language of each participant. Please RSVP to Paolo Matteucci pl711498@dal.ca to receive the Teams link before each event.  
 

Jean Monnet European Union Centre of Excellence (JMEUCE)

JMEUCE Speaker Series - online lecture
Euro-African Borderwork and Local Politics in the Sahel

Philippe M. Frowd, School of Political Studies, University of Ottawa

This talk will examine the outward movement of the EU's border security policies in West Africa.  With particular attention to the Sahel region, it will focus on the policy rationales, political impacts and local resistances engendered by this 'borderwork'.
Tuesday, November 2: 10:05am-11:30am
Online via Collaborate Ultra
E-mail r.zaiotti@dal.ca for the link to join
Contact jmeuce@dal.ca for more information

Viscount Bennett Chair Roundtable on International Economic Law
Dispute Settlement Under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement: Perspectives from North America and Europe

Andrea Bjorklund, Faculty of Law, McGill University, Frank J. Garcia, Boston College Law School, Camille Martini, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP,

Sergio Puig, James R. Rogers College of Law, University of Arizona, Olabisi D. Akinkugbe (Moderator), Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University

We are pleased to collaborate with the Schulich School of Law on this online event which brings together experts to share their views on the dispute settlement regime, comparative insights in relation to developments in Europe; and how changes within ISDS and the new labour dispute settlement can enhance labour and environmental policy among others.
Friday, November 5: 10:00am - 11:30am
Zoom registration: link available here 
Contact olabisi.akinkugbe@dal.ca for more information

MacEachen Institute for Public Policy and Governance

Thursday, November 4th at 12 PM ADT
Zoom webinar:
Transparency, Power and Influence in the Pharmaceutical Industry

Transparency in the realm of pharmaceuticals is a deeply contested policy issue. Doctors, patients, and their allies have fought for decades to make the evidence behind many prescription drugs publicly available. And while the level of transparency has improved significantly in recent years, a number of challenges remain. It's not clear, for example, whether the evidence now on offer is actually being used to make better decisions about which drugs to prescribe. Worse, there are growing concerns that the added transparency is giving cover to parallel efforts to lower regulatory standards for drug approval.

Please register here.
Dalhousie University