Showcase Spring 2010

SPRING 2010

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A Mantra to Teach By Involving students in her research both in and outside of the classroom has always been an important aspect of Dr. Winnie Lem’s teaching mantra. Whether it is hiring students to conduct bibliographic searches for relevant information or assigning them to be interpreters and assistants in the field, conducting interviews or taking photos, the involvement and participation of students is always key for Professor Lem, who teaches in both the Women’s Studies and International Development Studies (IDS) programs at Trent.

“I have benefited greatly from both the practical help that students have provided in my work and also from the intellectual work of student assistants, as many have helped to introduce new lines of inquiry in my research,” she says.

“And for all students, and particularly graduate students, I hope the work they do with me is a way of getting some experience that can be used when they eventually do their own independent research.”

For Prof. Lem, the opportunity to provide students with knowledge and experience that can assist and guide them in their future endeavours, is one of the greatest and most rewarding parts of being a professor at Trent. And no matter what course she is teaching or has taught, from the Cinema of Development and Underdevelopment to Human Inequality in Global Perspective, her hopes for her students are the same: “I hope students are able to gain an appreciation of scholarship as a way of deepening an understanding of the forces that are implicated in the way people live, work, think about and also act upon the world in which we inhabit.”

The Interdisciplinary Lens Reflecting on a teaching career at Trent that has spanned nearly two decades and is still going strong, Prof. Lem recalls how she was first drawn to a university that prided itself on offering unique and innovative interdisciplinary programs.

Cross-appointed between two distinct programs, Prof. Lem has contributed greatly to Trent’s reputation as a leader in interdisciplinary learning. And since starting at the University in 1991 she has become more of a believer in the benefits of this multi-faceted approach to education.

“Every field or discipline is a lens through which to view the complexity of the phenomena we study. Interdisciplinary teaching and learning offers another optic through which we can view the questions and problems that concern us,” Prof. Lem explains. “It allows us to confront that complexity and enhances our work as teachers and students in interpreting and engaging with the world in which we live.” continued over

INSIDE President Steven Franklin releases new book on Remote Sensing .........3 2010 Canada Wide Science Fair coming to Trent .........................................4 Trent becomes new home for renowned Cultural Studies Journal...........7

LEARNING TO MAKE A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE.

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“Interdisciplinary teaching and learning offers another optic through which we can view the questions and problems that concern us …”

An anthropologist by training, Prof. Lem says she is highly suited to interdisciplinarity and has been fortunate in being cross-appointed between two departments. It has been a fruitful experience for her, both in terms of research and teaching.

“In Women’s Studies, I am able to work with faculty and students who are committed to exploring feminist scholarship in both the humanities and social sciences. In IDS, my interactions also take place within the many dimensions of the human sciences. I feel that I am collaborating with my

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colleagues and students in a project of exploring critical theories and methodologies for analyzing global change through space and time.”

In commenting on her courses, she adds, “Each course has its own challenges and rewards. For example, my upper level seminars are closest to my research and it is very stimulating for me to hear how fourth-year students think through some of the problems that are discussed in the literature that I have been using in my research.”

Rewarding Research Currently, Prof. Lem is studying issues of transnational migration, migrant livelihoods and the politics of citizenship in the European Union.

“My research focuses on Chinese migrants who live and work in France, but who are embedded in social and economic networks that extend between many countries in Asia and Europe,” Prof. Lem explains. “In this sense

Unearthing New Perspectives on the Collapse of Ancient Maya

Learning to Make a Better Future Prof. Iannone’s project is looking at the interplay of challenging environmental factors, such as extreme drought, and poor decisions by the ruling elite more than 2,000 years ago in the Vaca Plateau of west-central Belize.

In an age of declining oil resources and climate change, there’s increasing interest in Prof. Iannone’s work. “What we’re finding in our excavations is that while the elite made decisions upholding the status quo (that were not good for them), it was not the end of the world for everyone. Our findings show that farmers and craftspeople, for example, were less affected than the ruling class,” he says.

Along with more than 12 years of detailed archeological research, Prof. Iannone’s project comprises increasingly sophisticated data on environmental conditions during the same period of florescence and denouement of ancient Mayan cultures.

One technique used to determine climactic conditions during this period is the study of speleothems (mineral deposit formed in caves) which show precipitation levels and other environmental conditions over several hundred years.

“What we’ve found is that there’s not a one-to-one relationship between significant environmental change and societal change,” he says. “People are much more resilient than we give them credit for.”

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“I think research and teaching complement one another in a profound way.”

Teaching-Research Connection

INNOVATORS

“People tend to think that archeology is about old and dusty things, but one of the things that excites me and excites my students is that what we’re doing has implications and relevance for today,” says Dr. Gyles Iannone, a professor of Anthropology at Trent.

A private foundation has recently awarded Professor Iannone more than $350,000 over two years to look at interplay of environmental change and political leadership in the collapse of ancient Mayan culture.

“To get this amount of money in two years is almost unheard of,” says Prof. Iannone. “At the end of this study, our transdisciplinary team expects to have one of the best cultural-environmental sequences in the world.”

they are called transnational migrants and I am interested in how transnationalism contours a sense of belonging amongst migrants.”

Recently, Prof. Lem was awarded a significant grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) for new research that focuses on debates that take place in the public arena on citizenship and immigration in Europe and their effects on migrants from East Asia. On sabbatical for 2010, she will spend much of her time working on this research, conducting fieldwork in France and China.

High-Powered Help Along with support for 13 accomplished archaeologists, anthropologists, biologists, geographers, and paleo-environmentalists from ten institutions in four countries, the grant will support a number of Trent graduate students who will be cutting their research teeth on the project.

Prof. Iannone will co-direct the project with Dr. Jaime Awe, a Trent alumnus and director of the Institute of Archaeology in Belize. Two other Trent anthropology professors, Dr. James Conolly and Dr. Jocelyn Williams, will also be involved in the project.

“One of the reasons I am able to work on this is because of the fieldwork I did in Belize as a student at Trent,” Prof. Iannone says. Since graduating from Trent himself, he has conducted field research in Belize for the past fourteen summers. He also operates the department's Belize field school.

While taking some time to focus on the research side of things, Prof. Lem also remains dedicated to teaching, as, for her, the two are inextricably bound together.

“I think research and teaching complement one another in a profound way,” she says when asked about the importance of maintaining a balance between the two areas. “I find that in undertaking research, I need to be on top of the most recent work in my area of interest.

This gives both a focus to my work in research and teaching and also a measure of gravitas.”

According to Prof. Lem, her research also serves as a “testing ground” for some of the theories and ideas that are debated in her classroom. Commenting on how teaching can allow for reflection and experimentation with research ideas and findings, she mentions how edifying it is to bring her own research into the classroom.

“In those courses that are directly related to my research, students have been enormously helpful in provoking me to think through ideas,” says Prof. Lem. “Their questions and insightful discussions of scholarship on the research that I do allow me to modify ideas and probe more deeply in my investigations.” I

“At the end of this study, our transdisciplinary team expects to have one of the best cultural-environmental sequences in the world.”

The Latest Advances in Remote Sensing for Biodiversity “be it a practitioner, methodologist or experimentalist, each having an interest in remote sensing.”

Celebrating the Transdisciplinary

President’s new book offers new insights to those interested in sustainable environmental studies quote from Aristotle and a stanza from 20th century poet Al Purdy: if ever an epigraph from a book by an environmental scientist proclaimed the author’s respect for liberal arts and science, and interdisciplinary learning, this one does. Trent University President Dr. Steven E. Franklin’s new book Remote Sensing for Biodiversity and Wildlife Management: Synthesis and Applications, published by McGraw-Hill Professional, hit bookstore shelves in November, just months after the start of his term as president of Trent.

From the time his appointment was announced, Dr. Franklin made it clear that his passion for the university setting included administration, teaching and research – and that his life and work are guided by a strong commitment to understanding and improving the environment through remote sensing technology. The launch of this book has been anticipated by many in the ever-growing fields of environmental science and management. A review by the publication HighBeamResearch.com calls the work “a book that encapsulates the trends, philosophies and case study material that is, for all intents and purposes, ‘hidden’ away,” but is now available to a wide potential audience,

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In the book’s preface, Dr. Franklin celebrates the transdisciplinarity of remote sensing, biodiversity and wildlife management. It is these “multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary teams” of “researchers, managers, policy-makers and all manner of resource professionals,” along with students at the undergraduate and graduate level, that he sees as benefiting from the carefully articulated research and findings between the text’s covers.

This, Dr. Franklin’s fourth book, was completed during a sabbatical granted by the University of Saskatchewan and hosted by Curtin University in Australia where he was part of an international research team that received an Australian Research Council (ARC) grant to examine biodiversity and wildlife management strategies using data from satellite and aerial sensors. The only book available on the specific topic of utilization of remote sensing technology in wildlife management, Remote Sensing for Biodiversity and Wildlife Management explains the basic operation of remote sensing devices, and provides guidance and review of image analysis and related interpretation techniques of interest in biodiversity assessment, such as species richness mapping, and wildlife management (notably GPS, GIS and spatial modeling). An overview of the critical targets that remote sensing can address in support of biodiversity and wildlife management applications is included. The book reviews research, monitoring, and modeling, but focuses on synthesis and applications, where the key new insights have been achieved.

A New Opportunity to Understand Environmental Change Says Dr. Franklin: “It is these key new insights – synoptic, repetitive, large-area mapping by satellite sensing, and multiple-scale detailed ‘zooming-in’ on specific phenomena with field-based and aerial sensing, for example – which I felt needed to be properly

introduced to the large and growing wildlife and biodiversity management community. The book includes a review of emerging research areas and an established application framework designed to link ecological information needs with the correct remote sensing imagery and information-extraction strategies.

“Remote sensing is a powerful approach to understanding habitat quality and dynamics, ecological indicators and processes, species prediction models, invasive species mapping and modeling, and landscape

“Remote sensing is a powerful approach to understanding habitat quality and dynamics, ecological indicators and processes… “ fragmentation and productivity analysis. Such an approach, linked with field studies, provides new opportunity to understand environmental change, predict impacts, and suggest possible implementation strategies to achieve biodiversity goals and improve overall environmental management.”

Designed to emphasize the growing synthesis and applications of a remote sensing approach to biodiversity monitoring and wildlife management, Remote Sensing for Biodiversity and Wildlife Management features an emphasis on pioneering case studies – ranging across a wide diversity of species and habitats, including the endangered Sonoran pronghorn in western USA, invasive fish species in streams and reservoirs in India’s Western Ghats, migratory birds in agricultural areas of Finland, Giant pandas in China, the clouded leopard in Borneo’s rainforests, and woodland caribou and grizzly bears in Alberta – and illustrative examples using optical, microwave, and thermal remote sensing in the field, from aerial platforms, and from satellites, in biodiversity and wildlife management. In an era of increasingly urgent environmental concerns and the need for action, the book offers an authoritative source of focused and accessible knowledge for all those interested in sustainable environmental studies. I

TRENT ALUMNI

Trent Alumnus Leads Canadian UN Contingent in Sudan “They are giants,” Trent University alumnus Don Eastop ‘82 says of the officers he led as the contingent commander of the Canadian Police Contingent with the United Nations Mission in Sudan. “How can you not be proud of these people and the work they are doing?”

Facilitating Democratic Policing An OPP staff sergeant working out of General Headquarters in Orillia, Mr. Eastop recently returned from a nine-month posting in Sudan. As the contingent commander, he oversaw the members of the Canadian Contingent in their efforts to support the rule of law in North and South Sudan by teaching democratic policing principles to Sudanese police who currently enforce a blend of Sudanese and Sharia law.

“We try to act as a resource and influence the local police to value the meaning of Justice but we are guests there,” he explains. “The Sudanese have to come to their own conclusions.”

Mr. Eastop describes the situation in Africa’s largest country, where political tension between North and South mixes with tribal clashes throughout. 350,000 people are displaced. There is a very present risk of starvation and diseases such as malaria. Violence is on the rise due to ongoing conflicts over water, food, cattle and the impending elections that will decide the fate of Sudan.

The officers with the police contingent teach everything from individual rights to the collection of evidence. They teach in dilapidated buildings and under trees to many who are ex-soldiers who have only known violence as the answer. The members of the contingent join the Sudanese police to encourage the use of non-violent methods as they respond to incidents.

Trent Grads Around the World “I have been in wild situations and have run into Trent grads – law enforcement, military and health professionals. On a dark road or in a dark situation I would find myself saying ‘What? You went to Trent? LEC? Really? I was Otonabee College,” he recalls.

Mr. Eastop came to Trent from ‘82 to ‘86 to earn his degree in Politics. Originally from Cornwall, Ontario, Peterborough was a natural fit for him and the small class sizes at Trent contributed to his success as a student.

As a rower, his crew won the OUAA championships two out of four years. “We were the little university that roared; completely dwarfed by other crews, but no one told us we weren’t supposed to win. No one told us we couldn’t do it.”

Mr. Eastop remembers a Trent professor speaking at his convocation saying, “If we have been successful at Trent, hopefully you now realize not how much you know, but rather how much more there is to learn.” This has always stuck with him and he still approaches situations with this in mind. He analyzes everything he does at the end of each day.

“At Trent I learned that we can do this smarter,” he says.

Advancing Human Rights While in Sudan he conducted risk and threat assessments in such hotspots as Abyei.

“We are a monitoring presence, there to show them that the world is watching. As a major contributor of humanitarian aid to Sudan, Canada has a responsibility to influence the respect of human rights.

“Should we be there? Are we making a difference? Yes, but you won’t be able to see it for years.

There is more hard work to be done for the people of Sudan.

“I am very proud of those men and women and although they did not all go to Trent they sure could have been Trent grads!

Solid Canadians who act like they went to Trent!”

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Exploring Pharmaceutical Personhood in the 21st Century she says. “My work involves looking at how we as a society have come to rely on drugs to treat human problems in medical terms.”

them.’ It’s a very complex dynamic,” she says.

Prof. Ballantyne is also a lead researcher on a health survey of injured Ontario workers, looking at their view of medications for the management of chronic pain, anxiety and depression, and their access to pharmaceuticals and health care.

Massive Cost

Professor Peri Ballantyne “

ith up to 85 per cent of Canadians 65 and older taking some kind of pharmaceutical drugs, we’re changing what it is to be an old person,” says Trent sociology professor Peri Ballantyne. Not only is our chemical make up changed, but who we are – how we see and know ourselves, is profoundly affected by this new reality, she says.

As a health sociologist, Professor Ballantyne looks at how social context influences human experience of illness, dis/ability, health, work and non-work, poverty, social support, and medication use. She has been particularly interested in the complexity of older people’s experience in relation to what she calls ‘pharmaceutical personhood.’

“We take these nano-technologies, these pharmaceuticals, into our bodies and hope for the best,”

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National health expenditure studies show that since 1997, drugs account for the second largest share of health care costs, after hospitals. “Pharmaceutical manufacturing is a highly profitable industry,” Prof.

Ballantyne says.

“With government covering the lion’s share of the cost for prescription drugs for people over 65 – who are prescribed and who take more drugs than any other age category – we spend more on prescription drugs than on doctors’ salaries,” she says. “The cost of drugs is a major factor in rising health care costs. Who is making sure we’re spending money equitably, appropriately and efficiently?”

Qualitative Investigation One of Prof. Ballantyne’s major projects to date was as lead researcher on a study of elderly Cantonese-, Mandarin- and Portuguese-speaking people’s views on the appropriateness of medicinal drugs in their everyday health practices. “While many people told us they would take and use the drugs prescribed, others told us ‘I’m not myself when I put drugs in my body, and resist taking

Monitoring Drug Use Through her experience teaching at Trent, Prof.

Ballantyne has become interested in how perspectives on pharmaceutical use may vary across generations, and the epidemiology of pharmaceutical use by young people.

“Given my research interests, students often come to me to discuss their pharmaceutical drug use,” she says.

“I’m amazed at how many of them are taking something – contraceptive pills, drugs for ADD or ADHD, for anxiety, depression, sleeplessness; it’s really

“We as a society have come to rely on drugs to treat human problems in medical terms.” concerning… How are we monitoring drug prescription and drug use? Who is making sure that we are treating people safely? Who determines who has access to ‘essential’ medicines – and who doesn’t?”

Looking to the future, these are the questions Prof.

Ballantyne hopes to answer.

For details on Prof. Ballantyne’s comprehensive program of research, visit www.consequencesofworkinjury.ca I

Young Scientists to Descend 2010 Canada Wide Science Fair Comes to Peterborough in May

Upon Trent University

he single largest event to be hosted by Trent University is coming in May 2010.

The 49th annual Canada Wide Science Fair (CWSF), being held in Peterborough and at Trent from May 15 to 23, will bring 1,700 visitors to the area.

Over the course of one week, 500 student participants in Grades Seven to 12 from all provinces and territories will showcase their projects for judges, local schoolchildren and the public. The students not only compete for close to $1 million in scholarships and grants, but they also foster friendships with fellow students from across the country.

Trent University will play host to a full slate of events including opening and closing banquets, a gala awards ceremony, and tours of the province's scientific and cultural attractions. The participants and their delegates will be staying at the University residences and the projects will be displayed at the Evinrude Center.

“This national celebration of science will attract some of the brightest and most intelligent young minds from across Canada,” says Mark Dzurko, co-chair of the organizing committee. “We can't wait to show them what Trent and the City of Peterborough have to offer and hopefully they will return to the area. Our hope is also to encourage more local students to explore science and participate in the Peterborough Regional Science Fair.”

Mr. Dzurko knows first-hand of the benefits of being involved with science fairs, both at a regional and national level. In high school, he competed and won in the CWSF. A graduate of Trent University, Mr. Dzurko, a professor of Applied Environmental Chemistry at Fleming College, is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in Environmental Chemistry in the Queen's/Trent graduate program. He attributes many of his research interests to his time as a science fair participant.

Participants in the CWSF are finalists from regional fairs that were held across the country. Students will compete in a variety of categories, including life sciences, health sciences, physical sciences, biotechnology, engineering, computer science and the recently added environmental innovation category. Judges, drawn from the academic and research communities, hundreds of chaperones and many volunteers will help make the week a success.

The event is hosted by the Peterborough Regional Science Fair Inc., and organized by a committee of volunteers, in collaboration with Trent University and the City of Peterborough. The CWSF is organized by a Host Committee of volunteers and run under the guidance of Youth Science Canada (YSC).

For more details, please visit www.cwsf2010.ca I

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Be a Science Fair Volunteer!

Judges and volunteers are still needed.

To volunteer as a judge (there is a need for as many as 500 judges!), forward your name, contact number, and email address to: Dr. Brian Patrick at ChiefJudge2010@gmail.com For more information on becoming a CWSF volunteer, contact Carolyn Jonkman at volunteer@cwsf2010.ca

CWSF 2010 co-chairs Mark Dzurko and Gina Collins

Student Perspective: Xochilt Hernandez Fourth-year International Development Studies student from Nicaragua Indigenous Community Development During my second year at Trent, I had the opportunity to take Indigenous Community Development with Professor Lynne Davis. The class was cross-listed between International Development Studies and the Indigenous Studies, and it looked like it would give me a different approach to Development than that offered by my other courses. I was not only right, but also surprised as it turned out to be one of the most rewarding learning experiences I have had in my university life.

I was looking for something different; I was looking for an open space where my own opinions about Development, about communities and about education could not only be heard, but also useful, and this class provided me with that space.

The class was arranged in small workshops, and each student had the opportunity to lead one. The workshops, which had to be inclusive and participatory, addressed issues surrounding communities and how they adapt and respond to development processes.

The class was definitely special and under the incredible leadership of Professor Davis, each and every one of us learned about alternative approaches to education, about how to be a good facilitator and how to work with each other as allies for a common understanding. In a context when we are usually encouraged to be critical, we learned to put in practice our critical thinking for a common good. It was an alternative and refreshing way to learn, and I would encourage other students, from any department, to take a class that challenges our conventional ways to learn.

An Expanded Home for Health Sciences rent is breaking new ground in the field of health sciences with the construction of a state-of-the-art facility that will reinforce the University’s reputation as a leading institution for delivering innovative and quality healthcare programs to students.

Thanks to $20.7 million in generous financial support from both the federal and provincial governments through the Knowledge Infrastructure Program (KIP), a second module will be added to the new Health Sciences facility currently under construction at the DNA Building at Trent. The new facility will provide a modern new home for the University’s Nursing, Psychology and Anthropology programs in module C, alongside the relocated Biology Department in module D. “Being able to house our growing Health Sciences programs together with Biology and Forensics in one state-of-the-art new building provides a focus for our students in these departments and offers new and interesting opportunities for collaborations amongst our researchers,” says Christine McKinnon, acting provost and vice president academic. “The new facilities for health and life science programs at Trent will not only provide enhanced and purpose-designed office, research, and teaching space for faculty and students, they will position the University to take advantage of emerging program opportunities in the growing healthcare field.”

In addition to providing benefits for Trent students, faculty and staff, the new facility will also serve as a driver to establish new collaborations with Fleming College and the college sector, the Peterborough Regional Health Centre, the Local Health Integration Network and emerging organizations such as the International Consortium on Anti-Virals (ICAV).

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“The new facilities for health and life science programs at Trent will not only provide enhanced and purpose-designed office, research, and teaching space for faculty and students, they will position the University to take advantage of emerging program opportunities in the growing healthcare field.”

Modules C&D Building Features Dynamic and innovative features of the new 100,000 square foot Health Sciences Facility at Trent University include:

I New space, including construction of a new nursing centre learning lab, to showcase the Trent/Fleming School of Nursing

I Office and lab space to create a new home for the recently approved Master’s program in Psychology and a potential Master’s of Nursing degree program, providing state-of-the-art expanded facilities for graduate students

I New and relocated labs for the Psychology department, including a developmental observation lab designed to examine and evaluate behaviour in different settings and environments

I A new home for Trent’s Emotional Health research lab and the Canada Research Chair in Emotion and Health

I A new platform to support the networking of Trent faculty affiliated with the Centre for Health Studies

I Opportunities to create new research linkages between Psychology and Education faculty

I A clustering of teaching and research expertise including: enhanced life sciences capacity, sustainable and healthy communities, forensic sciences, sustainable agriculture, and environmental sciences

Module C of the new Health Sciences Facility at Trent University is slated for opening in Summer 2010. Module D will open in Spring 2011. I

YOUR FAVOURITE COURSE AT TRENT?

Faculty Perspective: Jennine Hurl-Eamon

Staff Perspective: Julie Crook

Associate Professor, History, Trent University in Oshawa

Capital Project Planner, Physical Resources

The History of Crime in England

Introduction to Visual Studies

Though I have taught versions of The History of Crime in England, 1500-1900 almost every year since 2001 – more frequently than any other course in my repertoire – it has yet to feel stale for me, thanks to the continual engagement of each new group of students. The course traces the evolution of criminal justice in England from private policing and public punishment to its more modern form. It looks at a whole host of crimes, from piracy to defamation, and considers all aspects of the administration of justice: even Sherlock Holmes.

I think many students register in the course for witchcraft and Jack the Ripper.

These comprise only a small component of the topics we study. When they leave, I hope their eyes have been opened to the fact that the field encompasses much more. Crime can shed light on the past in unexpected ways. The non-literate poor could not write their own stories; their entanglements with the law are one of the few ways to hear the echoes of their voices. Considering dreams and ghostly revelations as forensic evidence can help us to perceive lie detector and DNA tests with new eyes. Our governments’ need to get “tough on crime” sounds a little different after hearing the same from a nineteenth-century commentator advocating the dragging of adulterous women along the bottom of the Thames.

The History of Crime continues to be my most positive pedagogical experience because it is – simply put – fun. Week after week, whether we laugh at a drunken parson flashing neighbourhood women, or grimace at ears being nailed to the pillory, I invariably enjoy reading and discussing this material. It never seems to grow stale. I have a feeling that it never will.

My favourite course is Cultural Studies 211, Introduction to Visual Studies. My love of art, drawing and painting in particular, is what attracted me to this course. It was a summer course, two evenings a week from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., which made for a long day, as I work full time.

Maralynn Cherry was my course instructor and she had a way of inspiring me and encouraging me to take my art to a higher level. She also encouraged me to take other Cultural Studies courses. I enjoyed the homework so much that it never felt like homework at all.

Our assignments were not just drawing what was put in front of us; they were journeys that pushed us to explore our creative side. Our weekly lectures consisted of examples of Modern and Post modern artists’ works that pertained to the weekly subject. We were introduced to different types of media, from watercolour to wax, and were invited to explore and experiment with them.

My favourite assignment was to create a self portrait that reflects you, or what you feel represents you. This assignment gave me the opportunity to really look at myself and decide how I would represent who I am through the media of drawing.

During this course, I also went on an amazing field trip to the Art Gallery of Ontario, where we saw the Andy Warhol exhibit, as well as a visit to a co-op of local artists on Queen Street. I continue to take Cultural Studies courses that further my interest in Art. 5

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Finding the Perfect Fit hen asked about her reasons for choosing Trent University, first-year student Catherine Monaghan replies without hesitation, “I chose Trent because I had this unshakable feeling that I would be happy here.”

An environmentalist at heart, the Environmental & Resource Science and Biology major recalls how Trent’s breathtaking natural environment and innovative academic programming also convinced her she was making the right choice.

“I’m the kind of person who needs adventure and needs to be outside. I knew I wouldn’t be happy in a school surrounded by the city, where there would be little opportunity for local fieldwork,” the Oshawa native says. “Also, I was attracted to the renowned ERS program, the state-of-the-art facilities and the unique study abroad programs. Trent offered so much to enhance my studies I simply felt that there was no other adequate choice.

Trent just made sense.”

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“I chose Trent because I had this unshakable feeling that I would be happy here.”

Hard Work Pays Off As a high-achieving high school student with an entering average of more than 90 per cent, Ms. Monaghan discovered another great reason to choose Trent – free tuition.

“The Free Tuition Scholarship meant that I was being rewarded for my hard efforts in high school” she says.

Coming to a school that recognizes hard work and cares for the individual student was key for Ms. Monaghan. “I feel it’s important for Trent to offer such scholarships because it lets students know that they are wanted,” she says, adding, “Trent is a school with great research opportunities and international connections, and outstanding students can access these opportunities only easier through receiving scholarships.”

The Opportunity to Make a Difference With the first semester of her first-year now behind her, Ms. Monaghan is more pleased than ever with her decision to come to Trent.

“I am really enjoying my classes,” she says. “I like that my professors are experts in their field and are keeping up with current issues in their subjects. The introductory course to my planned program, Environmental and Resource Science, ERSC 1000 is one of my favourite classes. There are multiple lecturers who come in to give invaluable information about their fields.”

Looking ahead, Ms. Monaghan hopes to apply her passion for the environment and the knowledge she gains at Trent to future study with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Parks Canada in national and provincial park areas.

“As much as I love exploring the wilderness, I know that simply “saving the trees and the bunny rabbits” (as my ERS prof would say!) is really not the issue. The study of the environment is about finding a way for people to live their everyday lives in a sustainable manner, ensuring that the world will be a livable place for future generations,” she says. “I feel that every bit of effort I can put into finding solutions can indeed make a difference.” I

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Training for the Mind and Body thletics and education go hand in hand for Mark Basterfield, a first-year master’s student in the Environmental & Life Sciences graduate program at Trent, Academic All Canadian and Canadian rowing champion. “I can’t imagine one without the other, but at the same time they are separate parts of me,” he explains. “It’s like going to school while having a part-time job; I go to school while being a competitive athlete.”

Mr. Basterfield started rowing as a grade ten student at Adam Scott Collegiate and Vocational Institute in Peterborough. “Carol Love, former Canadian Olympian and rowing coach, told my mother I should be rowing,” he explains. “My mother thought that was really something, coming from an Olympian, and encouraged me to pursue it.” Mr. Basterfield has been rowing competitively ever since, winning races for Trent as a member of the Heavy Men’s Pair, Four and Eight.

Last November, Mr. Basterfield won his second Canadian Heavy Men’s Pair title with Brent Holmes.

“Brent and I have been rowing together since I started,” Mr. Basterfield says. “Knowing Brent was at Trent and the lure of getting to race with him again was definitely a draw when I made my decision to come here.” They’ve actually only had the chance to race together twice, but won both events. Their first win at Canadians saw them competing

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against pairs comprised of national team athletes.

Life Skills and Determination “I love the adrenalin of racing and being part of a team,” Mr. Basterfield says about rowing. “I like building towards a strong team. And then there are the early mornings and the level of commitment required; I think I have a love-hate relationship with those aspects,” he adds with a smile.

“I’ve developed many life skills because of the dedication required for rowing.”

Being committed to a sport like rowing has definitely influenced Mr. Basterfield’s approach as a graduate student. “I’ve developed many life skills because of the dedication required for rowing. When I decide I’m going to do something, I do it,” he says.

Athletics also offer a welcome outlet to unwind and relax while pursuing a challenging degree in the Environmental & Life Sciences program. “It’s important to have more than one focus while in school,” he says, adding that

COURSE

A Taste of Ancient History Archaeology of Graeco-Roman Food Ancient History & Classics AHCL 4002H Professor: Dr. Jennifer P. Moore “Greeks and Romans defined themselves through food in many ways,” says Dr. Jennifer Moore, a professor in the Ancient History & Classics Department at Trent.

“Food was a means of cultural identity and social stratification, and we have many pieces of evidence that illustrate this. In order to understand these civilizations better it’s important to study as much of the evidence as possible.”

With the goal of applying her research interests around the analysis of ancient pottery to the classroom, Professor Moore developed a new course entitled Archaeology of Graeco-Roman Food. Offered for the first time in 2010, the course is part of a fourth-year series of courses in her department that centre on connecting students with the various

campus recreational sports provide a break from his graduate research, a study of the ecology of caribou.

“Getting to participate in intramural sports may be what I like most about Trent,” he says.

Accomplishments and Memories Trent’s study abroad program is another offering he’s pleased to have taken advantage of during his time as an undergraduate student at the University. In his fourth year, Mr. Basterfield studied at the University of KwaZulu Natal in South Africa. “I’ve had a serious interest in large mammals since I was a kid, and Africa is the place to be if you want to study them,” he says. While there, he rowed with the Men’s Eight.

Continuing to train during the off season, Mr. Basterfield can’t envision a future without rowing.

He says he may consider trying out for the national team after completing his Master’s degree, but can also happily say he’s very satisfied with the athletic accomplishments gleaned while at Trent.

“Winning the pairs title was amazing” he says. “But, the biggest accomplishment this year was getting to be part of the Men’s team. Our team was phenomenal.” The Trent Men’s Four had an undefeated season, and the Eight won Head of Trent, a title Trent hasn’t held in over 20 years. “We turned a lot of heads this year. It’s the best team I’ve ever been on” I

research interests of facilitating faculty members.

“Being able to teach a course that specifically pertains to your research makes the process more concrete for students.

They know there is an end product,” she explains about the innovative approach to course development. “My students will review manuscripts for publication and begin to understand the difference between writing essays and writing articles. It offers a greater appreciation for the academic process.”

Developing a course around one’s research interests

World-Renowned Journal Comes to Canada for First Time and Lands at Trent Dr. Davide Panagia

Theory & Event’s northern move. “It gives a voice to a particular set of theoretical perspectives that don’t always have a voice in the discipline of political theory.”

New Co-Editor of Theory & Event

“A major journal like this will help to showcase what else is happening at Trent. It will showcase Trent as a leading interdisciplinary institution. It will spotlight Traill as a graduate college. And it will attract

“Sometimes the stars align,” says Dr. Davide Panagia, professor of Cultural Studies at Trent, about the circumstances that resulted in Trent University becoming the first Canadian home to the world’s premier journal of cultural and political theory.

As of January 1, 2010, the Principal’s Lodge at Trent’s Catharine Parr Traill College became the new Canadian headquarters for Theory & Event, an internationally-renowned electronic academic journal. It is the first time the prestigious journal has been housed outside of the United States.

“This journal matters a lot to me because of the space and voice it gives to people,” says Professor Panagia who, as the newly appointed co-editor of the journal, was instrumental in

TAKING THE NEXT STEP:

GRAD STUDIES

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a certain level of graduate student… “

Canada Research Chair Complement The Journal’s move to Trent coincides with the renewal of Prof. Panagia’s position of Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Cultural Studies. His role as co-editor directly feeds into the plans he wants to implement as CRC at Trent.

“As a CRC, you are expected to give focus to graduate professional development. I wanted to up the ante,” Prof. Panagia says in regards to bringing Theory & Event to Trent as a benefit and learning opportunity for his students, explaining how his co-editorship will allow him to build upon professional development workshops he has continued on page 8

TRENT

Trent Launches Two New Graduate Programs eginning in the fall of 2010, Trent students will have two new graduate programs to stimulate their intellectual curiosities – an M.A./M.Sc. in Psychology and an M.A. in Sustainability Studies.

“It’s like we’re taking the best of Trent and moving it forward,” says Dr. Asaf Zohar, professor and director of the Business Administration program and a key player in the development of the new Master of Arts in Sustainability Studies. “I think of these new programs as a natural extension of the spirit of growth at Trent, at a time when our community is moving boldly and proactively into the future. These are also the kinds of programs that develop naturally from the heart when you engage in a subject matter that makes a difference.”

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Psychology M.Sc. / M.A. With leading researchers in the field, and one of the largest departments on campus, this new program offers students the chance to pursue a Master of Arts or Master of Science in developmental psychology, cognitive neuroscience and perception, or the burgeoning field of health psychology.

“This new offering is not your typical area of study in psychology,” says psychology professor Dr. Terry Humphreys. Health psychology involves the interactive elements of mind, body and behaviour within a social and cultural context, and how they influence our health, disease and well-being.

Hugo Lehmann’s work, for instance, in neurobiology, brain, memory and emotion is a good example of this kind of interdisciplinarity, says Prof.

Humphreys. “The whole field is proving quite topical and very much of interest to students.”

Housed in Trent’s brand new Health Sciences Centre, which is currently under construction, the program’s facilities will include a new electrophysiology laboratory for sleep and brain-mapping studies and a Canadian Council on Animal Care-approved animal research facility.

Sustainability Studies M.A. Since introducing one of Canada’s first environmental programs in 1974 and attracting leading researchers in the field ever since, Trent is now poised to launch a Master of Arts in Sustainability Studies.

Applications for the Psychology M.Sc./ M.A. and Sustainability Studies M.A. program are currently being accepted.

The first group of students will begin in September 2010. For more information visit www.trentu.ca/graduatestudies

also presents students with the opportunity to study noteworthy and current issues. “It makes for up-to-the-minute course material,” Prof. Moore says.

“What are the issues being debated right now in a particular field, and how can we solve them?”

“Being able to teach a course that specifically pertains to your research makes the process more concrete for students.”

Working with Antiquities In the class, students are studying actual antiquities, excavated during Prof. Moore’s own research in Tunisia and exported with the permission of the Ministry of Culture of Tunisia. The opportunity to work with antiquities is a draw of the course, which appeals to students with an interest and understanding of Greek and Roman history and archaeology.

“We have vessels that cover a wide range of uses with respect to food; pottery that was used for cooking, serving, storage, and the transportation of food. A piece of pottery can inform us about social, cultural, political, economic and gender issues as well as dietary habits,”

Prof. Moore explains. “A common misconception is that pottery is only useful for providing dates; however, pottery is more present in ancient Mediterranean sites than any other artefact and offers a lot of evidence.”

Prof. Moore explains that Greek and Roman poetry, painted vases, and decorative mosaics reveal an obsession with food, since steady access to food was an indication of social, cultural and economical status.

While Prof. Moore offers an expert insight into ancient pottery, students of the course will also study other evidence, such as dietary habits (via remains of bones, seeds and human skeletons), the context in which the food is found, and ancient agricultural manuals.

This program is born out of years of collaboration, dialogue and educational synergies between faculty in the Environmental Studies and Business Administration departments, and will be highly collaborative in nature.

“We’re excited to help prepare students for leadership roles as reflective practitioners in environmental protection,

“…we’re taking the best of Trent and moving it forward.” resource conservation and positive social change,” says Prof. Zohar, acting chair of the new program. “How we address the ultimate challenge of a sustainable future is the question. We aim to respond to this challenge through a systemic analysis of human activity in terms of social, economic and environmental impacts; the triple bottom line.”

In its structure, this program is unique in North America; with numbers borne of this success. “We’ve already had an overwhelming response” says Prof.

Zohar, with over 100 applicants applying for ten positions to date. “We think of the launch of this program, and the response as a reaffirmation of our community’s commitment to sustainability.” I

knew they were consuming fakes or thought they were enjoying the real thing.”

“I want to peel away the multiple ways in which history can be interpreted. ”

Feeding Minds with Working Projects Prof. Moore’s current research project will also appear as a unit of study in the course. Examining ideas of globalization and fakes in the market place, Prof. Moore will challenge students to think about the world today and their perceptions of the ancient world by studying a type of Roman wine produced in the first century BCE that was widely imitated and then exported as far as Britain and India. “We’ll ask questions about why it was imitated and so widely exported and whether people

Presenting students with specific examples in the ancient world and asking them to interpret them is Prof.

Moore’s educational approach. “I want to peel away the multiple ways in which history can be interpreted,” she says. “There is a tendency to think about right answers versus wrong answers, but we are always making educated guesses in this field and I want them to think about how we come to conclusions. I want them to think critically.” I 7

continued from page 7 created for graduate students. “This will allow them to have access to important information and experience as they move on in their academic careers.”

Shining a Light on Trent According to Prof. Panagia, the University as a whole also stands to gain much benefit from housing the esteemed journal. With connections to the Theory, Cultural and Politics M.A. program and the Cultural Studies Ph.D. program, the journal will help to shine a light on Trent’s innovative graduate programs and could serve as a means of attracting leading graduate scholars from across the country and around the world.

“This journal is something that Trent can be proud of,” says Prof. Panagia, adding, “A major journal like this will help to showcase what else is happening at Trent. It will showcase Trent as a leading interdisciplinary institution. It will spotlight Traill as a graduate college. And it will attract a certain level of graduate student – students who don’t just want to pursue graduate studies, but students who want to pursue graduate work at an institution where a prestigious and well-respected journal is published.”

When speaking of Theory & Event, Prof. Panagia’s sense of admiration and respect for the journal is clear.

As a graduate student at Johns Hopkins University, his first published work appeared in the Journal. Continuing to publish with the journal over the years, Prof. Panagia was voted onto the editorial board in 2006 and in February 2009 he was approached to become the new co-editor.

“For me, I consider this an important career achievement,” he says.

The first issue of Theory & Event to be published under Prof. Panagia’s leadership will be available on-line in Spring 2010. To learn more about the journal, visit http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/theory_&_event/ I

Laying a National Crime to Rest

y the end of the 18th Century, London England had a million people, poor and rich living cheek by jowl. Residents were ollowing his book on the preoccupied with fear of riots and Canadian Government and disease. From his study of 18th Indian residential schools, century texts, history professor Canadian Studies professor Dr. Kevin Siena has learned John Milloy is on to another that people of the meaningful, though grim task: time saw disease accounting for children who died A glimpse into the latest findings as tied to class and during the residential school regime. at Trent morality. Authors Pending support from saw the bodies of the government, First Nations and churches, Dr. Milloy poor as biologically different from along with civil servants, archivists and archeologists there own. At this time when race and will follow a 600-metre long paper trail and travel gender were being written on the thousands of miles of Canadian soil to find out who body, ideas of social and economic went missing, who died, and where are they buried. class are also being written on to the “Survivors want to know just how deadly residential body, says Dr. Siena. schools were, and where relatives and community members are buried. It’s an important part of the Kitschy Commemoration healing process,” says Dr. Milloy, who was recently hat is it about the story of Hannah Duston, a appointed director of Research, Historical Records and pre-Revolution New England woman celebrated Report Preparation with the Truth and Reconciliation for violently killing ten Native captors before the Commision of Canada. revolution that had Jim Beam re-making her likeness

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Energy’s Backyard Bugaboo onvincing Canadians to save energy and embrace renewables may take more than financial incentives, says Environmental Resource Studies professor Dr. Stephen Hill. “Getting people to conserve energy can be like getting kids to sit nicely at the dinner table; it can be done, but don’t expect it to be easy.” Proponents should strive to co-develop projects with energy end users and local stakeholders. “The aim of green energy innovation should involve finding elegant technical solutions that also recognize the uniqueness of place, politics and culture.”

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Intelligence and Intelligence Alike Trent in Oshawa Professor’s New Book Gains National Attention In newspapers across the country, Trent University history professor Dr. Robert Wright is gleaning a lot of attention for his recently released book Our Man in Tehran: Ken Taylor, the CIA and the Iran Hostage Crisis.

With such national headlines as “Trent Professor Blows Open Spy Secret,” “Shocking Spy Revelations” and “Hero Canadian Diplomat a CIA Spy,” no one was more surprised to see such national media attention than Professor Wright himself.

“This book was never intended as an exposé,” says the Trent University in Oshawa professor. “This is a history book.”

The “big secret” that Canadian Ambassador Ken Taylor was made a CIA agent in Tehran as a result of the seizure of the US Embassy in 1979 was not really a secret at all, says Prof. Wright. “It was kept quiet. Filmmakers and journalists more intrepid than I were onto it. Any enterprising graduate student could have picked up on this,” he adds modestly.

According to Prof. Wright, the reason he was able to access a lot of the previously unearthed information was simply that he went looking for it. It was also the right time – 30 years after the fact. “For historians, the closer to the present you get, the worse the sources are,” says Prof. Wright. “I was the first to see many newly-opened cable documents from communications between the Ottawa and Tehran embassies.”

“I was the first to see many newly-opened cable documents from communications between the Ottawa and Tehran embassies.”

In Our Man in Tehran, Prof. Wright details the activities of Ken Taylor during his time in Tehran when 63 Americans were being held hostage by students in the US Embassy. Six American ambassadors were hidden by Taylor and an immigration counsellor in their residences. These were known as “The Houseguests.”

As the de facto CIA station chief, Taylor sent intelligence cables to the US Ambassador via the Canadian External Affairs Office in Ottawa. This was instrumental in aiding the Americans’ rescue plans in a Pentagon operation called Eagle Claw. After 30 months, and having expedited the Houseguests to safety, Taylor and his team closed the Canadian embassy and left the premises. The 63 hostages were released after a total of 444 days.

Canadian diplomatic history in the 1970s is the primary area of interest in Prof. Wright’s research. His last book, the national bestseller Three Nights in Havana, which provides commentary around a visit Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau paid to Cuban President Fidel Castro in 1976, won the 2008 Canadian Author’s Association Lela Common Award for Canadian History. I 8

Class and Contagion

into whisky bottles over 200 years later?

According to English professor Sara Humphreys “what’s at work in the re-emergence of stories like Duston’s, and Chingachgook’s in The Last of the Mohicans, is the continuation of colonization. With the rise of the American Indian Movement in the 1970s, these long-ago stories re-surfaced, unconsciously translating the idea that white Americans are culturally superior.” For more on Dr. Humphrey’s work, see her blog: expendablecitizen.wordpress.com

In the Bug-eye of the Beholder here may be nothing on earth more annoying than the whine of a mosquito coming in for a feed. Using traps with different colours and smells, biologist Dr. Jim Sutcliffe has been looking into what attracts blackflies, gnats and mosquitoes, and what makes them bite.

The findings: organic acids produced in the skin and breath mean that some people really do attract more bugs. “The whole process really is quite complex, though,” he says. “While bugs may find one person quite attractive to swarm around, they may find others more bite-able.”

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