Writing the History of a Non-Event, or How I Studied the Mass Disappearances of 1965-66 in Indonesia
Disappearances are meant to be non-events. Many thousands of political prisoners in Indonesia in 1965-66 were secretly executed. Those responsible destroyed the evidence, claimed the event never happened, and enforced a silence upon it. How can historians study this kind of non-event? How should they? The approach I adopted in my book Buried Histories: The […]
Community and Identity in Dragon Boat: A Q&A with UBC History alum Dominic Lai
“Dragon boating welcomes anyone into the boat, and this exhibit does the same- it invites the visitor in to explore and build their own story.” On February 12th, 2021, Paddles Up! The Canadian International Dragon Boat Festival Exhibit opened at the BC Sports Hall of Fame & Museum. Behind the development of this exhibit was […]
UBC History Careers Night
This year’s UBC History Careers Night panel features a panel of alumni: Amber McLennan (Plus Marketing Manager, Thinkific), Kristen Walters (Biologist & Program Coordinator, Raincoast Conservation Foundation), Stevie Wilson (Copy and Content Direction), and Brandon Yan (Executive Director). Join us online at 6:00 pm PST on February 2nd and be sure to bring any questions […]
Questions of Inclusion and Belonging: A Q&A with Ben Bryce
Benjamin Bryce is an assistant professor of history at the University of British Columbia. Get to know him (and his research) in our new Q&A! Tell me about your research. What are you currently working on? One thing I am working on right now is a project about immigration restriction in Argentina at the turn of […]
Understanding the ubiquity and multiplicity of photography in the context of Japan: A Q&A with Kelly McCormick
Prof. Kelly McCormick joined the UBC History Faculty in January 2020. Get to know her and her research through our new Q&A! Tell me about your research. How do you use photography to study race, class, and gender in modern Japan? I see photography as one of the most expansive forms of historical evidence. What I mean by […]
Museum of Vancouver and the Chinese Canadian Museum exhibit symbolizes the Chinese-Canadian struggle for a “seat at the table”
Professor Henry Yu remembers speaking with his writing professor in his office decades ago as an undergraduate student at the University of British Columbia. The professor made an offhand comment that Yu “writes well for an Asian.” When asked today what inspired a new exhibit in Vancouver’s Chinatown that challenges the notion that Chinese-Canadians don’t […]
Online Course Preparation Q&A
“Online teaching really means re-thinking teaching from the ground up. Every aspect of a traditional course is open for re-imagining.” With the start of term on September 8th, the UBC History Department will be fully online for the very first time. To prepare the department for this challenge, three graduate students have been working together […]
Q&A with María Muñoz
“My research and teaching aim to excavate and understand the complexities of human systems, cultures and hierarchies.” María Muñoz is an associate professor of history at Susquehanna University, and will be joining the UBC History Department for one year. I talked with her about her historical interests, the several exciting courses she’ll be teaching at […]
HIST 440: History of Health in the Modern West- a Q&A with Benjamin Bryce
“[H]istorical examples give us food for thought about our current experience with COVID-19, and how many of the same factors are at play.” Dr. Benjamin Bryce is joining the UBC History Department after teaching for six years at the University of Northern British Columbia. He completed his PhD at York University in 2013, and he […]
Q&A with UBC History PhD graduate Alexey Golubev
“A degree will … open new career prospects and immerse you in a vibrant academic environment. You will connect with interesting people and will learn things that you would have never learned otherwise.” Alexey Golubev is a scholar of Russian history, with a focus on social, cultural, and transnational history. After teaching at Petrozavodsk University for […]