Category Archives: Public Lecture Series

 

An Architect’s View of Nova Scotian History: Part II (November 15th)

By | | Past Lectures, Public Lecture Series, RNSHS Public Lectures
Comments Off on An Architect’s View of Nova Scotian History: Part II (November 15th)

Wednesday, November 15th, 2023, 7:00 pm (Atlantic), Halifax Public Library, or online via Zoom 

Syd Dumaresq: Syd is a fourth generation Architect with a keen interest in history and is delighted to be practicing Architecture with his son, Dean. Syd and Sandy, his wife and business partner, live in Chester and are the proud parents of five children and nine grandchildren. Syd’s other passions are community, the environment, and sailing. He is Chair of the Friends of Nature Conservation Society, sits on the Chester Village Planning Advisory Committee, and is secretary to the board of the Mahone Islands Conservation Association (MICA).

Abstract: Syd Dumaresq will lead us through a lively discussion of the connections between our colorful history, our wonderful Architectural heritage, and the people and stories behind the scenes with particular emphasis on the Architects.

An Architect’s View of Nova Scotian History (October 18th)

By | | Past Lectures, Public Lecture Series, RNSHS Public Lectures
Comments Off on An Architect’s View of Nova Scotian History (October 18th)

Wednesday, October 18th, 2023, 7:00 pm (Atlantic), Saint Mary’s University (Sobey Building room 255) or online via Zoom at this link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86447004134?pwd=BShqfUOpZxhyR9Xskie36fiiCCiMSv.1

Syd Dumaresq: Syd is a fourth generation Architect with a keen interest in history and is delighted to be practicing Architecture with his son, Dean. Syd and Sandy, his wife and business partner, live in Chester and are the proud parents of five children and nine grandchildren. Syd’s other passions are community, the environment, and sailing. He is Chair of the Friends of Nature Conservation Society, sits on the Chester Village Planning Advisory Committee, and is secretary to the board of the Mahone Islands Conservation Association (MICA).

Abstract: Syd Dumaresq will lead us through a lively discussion of the connections between our colorful history, our wonderful Architectural heritage, and the people and stories behind the scenes with particular emphasis on the Architects.

Cracking the Nazi Code: The Untold Story of Canada’s Greatest Spy

By | | Past Lectures, Public Lecture Series, RNSHS Public Lectures
Comments Off on Cracking the Nazi Code: The Untold Story of Canada’s Greatest Spy

Wednesday, September 27th, 2023, 7:00 pm (Atlantic), Saint Mary’s University (Sobey Building room 255) or online via Zoom at the following link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84249054435?pwd=P6wyI7RFnTh1NfaU1Ki4vFhw9trawF.1  

 

Jason Bell: PhD, professor of philosophy at the University of New Brunswick

Abstract: In public life, Dr. Winthrop Bell of Halifax and Toronto was a Harvard philosophy professor and wealthy businessman. As MI6 secret agent A12, he evaded gunfire and shook off pursuers to break open the emerging Nazi conspiracy in 1919 Berlin. His reports, the first warning of the Nazi plot for WWII, went directly to the man known as C, the mysterious founder of MI6, and to prime ministers. But a powerful fascist politician quietly worked to suppress his alerts. Nevertheless, his intelligence sabotaged the Nazis in ways only now revealed. Bell became a spy once again in the face of WWII. In 1939, he was the first to crack Hitler’s deadliest secret code: the Holocaust. At that time, the führer was a popular politician who said he wanted peace. Could anyone believe Bell’s shocking warning? Fighting an epic intelligence war from Ukraine, Russia and Poland to France, Germany, Canada and Washington, DC, A12 was the real-life 007, waging a single-handed fight against madmen bent on destroying the world. Without Bell’s astounding courage, the Nazis could have won the war.

 

Click here for a bio of Jason Bell

2023 Annual General Meeting

By | | Public Lecture Series, RNSHS News
Comments Off on 2023 Annual General Meeting

The Society’s AGM is always held in conjunction with the May lecture meeting, and was announced accordingly in April. There are time constraints at the Halifax Central Library, however, and so in order to accommodate the AGM and its agenda properly, we have postponed it to Wednesday 24 May 2023 at 7:00 p.m. online via Zoom. Agenda and reports are now posted to the website. We look forward to sharing the year’s activities with you then and looking ahead to 2023-24.

 

“Marking” Identity and Respectability: Halifax’s African School and Scholars of the Needle

By | | Past Lectures, Public Lecture Series, RNSHS Public Lectures
Comments Off on “Marking” Identity and Respectability: Halifax’s African School and Scholars of the Needle

Wednesday, May 17, 2023, 7:00 pm (Atlantic), Halifax Central Library (Lindsay Children’s Room) or click here to join online via Zoom 

 

Lisa Bower: Assistant Curator and Registrar (Cultural History), Nova Scotia Museum

Abstract: Embroidered pictures composed of text and images known as “samplers” were commonly produced by nineteenth-century white settler schoolgirls across Nova Scotia. A remarkable example made in 1845, by a student at Halifax’s African School, proves the practice was also a part of the Black schoolgirl experience. Samplers changed over time and served multiple purposes. Needlework instruction and production became a paradoxical experience for its students, particularly for young Black Haligonians, simultaneously representing oppression and empowerment.  

Click here for a bio of Lisa Bower

Top of the Table Living Archives: Interrupting the Erasure of Black Being

By | | Past Lectures, Public Lecture Series, RNSHS Public Lectures
Comments Off on Top of the Table Living Archives: Interrupting the Erasure of Black Being

Wednesday, April 19, 2023, 7:00 pm (Atlantic), Halifax Central Library (Lindsay Children’s Room) and online via Zoom 

 

Dr. Lynn Jones   

Abstract: This title unpacks the seemingly unorthodox and unfamiliar location of what we understand to be an archive – in this case – a dining room table. Starting from this location, the evolving archive documents a compilation of Black life gathered from past and present situations locally, nationally, and globally. This is an extraordinary attempt to ensure the invincibility of this distinct people’s experience. Lynn donated over 50 years of materials she personally collected on the history and experiences of Black People in her family, her community and locally, nationally and internationally which is now housed at St. Mary’s University and utilized by scholars, students and community from near and far. Today, she will bring to light, her impetus leading to the creation of the “Lynn Jones African Canadian and Diaspora Heritage Collection.”

Click here for a bio of Lynn Jones

“He Who Is Reluctant to Recognize Me Opposes Me”: Self-Determination, Recognition, and Revolution Between the Black United Front and the Canadian State

By | | Past Lectures, Public Lecture Series, RNSHS Public Lectures
Comments Off on “He Who Is Reluctant to Recognize Me Opposes Me”: Self-Determination, Recognition, and Revolution Between the Black United Front and the Canadian State

Wednesday, March 15, 2023, 7:00 pm (Atlantic), Halifax Central Library (Lindsay Children’s Room) or online via Zoom 

Evan Jennex: Master’s Student, Dalhousie University  

Abstract: On November 30th, 1968, over 400 Black Nova Scotians met at a North-End Halifax library to discuss the creation of a self-deterministic, activist organization called the Black United Front (BUF). Between 1969-1996 the Black United Front held Black cultural events, promoted Black businesses, and highlighted racial barriers present in Nova Scotia. This research analyzes the actions of BUF, focalizing on the relationships between BUF and State institutions that attempted to shift the organization’s direction and activism. 

Click here for a bio of Evan Jennex

The Marshall Indecision

By | | Past Lectures, Public Lecture Series, RNSHS Public Lectures
Comments Off on The Marshall Indecision

Wednesday, February 15, 2023, 7:00 pm (Atlantic), Halifax Central Library (Lindsay Children’s Room) and online via Zoom  

 

Brady Paul: Indigenous Student Advisor, Master’s Student, Saint Mary’s University 

Abstract: The colonial bias that motivated aggressive expansion and control in Canada is still prevalent today. The Marshall decision (1999) is a prime example of how the Canadian Federal and Provincial governments still view Indigenous people as “inferior”.

Indigenous sovereignty has been infringed upon since contact with Europeans. The complete disregard for Indigenous Nationhood is not only a historical issue, but a contemporary one. Indigenous autonomy over everyday life must be recognized to truly begin the journey of reconciliation, but it begins with upholding the fundamental principles of the Peace and Friendship treaties.

Click here for a bio of Brady Paul 

Recording via YouTube coming soon!

A Park in the City: Debating the Public Gardens

By | | Past Lectures, Public Lecture Series
Comments Off on A Park in the City: Debating the Public Gardens

Wednesday, January 18, 2023, 7:00 pm (Atlantic), Halifax Central Library (Lindsay Children’s Room) and online via Zoom 

 

Peter L. Twohig: Saint Mary’s University 

Abstract: Based on his recently published illustrated history, this lecture will offer an overview of the history of the Public Gardens, from its origins in the 1830s to the present. The Public Gardens is one of the finest examples of a Victorian garden in North America but despite its timeless qualities, there have been many debates about its design, how it is used, and the neighbourhoods that surround it. This lecture will pay particular attention to these debates. 

Click here for a bio of Peter L. Twohig

Recording via YouTube coming soon!

“The Students are getting very restless”: Student Power at the Provincial Normal School, 1869 – 1879

By | | Past Lectures, Public Lecture Series, RNSHS Public Lectures
Comments Off on “The Students are getting very restless”: Student Power at the Provincial Normal School, 1869 – 1879

Wednesday, December 14, 2022, 7:00 pm (Atlantic), Halifax Central Library (Lindsay Children’s Room) and via Zoom. 

John Grant: Professor (retired), St. Francis Xavier University

Abstract: In 1869, Alexander Forrester, the founding principal of the Provincial Normal School, Truro, NS, died in office. The provincial government replaced him with a colleague who had taught at the school since 1855. Within two months, however, he was removed from office and another was appointed. In 1879, two professors at the school were replaced. In both cases it was student voice and student action that precipitated change. This paper examines the two cases and considers the interwoven roles of politics in the confederation era and the politics of education and religion in the satisfaction of student demands.

Click here for a bio of John Grant

Recording via YouTube coming soon!