Understanding Change - Critical Perspectives on 'Why Did We Choose to Industrialize?'
On November 28, MUN professor Robert Sweeny will be awarded the Governor General's History Award for Scholarly Research at Rideau Hall in Ottawa. This is an exceptional and somewhat surprising honour for an historian and public intellectual best known for his frequently iconoclastic and always controversial analyses. To mark the occasion, leading researchers from across the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences will critically assess the relevance for their own discipline of the new historical approach at the heart of Sweeny's prize-winning book.
In May, when Sweeny received the Sir John A Macdonald Prize from the Canadian Historical Association, the jury wrote:
For historians who think seriously about what we do and how we do what we do, Why Did We Choose to Industrialize? is a model of intellectual engagement, one that offers valuable reflections on the meaning of Canadian history and how it should be pursued from this point forward.
Now that is all very nice, but does Sweeny's theory and method actually help us to understand change? Come join the debate, as scholars from gender studies, geography, literature, philosophy and sociology explore its relevance to their differing disciplines. Brief and hopefully pointed remarks from each will set the stage for an open discussion on the ethics and significance of research in the humanities and social sciences.
The discussion will take place on Thursday, Nov 24, 7-9 PM, PE 2001. A reception is to follow.