Daily News

Posted on March 18: Conference helps refugee women reclaim their identity

After learning the horrific story of one of her students on a CBC documentary about "Victims of Torture", something became acutely clear to Alison Miculan, sessional lecturer in the departments of philosophy and health studies. "As we proceed through our busy lives, we rarely take account of the circumstances of those around us," she says. Her hope is a three-day conference beginning tomorrow on refugee women's lives and identity will open eyes to the experiences of refugees, who may be students, teachers, neighbours or friends. Canada, she says, admits more refugees per capita than any other country in the world three quarters of whom are women and children. "Many of these people have suffered persecution, rape, torture, physical and mental intimidation." Hosted by McMaster's Women's Studies Program and the Settlement and Integration Services Organization, the conference "Saying "I" Is Full of Consequences: Refugee Women Reclaim Their Identity", will focus on identity, research, education and policy. The conference takes place March 19-21 in the Michael G. DeGroote School of Business. The initiator and academic organisor of the conference, Maroussia Ahmed, spent a year researching and preparing for this event. Ahmed is an associate professor of French and women's studies at McMaster. Other key organizers include Vera Chouinard, acting director of Women's Studies; Madina Wasuge, director of programs at SISO; Patricia Young, administrative co-ordinator, Office of Interdisciplinary Studies; Georgina Al-Hallis, McMaster graduate; Claudia Montan, program co-ordinator, SISO; and Miculan, administrative co-ordinator of the conference. The timing of the event could not be better, Miculan says. "In the current climate of international instability, Canada's refugee population is bound to increase," she says. "We need to be thoughtful and responsible in our policy and decision making with respect to refugees. We hope that this conference will give a listenership to the voices that need and deserve to be heard."

Posted on March 18: McMaster community celebrates diverse campus culture

Students and employees from McMaster residences are launching a pledge and button campaign in a bid to honour the diverse nature of the McMaster community. The launch of the Mac in 3D - Diversify, Don't Discriminate campaign takes place Tuesday, March 18 at 12 p.m. in the McMaster University Student Centre Marketplace. There will be speeches by McMaster President Peter George and Noah Gano, first-year residence student and committee member, followed by a facilitated roundtable discussion. Students and employees from the Residence Life Diversity Committee, formed in the fall, have joined together to promote diversity with the launch of the pledge campaign and a discussion on diversity. The committee was formed to take a proactive and educational approach to raising awareness. "The idea of the diversity pledge and button is that people will wear the button and send a message that we're a diverse campus and we celebrate it," said Michele Corbeil, residence manager-educational programs, housing & conference services. "We also want to discuss how our diversity can contribute to peace." Participants will take part in roundtable discussions following the launch of the pledge and button campaign in a process called Conversation Cafi. The idea started on the west coast following the events of Sept. 11. Conversation Cafis are lively, hosted, drop-in conversations among diverse people where everyone can share thoughts and actions. Traditionally, Conversation Cafis are held in public cafis.

Posted on March 17: Visiting Hooker professor sheds new light on Salem

Mary Beth Norton, a Hooker Distinguished visiting professor from Cornell University, will present two on-campus public lectures this week. Sponsored by the Departments of History and Women's Studies, the first is a public lecture entitled "Sex, Religion and Violence in Early America; or a 17th-Century Minage-`-Trois and its Consequences" and will be presented Monday, March 17 at 3:30 p.m. in Council Chambers (Gilmour Hall, Room 111). Using evidence from a series of linked court cases, Norton will take a revealing look at life in a 17th century Maryland colony consisting of mostly Protestant Settlers but led by Catholic rulers. Norton's second presentation will be as the keynote speaker at the Department of History's Annual Graduate Colloquium on Tuesday, March 18 from 1:30 5:30 p.m., in Council Chambers. The topic of this presentation will be "Rethinking Salem Witchcraft". Norton will discuss the groundbreaking new perspective she has taken in studying the events of 1692. Norton's new book, In The Devil's Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692, has been well received in both the academic press and popular media, and was recently chosen as a finalist for the LA Times History Book Prize. Norton received her B.A. from the University of Michigan, a M.A. and PhD from Harvard University. She has since devoted more than 30 years as a professor at Cornell University, and in 1987 was named the Mary Donlon Alger Professor of American History. She is one of the first researchers to closely examine the role of women in early American history and is highly respected for her related research and publications.

Posted on March 17: Minds of the future bring ideas to McMaster

The future of science and engineering will be on display in McMaster's Burridge Gymnasium April 2 to 5. Close to 500 of the Bay Area's top brains from Grade 7 to OAC are participating in the 43rd annual Bay Area Science & Engineering Fair (BASEF). This is nearly double the number of students who participated in the event last year. Students from 65 schools located from Halton Hills to Dunnville will take part in the fair, which will offer more than $70,000 in prizes, including cash awards, scholarships and trips. There will also be a $250 prize donated by the McMaster Engineering Society. The top winners will qualify to compete at both the Canada Wide Science Fair in Calgary, Alberta May 10-17 and the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Cleveland, Ohio May 11-18. McMaster students and employees are among approximately 200 volunteers that will judge 329 projects. The fair takes place over the course of four days, starting with project set-up on the first day, judging on the second day, trips and activities on the third, culminating in the award ceremony on Saturday.

Posted on March 17: Mystic Women of the Middle Ages premieres tonight

Have you ever wondered what it might be like to live in the Middle Ages? To eat medieval food, take medieval medicine and listen to medieval music? McMaster researchers Kathy Garay and Madeleine Jeay do. The creators of Mystic Women of the Middle Ages II, a six-part documentary series premiering tonight on Vision TV at 8 p.m., wrote most of the scripts, supervised the location filming throughout Europe last summer and also appear in the series. They are excited about presenting the medieval period to the public. It has been an area both have researched, published and taught for 30 years. "It is a period which is sufficiently different from our own to be fascinating, but at the same time it has enough similarities to help us understand our own time," Garay says. "We are keenly aware that our contemporary culture has its origins and roots in the medieval period." The series explores the lives of extraordinary women, including spectacular location footage from Eastern and Western Europe: France, Germany, Hungary and Italy. The music, composed especially for the series, was inspired by authentic medieval music. There are descriptions of each episode on the Vision TV Web site.