The Canadian Press recently fact-checked an AI-driven Facebook post claiming waterwheels were used to harness extreme tides in the Bay of Fundy for grain milling and other productive purposes in the eighteenth century.
The History Department’s Daniel Samson, an expert on colonial Nova Scotia, has set the record straight.
Read the full exposé here: Fact File: Bay of Fundy ‘Tide Millers’ Little More Than a Tall Tale.
Alexandra Macdonald, a postdoctoral fellow in the History Department, is collaborating with St. Catharines heritage site The Brown Homestead to grow and process flax and transform it into linen using techniques developed in the eighteenth century. The partnership will provide an exciting opportunity for community members to take part in the process on Saturday, October 4, as part of Ontario Culture Days 2025.
Photo: Macdonald (left) and Jessica Linzel (History BA 2018, MA 2021), The Brown Homestead director of research and collections (Brock News)
Read the full story: Historical textile research cultivates connection to the past
For event details: History postdoc Alexandra Macdonald to host flax demonstration on Oct. 4
Brock History Department faculty members Jessica Clark, Olatunji Ojo, and Tami J. Friedman (behind the camera) were on hand to greet students in the Faculty of Humanities at Smart Start, July 31, 2025. They distributed informational materials and swag and had great conversations with enthusiastic majors and prospective majors.
History alumnus Jared Shawcross (BA 2020, MA 2021), acting heritage interpretation officer with Parks Canada, recently appeared on Breakfast Television to give a hands-on introduction to HMCS Haida, a destroyer used during World War II and the Korean War. The ship is now a national historic site stationed in Hamilton (Ont.) Harbour.
(Jared appears at about 4:56, but it’s worth watching the whole thing.)
This news comes to us from History alumna (and Jared’s partner) Katherine Foran (BA 2019, MA 2021), who reports that Jared successfully “built connections through his Co-op placements that brought him to the career he has today.” Katherine is currently a Ph.D. candidate in History at the University of Guelph.
Well done, Jared!
For more information about visiting the ship site: https://parks.canada.ca/lhn-nhs/on/haida
The History Department is delighted to welcome new Social Science and Humanities Research Council postdoctoral fellow Alexandra (Ali) Macdonald. She comes to us from the College of William and Mary (Williamsburg, Virginia), where she recently completed her Ph.D.
Dr. Macdonald’s research focuses on material culture in the British Atlantic world in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Her scholarly interests, which draw on her background in both history and art history, include using period-specific methods and ingredients (such as original dyes and pigments) to recreate historical crafts. She has received various fellowships to support her work, including a recent postdoctoral fellowship at Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library (Winterthur, Delaware) where she worked with conservationists to recreate indigo vats and analyse embroidery made in Connecticut in the eighteenth century.
During her two-year postdoc at Brock (January 2025 to December 2026), Dr. Macdonald will work with Dr. Jessica Clark on a project that draws on multiple research methods – the history of the senses, material culture studies, and the history of labour and the body – to examine the complex and often fraught history of indigo and other dyestuffs in the eighteenth and nineteenth century British world. The project is entitled “Imperial Sensorium: Bodies, Industrialization, and the Dye Industry, 1750-1850.”
The Isle of Man Post Office recently announced a new series of stamps, The Age of the Sea Kings, created in collaboration with Brock History professor Andrew McDonald and Manx artist Juan Moore.
Read the full story: Stamp of approval: Research delivers medieval sea king history to the world – The Brock News
Brock History professor Behnaz Mirzai spoke as part of a panel on International Women’s Day.
Read the full story: International Women’s Day: Brock researchers aim to inspire the next generation – The Brock News
Read the full story: OPINION: Colin Rose discusses the papal conclave’s history – The Brock News
On April 8, 2025, the History Department celebrated our students’ successes throughout the 2024-25 academic year.
An enthusiastic crowd of family and friends gathered at the St. Catharines Public Library for the official launch of the tenth volume of The General, Brock’s undergraduate History journal.
The audience heard riveting presentations from student co-editors Alessia Priolo and Jarred Polege and the authors of the nine essays published in the volume, which highlighted the range and quality of Brock History students’ work.
The General showcases outstanding student research, offers a half-credit of History coursework for its two co-editors, and brings many other students into the publication process as volunteer peer reviewers. It also hosts a competition for cover art.
Volume 10 can be found here.
We also celebrated our students with the presentation of several merit-based monetary awards. The recipients are exceptional students who have displayed the dedication, hard work, skill, and talent needed to succeed in Humanities education, and the History Department is thrilled to recognize the fruits of their labour.
The award winners are:
Donald Goodspeed Book Prize
Awarded to a History student who has made a significant contribution to the History Department
Sarah Skolud
John and Barbara McEwen Prize in British History
Awarded to a student who excels in British History at the second-, third-, or fourth-year level
Nikola Dixon
Lillie A. Traver Scholarship
Awarded to a student with honours standing, majoring in History
Braeden Moore
Frank and Amy Wills Memorial Award
Awarded to a History student who has demonstrated superior creativity and thoroughness in research presented in the History
Alessia Cotic
Department of History First Year Book Prize
Awarded to an outstanding History student in first year
Ben Spittal
Department of History Second Year Book Prize
Awarded to an outstanding History student in second year
Thomas Tselepakis
Department of History Third Year Book Prize
Awarded to an outstanding History student in third year
Evan (Vanja) Hamister
