Call for Papers: Two Days of Canada, March 2026 (submission deadline: Jan. 16)
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News
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Call for Papers: Conference on Islam, politics, and slavery, July 2027
Conference
Enslaved Muslims and Muslim Enslavers: Islam, Politics and Slavery
6-7 July 2027
Organizers:
Stephan Conermann, Spokesperson and Principal Investigator, Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, University of Bonn, Germany
Behnaz Mirzai, Professor of Middle Eastern History, Brock University, Canada
A two-day multidisciplinary conference titled “Enslaved Muslims and Muslim Enslavers: Islam, Politics and Slavery” will be held on July 6–7, 2027 at Brock University in collaboration with Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies, University of Bonn, Germany. The conference will explore the impact of political Islam on the enslavement of various ethnic groups from the medieval to the modern period. Furthermore, it examines the enslavement of Muslims who were taken to the Americas during the Atlantic slave trade.
The conference will bring together scholars to address topics related to slavery and Islam in the context of comparative studies. It aims to foster a deeper understanding of the political, social, religious and historical dimensions of the ‘Islamic factor’ within the slave trade with the aim of revealing its complexity. This conference offers an inter-disciplinary framework that transcends regional studies of slavery by including the Americas, Africa and the Middle East and beyond.
Proposals will be reviewed by the conference committee. Presented papers will be published in a special issue of an academic journal or edited volume.
Please submit a proposal (350 words) and a brief CV with relevant publications to Dr. Behnaz Mirzai: [email protected]. The deadline for submissions is 30 June 2026.
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Daniel Samson debunks “fake news” about Bay of Fundy tide mills
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.
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Postdoc Alexandra Macdonald brings history to life through flax cultivation
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
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History faculty connect with students at Smart Start
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.
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History grad draws on Co-op skills to build heritage career
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
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Ali Macdonald joins Department as postdoctoral fellow
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.”
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Andrew McDonald puts his stamp on stamps
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
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Behnaz Mirzai weighs in on International Women’s Day
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
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