Wade Cormack Documenting the History of Golf in Scotland
Wade Cormack, a recent U of G graduate, has been making international headlines recently. He was recently entrusted with the task of documenting the origins of golf in Scotland as part of a unique, three-year doctoral research position. Golf is a pillar of Scottish identity and one of the country's most distinctive contributions to global culture. News articles about his project have appeared in the Ottawa Citizen and in the The Scotsman, one of Scotland’s leading newspapers. The story was also covered by BBC news. Cormack completed both his master's and undergraduate degree at Guelph. (from UofGuelph newsfeed)
Dr. Matthew Hayday's research into the origins, politics and meaning of Canada's national symbols and celebrations is mentioned in a recent National Post article by Allen Levine. Read the story at the 
Dr. Matthew Hayday's research into the origins, politics and meaning of Canada's national symbols and celebrations is mentioned in a recent National Post article by Allen Levine. Read the story at the 
Growing up in the cheek-by-jowl townhouses of Keele and Finch in the 1970s, Dr. Jason Wilson couldn’t accept that his Scottish-Canadian pastiness was a bad fit with his Jamaican neighbours’ music. In a city where the gifts of ethnicity are there for the taking, the budding keyboardist ignored the funny looks and grew up to be a Juno-nominated reggae artist. So when this genre-bending 43-year-old took the stage at Hugh’s Room recently and made the Great War his theme, he naturally went looking for the laughs. Stereotypes about what’s appropriate just don’t seem to apply. “People say I’m fearless,” he says, with a strong strain of self-denial. “But that’s not it. I just don’t consider the idea that I’m offending anyone.” If you want to know about the key role played by female impersonators on the front lines, Mr. Wilson’s your man. As the centenary of the First World War approaches, he has devised a tribute show to weird wartime comedy troupes that were the forerunners of modern satire. Or, as Mr. Wilson puts it in his accompanying book, The Soldiers of Song, “The seeds of black humour that inspired the likes of Monty Python, Saturday Night Live and SCTV were sown in the trenches of the Great War.”
Growing up in the cheek-by-jowl townhouses of Keele and Finch in the 1970s, Dr. Jason Wilson couldn’t accept that his Scottish-Canadian pastiness was a bad fit with his Jamaican neighbours’ music. In a city where the gifts of ethnicity are there for the taking, the budding keyboardist ignored the funny looks and grew up to be a Juno-nominated reggae artist. So when this genre-bending 43-year-old took the stage at Hugh’s Room recently and made the Great War his theme, he naturally went looking for the laughs. Stereotypes about what’s appropriate just don’t seem to apply. “People say I’m fearless,” he says, with a strong strain of self-denial. “But that’s not it. I just don’t consider the idea that I’m offending anyone.” If you want to know about the key role played by female impersonators on the front lines, Mr. Wilson’s your man. As the centenary of the First World War approaches, he has devised a tribute show to weird wartime comedy troupes that were the forerunners of modern satire. Or, as Mr. Wilson puts it in his accompanying book, The Soldiers of Song, “The seeds of black humour that inspired the likes of Monty Python, Saturday Night Live and SCTV were sown in the trenches of the Great War.”
In a feature article in Montreal's Le Devoir, PhD student Marc-André Gagnon talks about la Fête St-Jean-Baptiste, also known as the Fête Nationale. The event is celebrated on June 24 thoughout French Canada, with particularly large celebrations in the province of Quebec, and has become the national holiday for French-speaking Canadians. Gagnon discusses the origins and evolution of Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, and the various forms of meaning people have ascribed to a holiday that currently has strong overtones of separatism in Quebec, but which has always been politicized as a day of affirmation of French-Canadian culture.
In a feature article in Montreal's Le Devoir, PhD student Marc-André Gagnon talks about la Fête St-Jean-Baptiste, also known as the Fête Nationale. The event is celebrated on June 24 thoughout French Canada, with particularly large celebrations in the province of Quebec, and has become the national holiday for French-speaking Canadians. Gagnon discusses the origins and evolution of Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, and the various forms of meaning people have ascribed to a holiday that currently has strong overtones of separatism in Quebec, but which has always been politicized as a day of affirmation of French-Canadian culture.
U of G History student Jason Wilson, who defended his PhD in May, was interviewed by CBC's The National on the Sunday, June 16 broadcast. Wilson's book, Soldiers of Song: The Dumbells and Other Canadian Concert Parties of the First World War, which is based on his U of G MA thesis, was the focus, with his look at the comedic troupe that entertained soldiers during World War I and audiences after the war. Well done Jason!
U of G History student Jason Wilson, who defended his PhD in May, was interviewed by CBC's The National on the Sunday, June 16 broadcast. Wilson's book, Soldiers of Song: The Dumbells and Other Canadian Concert Parties of the First World War, which is based on his U of G MA thesis, was the focus, with his look at the comedic troupe that entertained soldiers during World War I and audiences after the war. Well done Jason!