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DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20260121T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20260121T160000
DTSTAMP:20260427T204456
CREATED:20251208T213759Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251208T214924Z
UID:10001367-1769004000-1769011200@www.seniorcollege.utoronto.ca
SUMMARY:Speaker: David Townsend\, English and Medieval Studies\, U of T.\, Wednesday Talk: January 21\, 2026\, 2pm-4pm\, Faculty Club and Zoom - hybrid
DESCRIPTION:Speaker: David Townsend\, English and Medieval Studies\, U of T. \nTitle: “Imagination\, Historical Knowledge\, and Public Discourse” \nAbstract: Guilty pleasure or serious cultural work? Academics have vexed relationships with historical fiction. If we cross over to writing it ourselves (as some of us do)\, how do we understand the enterprise? What is the relationship of evidence to imagination\, and of research to pedagogy and to the work of popularization? And is there an ethics of the way we bring popular attention to the past? \nDavid Townsend will talk about these issues as they play out in several medieval historical novels\, by way of introducing and reading from his own recently published book: The Ram in the Thicket imagines the world of the Julian of Norwich\, late in her life in 1413. \nBio: David retired in 2018 as Professor of Medieval Studies and English\, after thirty-three years of teaching medieval literature and languages. His academic publications have included the close textual work of editions and translations\, as well as interpretive studies often centering on questions of gender and sexuality. His most recent academic monograph is Queering Medieval Latin Rhetoric: Silence\, Subversion\, and Sexual Heterodoxy (Cambridge University Press\, 2023). He also taught graduate seminars on Middle English and medieval Latin devotional literatures. \nThe link to register is https://forms.office.com/r/3TwBqrUTQi \nThe deadline to register is the Monday before the event at noon. The Zoom link will be sent to registrants only. \nIf you have any questions\, please contact the organizer\, Linda Hutcheon at l.hutcheon@utoronto.ca.
URL:https://www.seniorcollege.utoronto.ca/event/speaker-david-townsend-english-and-medieval-studies-u-of-t-wednesday-talk-january-21-2pm-4pm-faculty-club-and-zoom-hybrid/
LOCATION:Zoom AND The Faculty Club\, UofT\, 41 Willcocks Street Toronto\, ON M5S 1C7
CATEGORIES:SC Wednesday Talk
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.seniorcollege.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Picture2.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20260122T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20260122T160000
DTSTAMP:20260427T204456
CREATED:20251201T205724Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260112T211115Z
UID:10001365-1769090400-1769097600@www.seniorcollege.utoronto.ca
SUMMARY:Colloquium\, January 22\, 2026\, 2-4pm – Fellows & External Fellows Only – in-person only
DESCRIPTION:Colloquium\, January 22\, 2026\, 2-4pm – Fellows & External Fellows Only – in-person only\nTopic: “What is the purpose of education?”\nOrganized by: Mary Finlay\n\nReadings:\n\nhttps://mje.mcgill.ca/article/download/8744/6687/26043\nhttps://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/purpose-education\nhttps://www.edutopia.org/article/what-education/\nJohn Dewey’s Experience and Education\, a brief summary of his ideas\, can be read on-line here https://dn720204.ca.archive.org/0/items/experienceeducat00dewe_0/experienceeducat00dewe_0.pdf\n\n\n\nLunch before the colloquium: The lunch is 12:30pm at Valens Restaurant\, 19 Baldwin St\, Toronto ON M5T 1L1. Please note\, the location is approximately a 10 min walk (350.0 m) from the Senior College Centre.\n\nThe colloquium is at 2pm at the Senior College Centre\, 256 McCaul Street in suite 412.  The entrance to the floor is locked so Giuliana will unlock it and prop it open. Only those registered will be at the Centre.\n\nThe link to register is Registration for the Colloquium Thursday\, January 22\, 2026 – Fill out form
URL:https://www.seniorcollege.utoronto.ca/event/colloquium-january-22-2026-2-4pm-fellows-external-fellows-only-in-person-only/
LOCATION:Senior College Centre\,256 McCaul Street\, Suite 412
CATEGORIES:Colloquia
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20260128T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20260128T160000
DTSTAMP:20260427T204456
CREATED:20251208T214141Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251208T214845Z
UID:10001368-1769608800-1769616000@www.seniorcollege.utoronto.ca
SUMMARY:Speaker: Daphne Maurer\, Psychology\, McMaster U.\, Wednesday Talk: January 28\, 2026\, 2pm-4pm\, Faculty Club and Zoom - hybrid
DESCRIPTION:Speaker: Daphne Maurer\, Psychology\, McMaster U \nTitle: “An Invisible Pandemic” \nAbstract: In this century\, most schoolchildren are becoming nearsighted–80% to 90% of them in Asia–and nearsightedness in school often causes blindness later in life: retinal detachment or macular degeneration. I recently sat on an expert panel of the (U.S.) National Academies of Sciences\, Medicine\, and Engineering that investigated the situation and published a 350-page report. We found a world-wide epidemic of nearsightedness\, an epidemic that clearly has societal origins (but has nothing to do with cell phones). Moreover\, my own research has uncovered unexpected obstacles to providing glasses to schoolchildren\, obstacles ranging from parental prejudice to medical politics. \nBio: Daphne Maurer\, OC\, FRSC is a (retired) Distinguished University Professor from McMaster University and co-Chair of the Senior College Program Committee. She has published over 200 academic articles on perceptual development and\, with her husband\, written  books for the general public: The World of the Newborn (1988)\, which won the Book Prize of the American Psychological Association; Pretty Ugly: Why We Like Some Songs\, Faces\, Foods\, Plays\, Pictures\, Poems\, Etc.\, and Dislike Others (2019); and The World Inside Your Head: How Perceptions Build Society (in press\, Columbia University Press). \nThe link to register is https://forms.office.com/r/TpQBm35Rbc \nThe deadline to register is the Monday before the event at noon. The Zoom link will be sent to registrants only. \nIf you have any questions\, please contact the organizer\, Linda Hutcheon at l.hutcheon@utoronto.ca.
URL:https://www.seniorcollege.utoronto.ca/event/speaker-daphne-maurer-psychology-mcmaster-u-wednesday-talk-january-28-2pm-4pm-faculty-club-and-zoom-hybrid/
LOCATION:Zoom AND The Faculty Club\, UofT\, 41 Willcocks Street Toronto\, ON M5S 1C7
CATEGORIES:SC Wednesday Talk
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.seniorcollege.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Picture3.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20260202T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20260202T160000
DTSTAMP:20260427T204456
CREATED:20250918T191142Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260107T144232Z
UID:10001359-1770040800-1770048000@www.seniorcollege.utoronto.ca
SUMMARY:Book Club: February 2\, 2025\, 2-4pm\, – Fellows and External Fellows
DESCRIPTION:February 2\, 2026\, 2-4 pm – Fellows and External Fellows \nThe Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance\, 1917-2017 by Rashid Khalidi (2020) \nDiscussion Leaders: David Milne and Jon Allen\, former Canadian ambassador to Israel (guest speaker) \nWhile the Palestine question is invariably front-page news\, we have an urgent need for a good historical account of the origins and history of this protracted Middle Eastern conflict.  In this compelling work of scholarship and personal history\, Rashid Khalidi provides a narrative framework for understanding the roots and contours of this evolving geopolitical malady.  Told from a learned Palestinian perspective and from and important family autobiographical lens\, this is already a classic in the literature. Khalidi is the Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University (Available in all formats; 319 pages) \nThe link to register is https://forms.office.com/r/80LCzsL7R7 \nThe deadline to register is the Monday morning the day of the event at 8 am. The Zoom link will be sent to registrants only. \nIf you have any questions\, please contact the organizer\, Mary Jane Ashley at maryjane.ashley@utoronto.ca.
URL:https://www.seniorcollege.utoronto.ca/event/23943/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Book Club
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20260204T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20260204T160000
DTSTAMP:20260427T204456
CREATED:20251208T214750Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251208T214750Z
UID:10001369-1770213600-1770220800@www.seniorcollege.utoronto.ca
SUMMARY:Speaker: Jennifer DeSilva\, Woodsworth College\, U of T\, Wednesday Talk: February 4\, 2026\, 2pm-4pm\, Faculty Club and Zoom - hybrid
DESCRIPTION:Speaker: Jennifer DeSilva\, Woodsworth College\, U of T \nTitle: “Women’s Labour in Renaissance Florence’s Streets and Taverns” \nAbstract: Early modern men writing in Florence depicted their taverns as wonderful and raucous places that were central to masculine sociability and a threat to female chastity. In contrast to the male-centric tavern\, this presentation explores sixteenth-century Florentine taverns and the streets around them as places of work employing many women in a variety of roles\, and especially women related to male tavernkeepers. Using guild\, census\, and judicial records we will explore the spaces that some female tavernkeepers\, procuresses\, and sex workers shared to reveal women’s work in a supposedly dangerous professional space. \nBio: Jennifer Mara DeSilva is an Associate Professor Teaching Stream at the University of Toronto\, where she is also Vice Principal of Woodsworth College. She has published on the College of Cardinals\, papal commemoration\, nepotism\, sex workers\, and history on film. She is the author of The Office of Ceremonies and Advancement in Curial Rome\, 1466–1528 (Brill\, 2022). She also co-edits the Sixteenth Century Journal and the Essays and Studies book series at the Centre for Renaissance and Reformation Studies at the University of Toronto. \nThe link to register is https://forms.office.com/r/FeRXruSgDL \nThe deadline to register is the Monday before the event at noon. The Zoom link will be sent to registrants only. \nIf you have any questions\, please contact the organizer\, Linda Hutcheon at l.hutcheon@utoronto.ca.
URL:https://www.seniorcollege.utoronto.ca/event/speaker-jennifer-desilva-woodsworth-college-u-of-t-wednesday-talk-february-4-2026-2pm-4pm-faculty-club-and-zoom-hybrid/
LOCATION:Zoom AND The Faculty Club\, UofT\, 41 Willcocks Street Toronto\, ON M5S 1C7
CATEGORIES:SC Wednesday Talk
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.seniorcollege.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Picture4.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20260211T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20260211T160000
DTSTAMP:20260427T204456
CREATED:20251208T215731Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251208T215731Z
UID:10001370-1770818400-1770825600@www.seniorcollege.utoronto.ca
SUMMARY:Speaker: Beatrix Dart\, Rotman School of Management\, U of T\, Wednesday Talk: February 11\, 2026\, 2pm-4pm\, Faculty Club and Zoom - hybrid
DESCRIPTION:Speaker: Beatrix Dart\, Rotman School of Management\, U of T \nTitle: “Retired\, Not Expired: The Longevity Economy Unveiled” \nAbstract: As Canada’s population ages\, a powerful economic and social shift is underway—one that places older adults at the heart of innovation\, purpose\, and prosperity. The Longevity Economy represents not just a demographic trend\, but a profound opportunity to reimagine retirement as a vibrant Third Act filled with contribution\, creativity\, and community. Retired university professors\, with their deep reservoirs of wisdom and experience\, are uniquely positioned to lead this transformation. Yet\, our social systems—from healthcare to employment to education—remain rooted in outdated assumptions about aging. This talk explores how we can redesign these systems to support purposeful aging\, unlock the economic potential of older Canadians\, and build a society where longevity is not a challenge\, but a strategic advantage. \nBio: Beatrix Dart is Professor of Strategy at the Rotman School of Management and was previously the Associate Dean\, Executive Degree Programs. She joined the Rotman in 2000 following a successful career with McKinsey & Co. Since 2020\, she has been the Academic Director for Global and Experiential Learning for MBA programs. Social Impact is close to her heart\, and the Longevity Economy her latest focus area. Until recently\, she served as the Executive Director for Rotman’s Initiative for Women in Business\, and has led many award-winning national and international campaigns for gender advancement. She also served as a corporate director at EllisDon\, one of Canada’s largest construction companies\, and on a number of non-profit boards. \nThe link to register is https://forms.office.com/r/HGBnRK44vh \nThe deadline to register is the Monday before the event at noon. The Zoom link will be sent to registrants only. \nIf you have any questions\, please contact the organizer\, Linda Hutcheon at l.hutcheon@utoronto.ca.
URL:https://www.seniorcollege.utoronto.ca/event/speaker-beatrix-dart-rotman-school-of-management-u-of-t-wednesday-talk-february-11-2026-2pm-4pm-faculty-club-and-zoom-hybrid/
LOCATION:Zoom AND The Faculty Club\, UofT\, 41 Willcocks Street Toronto\, ON M5S 1C7
CATEGORIES:SC Wednesday Talk
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.seniorcollege.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Picture6.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20260218T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20260218T160000
DTSTAMP:20260427T204456
CREATED:20251208T220120Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251208T220120Z
UID:10001371-1771423200-1771430400@www.seniorcollege.utoronto.ca
SUMMARY:Speaker: Laura Hug\, Environmental Microbiology\, Biology\, U of Waterloo\, Wednesday Talk: February 18\, 2026\, 2pm-4pm\, Faculty Club and Zoom - hybrid
DESCRIPTION:Speaker: Laura Hug\, Environmental Microbiology\, Biology\, U of Waterloo \nTitle: “Man’s Trash Is a Microbe’s Treasure: The Microbiology of Landfills” \nAbstract: Landfills house our discarded waste\, but also support a diverse community of microorganisms. These microbes degrade wastes\, transform contaminants\, and generate greenhouse gasses like carbon dioxide and methane. My research studies these microbes\, to see how they are impacting landfill wastes\, and to identify organisms capable of degrading contaminants or reducing the impact of landfill methane emissions. \nBio: Dr. Laura Hug is an Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Environmental Microbiology in the Department of Biology at the University of Waterloo. She’s a proud U of T alumna\, having done her PhD here in the Department of Cell and Systems Biology with Dr. Elizabeth Edwards. Dr. Hug’s research examines the diversity and function of microbial communities in contaminated sites. Current research in her group is characterizing the microbial communities colonizing municipal landfills\, with foci on methane cycling\, bioplastics degradation\, and community interactions. Dr. Hug’s work has been featured in major news outlets including the New York Times\, the Atlantic\, Discover Magazine\, and on Public Radio International’s “The World”. She was a featured scientist on a TFO children’s show and the BBC Radio 4 program\, “Bacteria\, the tiny giants” in 2023. \nThe link to register is https://forms.office.com/r/6J8AMbmYWa \nThe deadline to register is the Monday before the event at noon. The Zoom link will be sent to registrants only. \nIf you have any questions\, please contact the organizer\, Linda Hutcheon at l.hutcheon@utoronto.ca. \n 
URL:https://www.seniorcollege.utoronto.ca/event/speaker-laura-hug-environmental-microbiology-biology-u-of-waterloo-wednesday-talk-february-18-2026-2pm-4pm-faculty-club-and-zoom-hybrid/
LOCATION:Zoom AND The Faculty Club\, UofT\, 41 Willcocks Street Toronto\, ON M5S 1C7
CATEGORIES:SC Wednesday Talk
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.seniorcollege.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Picture7.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20260219T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20260219T160000
DTSTAMP:20260427T204456
CREATED:20260119T234045Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260204T174625Z
UID:10001377-1771509600-1771516800@www.seniorcollege.utoronto.ca
SUMMARY:Colloquium\, February 19\, 2026\, 2-4pm – Fellows & External Fellows Only – in-person only
DESCRIPTION:Colloquium\, February 19\, 2026\, 2-4pm – Fellows & External Fellows Only – in-person only\nTopic: “How to counter misinformation. Is it possible?”\nOrganizer: Daphne Maurer\n\nSuggested background readings: \n1.  A comprehensive review with links to videos: \nJ\, Roozenbeek\, E. Culloty\, and J. Suiter\, “Countering Misinformation: Evidence\, Knowledge Gaps\, and Implications of Current  Interventions\,” European Psychologist\, vol. 28\, no. 3\, pp. 189–205\, Jul. 2023\, doi: 10.1027/1016-9040/a000492. \nOpen access free download from: https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2023-92406-004.html \n2.  A shorter review if you are short of time: \nPrike T\, Ecker UKH. Effective correction of misinformation. Curr Opin Psychol. 2023 Dec;54:101712. doi: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2023.101712. Epub 2023 Oct 19. PMID: 37944323. \nOpen access  free download from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352250X23001574?via=ihub \n3. Our government’s policy \nOpen access free download from:\nhttps://www.canada.ca/en/democratic-institutions/services/protecting-democratic-institutions/countering-disinformation-guidebook-public-servants.html \n\n\n\nLunch before the colloquium: The lunch is 12:30pm at Valens Restaurant\, 19 Baldwin St\, Toronto ON M5T 1L1. Please note\, the location is approximately a 10 min walk (350.0 m) from the Senior College Centre.\n\nThe colloquium is at 2pm at the Senior College Centre\, 256 McCaul Street in suite 412.  The entrance to the floor is locked so Giuliana will unlock it and prop it open. Only those registered will be at the Centre.\n\nThe link to register is https://forms.office.com/r/saSPt5U4Tr
URL:https://www.seniorcollege.utoronto.ca/event/colloquium-february-19-2026-2-4pm-fellows-external-fellows-only-in-person-only/
LOCATION:Senior College Centre\,256 McCaul Street\, Suite 412
CATEGORIES:Colloquia
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20260225T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20260225T160000
DTSTAMP:20260427T204456
CREATED:20251208T220412Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260107T194434Z
UID:10001372-1772028000-1772035200@www.seniorcollege.utoronto.ca
SUMMARY:Speaker: Ira Wells\,  President\, PEN  Canada; Victoria  College\, U of T\, Wednesday Talk: February 25\, 2026\, 2pm-4pm\, Faculty Club and Zoom - hybrid
DESCRIPTION:Speaker: Ira Wells\, President\, PEN Canada; Victoria College\, U of T \nTitle: “On Book Banning: Saving Children from the Harm of Books” \nAbstract: From the destruction of libraries in ancient Rome to today’s state-sponsored efforts to suppress LGBTQ+ literature\, book bans arise from the impulse toward social control. Recently\, school libraries have emerged as an important battleground for literary censorship. In a lightning survey of important legal decisions\, literary controversies\, and philosophical arguments\, this talk will illustrate the historical opposition to the freedom to read and argues that today’s conservatives and progressives alike are warping our children’s relationship with literature and teaching them that the solution to opposing viewpoints is outright expurgation. \nBio: Ira Wells is a critic\, essayist\, and an associate professor at Victoria College in the University of Toronto\, where he teaches in the Northrop Frye stream in literature and the humanities in the Vic One program. He is also the President of PEN Canada. His writing has appeared in The Atlantic\, Globe and Mail\, Guardian\, The New Republic\, and many other venues. His recent books include Norman Jewison: A Director’s Life and On Book Banning. He lives in Toronto with his wife and children. \nThe link to register is https://forms.office.com/r/LcQWPcmMRP \nThe deadline to register is the Monday before the event at noon. The Zoom link will be sent to registrants only. \nIf you have any questions\, please contact the organizer\, Linda Hutcheon at l.hutcheon@utoronto.ca. \n 
URL:https://www.seniorcollege.utoronto.ca/event/speaker-stephen-brooke-history-york-university-wednesday-talk-february-25-2026-2pm-4pm-faculty-club-and-zoom-hybrid/
LOCATION:Zoom AND The Faculty Club\, UofT\, 41 Willcocks Street Toronto\, ON M5S 1C7
CATEGORIES:SC Wednesday Talk
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.seniorcollege.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Picture9.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20260302T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20260302T160000
DTSTAMP:20260427T204456
CREATED:20250918T194142Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260225T164730Z
UID:10001360-1772460000-1772467200@www.seniorcollege.utoronto.ca
SUMMARY:Book Club: March 2\, 2026\, 2-4pm\, - Fellows and External Fellows - Zoom only event
DESCRIPTION:March 2\, 2026\, 2-4 pm – Fellows and External Fellows \nLincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders (2017) \nDiscussion Leader: Lisa Steele \nThe “bardo” is a Tibetan Buddhist concept referring to an intermediate state between death and rebirth. Set in 1862\, the early years of the American Civil War\, the novel opens with President Abraham Lincoln and his wife Mary Todd Lincoln about to host a fancy state dinner while their 11-year-old son Willie is lying upstairs deathly ill with typhoid fever. It is Willie’s eventual death that propels Lincoln to enter the “bardo” when he visits the crypt containing his son’s body several times. Here\, he is surrounded by spirits\, not only of Willie but of a number of other souls who have not yet admitted that they are\, in fact\, dead. Themes of grief – Lincoln’s own almost debilitating experience over the loss of his son – and mortality – from his personal experience to a more universal consideration of an afterlife permeate the novel. Here\, the spirits speak\, debate\, declare\, weep and laugh until finally\, led by a courageous Willie\, each embraces his death and is released from the bardo and Lincoln himself is able to return to the very real job of shepherding America through its most difficult time in history. (Available in all formats; 368 pages.) \nAll are encouraged to try the audio version of this book on Audible\, the chorus of voices that speak throughout – including the always entertaining David Sedaris – create a wonderfully dense experience of the spirit world that Saunders offers. And as a special treat\, listen for a very evocative sound effect as a spirit exits the Bardo. \nThe link to register is https://forms.office.com/r/8rkwMNVru2 \nThe deadline to register is the Monday morning the day of the event at 8 am. The Zoom link will be sent to registrants only. \nIf you have any questions\, please contact the organizer\, Mary Jane Ashley at maryjane.ashley@utoronto.ca.
URL:https://www.seniorcollege.utoronto.ca/event/book-club-march-2-2025-2-4pm-fellows-and-external-fellows-zoom-only-event/
CATEGORIES:Book Club
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20260304T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20260304T160000
DTSTAMP:20260427T204456
CREATED:20251208T220759Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260107T200133Z
UID:10001373-1772632800-1772640000@www.seniorcollege.utoronto.ca
SUMMARY:Stephen Brooke\, History\, York University \, U of T. Wednesday\, Talk: March 4\, 2026\, 2pm-4pm\, Faculty Club and Zoom - hybrid
DESCRIPTION:Speaker: Stephen Brooke\, History\, York University \nTitle: “‘Gleaming Obelisks’ and ‘Dilapidated Streets’: London in the 1980s: \nAbstract: This talk will explore the history of London in the 1980s\, examining how the city was a political battleground between the rise of right-wing neoliberalism in the form of Margaret Thatcher and her Conservative Party and the appearance of a leftwing social democratic local government in the shape of the Labour Greater London Council.  Many of the fiercest political and social battles of the 1980s were fought in London – over the rights of racial and sexual minorities\, the gentrification and development of working-class areas\, and over global issues such as apartheid and nuclear weapons.  The complex identity of contemporary London emerged from these battles. \nBio: Stephen Brooke is Professor and Chair of the Department of History\, York University.  He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the author of books and articles dealing with the history of twentieth-century Britain. \nThe link to register is https://forms.office.com/r/QPRuprmbzd \nThe deadline to register is the Monday before the event at noon. The Zoom link will be sent to registrants only. \nIf you have any questions\, please contact the organizer\, Linda Hutcheon at l.hutcheon@utoronto.ca.
URL:https://www.seniorcollege.utoronto.ca/event/speaker-ira-wells-president-pen-canada-victoria-college-u-of-t-wednesday-talk-march-4-2026-2pm-4pm-faculty-club-and-zoom-hybrid/
LOCATION:Zoom AND The Faculty Club\, UofT\, 41 Willcocks Street Toronto\, ON M5S 1C7
CATEGORIES:SC Wednesday Talk
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.seniorcollege.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Picture8.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20260311T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20260311T160000
DTSTAMP:20260427T204456
CREATED:20251208T221233Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251208T221304Z
UID:10001374-1773237600-1773244800@www.seniorcollege.utoronto.ca
SUMMARY:Speaker: Carl Knappett\, Art History\, U of T\, Wednesday Talk: March 11\, 2026\, 2pm-4pm\, Faculty Club and Zoom - hybrid
DESCRIPTION:Speaker: Carl Knappett\, Art History\, U of T \nTitle: “The Coastal World of Minoan Palaikastro” \nAbstract: Lying on the eastern tip of Crete\, Palaikastro was one of the largest towns on the island during the Bronze Age. Much of the archaeological exploration of the site has set out to find its presumed palatial centre. Yet\, after many seasons of fieldwork\, such a structure still eludes us. The most recent work at the site has focussed more on the settlement’s coastal location\, and its possible role as a trading port within the wider east Mediterranean. However\, the more that we investigate the coastline\, the more we have to reckon with the significant geomorphological changes that have occurred since the Bronze Age. I will present our latest findings from underwater survey\, coastal excavation\, and palaeoenvironmental study\, shedding light on the coastal world of Minoan Palaikastro. \nBio: Carl Knappett holds the Walter Graham/ Homer Thompson Chair in Aegean Prehistory in the Department of Art History (UofT). He has published widely on the archaeology of Crete and the east Mediterranean\, material culture theory\, and network analysis. Among over 15 authored and edited books are An Archaeology of Interaction: Network Perspectives on Material Culture and Society (2011\, OUP)\, and Maritime Networks in the Ancient Mediterranean World (2018\, CUP). He was Chair of the Department of Art History from 2017 to 2022\, and is the Director of the Mediterranean Archaeology Collaborative Specialization. For the past decade has run a fieldwork project at the site of Palaikastro on Crete. \n(Re-scheduled from last fall\, when illness prevented our hearing it.) \nThe link to register is https://forms.office.com/r/PWt5nKmMsf \nThe deadline to register is the Monday before the event at noon. The Zoom link will be sent to registrants only. \nIf you have any questions\, please contact the organizer\, Linda Hutcheon at l.hutcheon@utoronto.ca.
URL:https://www.seniorcollege.utoronto.ca/event/speaker-carl-knappett-art-history-u-of-t-wednesday-talk-march-11-2026-2pm-4pm-faculty-club-and-zoom-hybrid/
LOCATION:Zoom AND The Faculty Club\, UofT\, 41 Willcocks Street Toronto\, ON M5S 1C7
CATEGORIES:SC Wednesday Talk
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20260318T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20260318T160000
DTSTAMP:20260427T204456
CREATED:20251208T221614Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251208T221614Z
UID:10001375-1773842400-1773849600@www.seniorcollege.utoronto.ca
SUMMARY:Speaker: Jennifer Bonnell\, History\, York U\, Wednesday Talk: March 18\, 2026\, 2pm-4pm\, Faculty Club and Zoom - hybrid
DESCRIPTION:Speaker: Jennifer Bonnell\, History\, York U \nTitle: “Place and People at the Margins: A History of Toronto’s Don River Valley” \nAbstract: In this richly illustrated talk\, environmental historian Jennifer Bonnell will walk us through the history of the Don Valley as a “place at the edges” of the evolving city. Moving from the straightening of the lower river in the 1880s to the recent work to transform the river mouth\, she will highlight competing visions for the valley as a sink for wastes\, a corridor for transportation\, a respite for recreation and reflection\, and a refuge for marginalized human populations. \nBio: Jennifer Bonnell is a historian of public memory and environmental change in nineteenth and twentieth-century Canada. She is the author or co-editor of four books\, including Stewards of Splendour: A History of Wildlife and People in British Columbia\, published in 2023 by the Royal BC Museum\, and Reclaiming the Don: An Environmental History of Toronto’s Don River Valley\, published by the University of Toronto Press in 2014. Her current book project\, Foragers of a Modern Countryside: Honeybees\, Environmental Change\, and Beekeeper Advocacy in the Great Lakes Region\, will be published by the University of Washington Press’s Weyerhaeuser Environmental Books series. Jennifer is a Professor in the Department of History at York. \nThe link to register is https://forms.office.com/r/BEG9KjC5GK \nThe deadline to register is the Monday before the event at noon. The Zoom link will be sent to registrants only. \nIf you have any questions\, please contact the organizer\, Linda Hutcheon at l.hutcheon@utoronto.ca.
URL:https://www.seniorcollege.utoronto.ca/event/speaker-jennifer-bonnell-history-york-u-wednesday-talk-march-18-2026-2pm-4pm-faculty-club-and-zoom-hybrid/
LOCATION:Zoom AND The Faculty Club\, UofT\, 41 Willcocks Street Toronto\, ON M5S 1C7
CATEGORIES:SC Wednesday Talk
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20260325T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20260325T160000
DTSTAMP:20260427T204456
CREATED:20251208T221856Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251208T221856Z
UID:10001376-1774447200-1774454400@www.seniorcollege.utoronto.ca
SUMMARY:Speaker: Nick Terpstra\, History\, U of T; Provost\, Trinity College.\,  Wednesday Talk: March 25\, 2026\, 2pm-4pm\, Faculty Club and Zoom - hybrid
DESCRIPTION:Speaker: Nick Terpstra\, History\, U of T; Provost\, Trinity College. \nTitle: “Moving Targets:  Young People in the Early Modern World” \nAbstract: Where do we find youths in the early modern world?  Where did they find themselves?  Often it was on the road or on the seas\, in motion from home to some other place or places\, and seldom entirely by choice.  As we become more curious about global history and to seeing how early modern Europeans (ie.\, roughly 16th to 18th centuries) encountered the world and were shaped by it\, we’re drawn to the intersections of this mobility with gender and with race.  Much of what was new in early modern experience came first to and through young people\, often as the involuntary agents of broader social and economic forces.  In this lecture\, I’ll focus first on a few individuals or groups of young people from different parts of the world who demonstrate some of these realities.  I’ll then pull back and ask some broader questions about why it’s hard to capture and understand the experience of young people at that time\, and also why looking more closely at these youths might reshape our understanding of the early modern period more generally. \nBio: I’m Professor of History and Provost of Trinity College in the University of Toronto.  I work on early modern social history\, exploring questions at the intersection of politics\, religion\, gender\, and charity\, above all those dealing with the experience of people at the margins\, like orphans\, abandoned children\, youths\, widows\, criminals\, refugees\, and the poor.  I’m currently exploring how a focus on global dynamics and the experiences of migrants and refugees can give us a different view of periods or movements like the Renaissance and Reformation\, how space and sense intersected in early modern (roughly 1500-1800) cities\, and how people in that period tried to live with neighbours that they really didn’t like. \nSome publications in these areas include Cultures of Charity: Women\, Politics\, and the Reform of Poor Relief in Renaissance Italy (Harvard: 2013) which won the Howard R Marraro Prize of the American Historical Association and the Phyllis Goodhart Gordan Prize of the Renaissance Society of America; Lost Girls: Sex and Death in Renaissance Florence (Johns Hopkins: 2010); Religious Refugees in the Early Modern World: An Alternative History of the Reformation (Cambridge: 2015); and Senses of Space in the Early Modern World (Cambridge: 2024). \nI’m also involved in digitally mapping the spatial and sensory dimensions of social life through the DECIMA project\, an on-line digital map that tracks occupation\, gender\, and wealth in Renaissance Florence. We’re working to produce a map that conveys what it was like to walk around the city\, hearing its sounds and moving through its spaces. See: N. Terpstra & C. Rose (ed)\, Mapping Space\, Sense\, and Movement in Florence:  Historical GIS and the Early Modern City (Routledge\, 2016). \nThe link to register is https://forms.office.com/r/EcZvXHzXUP \nThe deadline to register is the Monday before the event at noon. The Zoom link will be sent to registrants only. \nIf you have any questions\, please contact the organizer\, Linda Hutcheon at l.hutcheon@utoronto.ca. \n 
URL:https://www.seniorcollege.utoronto.ca/event/speaker-nick-terpstra-history-u-of-t-provost-trinity-college-wednesday-talk-march-25-2026-2pm-4pm-faculty-club-and-zoom-hybrid/
LOCATION:Zoom AND The Faculty Club\, UofT\, 41 Willcocks Street Toronto\, ON M5S 1C7
CATEGORIES:SC Wednesday Talk
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20260406T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20260406T160000
DTSTAMP:20260427T204456
CREATED:20250918T202015Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260304T173857Z
UID:10001361-1775484000-1775491200@www.seniorcollege.utoronto.ca
SUMMARY:Book Club: April 6\, 2026\, 2-4pm\, - Fellows and External Fellows - Zoom only event
DESCRIPTION:April 6\, 2026\, 2-4 pm – Fellows and External Fellows \nEvery Valley: The Desperate Lives and Troubled Times that Made Handel’s “Messiah” by Charles King (2024)        \nDiscussion Leaders: Linda Hutcheon and Michael Hutcheon \nGeorge Frideric Handel’s (1741) Messiah is an oratorio that has been called “the greatest piece of participatory art ever created.” Choirs and orchestras perform it annually at Christmas and Easter\, with audiences singing along. As the subtitle of the book suggests\, Charles King delves into Handel’s creation of this monumental work within the social and cultural context of the “Troubled Times” of Enlightenment Britain\, with its philosophical and political conflicts\, royal intrigues\, and military and imperial ambitions. The author focuses this broader history on a series of ”Desperate Lives”: a depressive dissenter stirred to action by an ancient prophecy; an actress plagued by an abusive husband and public scorn; an Atlantic sea captain and penniless philanthropist; and an African Muslim man held captive in the American colonies and hatching a dangerous plan for getting back home. But at the centre of the story is Handel\, the German-born\, Italian-trained composer\, brought to England in 1712 by (the German) King George I. When he created Messiah\, Handel was in early middle-age\, not terribly healthy\, and deeply concerned about his continuing success in a difficult London theatre scene. How a “masterpiece of hope” was born out of this particular “Desperate” life at the particular “Troubled” time is the story Every Valley tells.  (Available in all formats; 351 pages). \nThe link to register is https://forms.office.com/r/FkRmp4zKkA \nThe deadline to register is the Monday morning the day of the event at 8 am. The Zoom link will be sent to registrants only. \nIf you have any questions\, please contact the organizer\, Mary Jane Ashley at maryjane.ashley@utoronto.ca.
URL:https://www.seniorcollege.utoronto.ca/event/book-club-april-6-2025-2-4pm-fellows-and-external-fellows-zoom-only-event/
CATEGORIES:Book Club
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20260504T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20260504T160000
DTSTAMP:20260427T204456
CREATED:20250918T203056Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260409T135558Z
UID:10001362-1777903200-1777910400@www.seniorcollege.utoronto.ca
SUMMARY:Book Club: May 4\, 2026\, 2-4pm\, - Fellows and External Fellows - Zoom only event
DESCRIPTION:May 4\, 2026\, 2-4 pm – Fellows and External Fellows \nSilent Spring by Rachel Carson (1962) \nDiscussion Leader: Sara Shettleworth \nPublished only 63 years ago\, Silent Spring already qualifies as a classic. As an accessible popular account of the damage being to the environment by substances such as the then-common pesticide DDT\, it was a wakeup call for government control of the chemical industry. It had a huge impact\, helping to galvanize the then-nascent environmental movement. We are now seeing the benefits of actions inspired by the information in this book in such developments as the ban on DDT and the resulting return of bald eagles and other of DDT’s victims. Written by a scientist who was also a clear and compelling writer. \nAvailable in many editions and formats. For those who do not already have a copy\, the 2002 40th Anniversary Edition is recommended. At 400 pages\, it includes an illuminating 19 page introduction by Carson’s biographer\, Linda Lear\, and an afterword by noted ecologist E.O. Wilson\, as well as 77 pages of references and notes. Available as a $23.99 paperback and all other formats. TPL 20 + copies. \nFor additional background\, even part of the two-hour PBS “American Experience” documentary “Rachel Carson” is very worth watching for vivid illustrations of the opposition Carson faced and the instant impact her book had https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFDh9c34XX4. \nThe link to register is https://forms.office.com/r/bWcpK7a6nP \nThe deadline to register is the Monday morning the day of the event at 8 am. The Zoom link will be sent to registrants only. \nIf you have any questions\, please contact the organizer\, Mary Jane Ashley at maryjane.ashley@utoronto.ca.
URL:https://www.seniorcollege.utoronto.ca/event/book-club-may-4-2025-2-4pm-fellows-and-external-fellows-zoom-only-event/
CATEGORIES:Book Club
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20260528T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20260528T210000
DTSTAMP:20260427T204456
CREATED:20260427T204330Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260427T212438Z
UID:10001378-1779994800-1780002000@www.seniorcollege.utoronto.ca
SUMMARY:"Meet Your Colleagues" Summer Sessions May 28\, 2026. 7-9pm (Thursday evening) - Fellows and External Fellows only
DESCRIPTION:“Meet Your Colleagues” Summer Sessions\, Pat Brubaker and Rob Silver\, May 28\, 2026\, 7-9pm (Thursday evening) on Zoom only – Fellows and External Fellows only \nLink to register: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/UBazhDrtef\nThe deadline to register is the morning of the event before 8:00am. The Zoom link will be sent to registrants only.
URL:https://www.seniorcollege.utoronto.ca/event/meet-your-colleagues-summer-sessions-may-28-2026-thursdays-2-4pm-on-zoom-only-fellows-and-external-fellows-only/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Meet your colleagues
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