News and activities at Norma Marion Alloway Library, Trinity Western University

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New Titles Tuesday, May 10

Here is a selection of titles added to the collection in the past week

 A philosopher looks at human beings / Michael Ruse.  Why do we think ourselves superior to all other animals? In this book, Michael Ruse explores these questions in religion, science and philosophy. Ruse provides a compelling analysis of two rival views and the age-old conflict between them. In a wide-ranging and fascinating discussion, he draws on Darwinism and existentialism to argue that only the view that the world is a machine does justice to our humanity.

  A step-by-step guide to conducting an integrative review / edited by Coleen E. Toronto, Ruth Remington. This book examines components necessary to conduct a rigorous integrative review from formulating questions through dissemination of the results of the review. Each chapter focuses on one component or step in this process and is written in a straightforward and readable manner

Advances in questionnaire design, development, evaluation and testing / edited by Paul C. Beatty, Debbie Collins, Lyn Kaye, Jose-Luis Padilla, Gordon Willis, Amanda Wilmot.  This book brings together international experts in survey methodology to publish the results of the first conference in over a decade on questionnaire design and evaluation (QDET-2). The book is a proactive forum to prepare researchers to meet the next generation of challenges, making it of interest to both researchers and practitioners internationally in government, academia, and the private sector.

 Art heals: how creativity cures the soul / Shaun McNiff. A leader in art therapy shares powerful developments in the field and provides a roadmap for unlocking the spiritual and emotional healing benefits of creative expression

Assyrian rulers of the early first millennium BC / A. Kirk Grayson. Grayson presents the texts of the royal inscriptions from the earlier phase of the Neo-Assyrian period, a time in which the Assyrian kings campaigned as far as the Mediterranean and came into direct contact with biblical lands.

 Beyond policy analysis: public issue management in turbulent times / Leslie A. Pal (Carleton University, Hamad Bin Khalifa University), Graeme Auld (Carleton University), Alexandra Mallett   The abiding theme of this book has been the policy analysis ‘toolkit’ and how it needs to adapt to a changing – and turbulent – context .Key themes explored in this edition are: technology and how governments around the world are grappling with both its potential and its threats; the trajectory and impact of globalization; and changing views on governance and public management. —

Case studies in society, religion, and bioethics / Sana Loue. This book explores, through case studies, the interplay between religion, culture, government, and politics in diverse societies on questions arising in the domain of bioethics. The case studies draw from multiple disciplinary perspectives, including history, theology, law, bioethics, public policy, science, and medicine. The text’s global perspective permits a comparison of the differing approaches adopted by countries facing similar bioethical quandaries and the extent to which religion has or has not been instrumental in addressing such dilemmas.

 Critical thinking / Liz Brown. Critical thinking is the process of improving the way a person thinks about a subject, statement, or idea. When people use critical thinking skills, they are thinking about the way they think. Find out more in Critical Thinking.

Cultivating compassion: how digital storytelling is transforming healthcare / edited by Pip Hardy and Tony Sumner. This book explores how digital storytelling can catalyze change in healthcare. Edited by the co-founders of the award-winning Patient Voices Programme, the authors discuss various applications for this technique; from using digital storytelling as a reflective process, to the use of digital stories in augmenting quantitative data. This collection will appeal to those involved in delivering, managing or receiving healthcare and healthcare education and research, as well as people interested in digital storytelling and participatory media.

Die Ausgrabungen von Qumran und En Feschcha / Roland de Vaux ; deutsche Übersetzung und Informationsaufbereitung durch Ferdinand Rohrhirsch und Bettina Hofmeir. These are the excavation diaries of Roland de Vaux translated into German.

 Environmental philosophy, politics, and policy / edited by John A. Duerk.  This interdisciplinary anthology has been compiled to fuel informed conversations that we must have in the face of great environmental challenges.

 Essentials of health policy and law / Sara E. Wilensky, Joel B. Teitelbaum. Essentials of Health Policy and Law, explores the essential policy and legal issues impacting and flowing out of the healthcare and public health systems and the way health policies and laws are formulated. Concise and straightforward, this textbook is an introduction to the seminal issues in U.S. health policy and law, with a particular focus on national health reform under the Affordable Care Act.

 Exploring religion and diversity in Canada: people, practice and possibility / edited by Catherine Holtmann. This book is intended for advanced undergraduate and graduate students interested in learning about the many ways in which religious diversity is manifest in day-to-day life Canada. Each chapter addresses the challenges and opportunities associated with religious diversity in a different realm of social life from families to churches, from education to health care, and from Muslims to atheists.

 Fallacies in medicine and health: critical thinking, argumentation and communication / Louise Cummings. This textbook examines the ways in which arguments may be used and abused in medicine and health. The central claim is that a group of arguments known as the informal fallacies – including slippery slope arguments, fear appeal, and the argument from ignorance – undertake considerable work in medical and health contexts, and that they can in fact be rationally warranted ways of understanding complex topics, contrary to the views of many earlier philosophers and logicians. It will be useful to students of critical thinking, reasoning, logic, argumentation, rhetoric, communication, health humanities, philosophy and linguistics.

 Gudea and his dynasty / Dietz Otto Edzard. The central part of the book is Gudea’s incription dedicated to the construction of the Eninnu, the main sanctuary of his city-god Ningirsu. It is composed of two parts, each displayed on a huge clay cylinder measuring 60 cm in height and 33 cm in diameter. The composition as a whole has 1366 cases or lines, and is among the longest Sumerian literary texts known at present. Although formally a building inscription, it is at the same time Sumerian poetic art at its best, and also a rich source for the study of Sumerian religion. Gudea’s inscriptions and those of his predecessors and followers are offered in the Latin transliteration of the original cuneiform texts, in translation, and they are provided with introductions, commentaries and explanatory notes, with the volume as a whole highlighting a century which was part of the so-called Neo-Sumerian period.

 Handbook of African philosophy of difference / Elvis Imafidon, editor. This handbook explores essential philosophical questions about the experience of difference and the other in African traditional and modern societies. Coverage examines the philosophical basis for the African contexts of gender differences, bodily differences and disability; racial, religious, and cultural differences; xenophobia and xenophilia; and issues of the otherings of non-human beings from human beings. This insightful analysis details the ontological, epistemological, and moral foundations of difference and alterity in African societies, both traditional and modern. This exploration offers a vital contribution to the philosophy of difference

 Healing haunted histories: a settler discipleship of decolonization / Elaine Enns and Ched Myers.  Healing Haunted Histories tackles the oldest and deepest injustices on the North American continent. It argues we can heal those wounds through the inward and outward journey of decolonization. The authors write as, and for, settlers on this journey, exploring the places, peoples, and spirits that have formed (and deformed) us. They look at issues of Indigenous justice and settler  response-ability  through the lens of Elaine’s Mennonite family narrative, tracing Landlines, Bloodlines, and Songlines like a braided river. From Ukrainian steppes to Canadian prairies to California chaparral, they examine her forebearers’ immigrant travails and trauma, settler unknowing and complicity, and traditions of resilience and conscience. And they invite readers to do the same. Part memoir, part social, historical, and theological analysis, and part practical workbook, this process invites settler Christians (and other people of faith) into a discipleship of decolonization. How are our histories, landscapes, and communities haunted by continuing Indigenous dispossession?

 Health care ethics through the lens of moral distress / Kristen Jones-Bonofiglio. This book provides a bridge between the theory to practice gap in contemporary health care ethics. It explores the messiness of everyday ethical issues and validates the potential impacts on health care professionals as wounded healers who regularly experience close proximity to suffering and pain. This book speaks to why ethics matters on a personal level and how moral distress experiences can be leveraged instead of hidden. The book offers contributions to both scholarship and the profession.

 Hegel’s aesthetics: the art of idealism / Lydia L. Moland. Hegel’s Aesthetics is the first comprehensive interpretation of Hegel’s philosophy of art in English in thirty years. It gives a new analysis of his notorious   end of art   thesis, shows the indispensability of his aesthetics to his philosophy generally, and argues for his theory’s relevance today.

 How to perform a systematic literature review: a guide for healthcare researchers, practitioners and students / Edward Purssell, Niall McCrae. This textbook is an authoritative and accessible guide to an activity that is often found overwhelming. The authors steer readers on a logical, sequential path through the process, taking account of the different needs of researchers, students and practitioners. Practical guidance is provided on the fundamentals of systematic reviewing and also on advanced techniques such as meta-analysis. Examples are given in each chapter, with a succinct glossary to support the text.

 Idolizing the idea: a critical history of modern philosophy / Wayne Cristaudo.  Cristaudo takes up the argument put forward by Thomas Reid that modern philosophy has generally continued along the ‘way of ideas’ to its own detriment. His argument identifies the major paradigmatic developments in modern philosophy commencing from the new metaphysics pioneered by Descartes up until the analytic tradition and the anti-domination philosophies which now dominate social and political thought.

 Intersectionality as critical social theory / Patricia Hill Collins.  Collins offers a set of analytical tools for those wishing to develop intersectionality’s capability to theorize social inequality in ways that would facilitate social change.

 It keeps me seeking: the invitation from science, philosophy, and religion / Andrew Briggs, Hans Halvorson, and Andrew Steane.  This title offers an exposition on the common phrase ‘science and religion’. Science has something to say about every aspect of human experience, and religion is, broadly speaking, the attempt by people to find and assert meaningfulness.

 Language pangs: on pain and the origin of language / Ilit Ferber Language Pangs brings together discussions of philosophical as well as literary texts focusing on the relationship between pain and language.

 Madness: a philosophical exploration / Justin Garson.. In Madness, philosopher of science Garson presents a radically different paradigm for conceiving of madness and the forms that it takes. In this paradigm, which he calls madness-as-strategy, madness is neither a disease nor a defect, but a designed feature, like the heart or lungs.

 Medical humanism, chronic illness, and the body in pain: an ecology of wholeness / Vinita Agarwal. With an increasing number of individuals living with chronic illness and pain, integrative approaches offering self-management support are needed. This book proposes a multi-layered framework integrating the body/self/environment that cultivates wholeness as an authentic embodied presence in alignment with a reflexive self.

 Neuroexistentialism: meaning, morals, and purpose in the age of neuroscience / edited by Gregg D. Caruso and Owen Flanagan. ‘Neuroexistentialism’ brings together some of the world’s leading philosophers, neuroscientists, cognitive scientists, and legal scholars to tackle our neuroexistentialist predicament and explore what the mind sciences can tell us about morality, love, emotion, autonomy, consciousness, selfhood, free will, moral responsibility, criminal punishment, meaning in life, and purpose.

 On concepts, modules, and language: cognitive science at its core / edited by Roberto G. de Almeida and Lila R. Gleitman. Leading cognitive scientists–Chomsky, Pylyshyn, Gallistel, and others–examine their own work in relation to one of cognitive science’s most influential and polemical figures: Jerry Fodor.

 On the spectrum: autism, faith, and the gifts of neurodiversity / Daniel Bowman Jr. This book debunks myths about autism and autistics with a realistic yet hope-filled deep dive into the heart, mind, and life of an autistic Christian.

 Overcoming epistemic injustice: social and psychological perspectives / edited by Benjamin R. Sherman and Stacey Goguen. The essays collected in this volume draw from cutting-edge social science research and detailed case studies, to suggest how we can better tackle our unconscious reactions and institutional biases, to help ameliorate epistemic injustice.

 Person-centred healthcare research / edited by Brendan McCormack, Sandra van Dulmen, Hilde Eide, Kirsti Skovdahl, Tom Eide. Person-Centred Healthcare Research provides an innovative and novel approach to exploring a range of research designs and methodological approaches aimed at investigating person-centred healthcare practice within and across healthcare disciplines.

 Philosophers on the university: reconsidering higher education / Ronald Barnett, Amanda Fulford, editors. This book shows the significance of the thinking of philosophers (and other key thinkers) in understanding the university and higher education. Through those explorations, it widens and substantially adds to the emerging philosophy of higher education. It builds on the historical literature on the idea of the university, and provides higher education scholars with highly accessible introductions to the thinking of key philosophers and thinkers, alerting them to a set of literature that otherwise might not be encountered.

 Philosophy, ethics and politics / Paul Ricoeur ; edited by Catherine Goldenstein ; translated by Kathleen Blamey.  In this series of interviews and dialogues which took place between 1981 and 2003,  Ricoeur addresses some of the central questions of political philosophy and ethics: justice, violence, war, the environmental crisis, the question of evil, ethical and political action in the polis. This volume of interviews and dialogues with one of the most important French philosophers of the post-war period will be of interest to anyone interested in the great political and ethical questions of our time.

 Precautionary reasoning in environmental and public health policy / David B. Resnik. This book fills a gap in the literature on the Precautionary Principle by placing the principle within the wider context of precautionary reasoning and uses philosophical arguments and case studies to demonstrate when it does — and does not — apply. The book invites the reader to take a step back from the controversy surrounding the Precautionary Principle and consider the overarching rationales for responding to threats to the environment or public health.

 Primary sources / Leia Tait.  A primary source is a document or record that provides a firsthand account of an event, a time period, or a particular subject. Primary sources are created at the time an event occurs. Find out more in Primary Sources

 Recuperating the global migration of nurses / Cleovi C. Mosuela. Sitting at the nexus of labor migration and health care work, this book examines the dynamic relationship between nurses’ cross-border movement and efforts to regulate their migration. Grounded in multi-sited qualitative research, this volume analyzes the changing social dimensions and transnational scale of global nursing, focusing particularly on the recruitment from the Philippines to Germany. As it takes a critical eye to the emerging field of migration governance or management as the preferred policy response to competing discourses of global care crises and the global competition for skilled care work, this book highlights not only the shifting web of actors, discourses, and practices in care work migration management, but also, and more importantly, how various forms of care figure in the global migration of nurses.

 Refugees / Harriet Brundle, Blaine Wiseman. Why do people become refugees? How does it feel to be a refugee? How do refugees travel to a new home? Discover more about the reasons people become refugees in Refugees, part of the World Issues series.

 Rulers of Babylonia: from the second dynasty of Isin to the end of Assyrian domination (1157-612 BC) / Grant Frame. This is the sixth volume of ancient cuneiform texts being prepared under the auspices of The Royal Inscriptions of Mesopotamia, and the first volume for the Babylonian periods. The purpose of the project is to locate and publish standard editions of the texts known as the Royal Inscriptions from ancient Mesopotamia

 Sargonic and Gutian periods, 2334-2113 BC / Douglas Frayne. The time period covered by this volume extends from the accession of Sargon of Akkad to the end of the Gutian period (2334-2133 BC). In this corpus we find the first extensive use of the Akkadian language, in it oldest known dialect, for royal inscriptions. Nearly all the texts in this volume are recorded in that language.

 Sex- and gender-based analysis in public health / Jacqueline Gahagan, Mary K. Bryson, editors. This book is the first to focus on sex- and gender-based analysis (SGBA) in public health, addressing the dearth of thinking, practice, and publication on SGBA and public health. This book analyses the movement toward SGBA in Canada and internationally, highlighting some key examples of public health concern such as HIV/AIDS and tobacco use. An international group of experts in the fields of SGBA, public health, program evaluation, policy development, and research comprise the authorship of the book. The book also is an essential resource for specialists in public health policy, programming, research, and evaluation.

 Staying safe online / Harriet Brundle, Blaine Wiseman. How can we stay safe online? What is cyber bullying? What is my digital footprint? Discover more about using the internet safely in Staying Safe Online, part of the World Issues series.

 That something else: a reflection on medicine and humanity / Tim Harlow.  In this unique book, Harlow shows us that there is a great deal more to medicine than we think. He helps us see how some of the important connections between doctor and patient work in surprising ways. The author sees these routine things from an unusual angle and avoids medical jargon. He uses his medical lens to show us new questions and make us think about what it means to be human. This book will help both doctors and patients to think about the deep underpinnings of both our lives and our deaths.

 The art is long: primary texts on medicine and the humanities / edited by Alexis M. Butzner. This unique volume presents a lens with which to examine the intersection of literature and medicine with diverse selections that span time and the globe. With authors from Sushruta to Hippocrates, Margery Kempe to John Donne, and Susie King Taylor to Sigmund Freud, the volume  highlights the voices of women, people of color, and those who have been overlooked or marginalized by the medical establishment.  In addition to more traditional works, readers will find snippets of literary and narrative encounters with medicine by writers who are neither doctors nor nurses, including professional caretakers and people who might be labelled “quacks” today but whose contributions represent a part of medical history. This anthology also includes medical reportage and philosophy, fiction and nonfiction, image and poetry.

 The care factor: a story of nursing and connection in the time of social distancing / Ailsa Wild. The Care Factor tells the story of one incredible nurse, Simone “Sim” Sheridan,  who chose to meet an unprecedented global health crisis on the frontline.  The result is a deeply human account of what the pandemic has really meant, not just for Sim and her fellow health professionals, but also for their patients, their families and friends, and the many who faced life in lockdown. This is a celebration of nursing, of friendship, and of the layers of connection and care that allow us to keep going when it feels impossible.

 The logic of information: a theory of philosophy as conceptual design / Luciano Floridi. Floridi presents an innovative approach to philosophy, conceived as conceptual design. He explores how we make, transform, refine, and improve the objects of our knowledge. He articulates and defends the thesis that knowledge is design and philosophy is the ultimate form of conceptual design.

 The Oxford handbook of philosophy of technology / edited by Shannon Vallor.  The Handbook gives readers a view into philosophical understanding, offering an in-depth collection of leading and emerging voices in the philosophy of technology. The thirty-two contributions in this volume cut across and connect diverse philosophical traditions and methodologies. The Handbook also gives readers a new sense of what philosophy looks like when fully engaged with the disciplines and domains of knowledge that continue to transform the material and practical features and affordances of our world, including engineering, arts and design, computing, and the physical and social sciences. This new collection challenges the reader with provocative and original insights on the history, concepts, problems, and questions to be brought to bear upon humanity’s complex and evolving relationship to technology.

 The philosophy of philosophy / Timothy Williamson.  The expanded new edition of one of the most influential and controversial books about the nature of philosophy published in the past several decades,  The Philosophy of Philosophy presents an original, unified concept of philosophy as a non-natural science. In this provocative work, distinguished philosopher  Williamson challenges widely-held assumptions and clarifies long-standing misconceptions about the methodology and nature of philosophical inquiry. The author rejects the standard narratives of contemporary philosophy developed from naturalism, the linguistic turn, postmodern irony, and other prominent trends of the twentieth century. New topics include the recent history of analytic philosophy, assessments of experimental philosophy, theories of concepts and understanding, Wittgensteinian approaches, popular philosophy, naturalism, morally-loaded examples in philosophy, philosophical applications of scientific methods, and many more.

The pillar. TWU Content Trinity Western University’s student yearbook for 2021-2022

 The quadruple aim in nursing: improving care, lowering costs, benefiting populations, elevating work life / Sue Johnson, PhD, RN, FAAN.  Created by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, the Quadruple Aim method is not nursing-specific, but its framework for optimizing health system performance is coherent with the nursing profession today. This book argues that the widespread adoption of the Quadruple Aim could help create a sustainable healthcare system. Using the work and legacy of nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale, this book provides an early example of successful, holistic healthcare that balances cost-effectiveness with quality of care for both patients and nurses.

 The SAGE handbook of social studies in health and medicine / edited by Susan C. Scrimshaw, Sandra D. Lane, Robert A. Rubinstein and Julian Fisher. With new chapters on key topics such as mental health, the environment, race, ethnicity and health, and pharmaceuticals, this new edition maintains its multidisciplinary framework and bridges the gap between health policy and the sociology of health.  This second edition brings together a diverse range of leading international scholars with contributors from Australia, Puerto-Rico, USA, Guatemala, Germany, Sri Lanka, Botswana, UK, South Sudan, Mexico, South Korea, Canada and more.

 Ur III period, 2112-2004 BC / Douglas Frayne. This volume provides editions of all known royal inscriptions of the five kings of the Third Dynasty of Ur (2112-2004 BC), from Ur-Nammu to Ibbi-Sin, as well as those of contemporaneous rulers of states on the periphery of the Ur III empire (excluding Elam). Ur III Period contains the first complete edition of the Fu-Sin inscriptions.

 Visual methodologies: an introduction to researching with visual materials / Gillian Rose. A bestselling critical guide to the study and analysis of visual culture. Existing chapters have been fully updated to offer a rigorous examination and demonstration of an individual methodology in a clear and structured style.

 What’s the use?: on the uses of use / Sara Ahmed.  Ahmed continues the work she began in The Promise of Happiness and Willful Subjects by taking up a single word–in this case, use–and following it around. She shows how use became associated with life and strength in nineteenth century biological and social thought and considers how utilitarianism offered a set of educational techniques for shaping individuals by directing them toward useful ends. She notes the potential for queer use: how things can be used in ways that were not intended or by those for whom they were not intended.

 Writing for publication in nursing and healthcare: getting it right / edited by Karen Holland, Roger Watson.  This comprehensive resource covers all aspects of writing for publication, including good practice in reviewing, the editorial process, ethical aspects of publishing, and the rules that govern academic writing, publishing, and dissemination. Assuming no prior expertise in the subject, the text uses an accessible, step-by-step approach that incorporates a wealth of real-life examples, hands-on activities, and valuable tips throughout. The definitive introduction to the subject, Writing for Publication in Nursing and Healthcare is a must-have for all nurses and healthcare professionals, as well as undergraduate and graduate students in nursing and healthcare programs who are required to write for publication.

 Writing the literature review: a practical guide / Sara Efrat Efron, Ruth Ravid. This accessible text provides a roadmap for producing a high-quality literature review–an integral part of a successful thesis, dissertation, term paper, or grant proposal. Each step of searching for, evaluating, analyzing, and synthesizing prior studies is clearly explained and accompanied by user-friendly suggestions, organizational tips, vignettes, and examples of student work. This is the first book to focus on crafting different types of reviews (systematic, traditional-narrative, or hermeneutic-phenomenological) that reflect the writer’s research question, methodological choices, and approaches to knowledge. The book includes dos and don’ts for evaluating studies and constructing an argument, and software suggestions for locating, organizing, and arranging sources

Search TWU Theatre Production Posters Online

 Project Overview

My name is Sydney Dvorak and in the fall semester, I had the privilege of completing my history practicum in Trinity Western University’s Archives and Special Collections. My primary project was digitizing and describing all of the Department of Theatre’s existing production posters. This collection includes 122 posters spanning from 1973 to 2021. Clearly, Trinity has a rich history of theatre. In light of the institution’s recent decision to close the Department of Theatre, I proceeded with this digitization project seeking to honour the legacy of a program that has entertained and challenged our community for over forty years.

Procedure

Assorted theatre documentationThis project began with me spending time, lots of time, with the material.  When I got to the archives, posters, programs, promotional postcards, audition sign-ups, and other random theatre-related material that once adorned the halls of the university were all mixed together. The first few weeks consisted of me circling the viewing table, taking it all apart and sorting out what was what. While my project was centred around the production posters, I actually started my project by setting the posters aside. Instead, I sorted the theatre production programs chronologically by decade. This did take some detective work. Not all of the programs had dates, so I went searching through old yearbooks and Mars’ Hill publications to find them. I had some luck, but six programs had to be placed in the “Production Programs [n.d.]” file. In the end, I removed staples from 115 programs and added them to folders based on decades.

Organizing theatre documents

As it is with any practicum, this was a learning experience. At the outset of this project, I had to learn the Rules of Archival Description (RAD). This is the standard for describing records to which Canadian archives adhere. Archivists use RAD to define records, their context, content, physical characteristics, and relationship to the rest of the archive. To most this may sound like a boring process, but I have discovered I am one of those nerds that enjoys records management. Learning RAD allowed me to move on to the next step in the process, which was entering the production programs and materials into the archival database. Some of my favourites in the series include: You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown [1973], Fiddler on the Roof [1986], Hippolytus [1994], Pride and Prejudice [2008], and The Knowing [n.d.]. Check out the Production Program series here.

Once the programs were organised, I could move on to the posters. Much like I did with the programs, I sorted all the posters chronologically by decade. This involved a lot of pile-making and sticky notes to keep things organised. Once I got the hang of it, this part went pretty quick. Data entry took up the bulk of my time in the archives. I spent a lot of time in front of a massive spreadsheet, filling the necessary fields for RAD and describing each poster. By spending time with each poster and describing the physical condition as well as the design, I really got to know the collection. For example, I know that the first poster we have in the series is for a production of The Song of David, that at some point someone has written “drama” in the top right corner with a blue pen, and that there is an image from a twelfth century Bible redrawn by Gerald Baron in the middle of the poster.

The first issue I encountered was that of preserving and presenting potentially offensive material. In 2009, one of the productions performed was Bertolt Brecht’s The Good Woman of Setzuan. In light of the fact that this play contains offensive stereotypes, and that many universities have cancelled their productions of The Good Woman in recent years due to concerns about racism, I had to decide how best to proceed. The poster could not be shoved into a corner and forgotten about; doing that would mean being a poor steward of history. In order to avoid censorship the poster has to be added to the record. It was ultimately decided that the poster would be archived with a disclaimer, which would hopefully mitigate any further harm stemming from the material. Ultimately, I chose to add a general note to the description explaining “This performance of ‘The Good Woman of Setzuan’ included a predominantly white cast portraying Chinese characters. This play is known to include harmful stereotyping and racist connotations in ways that are no longer acceptable.”

Digitised postersAfter my descriptions had been entered and merged into the archives database and I began the process of digitising each poster. We used an Epson Expression 11000XL to scan the posters. The time it took to scan each poster depended on how large the poster was, and if it was black and white. Scanning took between five and twenty-three minutes per poster. The main challenges I faced during this project involved technology, the first barrier to pop up was to do with the scanning. The size of the scanning bed we have in the archives was too small to accommodate some of the posters. A total of twenty-one posters could not be scanned because the scanning bed was too small. Because of this, their images could not be uploaded to the database. Instead, I attached a general note to the description saying, “Due to the sizes of the scanning bed and the poster, this item could not be scanned.”

To view our complete collection of theatre production posters, click here.

Project Outcomes

On my final shift in the archives, I was reminded of why this project is especially important. I was given the poster and program for the most recent theatre production, Awake. This show was designed to honour the Department of Theatre and the ways in which it has shaped the lives of alumni and current students. With the closure of TWU’s theatre program, this digitization project preserves its history.

Beyond this practicum being an invaluable professional and academic experience for me, it was also a project imbued with the emotions of finality. By individually organizing, describing, and scanning each poster I was taken on a tour of TWU’s history. As Trinity grew and changed through the decades, the theatre productions reflected or pushed back on these changes. I hope through my project I have provided a home for the history of TWU’s theatre department, and a digital space to relive and remember for those whose lives have been impacted by the theatre closure. I also hope that the material I have gotten to know so well over the last few months can be used well by the community and potential researchers.

Black History Month Must Reads (vol. 3)

In celebration of Black History Month,  the TWU History Department has recommended a list of books to help us learn about and honour the accomplishments of blacks throughout history and appreciate the diversity of our community.

Each week during the month of February, TWU Library will be highlighting these important and foundational works.

We hope that you will check out these titles!

The Colour Purple by Alice Walker.
This classic fiction work is set in the deep American South between the wars, it is the tale of Celie, a young black girl born into poverty and segregation. Raped repeatedly by the man she calls ‘father’, she has two children taken away from her, is separated from her beloved sister Nettie and is trapped into an ugly marriage. Eventually, Celie discovers the power and joy of her own spirit, freeing her from her past and reuniting her with those she loves.

Transformations in Slavery: A History of Slavery in Africa, 3rd ed. by Paul Lovejoy.
This title examines how indigenous African slavery developed within an international context, and considers the impact of European abolition and assesses slavery’s role in African history. This title corrects the accepted interpretation that African slavery was mild and resulted in the slaves’ assimilation. Instead, slaves were used extensively in production, although the exploitation methods and the relationships to world markets differed from those in the Americas.

“We’re Rooted Here and They Can’t Pull us Up”: Essays in African-Canadian Women’s History by Peggy Bristow, ed.
This collection of six essays explores three hundred years of Black women in Canada, from the seventeenth century to the immediate post-Second World War period.  Sylvia Hamilton documents the experiences of Black women in Nova Scotia, from early slaves and Loyalists to modern immigrants. Adrienne Shadd looks at the gripping realities of the Underground Railroad, focusing on activities on this side of the border. Peggy Bristow examines the lives of Black women in Buxton and Chatham, Ontario, between 1850 and 1865. Afua Cooper describes the career of Mary Bibb, a nineteenth-century Black teacher in Ontario. Dionne Brand, through oral accounts, examines labourers between the wars and their recruitment as factory workers during the Second World War. And, finally, Linda Carty explores relations between Black women and the Canadian state.

White Rage: The Unspoken Truth about our Racial Divide by Carol Anderson.
This title reframes our continuing conversation about race, chronicling the powerful forces opposed to black progress in America, and provides a new dimension to the national conversation about race in America.

X—The problem of the Negro as a Problem for Thought (ebook) by Nahum Dimitri Chandler.
This title offers an original account of matters African American, and challenges the conception of analogous objects of study across dominant ethnological disciplines (e.g., anthropology, history, and sociology) and the various forms of cultural, ethnic, and postcolonial studies.

New Titles Tuesday, May 28

In the past week 4 titles added to the library’s collection; below is a sample. Click on a link for more information.

The making of evangelicalism : from revivalism to politics and beyond /Randall Balmer
This book is a spirited history of evangelical Christianity in the United States. Effortlessly situating developments in evangelicalism in their wider historical context, the author demonstrates the ways American social and cultural settings influenced the course of the evangelical tradition.

The new peoplemaking /by Virginia Satir.
This revised and expanded seminal work on families expresses Satir’s most evolved thoughts on self-worth, communication, family systems, and the ways in which people relate to one another. Drawn on Satir’s lifetime of experience with families around the world, the book is written in the engaging style for which she is known.

The pillar (2018-19).
The Pillar Yearbook is the official Trinity Western University annual, and has been published in the spring term of every academic year since 1962-63.

Virginia Satir : her life and circle of influence /edited by Mel Suhd, Laura Dodson, and Maria Gomori.
This book honours the life of American author and therapist, known for her approach to family therapy.  Regarded as the “Mother of Family Therapy”, Satir pioneered work in the field of family reconstruction therapy, and for creating the Virginia Satir Change Process Model, a psychological model developed through clinical studies.

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