1984-03-08. MUN Gazette, vol. 16, no. 12

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ISSN 0228-88 7^
Memorial University
of Newfoundland
VOL. 16, No. 12
March 8, 1984
Memorial to offer history PhD program
A PhD program in three areas,
Maritime history, Newfoundland history
and Canadian history was recently
approved by Memorial University's
Senate. According to Dr. J.K. Hiller,
head, Department of History, the
doctoral program will get underway in
the fall semester, 1985.
History is the fourth department
within the 15-department Faculty of Arts
to offer a doctoral program, the others
being English, folklore and linguistics.
Seven departments in the science faculty,
as well as medicine and engineering, also
offer PhD programs.
"The goal of Memorial's history
department was to put together a
program in some way distinct from
history PhD programs offered at other
Canadian universities," said Dr. Hiller,
noting that the department is "well-
backed by qualified faculty and adequate
resources to offer the program".
MARITIME HISTORY GROUP
Recognized across Canada and also
internationally. Memorial's Maritime
History Group(MHG) is chaired by Dr.
Keith Matthews. Created in 1971, MHG
has provided a centre of excellence for
the study of shipping and fisheries on a
world-wide basis. Basic "resources" of
the group consist of its archive of some
25,000 feet run of documents and studies
concerned with shipping, fishing and
Newfoundland studies generally. This
makes it one of the largest archives in
Canada and one of the largest maritime
archives in the world.
MHG possesses documents going
back to the year 1600 and covering the
entire globe, but taking into consideration
the   province's   location,   its   primary^**L
concern is with the North Atlantic.       '^
In April, 1976, MHG was awarded a
five-year $733,000 program grant by the
Canada Council to examine the rise
and fall of the shipping industry
in Eastern Canada and its
effects on the social and
economic history of the region.
"The Maritime History
Archive is  unique," says Dr.
Hiller, "and a lot of expertise
has been built up not only on a
maritime history, but
well   on the   computer
methodology  necessary
to   handle the materials
involved."
"In the QE 11, we have
a very respectable related
collection    and   are
buying in primary
sources, which
means parliamentary
papers, relevant
newspapers,   that sort of
thing," he noted.
In the Maritime History Group archives: (L-R) Linda Little, grad student, Heather
Wareham, Maritime History Group archivist and Dr. James Tague, history. Above:
the Revenge, a model of the four-masted Jackass bark, flagship of Sir Richard
Grenville, which fought her last sea battle during the 16th century War of the Spanish
Succession. The model was built by Dr. Harry Mosdell in the 1950s.
Currently, the MHG researchers,
Drs. L.R. Fischer and J.A. Tague and
Professor Gerald Panting, are at work on
a final volume (five sets of proceedings
have already been published) which will
produce a comparative description and
analysis of the rise and fall of the Atlantic
Canadian shipping industry during the
19th century.
At the end of 1987, the massive
computer data tapes which the project
has assembled will become available for
public use.
MHG's expansion in recent years
necessitated a move during the summer
of 1983 to new and more extensive
quarters in the Henrietta Harvey
Building.
NEWFOUNDLAND HISTORY
The history department has always
had a commitment to teaching and
research on Newfoundland history,
indicated Dr. Hiller. A majority of the
masters theses dealt with some aspect of
Newfoundland history and three faculty
members have done their PhDs on
provincial history. Dr. Hiller's thesis was
a political survey of 19th century
Newfoundland; Dr. Shannon Ryan's on
the 19th century cod fishery and that of
Dr. Keith Matthews on the West
Country fishery in Newfoundland.
Among the numerous archival
collections available for research in the
QE II Centre for Newfoundland Studies:
the Smallwood papers, some 200 tin
boxes of papers, reports, etc. and the
Hattenhauer labor collection, consisting
of union papers, minutes of organizational
meetings and photographs dating back to
before the turn of the century.
cont'd on p. 5
Memorial University Botanical
Garden at Oxen Pond is the new title
for the popular Mt. Scio Road park.
2
Paintings are once more available on
loan from the Memorial University
Art Gallery. Curator Pat G rat tan
explains both loan and rental policies
and gives background information on
the Permanent Collection.
3
The annual Health Fair, sponsored by
the Medical Students'Society, drew
record numbers of visitors, both from
the general public and the university
community.
centrefold
A multiculturalism and education
conference (March 29-30) and an
address by the executive director of
the International University Consortium
are among the upcoming events noted
in Campus Corner.
SPRING
CONVOCATION
The Spring Convocation will be held this year on Friday and Saturday,
May 25 and May 26, in five sessions, degrees being conferred as follows:
Friday, May 25 at 9 a.m.
Friday, May 25 at 11 a.m.
Friday, May 25 at 3 p.m.
Special session for engineering — B.Eng.,
M.Eng. and PhD in engineering.
B.Com.(honors and general), BN, BSW,
MSW, and MBA.
BA(honors and general), B.Mus., B.Mus.Ed.,
MA, and PhD.
Saturday, May 26 at 10:30 a.m.  B.Sc. (honors and general), MD and M.Sc.
Saturday, May 26 at 3 p.m. BA(Ed.), B.Ed., BPE, B.Voc.Ed., B.Sp.Ed.,
M.Ed., and MPE.