The department of Philosophy, History and Politics (PHP) at Thompson Rivers University and the TRU History Club are offering a unique opportunity for undergraduate students to present their research at a conference Jan. 18 through 20 at TRU.
Exploring the Labyrinth is the theme of the conference that has attracted 65 undergraduates from 12 universities from throughout the Western provinces and Washington State. Their research topics range from Salem witch hunts, Doukhobors, Ancient Greeks, sexuality as power and the current state of Pakistan.
It’s the first time that students from the History Club and faculty from PHP at TRU have undertaken such a project.
Organizer Jen Busch, a fourth year history major at TRU and president of the TRU History Club says the student volunteers were inspired by their experience as undergraduates at a graduate conference in Qualicum Beach last year.
“The response to the call for presenters has demonstrated just how much of a demand for this type of conference there is,” Busch said, estimating that two thirds of the student presenters are from visiting universities. Many are being partially funded by their institutions.
“What we’ve discovered during our planning is that opportunities for undergrads to present their research at conferences like this are exceedingly rare,” said Dr. Annie St. John-Stark, assistant professor history. “There are only two other undergrad conferences in the country that we know of and judging by the quality of the abstracts we’ve received it’s clear many undergraduates are doing cutting edge work.”
The conference highlights will include: student paper presentations, a keynote address, banquet and dance. The presentations will allow students at various western universities to share their academic interests with other students and give them the chance to practice presenting their research, a skill required for students going on to grad school.
For more information about the conference and the research papers being presented check out http://www.tru.ca/phpconf.html.
Contact:
Jen Busch
(c) 572-3061
(e) truhistoryconference@gmail.com
Dr. Annie St. John-Stark
Assistant professor
(p) 377-6024
(e) astjohn@tru.ca
