Thursday, July 25, 2019

Meet the multi-million-dollar medievalists

Principal Investigator Steven Bednarski with an illuminated manuscript.

This is an excerpt of an article originally published on the Faculty of Arts news site.

The Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science and Sport, announced new funding for social sciences and humanities research last week, including a significant $2,500,000 Partnership Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) for a project led by Steven Bednarski, professor of medieval history based at St Jerome’s University.

The work builds on a long-term research partnership Bednarski has led between Waterloo and Queen’s University, including the Bader International Study Centre (BISC) at Herstmonceux Castle, East Sussex.

Herstmonceux castle in East Sussex, the site of much of the historical research in the project.

A seven-year interdisciplinary project, “Environments of Change: Digitizing Nature, History, and Human Experience in Late Medieval Sussex” will investigate how emerging digital technologies can help to reveal the historical relationship between climate and culture in the late Middle Ages, offering insights on contemporary climate-culture interactions.

The project will establish the first digital humanities lab for the study of historical climate and culture. The objective is to see more clearly how humans impact the natural world and vice versa: the Medieval Digital Research in Arts and Graphical Environmental Networks Laboratory, or DRAGEN Lab. Along with a newly-built Science Lab at the BISC, these spaces provide unique training grounds to form the next generation of digitally-minded environmental humanists.

“To represent the climate-culture symbiosis objectively,” explains Bednarski, “we focus on another time and place of immense environmental and cultural change: southern England, 1000-1550—which coincides with the gradual end of the Medieval Climate Optimum and the onset of the Little Ice Age.”

Along with St. Jerome’s University, Waterloo’s faculties of Arts (including the Stratford School of Interaction Design and Business), Science, and Environment, the Games Institute, the Office of Research, and the Office of the Provost all provide essential support to the project.

Read the rest of the article on the Faculty of Arts news site.

Centre for Extended Learning receives national awards

Left to right: Dr. Sheila LeBlanc (University of Calgary), Marie Lippens (University of Waterloo), Aldo Caputo (University of Waterloo), Carolyn Young (Western University)

The Centre for Extended Learning (CEL) received multiple awards at the Canadian Association for University Continuing Education (CAUCE) annual conference, which was hosted this year in Hamilton by McMaster University. CAUCE is a professional association of deans, directors, senior administrative personnel and practitioners with professional careers in university continuing education. This year’s conference, entitled “Forging Ahead to a Brighter Future”, included two keynote speakers and explored themes such as diversity and partnership in continuing education and the importance of lifelong learning.

Waterloo representatives were pleased to accept awards for excellence in programming, as well as design and marketing. The MOAT Online course won the Program Award for Non-Credit Programming Under 48 Hours. The course, created by Jeff Nagge from the School of Pharmacy and CEL uses artificial intelligence to teach pharmacists, registered nurses, and nurse practitioners how to effectively and safely manage oral anticoagulation therapy under a medical directive. Working with partner Ametros Learning, the team developed a roster of simulated patients for learners to interact with.

The Myths of Online Learning video won both the Broadcast and Video Award and the Best in Show Award. The video targets adult and/or non-traditional learners considering attending post-secondary education in an online environment. It seeks to bust myths about online learning. The misconceptions addressed in the video were uncovered during conversations, surveys and focus groups with adult students.

The awards were accepted at a luncheon ceremony during the conference where Waterloo staff members were congratulated for their contributions to quality in continuing education and lifelong learning.

Co-operative Education launches new website for students

Co-operative Education launched a brand new website for co-op students today. Though the URL remains the same (uwaterloo.ca/co-operative-education), the site has a new look and feel.

Check it out and provide your feedback.