Lecture

The Battle of Britain in the summer of 1940 was the greatest aerial battle in history. In this talk at Laurier Centre for the Study of Canada, Ted Barris uncovers the unknown stories of Canadian airmen, ground crew, as well as engineers, aeronautical designers, medical officers and civilians who answered the call and turned back the very real threat of Nazi invasion. Barris is an award-winning journalist, author, broadcaster and author of 22 best-selling non-fiction books.

Laurier Centre for the Study of Canada, together with Guelph Museums, presents a lecture by Lieutenant-Colonel Miguel A. Ortiz-Sosa, CD, the commanding officer of Guelph's 11th Field Regiment.

Donald Trump wants Canada to be his 51st State. He isn’t the first American leader to think that way, and he won’t be the last. At the Laurier Centre for the Study of Canada (LCSC), Norman Hillmer, a leading historian of the Canadian-American relationship, reflects on how Canada resisted the United States in the past, and he asks whether and how much present challenges are different from yesterday’s.

Laurier Centre for the Study of Canada, together with Guelph Museums, presents author Douglas Hunter. Hunter explores the role of the First World War in the life and career of artist A.Y. Jackson, and its impact on the formation of Canada’s most famous art collective, the Group of Seven.

Henry Tsang, visual and media artist from Vancouver, talks about his 360˚ Riot Walk project and book, White Riot: The 1907 Anti-Asian Riots in Vancouver.

Wilfrid Laurier University professor, Leonard Friesen presents a special lecture series celebrating the publication of his book, Mennonites in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union: Through Much Tribulation (University of Toronto Press, 2022). Sponsored by the Institute of Anabaptist and Mennonite Studies. This is the second in the series. Consider attending the first lecture.

Wilfrid Laurier University professor, Leonard Friesen presents the first lecture in a series celebrating the publication of his book, Mennonites in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union: Through Much Tribulation (University of Toronto Press, 2022). Sponsored by the Institute of Anabaptist and Mennonite Studies. Consider attending the second lecture.

Aly Firth, MA student at Wilfrid Laurier University, offers an assessment of transgender roles and crossdressing in performances for the troops during the First World War. This Military Lecture is sponsored by Tri-U partner Laurier Centre for the Study of Canada and Guelph Museums.

Three online lectures offered through the University of Guelph during Winter 2025 with thanks to the Francis and Ruth Redelmeier Professorship in Rural History.

• January 23: Local Need, Lasting Legacies: Japanese Canadian Internment & Rural Medicine, Letitia Johnson, University of Victoria
• February 12: The Medieval Pig, Dolly Jørgensen, University of Stavanger
• March 12: Mmm...Manitoba: The Stories Behind the Foods We Eat, Kimberley Moore and Janis Thiessen, University of Winnipeg

In today's polarized world, anger is often celebrated as a tool for liberation, yet its roots in ancient and medieval thought have been largely overlooked. Join The Medieval DRAGEN Lab guest, Dr. Marc Cels of Athabasca University, who will meekly offer his observations about how the current debate could be enriched by becoming a bit medieval on the subject of anger.