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Join us for a fresh season of the PUBlic Professor Series!

View 2023/24 ScheduleRegister for priority seatingRead the latest media release

ABOUT THE SERIES:

 

Community outreach is a priority for the University of Lethbridge. Dissemination of faculty research expertise to a wider community through programs and activities such as talks, lab visits, youth and family activities, and in-school presentations has been delivered with great success over the years.
 

In June 2014, the Faculty of Arts & Science launched something special: the PUBlic Professor Series. Fast forward to 2023, and we're thrilled to announce that we've expanded the series to include talks by researchers from across the University. This monthly lecture series is designed to spark thought-provoking discussions and bring a diverse group of experts and researchers from our campus right into the community.

While the size of the series has grown, its core mission remains unchanged. These talks will continue to offer valuable insights into topics that pique interest, inspire questions, and foster open and engaging conversations. The PUBlic Professor Series provides an excellent opportunity for the community to come together, connect with one another, and dive into meaningful discussions.

This series is a natural extension of the popular Public Professor column, co-edited by Dan Johnson and James Linville, which you may have enjoyed reading in the Lethbridge Herald. Over the span of three years, they published a total of 146 regular Saturday columns, each penned by our talented faculty, sharing intriguing aspects of their research with you.

Together, let’s explore the fascinating world of knowledge, one conversation at a time.

NOVEMBER'S TALK: 

Portrait of Dr. Sheila McManus smiling. They have short light-coloured hair, and blue and green gem tattoos on their left forearm. They are wearing a black and gray striped scarf and a gray t-shirt.

A Professor of History, author, researcher and expert in border studies was 2023's last presenter:
 
Dr. Sheila McManus
Borders are Stupid

Thursday, November 23


Most people today, if they think about borders at all, can be forgiven for believing lines on a map are real things serving useful purposes. Demarcating the edges of nation-states is responsible for everything from shoring up sovereignty, nationalism and colonialism, to drawing the lines between “us” and “them.” However, by taking a closer look at their long, messy histories, and even messier contemporary functions, you'll discover those invisible lines are, at best, lying to us. This talk explores why we believe the lies borders tell us, and why we shouldn’t. 

PUBlic Professor Series presents Dr. Shelia McManus (Nov. 23, 2023)


About Dr. McManus: Dr. Sheila McManus is a Professor of History and a member of the Lethbridge Border Studies research group. Their research focuses primarily on the history of the borderlands of the North American West. McManus is the author of The Line Which Separates: Race, Gender, and the Making of the Alberta-Montana Borderlands (University of Nebraska Press and University of Alberta Press, 2005); Choices and Chances: A History of Women in the U.S. West, (Wiley, 2010); and Both Sides Now: Writing the Edges of the North American West  (Texas A&M Press, 2022). They co-edited One Step Over the Line: Toward a History of Women in the North American Wests (Athabasca University Press and the University of Alberta Press, 2008), and Intersections and New Directions in Critical Border Studies (under contract with Athabasca University Press).


 

 

2023-2024 PUBlic Professor Series schedule

 

January 25

Weaving World Views: The Web as a Space for Cultural Vitality

Melissa Shouting (BHSc '19) & Christine Clark (MFA '10)

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February 29

Owning my Voice and Speaking my Truth in Academic Spaces

Dr. Sandra Dixon

Learn more

March 28

Why is the Brain Important?

Dr. Rob Sutherland

Learn more

Past talk: September 28

Recent Trends in the Food Industry

Dr. Digvir Jayas

Learn More

 

Past talk: October 26

Person-centred Care from Rhetoric to Reality

Dr. Sienna Caspar

See video

 

November 23

Borders are Stupid

Dr. Sheila McManus

Learn more

Explore research at ULethbridge

There are no borders to Dr. Sheila McManus’s research interest

A childhood experience in southern Alberta helped spark decades of research into borders and borderlands by history professor Dr. Sheila McManus.

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Rediscovering History: Locating Lost Graves with Advanced Geospatial Technologies

Rediscovering History: Locating Lost Graves with Advanced Geospatial Technologies is a pioneering partnership between the University of Lethbridge and Vulcan County. This project utilizes cutting-edge tech to locate unmarked graves in rural Southern …

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Faculty of Arts & Science welcomes Dr. Alex Tetarenko

The Faculty of Arts & Science would like to introduce Dr. Alex Tetarenko. Alex, who will be teaching first-year astronomy courses, arrives in southern Alberta after a journey that took her from the ice …

Read more