UNews - Kevin McGeough

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge research projects earn SSHRC funding support

caroline.zentner — Wed, 13 Mar 2024 15:02:43 +0000

The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) announced funding through several grant programs today and three ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge projects are among those receiving awards.

The Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Transport and Quebec Lieutenant on behalf of the Honourable Francois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, announced over $1.8 billion in federal research support, including $35.3 million for 577 research projects at 66 Canadian institutions through SSHRC Insight Development Grants.

Among the successful ULethbridge projects is a proposed two-year study by Drs. Kevin McGeough and Shawn Bubel (Geography & Environment) that will examine how political leaders built economies that satisfied the demands of imperial powers and maintained local loyalties in Iron Age Jordan. Located in environmentally marginal but politically strategic locations, examination of the Iron Age kingdoms of Jordan informs us not just about ancient times, but about issues related to the origins of states, their resilience and collapse.

“The proposed project has the potential to transform the way scholars think about Iron Age Kingdoms such as Edom, as well as contribute to the preservation and interpretation of Jordan’s cultural heritage,” says McGeough. “The study will provide opportunities for ULethbridge undergraduate and graduate students to be trained in field archaeological techniques and laboratory analyses.”

Dr. Anastasia Stuart-Edwards, a Dhillon School of Business professor in Human Resource Management and Labour Relations, will investigate whether mindfulness can improve teamwork, which has been known to be inefficient and result in negative employee experiences and loss of profitability. Mindfulness, a state of being present and aware of what you’re sensing and feeling without interpretation or judgment, has been shown to be beneficial for individual employees, but it’s not clear if the benefits extend to teams.

“This project draws on teamwork theories and mindfulness to examine whether team members’ mindfulness scores are related to a state of shared team mindfulness,” says Stuart-Edwards. “We’ll also be looking at how team mindfulness relates to team processes, engagement and performance.”

The third project by Drs. Christy Tu and Rhiannon Mesler, professors at the Dhillon School of Business (Calgary Campus), will explore the relationship between charitable giving and social status and how the positioning of a charitable gift to consumers can affect donations. They are proposing a series of six studies with both student and public participants.

“This research has important implications for improving charitable giving and prosocial behaviour in society,” says Tu. “In addition, our results should help equip charitable organizations and governments with tools to better communicate and raise funds from consumers for prosocial purposes.”

Along with nearly $200,000 for these research projects, ULethbridge will receive a $2.4-million grant from the Research Support Fund which supports the indirect costs of research.

From Lethbridge to Zurich

caroline.zentner — Thu, 14 Jan 2021 23:14:37 +0000

Drs. Dylan Johnson (BA ’10) and Matthew Pawlak (BA ’14) never met when they were undergraduates attending the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. But now, thanks to Dr. Kevin McGeough (BA '96), they’ve connected halfway around the world at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Zurich in Switzerland. When McGeough learned they were both at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Zurich, he made a virtual introduction. As it turns out, they’re both doing postdoctoral research in the same department, the Theologische Fakultät, but hadn’t met in person due to COVID restrictions.

Dr. Matthew Pawlak

“I didn't know a lot of humans in Zürich when I moved here in the middle of a pandemic, so when I heard from Kevin that Dylan was in my department, I emailed him immediately,” says Pawlak. “We met a few times already — while following Switzerland's coronavirus rules, of course. I love living abroad, especially getting to use a second language on a daily basis. But at the same time, there's always something refreshing about meeting other Canadians. Whenever I run into another member of the Lethbridge diaspora in Europe there is always reminiscence about our time at U of L, detailed comparison of Albertan breweries, and we always make time to complain about the wind in Lethbridge.”

Dr. Dylan Johnson

“Thanks to Kevin McGeough realizing that two of his former students were in the same department at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Zurich, Matthew and I have become quick friends,” says Johnson. “To say I was surprised to learn he was here in Zurich is a bit of an understatement, as both the U of L and the Theological Seminar of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Zurich are not large institutions in terms of student and faculty bodies.”

The reputation of the U of L’s Faculty of Education was a drawing card for both. Pawlak grew up in Red Deer and planned to become a teacher. After a year in education, he took an elective course in biblical Hebrew with McGeough.

“Not only was Kevin’s Hebrew class excellent, it really jumpstarted my interest in language and religious studies,” says Pawlak. “I had never really considered grad school as an option, but after some encouragement from Kevin and input from friends and family, I figured I might enjoy teaching at a university rather than at a high school.”

Johnson was born in Kindersley, Saskatchewan and moved to Lethbridge when he was nine. He declared a combined major in education and history but after a few history classes, he knew he wanted to become a professor. He switched his major to history and soon learned about U of L scholars teaching biblical and ancient Near Eastern studies.

“I met Kevin in his course on ancient history,” says Johnson. “His course was great, but what cemented my decision to pursue graduate work in biblical and Near Eastern studies was the archaeological field school run by Dr. Shawn Bubel at Tel Beth Shemesh in Israel. This was the defining moment in my life and career, when I knew I wanted to understand the history and culture of the people who once occupied Israel and the surrounding regions."

Their paths diverged after they completed their undergraduate studies. Johnson was admitted into the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible program at Harvard Divinity School.

“Though not widely known, the U of L has a lengthy reputation for sending students to study Hebrew Bible at Harvard — including Kevin and myself,” says Johnson.

After completing a master’s in 2012, Johnson pursued a PhD at New York ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. During that time, he spent a year at the Institute of Legal History at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Paris. After completing his doctorate in 2018, he taught Archaeology 1000 at the U of L. He was set to begin a one-year adjunct position at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of British Columbia when he received an email from a professor at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Zurich recruiting him to join a research team exploring lawgiving in the Bible and the ancient Near East. He and his wife moved to Switzerland last January.

Pawlak, after teaching himself ancient Greek, switched from Hebrew Bible to early Christianity and secured a funded spot in a master’s program at McMaster ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in Hamilton, Ontario. He developed an interest in the intersection of humour and religion and focused his master’s thesis on the use of sarcasm in one book of the New Testament. That became the launching point for his doctoral work at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.

“The years in Cambridge were amazing; I often describe it as a bit like living in a Harry Potter book — except a lot more people speak Latin,” says Pawlak. “There were several other Canadians at my college in Cambridge, including others with U of L or Lethbridge connections. As a result, in a small corner of the UK, there was an international graduate community that —when you asked them what they knew about Canada — would mention Toronto, Vancouver but could also give you a detailed account of Lethbridge and the geography of southern Alberta.”

Pawlak’s postdoctoral position has him splitting his time between Zurich and Tübingen, Germany. He arrived in Zurich last October and will be there for 10 more months. His research involves exploring the connections between physical and verbal violence in the ancient world and how mockery functions as a tactic to dehumanize victims in torture situations.

In addition to their shared backgrounds, anyone eavesdropping on one of their conversations might hear them speak in English, German or French or see them reading texts in Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Aramaic and other ancient languages.

New workshop series debuts, celebrates impact of geographer Dr. W.E. Aufrecht

trevor.kenney — Mon, 27 Jan 2020 20:23:04 +0000

The Department of Geography & Environment hosted an international workshop and honoured a respected emeritus professor at the same time.

The workshop, Canadian Contributions to the Study of Ancient Jordan, brought together scholars from across Canada, the United States and England who are working on the subject of ancient Jordan and related areas. A total of 18 papers were presented over the course of the weekend as researchers shared their work from a variety of perspectives.

Dr. W.E. Aufrecht, left, along with current faculty members Drs. Shawn Bubel and Kevin McGeough.

The gathering was the first of what Kevin McGeough, professor in the department, describes as a broader program.

“This is intended as the first of many such workshops on archaeology and history we plan on hosting as part of what we are calling the W.E. Aufrecht Occasional Workshops in Archaeology,” says McGeough.

Recognizing Aufrecht’s long-standing contributions to the field of archaeology, both at the U of L and in the Middle East, the workshop series is intended to continue his active advocacy for archaeology at the U of L and his commitment to giving the U of L a prominent voice in the archaeology of Jordan and Israel.

“Wally was instrumental in establishing the archaeology program here and trained many, many U of L students in the field,” says McGeough. “Our hope is that this workshop will result in a volume that we will publish in honour of Wally.”

Dr. Chris Rollston, associate professor of Northwest Semitic Languages and Literatures in the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Languages and Literatures at George Washington ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, was the guest speaker for the workshop. His appearance, and the workshop as a whole, was supported by grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Canadian branch of the American Schools of Oriental Research.

U of L Board of Governors appoints five research chairs

caroline.zentner — Fri, 20 Apr 2018 20:01:34 +0000

Five new appointments as Board of Governors Research Chairs highlight the exceptional scholarly work of a diverse cadre of professors at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

“I am pleased to announce these appointments as Board of Governors Research Chairs,” says Dr. Erasmus Okine, vice-president (research). “Each one of these individuals is recognized as an outstanding scholar who has made an impact on his or her field of study. These high-profile academic appointments continue to play a vital role in helping us enhance our reputation and status amongst Canada’s most influential research institutions.”

Dr. Paul Hayes, a professor in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, has been appointed to a five-year term as a Tier I Board of Governors Research Chair in Organometallic Chemistry. He is a leader in the field of synthetic inorganic chemistry and homogeneous catalysis, particularly in the development of new catalysts that generate green materials and those that provide insight into industrially relevant processes.

Also appointed at the Tier I level is Dr. Kevin McGeough (BA ’96), a professor of archaeology. He will be the Research Chair in Archaeological Theory and Reception for a five-year term. His specialty is the archaeology, history and languages of the ancient Near East and the reception of the ancient Near East in contemporary culture.

Dr. Hans-Joachim Wieden has been appointed a Tier I Board of Governors Research Chair in Biomolecular Design and Function. A professor in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Wieden is the founding director of the Alberta RNA Research and Training Institute, home to the largest group of primarily RNA-focused research labs in Western Canada. His lab conducts a wide range of research, from rational design of biological nano-machines and over designing and reprogramming of genetic circuits to the development of novel antibiotics.

Dr. Fangfang Li, an associate professor in the Department of Psychology, has received a four-year Tier II appointment as Research Chair in Child Language Acquisition. She specializes in first- and second-language acquisition, children’s speech and motor control development and examination of human speech using instruments.

Also appointed for a four-year term at the Tier II level is Dr. Aaron Taylor, an associate professor in the Department of New Media. He will be the Board of Governors Research Chair in Film and New Media. His research projects investigate the psychology of screen acting, comics and the superhero film and the cult reception of sentimental movies.

All terms begin on July 1, 2019.

PUBlic Professor Series spawns a spinoff

caroline.zentner — Thu, 22 Dec 2016 20:53:05 +0000

Although Faculty of Arts & Science professors could be labelled serious, scholarly types by day, the occasion of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s 50th anniversary has given them a reason to have a little fun while still imparting their knowledge.

The PUBlic Professor Series: 5-Minute Edition, is designed to showcase the diversity of research interests within the Faculty in an entertaining format. Each of 10 professors will have five minutes and a maximum of 15 PowerPoint slides to do a presentation on their research. The slides will automatically advance every 20 seconds, requiring the speaker to keep pace.

“After five minutes is over, I’m cutting them off,” says Dr. Kevin McGeough (BA ’96), a U of L geography professor and moderator of the event. “That makes it fun because there’s a kind of panicked element to the presentation. It’s especially fun for professors because we’re not known for being concise in our comments. That lightning-fast approach makes it interesting for people to watch.”

The professors who have agreed to participate include Dr. Jay Gamble (English), Dr. René Barendregt (Geography), Dr. Sergio Pellis (Neuroscience), Dr. Ute Kothe (Biochemistry), Dr. Omar Rodriguez (Modern Languages), Dr. Jennifer Copeland (Kinesiology), Dr. Janay Nugent (History), Dr. Locke Spencer (Physics), Dr. Maura Hanrahan (Native American Studies) and Dr. Hillary Rodrigues (Religious Studies).

“One of the things we’re looking for is that these research presentations be of interest to the public and to people who aren’t specialists in the area of expertise,” says McGeough. “That matches the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ’s liberal education approach where we have all sorts of different disciplinary backgrounds and we all contribute to a larger conversation.”

McGeough has some experience with the format from a session he participated in at an event hosted by the U of L Faculty Association. He has a few tips for his colleagues who’ll be participating.

“Talk quickly, have a sense of what you want to say before you get up there and pick your slides well. If you lose track of where you are, good slides can cue you to get back on track or find a new track to go down,” says McGeough.

The PUBlic Professor Series: 5-Minute Edition is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 13 at 2 p.m. in B756 ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Hall. McGeough says the event will be informal and people are welcome to drop in on the session even after it’s started.

“We especially hope that alumni will come and experience this event. This will be a fun way to spend the afternoon,” says McGeough, adding everyone is welcome to attend.

PUBlic Professor series promising another stellar lineup

trevor.kenney — Fri, 16 Sep 2016 15:53:50 +0000

Surely the ancient Maya never predicted their downfall, nor did the Roman Empire foresee its society coming to an end and yet they both vanished into history. What can we learn from these civilizations and how can it relate to the normal we know today?

Dr. Kevin McGeough (BA ’96) of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s Department of Geography will explore these topics when he presents ‘I met a traveller from an antique land’: The Archaeology of Progress, Decline and Collapse at the first PUBlic Professor series event of the fall semester. The free public talk is set for Thursday, Sept. 22 from 7 to 9 p.m. at Lethbridge City Hall.

Dr. Kevin McGeough opens the series on Thursday, Sept. 22 discussing the lessons of archaeology.

McGeough says that the ability of archaeology to offer insight about long-term change is one of the major contributions of the discipline to society. He also sees the PUBlic Professor series as an important vehicle to share his research work.

“It’s part of what I think is our obligation as professors,” he says. “We can’t always make our research accessible in ways that are meaningful but we should always be trying to do so and archaeology is one of those disciplines that is evocative and garners a lot of public interest and imagination. So we need to think about that and do our best to communicate our work back to everybody.”

PUBlic Professor is beginning its third year in the current format. Born out of the great success of the Public Professor newspaper column co-edited by Drs. Dan Johnson and James Linville, the current series offers free public talks in a pub-style setting. Intended more as open forums than lectures, PUBlic Professor evenings provoke questions and open dialogue.

“It’s a forum that has proven to be very popular and we’re excited to have Dr. McGeough open another series of what promises to be outstanding presentations,” says Dr. Craig Cooper, Dean of the Faculty of Arts & Science. “I think that people will once again be very intrigued by the scholars we have lined up for the year and the variety of topics that will be discussed.”

McGeough is a U of L alumnus who went on to master’s and doctoral studies at Harvard and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Pennsylvania respectively before returning to teach at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in 2003. He’s been in Lethbridge ever since and has conducted field work throughout the world, including extensive research in the Middle East.

His work looks at how people use archaeology to make arguments about the present, how this is both legitimate and can also be cause for concern. He has also studied archaeology and its presentation in films and media.

McGeough’s talk is the first of the six-part PUBlic Professor series that will run through March 2017. The full schedule follows:

Sept. 22, 2016 – Dr. Kevin McGeough (geography & archaeology) – ‘I met a traveller from an antique land’: The Archaeology of Progress, Decline and Collapse
Oct. 20, 2016 – Dr. Roy Golsteyn (biological sciences) – Flower Power: A Scientific Search for New Medicines in Prairie Plants
Nov. 24, 2016 – Dr. Goldie Morgentaler (English) – How Dickens Invented Christmas – and Why it Matters
Jan. 26, 2017 – Dr. Janay Nugent (history) – Converting a Nation: Family, Religion and Calvinism in Sixteenth and Seventeenth-Century Scotland
Feb. 16, 2017 – Dr. Kent Peacock (philosophy) – Alberta in the Anthropocene
Mar. 23, 2017 – Dr. Stacey Wetmore (chemistry & biochemistry) – DNA Damage, Repair and Disease: How Computers Can Help Us Understand

Free appetizers and bar service will be available at each presentation. Seating is limited and people are urged to attend early. No RSVP is required. For more information, visit the PUBlic Professor series web page.

For more on Dr. McGeough’s work, visit this feature story.

McGeough uncovering lessons from our past

trevor.kenney — Wed, 14 Sep 2016 21:58:05 +0000

Dr. Kevin McGeough (BA ’96) relishes his fall semester Archaeology 1000 class more than any other. He also realizes it comes with the unique pressure of living up to the expectations of his eager first-year students.

“I love it because these are people in their first semester of university, and if they signed up they probably always wanted to take archaeology,” says McGeough. “So it’s easier for me in some ways than other professors because people have already bought into this subject as being interesting. I have the job not to lose them as opposed to catch their attention.”

Dr. Kevin McGeough kicks off this year's PUBlic Professor series on Thursday, Sept. 22.

Archaeology is inherently interesting, associated with a certain cool factor propagated by films and media and McGeough is happy to take advantage of that to discuss his research and what it can teach modern society. He will open the popular PUBlic Professor Series on Thursday, Sept. 22, 7 p.m. at Lethbridge City Hall by presenting, ‘I met a traveller from an antique land’: The Archaeology of Progress, Decline and Collapse.

“It’s part of what I think is our obligation as professors,” he says of public outreach initiatives such as PUBlic Professor. “We can’t always make our research accessible in ways that are meaningful but we should always be trying to do so and archaeology is one of those disciplines that is evocative and garners a lot of public interest and imagination. So we need to think about that and do our best to communicate our work back to everybody.”

His outreach involves some myth busting, breaking down false impressions people may have of the discipline.

“I think the biggest misconception is the importance of the artifact to archaeology and that comes from films and television where people are depicted as desperate for acquiring the artifact. And really, the artifact is just one small piece,” says McGeough.

He describes the opening scene from the original Indiana Jones movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark, where the hero navigates a series of hair-raising traps and barriers in order to recover a gold idol.

“For an actual archaeologist, the gold idol wouldn’t really be that interesting at all, rather all the traps and the whole context that surrounds the idol is what’s really interesting to us,” he says. “It also comes from a museum context where people have probably experienced archaeology and where artifacts are often treated as pieces of art. But the thing itself is meaningless if you don’t have the full context.”

A U of L alumnus, McGeough went on to master’s and doctoral studies at Harvard and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Pennsylvania respectively before returning to teach at the U of L in 2003. He’s been in Lethbridge ever since but has conducted field work throughout the world, including extensive research in the Middle East.

He sees archaeology as much more than digging up the past.

“Our contribution is we have evidence for this vastly huge sum of the human past,” he says. “It’s not only the actual data but also all the models that come out of us thinking about the past, how things have changed, advanced, progressed. We haven’t always been this way, what we see today hasn’t always been normative, so that shifts the focus. You have this longstanding change over time mixed with an understanding of other experiences and you begin to realize our way of life hasn’t always been, nor will it continue as we expect it might.”

He also looks at how people use archaeology to make arguments about the present, how this is both legitimate and can also be cause for concern. One need only look at today’s Middle Eastern issues, political conflict throughout the globe and even the curious politics of former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s pursuit of the long lost ships of the Franklin Expedition.

“It makes you ask, whose history is important? What was he saying politically about northern sovereignty, because it’s very strange for a leader of state to make an archaeological announcement?” asks McGeough. “When we are telling these narratives of the past, what are we embedding in there, what kind of politics are we arguing for, either overtly or subversively?”

McGeough’s PUBlic Professor talk is the first in this academic year’s six-part series that will also feature presentations from Dr. Roy Golsteyn (biological sciences), Dr. Goldie Morgentaler (English), Dr. Janay Nugent (history), Dr. Kent Peacock (philosophy) and Dr. Stacey Wetmore (chemistry & biochemistry).

All events are free and open to the public and no RSVP is required. Seating is limited and guests are encouraged to arrive early.

Diversity celebrated, Mar. 11-15

trevor.kenney — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 22:55:50 +0000

Now in its third incarnation, the annual ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Respect and Diversity Awareness Week is an established campus event that brings to light issues related to diversity and respect both in the workplace and beyond.

Presented by the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Faculty Association's Gender, Equity and Diversity Caucus, the week runs Mar. 11-15 and features six events over the span of five days. The goal, of course, is to have the themes that are discussed throughout the week resonate long after the event spotlight has faded.

"I think it's great to highlight the week and to bring in speakers and all the bells and whistles, but this is something that should be infused in our everyday," says caucus member and Chair of Respect and Diversity Awareness Week, Dr. Noella Piquette.

Dr. Noella Piquette is the Chair of Gender Diversity Equity Week.

An associate professor in the Faculty of Education, Piquette says that issues of diversity are becoming a greater part of mainstream conversation but there is much work to be done.

'Diversity Includes All' is the theme to this year's week and is designed to get faculty members to think about their own diversity as well as the student diversity that exists on campus.

"We do a fantastic job at this university talking about students and how we can support them, and while we're not trying to shift the focus, we're broadening the focus to include the fact that we have a huge faculty and staff component on campus, and it's important to think about the diversity that exists within those groups," says Piquette.

The week kicks off with a presentation from assistant professor of neuroscience Dr. Robbin Gibb as she presents Sex Differences in the Brain, Monday, Mar. 11 at noon in TH241.

Gibb will outline some of the factors influencing brain development that are mediated by sex differences. What promises to be a lively question and answer session follows her talk.

On Tuesday, the Spoken Word – Poetry Slam event is at noon in AH176. This gives presenters a platform to speak, read, rhyme or rant their words in a two-minute window as they discuss diversity and inclusion.

"I think this will be so much fun and really puts a new slant on discussing diversity," says Piquette, who notes that the Lethbridge Public Interest Research Group is also supporting the event.

Faculty, staff and students are all welcome to take part. Participants just need to sign up in advance by contacting Piquette at noella.piquette@uleth.ca.

Wednesday's event is a presentation with Jeff Meadows and Brad Reamsbottom of the Teaching Centre. They will discuss Supporting Faculty in Supporting Students with Learning Disabilities, focussing on some of the key issues that students may be experiencing within reading and writing tasks, and specific strategies that can be employed to assist them.

A pair of events takes place Thursday, beginning with a wheelchair basketball demonstration hosted by Dr. Mary Dyck (kinesiology and physical education) and with the Lethbridge Wheelchair Basketball Association (10:45 a.m. in the 1st Choice Savings Centre gym), followed by a special film screening of Shameless: The ART of disability (7 p.m. in PE264).

"It's a heartwarming movie, but at the same time it's also very comical," says Piquette. "They really try and show that disability is not all about being sad and serious, it's a part of life and they do a great job at portraying that message."

The week wraps up with Friday's Strengthening Academic Capacity: Gender Dimensions presentation by Mary Butterfield of the Office of Research and Innovation Services.

Butterfield will speak to gender equality in academic research at 12:15 p.m. in TH277.

Piquette has long been involved with issues related to diversity. She was a special education teacher and guidance counsellor for 14 years at the school level and now as an associate professor, teaches courses in special education at the undergraduate level and in counselling at the graduate level, focusing on a broader picture of diversity and mechanisms to advocate for inclusion within all community systems.

"We've done our best to represent as many different approaches to the discussion of diversity issues as we could with this week's events," she says. "I really do urge everyone to find a topic that might be of interest to them and to engage in the conversation."

For more information on any of these events or any issues related to the Gender and Diversity Caucus, contact the following members: Chair, Dr. Carly Adams (carly.adams@uleth.ca); Sandra Cowan (sandra.cowan@uleth.ca); Dr. Hester Jiskoot (hester.jiskoot@uleth.ca); Dr. Kevin McGeough (mcgekm@uleth.ca); Dr. Luz Ospina (luz.ospina@uleth.ca); Dr. Noella Piquette (noella.piquette@uleth.ca);
Dr. Jennifer Thannhauser (jennifer.thannhauser@uleth.ca); Dr. John Usher (john.usher@uleth.ca); or Ilsa Wong (ilsa.wong@uleth.ca).

McGeough brings archaeology to the masses

trevor.kenney — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 17:42:30 +0000

Popular cinema loves to delve into the world of archaeology for fantastical storylines that tease our fascination with history and titillate our sense of discovery. But is archaeology similarly enamored with film and its portrayal of historical science? And if not, how can archaeology, and the rich historical information it gleans, be accurately presented to the general public?

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge associate professor Dr. Kevin McGeough (geography) has studied these questions in the past, researching the relationship between popular cinema and archaeology. Connecting with the general public is something that McGeough sees as a priority, and this manifests in another project on which he is working; editing The Intimate Lives of Ancient People series. Here, experts of various regions and time periods explore what they know of the close relationships between people in a variety of world cultures.

"To my mind, this type of public outreach is an important component of archaeological work and one that is often left to documentary filmmakers and journalists rather than the specialists themselves," says McGeough.

In this video, McGeough talks about his involvement with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, a relationship that started in kindergarten, and how important a role the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ plays in the southern Alberta community.

Education begins with respect

trevor.kenney — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 17:04:10 +0000

A year after opening a dialogue on diversity and respect, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Faculty Association's Gender, Equity and Diversity Caucus is looking to build upon that momentum with the 2nd Annual Respect & Diversity Awareness Week.

Running Mar. 5-9 at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, this year's theme for the weeklong conversation is "Respect and learning go hand in hand".

"Last year was great for an inaugural event," says Dr. Carly Adams, Chair of the Gender, Equity and Diversity Caucus. "We thought how it was taken up by the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community was wonderful. It's a conversation that needs to be ongoing."

Events such as a Talking About Teaching panel discussion through the Centre for the Advancement of Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CAETL) spurred the campus community into thinking about how we interact with one another, in classrooms, meeting rooms and even as we walk through the hallways.

"As a faculty member who attended these talks, I thought about the issues raised and then took them into my classroom," says Adams. "I hope that others took the things they heard and tried to adapt new strategies in the ways they dealt with students or fellow faculty."

If anything, the week created an environment where issues of inclusion and respect can be discussed. It also established an awareness of the caucus and took its work to another level. In early February, the caucus played a role in the Discover Diversity conference hosted by the City of Lethbridge and co-sponsored by the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ.

"I was really pleased we were able to be a part of that because not only did we have an opportunity to talk about the caucus but also the respect and diversity week and some of the other initiatives we're involved in," says Adams. "It led to an even wider discussion about workplace diversity and respect beyond our campus."

This year's awareness week will feature a few new additions, including an Ignite! event on Wednesday, Mar. 7 at 5 p.m. in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Library (10th floor). Described as a fun, informative, rapid-fire session, participants are tasked to speak to 20 pictures or slides of their choice, all in a five-minute window of time, as they wax eloquent about diversity and/or gender.

"We're really excited about this event," says Adams. "We have a number of faculty lined up to take part, as well as people from the Lethbridge Public Interest Research Group (LPIRG) and the Students' Union. In total it's about 12 to 15 people, and it should create a really lively discussion from all the different perspectives across campus."

The line up of speakers includes Dr. Kevin McGeough (Geography), Yale Belanger (Native American Studies), Dan Johnson (Environmental Science), Carol Williams (Women and Gender Studies), Phil Jones (CAETL/Health Sciences), Marinus Swanepoel (Library), LPRIG, Shelia McManus (History), Rob Sutherland (CCBN/ULFA) and Tanya Harnett (Native American Studies/Fine Arts).

Other events for the week include a film screening of MissRepresentation, a documentary exploring how the media's misrepresentation of women has led to the underrepresentation of women in positions of power and influence. The Gender, Equity, and Diversity Caucus is joining the YWCA, Womanspace, Campus Women's Centre and LPIRG in sponsoring the film screening that takes place Thursday, Mar. 8 at 7 p.m. in Galileo's Gallery and coincides with International Women's Day.

On Friday, Mar. 9, Craig Milner from the Faculty of Management will present Student Diversity Rocks: Developing High Performance Teams in the Classroom (1 p.m., M1040).

"He's discussing diversity in teams, and how we might leverage some of the different experiences of our students in the classroom to create different conversations in groups," says Adams of the one-hour workshop.
While the week concludes with Milner's presentation, the conversation does not, and will be picked up a week later when the Department of Women & Gender Studies, with assistance from Adams' group, will present Why Women and Gender Studies? A Multigenerational Roundtable and Conversation, Friday, Mar. 16 at 2 p.m. in the Students' Union Ballroom.

"Last year, we came away thinking it was a very positive week and worth continuing," says Adams. "We invite everyone to come out for these events and I hope that this will give these important issues even more exposure."

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Faculty Association's Gender, Equity and Diversity Caucus consists of: Andrea Amelinckx, Andrea Glover, Dr. Hester Jiskoot, Dr. Kevin McGeough, Dr. Noella Piquette, Dr. John Sheriff, Dr. Robert Sutherland, Jennifer Thannhauser and Dr. Carly Adams (Chair).

This story first appeared in the March 2012 issue of the Legend. For a look at the full issue in a flipbook format, follow this link.

UNews - Kevin McGeough

��Ѹ�����Դ���߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge research projects earn SSHRC funding support

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