Congratulations to Melanie Newton on Outstanding Teaching Award!

We are very pleased to share the news that Professor Melanie Newton has won the FAS Outstanding Teaching Award for 2015-2016. This award recognizes Professor Newton’s excellence in undergraduate teaching and her ongoing contributions to undergraduate education in the Faculty of Arts and Science (St. George).

In addition to her undergraduate and graduate courses in Caribbean history and culture, slavery, and the Atlantic World, Professor Newton was Director of the Caribbean Studies Program from 2012-14. In this role, she worked to create major curriculum changes and increase the number of course offerings in the program.

Please join us in sending our congratulations to Professor Newton!

Shafique Virani, TED x Talk

Professor Shafique Virani, recently delivered a TED x Talk titled “The Clash of Ignorance”. Please see below for more information.

The Clash of Ignorance | Shafique Virani | TEDxUTSC

With shocking evidence, hilarious anecdotes, heart-wrenching personal stories, and brilliant insights into world events, Dr. Shafique Virani urges us to confront the Clash of Ignorance between the West and the Muslim World, replacing walls of misinformation with bridges of understanding. Appealing to the best in human nature, Dr. Virani presents a visionary path forward, and inspires hope for a better future.

Distinguished Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Toronto, founding Director of the Centre for South Asian Civilizations, and past Chair of the Department of Historical Studies, Dr. Shafique Virani (PhD, Harvard University) is an award-winning author and internationally recognized public speaker who has addressed people from over 50 countries and audiences of over 15,000. His book, The Ismailis in the Middle Ages: A History of Survival, A Search for Salvation, is believed to be the first academic book of any major university press to have had its own book trailer. Describing him as “a visionary,” the United Nations honored him for dedicating his efforts “to the cause of extending the frontiers of knowledge and the welfare of humankind.”

The talks may be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoyNrlMNBvw

Prof. Kevin Coleman has been featured in Slate Magazine

Slate Magazine just published a story on Prof. Kevin Coleman’s book, A Camera in the Garden of Eden.

Here is the link to the story: http://www.slate.com/blogs/behold/2016/02/29/rafael_platero_paz_s_photographic_history_of_el_progreso_honduras_in_a_camera.html