During the winter semester, Dr. Josh MacFadyen’s Digital Humanities class (ACLC 2090) researched and wrote original site histories, each describing different sites of significance in the history of transportation in Charlottetown.  In researching the history of the Sherwood Cemetery Railway Station, Isabelle McNeill (ACLC/Music) discovered a ballad about the 1885 murder of the graveyard’s groundskeeper and set it to music with friends Janey-Lynn Perrier  (Music),  Josie Thibodeau (Music), and Olivia MacPhail (Music Education):  https://youtu.be/H1Mu_ZsylTU.  All music was arranged by the artists based on a song found in Edward Ive’s book Laurence Doyle: The Farmer Poet of Prince Edward Island, A Study in Local Songmaking (University of Maine Press, 1971).   Stay tuned for the final Charlottetown Transportation Story Map being completed by the GeoREACH lab.

Dr. David Hickey is pleased to announce that his third book of poetry, Safe Vehicles for a Dying Planet, was published this summer by Baseline Press. 

Congratulations to the following Award winners and all graduates at Convocation this past week!

The Faculty of Arts congratulates Dr. Josh MacFadyen (ACLC) on becoming co-executive editor of the journal Historical Methods: A Journal of Quantitative and Interdisciplinary History:  https://www.upei.ca/communications/news/2021/05/upei-s-dr-josh-macfadyen-named-co-executive-editor-historical-methods. 

The conference ‟Tourisme acadien: environnement, culture et liens Québec-Atlantique” organized by Dr. Selma Zaiane-Ghalia, from l’Université de Moncton’s École de kinésiologie et de loisir and Dr. Carlo Lavoie from the Department of Modern Languages on May 7th, during the 88th Congress of the Acfas – Le reseau francophone de la communauté scientifique (https://www.facebook.com/AcfasAcadie/) was a real success.  A rich panel of ten speakers addressed the natural and cultural Acadian heritage potential and cultural tourism potential in three Atlantic provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and PEI. In his paper, Dr. Lavoie highlighted the significance of authenticity in the context of  tourism development of Acadian cultural heritage in PEI, a principle that applies to all the Atlantic Provinces.  

Dr. Carlo Lavoie was also busy on May 11th as a guest speaker in the class Interpreting and Communication – French Literature, taught by Dr. Laura Brignoli at the Università IULM, in Milan, Italy.  Dr. Lavoie presented a 90-minute exposé on the novel Maria Chapdelaine by Louis Hémon, exploring its mythical proportions and trying to understand the perspective on the French-Canadian society of the early 20th century which the character embodied.

Cindy Nguyen (Journalism), recently completed an internship with the Globe and Mail, where she made the front page on March 24th (PEI urges service sector to step up and help young workers get a COVID-19 vaccine), and the front page of the Report on Business section on April 13th (PEI hopes for revival of crucial summer tourism season). “It’s a wonderful accomplishment for her and for our program” reports Journalism program coordinator Dr. David Hickey.

For the fourth year in a row, Master of Arts in Island Studies (MAIS) students at UPEI joined their counterparts from the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) recently to have a joint class over Zoom. Dr. Laurie Brinklow from the MAIS program and Dr. Andrew Jennings from the MLitt in Island Studies at UHI in Shetland are always amazed by the conversation and shared insights that come from students who are separated by the Atlantic – with topics ranging from “Is islandness real?” and Scotland’s “Islands Act” to renewable energy and historic connections between the Scottish Islands and Prince Edward Island.  Notes Dr. Brinklow: “If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that even though we’re an island and may seem separate and apart, we’re connected by technology. With so much of our learning online these days, it doesn’t matter where our students are located – and bringing them together like this is a wonderful learning opportunity for us.”

The MAIS program also congratulates the recipients of the Future Prosperity Scholarships for 2020, Greg Ellison, Eliza MacLauchlan, and Alyssa Gillespie: Future Prosperity Scholarships awarded to UPEI Island Studies students.

On March 7, 2021, Olivia MacPhail (Music) won the Queens County Music Festival Association’s Senior Rose Bowl competition. This prestigious award includes a Rose Bowl trophy and a scholarship donated by The Joan and Regis Duffy Foundation. Olivia has just completed her junior year in the Bachelor of Music Education program, and is a tuba major in the studio of Dr. Dale Sorensen. This is the first time in its 27-year history that the Rose Bowl has been won by a tuba player.

I wish to thank our contributors first – now we have a chance to see a glimpse of the wonderful Faculty of Arts successes!

I know everyone needs a breather from the exam period; nevertheless may I ask you to please keep contributing to our new blog? There are so many remarkable accomplishments among our faculty, students, and alumni that often go unrecognized.  Let us make sure we celebrate these accomplishments! 

Enjoy the sunshine and keep smiling; better days are just around the corner.