About Us
The History Department studies the past to prepare historically informed global citizens for the challenges of today and tomorrow. Our faculty and students produce historical knowledge and interpretations that reveal how and why the past matters.
We have several areas of research focus in history: Canadian, Digital, Environmental/ Science/Medicine, Gender/Women, Indigenous, International/Global, Public History, Social/Cultural, and War/Conflict. Several of our faculty have cross-appointments to other departments or programs.
In geographic terms, we teach undergraduate and graduate courses on Canada, the United States, Europe, East Asia, Middle East, and Africa. Our department supports an undergraduate program in International Relations, in conjunction with the Department of Political Science, and we run an undergraduate program in American Studies. Our graduate students earn a PhD in History or MA in History. The MA options include a 12-month program, a 2-year program with a thesis, and a Public History field.
Great to hear Michelle Hamilton on London Morning, talking about this important petition to Save Victoria Hospital archives.
For three years, local archivists and historians have been trying to get their hands on hundreds of boxes of documents they say hold vital pieces of London's medical history and are currently sitting in a basement room at Victoria Hospital.
What's stopping them? London Health Sciences Centre officials won't let anyone look at the documents, said Michelle Hamilton, a historian and professor at Western University, who was brought in to work with the Vision SoHo Alliance in 2021 to document the culture and history of the South of Horton neighbourhood and its now-demolished South Street Hospital.
A missile strike on Odesa on Wednesday put these dangers in full view of the visiting leader of Greece, as well as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, when the missile reportedly hit less than a kilometre from where they were meeting.
If Russia were to somehow kill the Ukrainian leader, Dyczok, a Western history and political science professor said it would undoubtedly be "a huge blow" to the country — though it would not stop Kyiv's fight.
Dyczok notes Zelenskyy addresses his fellow Ukrainians every night via video, as part of his efforts to stay connected to the people living through war on a daily basis.
On The Power Vertical Podcast this week, host Brian Whitmore speaks with Steven Pifer, who served as U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine from 1998-2000 and is currently embedded at Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation, and Marta Dyczok, an Associate Professor of History and Political Science at the University of Western Ontario and CERES Fellow at the University of Toronto. Enjoy…
Nyshchei, a Ukrainian PhD student in History describes being a student throughout the war as feeling “split.” While she can’t envision a clear future with her friends and family back home remaining in danger, she lives in London safely attending classes and socializing with friends.
Nyshchei wants to thank her professors, staff and fellow history students for helping her overcome the confusion about the new academic system and unfamiliar country.
MacKenzie Brash, a two-time graduate of History, found Western's Global Honour instrumental in fufilling her dream of exploring new cultures abroad, ultimately shaping her career in historical consulting
After earning both an undergraduate in history and a graduate degree in Public history, completing the Global & Intercultural Engagement Honour provided the opportunities she was looking and more.
“International affairs is probably the most important issue of our time and it is so little understood,” says Frank Schumacher, the international relations program director and a history professor.
The interdisciplinary, student-organized flagship event is a conference that aims to bridge the gap between Western students and ongoing international relations by featuring speakers including former Canadian diplomat Guillermo Rishchynski, Western’s Faculty of Law professor Sara Ghebremusse and Ivey Business School professor Vanessa Hasse.
For more than 80 years, the O-Pee-Chee Company played a major role in the lives of children across Canada. While its impact was global in scale, Western public historian Michael Dove is exploring the societal and cultural legacy of the iconic confectionary company where its headquarters was based: London, Ont.
Dove's historical investigation includes speaking with as many Londoners and people from across the country as he can about O-Pee-Chee, like those who worked for the company or family and friends of past employees.
Oleksa Drachewych, an assistant professor of history at Western University speaks to CBC Radio, (IDEAS) about five years in the 20th century that have shaped our world today.
Drachewych was among the panel discussion of a special series, recorded at the Stratford Festival in July 2023, IDEAS focusing on five specific years of great upheaval during the 20th century, examining the remaking of social life, the civil rights movement, new gender roles, and the corrupting effects of power.
The original O-Pee-Chee factory was located on Adelaide Street in London, Ont. Public history professor Michael Dove is collecting stories about the economic and cultural impact of the candy factor. (O-Pee-Chee archives )
Dove is seeking out former employees who once made some of Canada's most popular candies and sports trading cards.
Kenny Reilly, a PhD student in environment history, is studying how people with blindness interacted with the natural world in the 20th century to explore how disability and ableism influence how nature is defined and who can experience it.
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