Laurier Legacy Project presents symposium ‘Institutional Histories: Reckoning with the Past – Reimagining the Future’

Jan. 3, 2024
For Immediate Release

Scholars engaged in the research of institutional histories will share their expertise during “Institutional Histories: Reckoning with the Past – Reimagining the Future,” a virtual symposium taking place Jan. 15 as part of Wilfrid Laurier University’s Laurier Legacy Project.

Including multidisciplinary scholars from Laurier, the University of Toronto, McMaster University, Queen’s University, York University and Toronto Metropolitan University, the symposium will explore research into institutional histories.

During three featured sessions – “University Histories of Exclusion, Inclusion, and Resistance,” “Reckoning with University Origins, Namesakes, and Land,” and the roundtable “Beyond Evidence: Implementing Change” – scholars will share research from different campus contexts to aid in a better understanding of critical institutional histories research.

“This symposium offers an examination of multiple examples of institutional histories research, how it has informed our understanding of various institutions’ histories and legacies, and how this scholarship can inform institutional change,” said Heena Mistry, Laurier’s director of equity, diversity and inclusion. “The Laurier Legacy Project offers just one example of an institution currently engaged in this work.”

Institutional Histories: Reckoning with the Past – Reimagining the Future will be held on Zoom. Admission is free, but registration is required. The symposium is organized by Laurier’s Office of the Associate Vice President, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.

The symposium will be of particular interest to academics, scholars, researchers and students interested in critical institutional histories, but is open to interested members of the public and media. It is one in a series of public events being held to engage the community in the Laurier Legacy Project.

“This symposium is about scholars sharing their expertise and experience in institutional histories and how their research can help create a more inclusive, equitable future,” said Mistry.

View a full symposium schedule and registration details.

About the Laurier Legacy Project

The Laurier Legacy Project is a multi-faceted public history initiative exploring the times and legacy of Sir Wilfrid Laurier. The university’s namesake and former Canadian prime minister was a political leader acknowledged as a nation-builder whose policy decisions related to immigration and relations with Indigenous peoples resulted in a complex legacy. The Laurier Legacy Project includes a scholarly examination of Laurier’s life and times that aims to create a better understanding of his legacy, and the ways that the past continues to influence the present day, through public education.