In May 2024, History Professor Stephen Brooke published his new book which was recently celebrated by The Conversation as one of the top according to their experts. Recommended by Keiran Connell, a senior lecturer in contemporary British history at Queen’s University in Belfast, The Conversation calls the book “a powerful study of a city – and a country – at a political crossroads.”

Published by Oxford University Press, London, 1984 provided a revealing new view of London in the 1980s, exploring a conflicted city divided by radical politics and the conservative government. This period was filled with turmoil including racial violence, poverty and policing, as well as significant struggles for gay and lesbian rights, the economy, neoliberalism and other global issues of the time.

London, 1984 was selected alongside 4 other top non-fiction books including Melting Pot by Rachel Cockerell, Less by Patrick Grant, Cursed by Charlie Engman and The Lie of the Land by Guy Shrubsole.

Stephen Brooke is a Professor of History in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies at 91��ɫ. He is a historian of twentieth-century Britain, with a speciality in politics, gender, sexuality and culture. He is also the author of Sexual Politics: Sexuality, Family Planning and the British Left from the 1880s to the Present Day (Oxford, 2012), as well as articles on the photographer Roger Mayne, on Britain in the 1980s and on themes of love and romance in popular music and film in the twentieth century. 

Congratulations to Professor Emeritus Michael Kater, from the Department of History, who has received the 2024 Canadian Jewish Literary Awards' Irving Abella Book Award in History for his book, .

The book provides a detailed history of culture in West Germany after 1945, looking at everything from literature to the visual arts to better understand how West Germany processed the events of Nazism and recovered its democracy.

There have been many favourable reviews of the book. Anthony Paletta of the Washington Examiner said, “There are other books on postwar Germany of real quality, yet Kater has managed the most comprehensive on the question of just how Germany became, well, vaguely normal. He accords considerable credit to artists, authors, and filmmakers for providing regular pressure to ensure that this remains the case.”

The Canadian Jewish Literary Awards recognizes the finest books with Jewish themes and subjects by Canadian authors in a variety of genres. The Irving Abella Award in History is given annually in memory of Abella, a highly influential Canadian Jewish studies historian.

Professor Kater is Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus of History and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (FRSC). Over his impressive research career, Professor Kater has published pathbreaking studies on elements of modern German history, including Doctors Under Hitler (1989), Different Drummers: Jazz in the Culture of Nazi Germany (1992) and The Twisted Muse: Musicians and Their Music in the Third Reich (1997). He has received numerous prestigious awards, including the Guggenheim and the Canada Council Senior Killam Research Fellowships, and being named a member of the Royal Society of Canada.

After the Nazis was published by Yale University Press.

Department of History Professor Thabit Abdullah is the creator and host of the podcast, Afaq fi Tarikh al-Iraq (Horizons in Iraq’s History). Each episode features an interview with a historian and covers various topics in the history of Iraq from the early medieval pre-Islamic period to the present. The podcast’s primary audience are Iraqis and the broader Arabic-speaking individuals, although some episodes will be available in both English and Arabic.

The first episode deals with the environmental history of the Tigris and Euphrates during the Ottoman period (1534-1918). Other episodes include topics such as the Jewish Community in the Early 20th Century, the Great Translation Movement in 10th Century Baghdad, Arab-Persian Cultural Dynamics in 6th Century al-Hira and the Security Services Under Saddam Hussein.

“In October 2019, waves of demonstrations spread throughout Iraq demanding democratic reforms, an end to corruption, and a firmer commitment to progressive patriotism.” Says Professor Abdullah. “At the time, one of the issues that many of the youthful leaders told me was their need to understand the history of their country in an objective manner.  This podcast would not just serve to educate about the past (which is by itself important) but would also make a point of linking the past to contemporary debates.”

Afaq fi Tarikh al-Iraq podcast is now available to stream across YouTube, Spotify and Apple podcasts.

Thabit A.J. Abdullah was born and raised in Baghdad, Iraq.  He received his PhD in history in 1992 from Georgetown University in Washington, DC.  He currently holds the position of Professor of History at 91��ɫ.  Prior to this he held positions of Assistant Professor and Director of the Middle East Studies Program at the American University in Cairo (1992-1996), Assistant Professor of History at Oklahoma State University, Associate Dean for External Affairs, and Chair of the Department of History at 91��ɫ.  His chief academic interests are medieval and early modern social and economic history of Iraq.  He has also published on modern and contemporary Iraq.  Among his publications are Arab and Islamic Studies: In Honor of Marsden Jones (Editor, AUC Press, 1997); Merchants, Mamluks and Murder: The Political Economy of Trade in 18^th Century Basra (SUNY Press, 2000); Dictatorship, Imperialism and Chaos: Iraq Since 1989 (Zed Books, 2006); A Short History of Iraq: From 636 to the Present, 2^nd edition (Pearson-Longman Books, 2010).  In addition to English and Arabic, his books have been translated to several languages including Italian, Spanish and Chinese.  Professor Abdullah is also active as a regular commentator in a number of television and radio programs in Iraq, Canada and the US. 

Congratulations to Dr. Abdullah on this important project.

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David S. Koffman, the J. Richard Shiff Chair for the Study of Canadian Jewry and Associate Professor in the Department of History, co-edited and contributed to a new publication,��, which spotlights a conversation between two of the most significant Jewish Diaspora communities outside of the U.S. ��Contributors compare and juxtapose the unique aspects of two Jewish histories, politics and cultures. Explored topics include��poetry, theatre, sport and literature, as well as immigration and antisemitism.��The book shines a light on the modern Jewish global experience.��

David S. Koffman��is the J. Richard Shiff Chair for the Study of Canadian Jewry, an Associate Professor of History at 91��ɫ, and the editor-in-chief of the journal��Canadian Jewish Studies / Études juives canadiennes. His most recent book is��No Better Home? Jews, Canada and the Sense of Belonging��(University of Toronto Press, 2021).����
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David M. K. Sheinin��is Professor of History at Trent University and Académico Correspondiente of the Academia Nacional de la Historia de la República Argentina. His most recent book is��Recasting the Nation in Twentieth-Century Argentina��(Routledge, 2023), co-edited with Benjamin Bryce.����

The Department of History is happy to announce that Dr Aitana Guia, presently Associate Professor, California State University, Fullerton, will be joining the department as the inaugural MacKenzie-Papineau Memorial Chair in Modern Spanish History on 1 July 2025.  Dr. Guia is an expert on 20th century Spanish History with extensive experience teaching the Spanish Civil War. Dr. Guia received a PhD in Modern History from 91��ɫ in 2012, before becoming a Max Weber Postdoctoral Fellow at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, European University Institute in Florence, Italy.

The Department is grateful to the Mackenzie-Papineau Memorial Fund for its support in establishing this Memorial Chair.

Professor Stephen Brooke presents a significant and revealing new view of London in the 1980s in his book . Recently published by Oxford University Press, London, 1984 explores two conflicting cities during a tumultuous time in London. One side established on radical politics while the other side is driven by Margaret Thatcher and the Conservative Government. This period was filled with major troubles including racial violence, poverty, and policing, as well as significant struggles for gay and lesbian rights, the economy, neoliberalism and additional global issues of the time.

Stephen Brooke is a Professor as well as the chair of the History department in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies at 91��ɫ. He is a historian of twentieth-century Britain, with a speciality in politics, gender, sexuality and culture. He is also the author of Sexual Politics: Sexuality, Family Planning and the British Left from the 1880s to the Present Day (Oxford, 2012), as well as articles on the photographer Roger Mayne, on Britain in the 1980s and on themes of love and romance in popular music and film in the twentieth century. 

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