Simon Fraser University Department of History

10/16/2026

We are delighted to present these photos of our fall convocation, which featured our latest history graduates!
SFU Alumni

10/13/2026

Join Professor Thomas Kuehn for his talk, “Derailed by Empire: Ottoman Imperial Governance & Efforts (Not) to End Slavery in Yemen & The Southern Red Sea Region, 1890-1922,” part of SFU History’s Fall 2026 Colloquium series.
Details:
-Thursday, October 29th (10:30 AM-12 PM)
-SFU Burnaby (AQ 6229) and online
RSVP: Professor Roxanne Panchasi – [email protected] (Please indicate whether you would like to attend in-person or online)
Learn more:
https://events.sfu.ca/event/50839-derailed-by-empire-ottoman-imperial-governance-amp

10/09/2026

Earlier this week, we celebrated Professors Tina Adcock, Nadine Attewell, Luke Clossey, Evdoxios Doxiadis, and Mark Leier and their recent publications. Our Author Book Celebration showcases the range of research happening in both SFU History and the Simon Fraser University Global Asia Program.

Pictured (left to right): Nadine Attewell ("Archives of Intimacy: Racial Mixing and Chinese Lives in the Colonial Port City, 1905–1949"), Sarah Walshaw (holding Adcock's "A Cold Colonialism" and Doxiadis' "Gender and Divorce in Europe: 1600-1900"), Mark Leier ("Roles of Resistance: Game Plans for Teachers and Troublemakers"), and Luke Clossey ("Jesus and the Making of the Modern Mind, 1380-1520")

10/08/2026

We congratulate our students who will be crossing the stage this afternoon, and becoming SFU's newest alumni! We wish you a wonderful graduation day and much success in the future.

10/06/2026

Our Shadbolt Fellow from September 2025 to May 2026, Dr. Yiting (Edith) Pan, is one of the co-curators of the newest exhibit at the Dr. Sun Yan-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, Architect Joe Y. Wai: A Journey into the Garden.
As the Garden celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, it is looking back at Joe Y. Wai’s life, ideas, and practice. The exhibit is on now until January 31st, 2027

Our newest exhibition has arrived at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden!

Architect Joe Y. Wai: A Journey into the Garden

Joe Y. Wai was the architect of the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden. He worked alongside landscape architect Don Vaughan and designed the Garden in collaboration with Xiaolin Feng, Zuxin Wang and the team from the Suzhou Garden Administration. As the Garden marks its 40th anniversary, this exhibition looks beyond the Garden to explore the life, ideas, and practice of the architect who helped bring it to Vancouver.

Born in Hong Kong, Wai was educated and lived in Vancouver. His practice emerged from a continual movement between cultures, traditions, and ways of understanding place. Through drawings, sketches, archival materials, and projects, this exhibition traces the paths that shaped his practice and asks: Who is Joe Y . Wai?

The Garden is a landmark that was spawned from Wai’s social activism, public engagement, and passion in Chinese landscape traditions. It became a point of departure – a place that opened onto a much broader body of work, from housing to cultural projects in collaboration with various communities. His practice reveals an ongoing exploration of connection, translation, adaptation, and belonging.

Rather than presenting the Garden as a singular achievement, the exhibition situates it within the larger journey of an architect whose work was shaped by moving between worlds – and finding new ways to bring them together.

This exhibition will run from October 2, 2026 to January 31, 2027.

Co-Curators:
Wan Qi, Architect AIBC, Principal of JYW Architecture Inc.
Marilyn Mortimer-Lamb, JYW Architecture Inc.
Dr. Yiting (Edith) Pan, Simon Fraser University / Soochow University
Henry Heng Lu, Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden

Co-Presenters:
JYW Architecture Inc.
Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden
Jack and Doris Shadbolt Fellowship in the Humanities, SFU Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Access to this exhibition is included with general admission.

10/05/2026

How do migration, exile, and displacement shape the way we understand ourselves and our communities? Join SFU History for the 2026 Mirhady Lecture in Iranian Studies, “Forced Displacements, Changing Identities”.
Enjoy an engaging discussion on identity, belonging, and global change led by author and professor Behnaz Mirzai, Brock University.
-Thursday, November 5th at 6 PM
-SFU Harbour Centre campus (HCC 1900)
-light refreshments served at this free event

Learn more and RSVP:
https://events.sfu.ca/event/49814-2026-mirhady-lecture-forced-displacements-changing

10/05/2026

SFU History and the SFU Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies present, “What happened at Joe’s Cafe? Exploring Vancouver’s Le***an Past”

Join Professor El Chenier and SFU student Mekeil Wilson for an exploration of one of the most significant and controversial events in Vancouver’s le***an history: the 1990 protest and decades-long boycott of Joe’s Cafe.

When: Thursday, October 8th (Doors: 6:30 PM; Event: 7-8:30 PM)
Where: SFU’s Harbour Centre campus (HCC 7000)

Learn more/RSVP.
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/what-happened-at-joes-cafe-exploring-vancouvers-le***an-past-tickets-2001263536109

10/02/2026

Shape your future in history with our MA and PhD programs. Our applications for September 2027 are now open! Check out our website to learn more.
https://www.sfu.ca/history/graduate/future-students/how-to-apply.html

09/25/2026

What does meaningful Indigenous learning look like in a university community?
Read https://www.sfu.ca/history/news-and-events/news/2026-news/sacred-burning-ceremony.html
This spring, students, faculty and staff gathered at SFU's First Peoples' Gathering House for a sacred burning ceremony led by Secwépemc educator Tim Michel.
Participants learned about Salish teachings, cultural resilience, spiritual practice, and Indigenous knowledge systems.
The ceremony created space for reflection, connection, and deeper understanding across cultures, highlighting the importance of Indigenous teachings within post-secondary education.