McCaffrey Seminar Series
2025-26 Schedule
Fall Term
18 September - Anna Lalli, PhD candidate - Attempted Suicide in WWI and WWII
16 October -Benya Villani, PhD candidate - Jewish Refugee Press in the Post-War
27 November - Huanyu Li, MA candidate - Distinction Between Civilians and Military in Total War
Winter Term
8 January - Shaun Hislop, PhD candidate - TBD
29 January - Kristen Jeanveau, PhD student, London Underground in WWII
26 February - Mary Baxter, PhD candidate, Natural Gas Development in the Great Lakes
19 March - John Davis-Abraham, PhD candidate, The Image Problem: Viron Vaky, Inter-American Relations and Intragovernmental Dissent
2 April - Jennifer Baker, PhD candidate - TBD
The lectures this year will be held both in-person in Lawson Hall 2270C and on zoom at 12:30pm. RSVP to historyrsvp@uwo.ca for the zoom link.
Questions - Contact David Seston, McCaffrey Seminar Coordinator – dseston2@uwo.ca
The Bruce McCaffrey Memorial Graduate Seminar Series
The History Department enjoys a vibrant graduate student culture, which has been energized by various students over the years. One important graduate activity is the graduate seminar series, which is organized by, and for, graduate students as a venue for their research and intellectual exchange. In 2002, the graduate students renamed their series in memory of M.A. student Bruce McCaffrey (1938-2002), whose love and enthusiasm for history reverberated throughout the department at Western.
Bruce McCaffrey left politics in 1987 and shortly thereafter relocated to London where he completed his honours upgrade and M.A. degree in History at Western. McCaffrey enjoyed studying the mid-19th century Canadian political era, with a special interest in Sir Francis Hincks (1807-1885). As a member of the history community, McCaffrey was friendly to all, with no pretensions and a great sense of humour. Fellow graduate students loved to hear his many (and sometimes bawdy) stories about the culture of politics.
Bruce McCaffrey died in August 2002 of lung cancer just days after completing his major M.A. research paper and graduated posthumously in October 2002. In memory of his spirit and enthusiasm for history, the seminar series continues to support historical research and graduate interchange.
