Blog Archives

Many Women, Many Voices; Stories from McGill Collections

Guest Contribution by Hannah Deskin. ROAAr launched its recent book Many Women, Many Voices; Stories from McGill Collections with a fanfare, a successful sale, and an excellent turnout on November 8th.  ROAAr–that is the Rare Books & Special Collections, the Osler Library of the …

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McGill at War: Commemorating the Centenary of the End of the First World War

This exhibition commemorates the centenary of the armistice of November 11, 1918, which saw the end of a war which profoundly marked the bodies, minds, and spirits of those who experienced it, both in and out of uniform. The First …

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Charles Taylor and Expressive Individualism in McGill University Archives

Since the publication of The Explanation of Behaviour in the mid-1960s, Charles Taylor has written on everything from philosophy of mind and language to secularism, multiculturalism, democracy, and identity.  His magnum opus, Sources of the Self, marked his nearly thirty …

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Book annotations as witness to the Dutch influence in Japan during the Edo period

        During the Edo period, from the mid-17th to the mid-19th century, Japan adopted an isolationist policy. At this time, the only Westerners allowed access to the country were the Dutch, who were permitted to trade from …

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From the Beagle to the Bookshelf: Darwin at McGill Library

A ROAAring congratulations to McGill biologist Dr. Ehab Abouheif and his team of researchers on their study of ants, which led to the discovery of a solution to an evolutionary conundrum that made Charles Darwin question his own theory of …

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Library Abuzz With 2018 Homecoming Tours & Resources

McGill Library has planned a fun mix of tours for McGill Homecoming (Thursday October 11 – Saturday, October 13). Discover (and interact with!) our extraordinary collections. From rare books and special collections to archives and visual arts, it will be a feast …

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“Happily Scottish and Proudly Canadian” : The Sons of Scotland at ROAAr

By Olivia Kurajian, Rare Books and Special Collections Summer Intern, August 2018   Our community is beholden to the Scots. James McGill, a Scottish immigrant, formed McGill University’s precursor, McGill College, and is the namesake of the current institution. Now, …

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R. Tait McKenzie: Bridging the Gap Between Art and Science

Written by Davin Luce, Museum Database Assistant at the McGill Visual Arts Collection In honour of Science Literacy Week, the Visual Arts Collection is highlighting the work of physician, physical education pioneer, and artist Robert Tait McKenzie (1867-1938). While a …

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Anatomizing Thomas Rowlandson’s representation of William Hunter’s dissecting room

Guest contributor: Margaret Carlyle, Ph.D. U Chicago, Institute on the Formation of Knowledge 2018 recipient, Dr. Edward H. Bensley Osler Library Research Travel Grant   Thomas Rowlandson’s original watercolour drawing of William Hunter’s (1718–1783) London anatomy school on Great Windmill Street …

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Casey A. Wood’s Emma Shearer Wood Library of Ornithology

By Sarah Adams, a McGill Master of Information Studies student and Young Canada Works Summer 2018 Archives Intern I have enjoyed working on the Casey Albert Wood archival collection (MSG 1203) and working with the staff in the Rare Books and …

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