Fall 2009 - Bishop's University

Research achievements
Three-year grants by FQRSC:
Dr. Eva Bures, School of Education, for her
project on the implementation and assessment of
students' electronic portfolios by Quebec teachers
($38,839)
Dr. Patrick Dramé, Department of History, for a
study of unity and stability issues in Postcolonial
Africa between 1957 and 2007 ($39,480)
Dr. Linda Morra, Department of English, for her
work on women's writing, national identity and the
publishing industry in Canada in the 20th century
($39,471)
Five-year NSERC grants:
Dr. Thomas Brüstle, Department of
Mathematics, for his project entitled Cluster
Algebras and Triangulations of Surfaces
($140,000)
Dr. François Huard, Department of Mathematics,
for his work on the finitistic dimension conjecture
($70,000)
Three-year SSHRC grants:
Dr. Syliane Charles, Department of Philosophy,
for her work on Spinoza ($44,400)
Dr. Susan Reid, Williams School of Business, for
her analysis of the key antecedents and impact of
market vision ($59,050)
Co-applicants on multi-institutional
team applications:
Dr. Eva Bures, School of Education, and
colleagues from Concordia, McGill, and Vanier
College have been awarded a four-year grant
of $616,924 by FQRSC, under the Support to
Research Teams program to explore the impacts
of educational technology in improving the
teaching and learning of essential educational
competencies.
Dr. Jade Savage, Department of Biological
Sciences, is part of a team bringing together
researchers from seven Quebec universities that
has been granted $900,000 over three years by
FQRNT, under the Strategic Groupings program,
for the establishment of a Centre on biodiversity in
Québec.
Dr. Steve Harvey ’89, Dean of the Williams
School, is involved in the creation of the Institut
de recherche en santé publique de l'Université de
Montréal which has been awarded $2 million for
four years by FRSQ, under the Research Team
program. Almost all Quebec researchers involved
in health research other than basic biomedical
research will take part in this ambitious project.
Students win graduate scholarships
from NSERC:
Starr Dostie ’07 who recently completed her
Master's thesis under the supervision of Dr. Mihai
Scarlete has been offered a doctoral scholarship
of $70,000 over two years to pursue her studies at
McGill University in organic chemistry.
Émilie Pelchat ’09 in Physics, James Ratcliffe
’08 in Mathematics and Vanessa Stretch ’09 in
Environmental Studies and Geography are winners
of Master's level scholarships ($17,500 each).
Audiences relish a musical: Rideout’s adaptation of
The Tempest sells out for eight performances
Prospero, played by Michael Wighton ’09, creates a tempest in The Chimes
of Freedom. Jamie Crooks, Dean of Arts and Science, vocal coach and
band leader, can be seen on the upper platform with musical director
Fannie Gaudette ’02 at the keyboards and musicians Sam Crooks,
Gideon Yellin and Benôit Gravel.
“My initial impulse to make The
Tempest into a musical came from
the thought that Ariel, Prospero’s
spirit servant, might be a Bob
Dylan figure,” explains Prof.
George Rideout, Drama. “Dylan
was the social conscience of his
generation and a kind of shape
shifter that refused to be pigeon
holed by the media. These qualities
seemed to resonate in Ariel….”
“If Ariel is Dylan, then Caliban
(a slave) can be musically expressed
by the songs of Bob Marley.”
So Rideout set his adaptation
on a Caribbean Island in the year
1975 and drew other connections
between characters and songs.
Thirty students worked with
unflagging energy and good
humour to bring The Chimes of
Freedom (the title comes from
Dylan’s folk anthem) to the stage
in June. As a total gift to the
production, Cory Bowles (a
professional dancer and regular
on The Trailer Park
Boys) came
to campus as the choreographer.
His opening shipwreck scene
had a huge WOW factor that
set the mood for a production
characterized by colorful costumes,
animated performances, good
tunes sung with brio, first-rate
musical accompaniment, inventive
choreography, impressive lighting
and sets, and deft direction.
The play conveys a serious
message. “I wanted The Chimes of
Freedom to explore colonialism –
the subjugation of another people
in the name of nation building – by
combining Shakespeare’s beautiful
and thought provoking text with
the music of the Golden Age of
Rock, in which songs were filled
with both poetry and a call for
change,” says Rideout.
Alida Ingabire, 2 nd year Sociology
student, played Iris, goddess of the
Rainbow. In this photo she has shape
shifted into the Hindu god, Shiva.
BISHOP'S UNIVERSITY NEWS FALL 2009 17
Photo by Tim Doherty