Western University Open Access Monographs

Living Connections with the Dead

2026-06-30T17:42:41+00:00

This monograph is the class project for a course entitled “Mortuary Archaeology”. The goal of the course is to engage students with the cross-cultural and deep temporal examination of how different societies deal with death.

The project arose from conversations between the course instructor, Andrew Nelson, and the archivist for the Roman Catholic Diocese of London, Debra Majer, in August of 2021. After an initial meeting with Debra on February 9th, the students began the process of building project proposals surrounding the theme of sacred relics. After approval by Nelson and Majer, the five students from Western University started their individual projects from February to April of 2022. During this time, the students communicated with both Nelson and Majer regarding their projects, two of which included the direct analysis of some of the Diocese’s relics. In this sense, this volume is a mix of both theoretical work and experimental approaches in the study of sacred relics from the Roman Catholic Church.

The students would like to thank Andrew Nelson for facilitating this opportunity and teaching us new techniques. Thanks also to Andrew Walsh for providing a valuable collection of resources on relics. We would all like to thank the Museum of Ontario Archaeology Ancient Images Lab for providing access to their equipment. Most of all, the greatest of thanks to Debra Majer, Archivist, Fr. John Comiskey, and the Diocese of London for their time, help and enthusiasm during this project. The access you have trusted us with and the knowledge you have shared has been invaluable.

Breaking Boundaries

2026-06-09T18:36:01+00:00

Breaking Boundaries: (Counter) Accounts during the Pandemic - Letters to future generations is a major digital book in four languages (English-French-Portuguese-Spanish). This book is part of a desire to think outside the box of publishing and to bring together contributions from many fields, including academic, artistic, poetic, photographic, etc. The basic idea was to produce accounts, in various forms, related to the ways in which humanity has been confronted with the Covid-19 pandemic. It is a form of "accounting" that will hopefully inform future generations who want to learn more about the effects that the pandemic has had around the globe. The editorial team consisted of eight accounting faculty researchers - from three continents. Through this book, we are pleased, in a sense, to help rethink the boundaries surrounding the publishing world. Please feel free to promote the book and circulate it in many ways. In today's digitalized world, it is time to engage in deeper thinking about the ways in which knowledge is disseminated.

EDITORIAL TEAM: Diane-Laure Arjaliès, Yves Gendron, Cheryl Lehman, Paula Andrea Navarro Pérez, João Paulo Resende de Lima, Silvia Pereira de Castro Casa Nova, Greg Stoner, Mary Analí Vera-Colina
PROJECT MANAGER: Julia Bevacqua
GRAPHIC DESIGNERS: Chris Hansen, Lisa Peter Ross

Symphony of Lights: An Exploration of the Stained Glass Windows in St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church, London, Ontario.

2026-07-02T15:44:49+00:00

This catalogue developed out of the exhibition, Symphony of Lights: An Exploration of Stained Glass Windows in St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church, London, ON, hosted at the Artlab Gallery on the campus of The University of Western Ontario from February 8-19, 2021. The exhibition focused on the visual and aural effects of the art of St. John’s. In the exhibition, we attempted to reimagine the grandeur of St. John’s artistic features by acknowledging their religious and historical settings, but more importantly, highlighting their artistic merit through a multisensorial experience that furthers those Londoners have enjoyed for over 130 years.

ISBN 978-0-7714-3164-7

This catalogue can also be viewed at: https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/symphonyoflights/

Western Public Health Casebook 2021

2026-06-15T18:51:16+00:00

The Master of Public Health Program (MPH) at Western University is a 12-month full-time program that incorporates a 12-week practicum. The MPH Program curriculum includes innovations such as case-method learning, Brown Bag seminars, Integrative Workshops, field trips and career counselling. The Brown Bag seminars allow the students to hear from and interact and network with practitioners from the field. The faculty of the MPH Program are drawn from various Faculties across campus, and represent a broad range of disciplines pertinent to public health.
Western’s MPH Program relies extensively on the case-based/experiential method of learning. The Program aims to deliver 60% of pedagogic material using the case-based approach – a unique feature not found to a similar extent in other MPH Programs worldwide. The case method of learning is not about the traditional lecture-style classroom setting, but is about the
student being an active part of the learning experience, which means learning by doing. It introduces complex and often ambiguous real-world scenarios into the classroom, forcing students to think and make decisions, often with incomplete and inaccurate data.

Dire et lire l’érotisme dans les productions culturelles francophones

2026-06-04T19:55:20+00:00

Cet ouvrage collectif se fait l’écho de la journée études « Dire et lire l’érotisme dans les productions culturelles francophones » qui a été organisée conjointement par le Département d’études françaises, de l’Université Western, au Canada, et par le Département de Lettres Modernes, de l’Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny, en Côte d’Ivoire, le 17 novembre 2017.

Le premier objectif de cette journée d’études était de clarifier, après confrontations, les acceptions sur l’érotisme ; le second, de proposer des orientations nouvelles sans céder à quelque forme de sexualité ayant partie liée avec perversité et/ou obscénité.

Finding Those Once Lost

2026-06-30T17:03:46+00:00

Mortuary archaeology is the archaeological study of death and burial. In North America, the anthropological, cross-cultural, and deep temporal perspectives are employed (cf. Martin et al. 2013a). The myriad ways that societies deal with death are the product of complex and intertwined social, economic, and environmental factors such as class, gender, ethnicity, subsistence practice, and social complexity, to name a few. Therefore, the study of mortuary rituals sheds important light on social complexity and organization. This makes it an excellent topic for an advanced course in a Department of Anthropology. The research described in this report is the result of a group project for an honours level undergraduate and graduate course entitled Anthropology 4493G/9104B; Advanced Special Topics in Anthropology/Advanced Bioarchaeology; Mortuary Archaeology, which was taught in the Winter Semester of 2020.

Western Public Health Casebook 2020

2026-06-12T17:30:52+00:00

Life and Death at Woodland Cemetery

2026-06-30T17:16:09+00:00

Beyond genealogy, the historical and natural landscapes of cemeteries reveal much about the past. Not only do the stones tell us about disease and mortality, but they reflect broader historical and societal trends in Canada. Able to afford more expensive plots on hilltops, the wealthy often chose ostentatious markers which tower over the more modest stones of the middle class located on lower ground. Maple trees represent strength and endurance in the face of grief, but their leaves carved on war graves act as national emblems. Use of Roman and Greek architectural elements on grave markers and mausolea reflect the popularity of neoclassicism in nineteenth century art. The general lack of maiden names on the early graves of women records their subordinate position to their husbands. An epitaph tells us about the deceased’s spiritual or poetic preferences while a masonic symbol indicates the dead’s fraternal ties. Immigrants honour their origins through imagery such as Scottish thistles and Celtic crosses, or by inscribing their birthplace on their gravestones. Inscriptions in mother tongues other than English demonstrate that cultural differences are as important in death as in life. Cemeteries have always been for the living as well as the dead. Today, Woodland Cemetery inspires photographers, provides recreational green space in the city, and preserves local history through walking tours and gravestone restoration. Each year the Master’s in Public History students at Western University collaborate with a community partner to complete a project that presents history to a public audience. In 2017-18, students researched the history of London’s Woodland Cemetery. 140 years after its creation in 1879, it is a fitting time to examine its significance to London’s cultural and natural heritage.

Western Public Health Casebook 2019

2026-06-17T14:21:53+00:00

The Master of Public Health Program (MPH) at Western University is a 12 month full-time program that incorporates a 12-week practicum. The MPH Program curriculum includes innovations such as case-method learning, Brown Bag seminars, Integrative Workshops, field trips and career counselling. The Brown Bag seminars allow the students to hear from, interact and network with practitioners from the field. The faculty of the MPH Program are drawn from various Faculties across campus, and represent a broad range of disciplines pertinent to public health.

Western’s MPH Program relies extensively on the case based/experiential method of learning. The Program aims to deliver 60% of pedagogic material using the case-based approach – a unique feature not found in other MPH Programs worldwide. The case method of learning is not about the traditional lecture-style classroom setting, but is about the student being an active part of the learning experience, which means learning by doing. It introduces complex and often ambiguous real-world scenarios into the classroom, forcing students to think and make decisions sometimes with incomplete and inaccurate data.

Chaos as Creativity

2026-06-17T18:09:35+00:00

Chaos and planning is integral to the creative process when planning for the future. The initial impetus for the writing was the author’s dissertation that provided a framework for planning future libraries. Chaos theory and chaos is reviewed broadly from a generalist perspective across multiple disciplines and over time from ancient times to the present. An abstract planning process is presented along with a diagram that facilitates mapping the current environment. Identifying intrinsic and extrinsic influences present in the environment provides a process to map a probable future environment. To illustrate how the planning process works music is used as an analogy. Future oriented writing is used to encourage discussion, inspire thinking, explore imagination, and challenge the status quo to consider various views of chaos in relation to strategic planning. Library planning using the chaos strategics process is a proposed planning methodology that integrates chaos as creativity.

Western Public Health Casebook 2018

2026-06-19T18:20:16+00:00

End of the Great War in 1918 and its Impact on London, Ontario

2026-07-03T14:18:16+00:00

November 11, 1918, marked the end of hostilities in what was initially called the “Great War” and is now known as World War I. The purpose of this publication is to review the events that took place immediately before, during and after the November 11th celebrations in London, Ontario, as recorded largely in the London Free Press and the London Advertiser. The Prelude focuses on how the approaching armistice was viewed, the nature of the events that unfolded before the armistice document was signed, and the “false armistice celebrations” that took place in London on November 7th. In the Aftermath we discuss a number of local issues that arose shortly after November 11th that included among others, how to memorialize those who perished during the war, how to repay the voluminous federal war debt, and how to deal with those who evaded conscription as required by the 1917 Military Service Act. Sandwiched between these two sections is an account of the armistice celebrations that occurred during the week of November 11th. ISBN 978-0-9866899-8-7

A publication by The London and Middlesex Historical Society in honour of the men and women who served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force from 1914 through 1918.

Western Public Health Casebook 2017

2026-06-26T16:39:50+00:00

The Source

2026-07-02T17:16:13+00:00

Catalogue of an exhibition held at the Rodman Hall Art Centre/ Brock University from from May 23 to September 28, 2014.

ISBN 978-1-928018-04-9

The ART of LONDON 1830-1980

2026-06-17T19:20:41+00:00

e-Book Published by: Nancy Geddes Poole, 2017
Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data
Poole, Nancy Geddes, 1930-, The Art of London, 1830-1980
ISBN 978-0-9959283-0-5
1. Art, Canadian – Ontario – London – History.
2. Art, Modern – Ontario – London – History.
3. Artists – Ontario - London.
I. Title.
N6547. L66P6 1984 709’.713’26 C85-098067-4

Ukraine’s Euromaidan

2026-07-03T14:32:30+00:00

How can you counteract an information war?

Hromadske Radio, Public Radio Ukraine, decided to provide accurate and objective information to audiences – free of state and corporate censorship and any kind of manipulation. They broadcasted throughout Ukraine’s Euromaidan, and beyond. This book brings together a series of English language reports on the Ukraine crisis first broadcast on Hromadske Radio between 3 February 2014 and 7 August 2015. Collected and transcribed here, they offer a kaleidoscopic chronicle of events in Ukraine. Bookending the reports, purpose written introduction and conclusion sections contextualize the independent radio project within the larger picture of Ukraine’s media and political developments – both before the Euromaidan and in its dramatic aftermath.

ISBN 978-1910814123

“Broadcasting history as it happens is the task that few journalists or historians can accomplish, unless they are at home in both professions and have an intimate knowledge not only of the scene they report on but also of the audience they talk to. Marta Dyczok brings all these qualities together in her radio reportages from Canada and Ukraine on the Euromaidan protests. Short, always to the point and easy to read, the reports demonstrate with unique clarity the global nature of today’s politics and the power of the people on the street to change the course of history.”

– Serhii Plokhy, Harvard University, Chair of Ukrainian History, author of The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine

Esprit de Corps

2026-07-03T15:53:54+00:00

The first comprehensive history of bodybuilding in North America, Esprit de Corps reveals how bodybuilding emerged from weightlifting as a popular sport. Inspired by 19th century strongmen Eugene Sandow and Louis Cyr, the muscles-by-mail icon Charles Atlas, as well as the musclemen movies of Steve Reeves in the mid 20th century, bodybuilding soon eclipsed weightlifting in popularity. Montreal brothers Ben and Joe Weider’s leadership was central to this evolution. From his parent’s modest Montreal home in 1940, teenage weightlifter Joe Weider launched his publishing and business empire, staging physique contests, and eventually founding the world’s premier bodybuilding organization, the International Federation of Bodybuilders (1947). While Ben ran Canadian operations, fending off competitor Adrien Gagnon’s nationalist and racist attacks, Joe expanded the business into the United States encountering rival Bob Hoffman’s angry opposition, anti-Semitism, even allegations that Joe promoted homosexuality. A bitter feud resulted. Joe’s protégé, Arnold Schwarzenegger, revitalized the sport in the 70s and beyond, making it respectable and acceptable. In 1998, The International Olympic Committee recognized the sport officially. The use of performance enhancing drugs and a continuing debate over the ideal body type challenge bodybuilders today.

Foreword Years ago, while researching another topic, Jim Woycke met bodybuilder photographer Tony Lanza who recounted many first-hand accounts of the early years of bodybuilding. Looking for more information, Jim discovered that, apart from some biographies of bodybuilders, there was little material on the sport, and less about Montreal brothers Ben and Joe Weider, founders of modern bodybuilding. Consequently, Jim resolved to write a comprehensive history. He researched the topic exhaustively in Canadian and American archives and libraries, and conducted several interviews. He met with Ben Weider in Montreal, who allowed him to read and photocopy all Weider magazines dating from 1940, and to quote from, and reprint photographs. Jim is the only researcher in the field to have read French language sources, uncovering Adrien Gagnon’s role in bodybuilding, especially his bitter rivalry with the Weiders. Jim died in 2010 after a long illness. He was a University of Toronto graduate (Ph. D History 1984), and a member of the Department of History, The University of Western Ontario. He wrote two books: Birth Control in Germany: 1871-1933 (Routledge, 1988), and Au Naturel: The History of Nudism in Canada (Federation of Canadian Naturists, 2003), and edited and wrote a forward to John Irvin Cooper’s, James McGill of Montreal: Citizen of the Atlantic World (Borealis, 2003). A draft of “Esprit de Corps” was completed in the summer of 2006 before the onset of Jim’s debilitating illness. I recovered Jim’s manuscript from his papers, and, later, commissioned sport historian Dr. Craig Greenham, University of Windsor to help prepare it for publication. My thanks to Craig and to Felipe Vicencio-Heap for formatting the book. The Faculty of Social Science and the Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Western Ontario provided financial support for final stages of this project. Rod Millard Professor Emeritus (History) The University of Western Ontario April 2016

Western Public Health Casebook 2016

2026-06-26T18:45:33+00:00

Nur : Qur'an, sura 24:35; the Light Verse.

2026-07-02T15:27:46+00:00

This publication documents Jamelie Hassan's Nur (Qur'an, sura 24:35; The Light Verse), a mixed media, site-specific artwork installed in the library of the Great Mosque of Xi'an in 2014 ... as part of the group exhibition The Transformation of Landscape Art in Canada: Inside and Outside of Being ... presented at the Xi'an Art Museum, Xi'an, China from 10 August to 21 September 2014.

A Gust of Wind

2026-07-02T16:44:44+00:00

Catalogue of an exhibition held at the DNA artspace from from October 3 to November 14, 2015.

Western Public Health Casebook 2015

2026-06-26T20:24:27+00:00

The Heart of Wortley Village

2026-07-03T15:04:08+00:00

Wortley Village, as a proposed heritage conservation district, extends from Beaconsfield Avenue in the north to around Tecumseh in the south and from Wharncliffe Road in the west to Ridout Street in the east (Tauskey, 2012). The heart of the Village, on the other hand, consists of a much narrower region along Wortley Road. This region, which has been recognized for many years, extends roughly from Byron Avenue in the north to Elmwood Avenue in the south, and includes portions of Askin, Craig, and Bruce Streets, along with such neighbouring streets as Cathcart, Cynthia, Edward, Teresa, and Marley Place. Today this narrower region contains not only a number of businesses and professional offices but also an apartment complex, condominium units, and many private residences.

While several excellent sources are available on the early history of this narrower region along with descriptions of the architecture of some of the original buildings (see, for example, Lutman, 1979, Tauskey, 1993), the major purpose of this publication is to outline the evolution of this area from the early 1800s, when it was crown land, to its present state as a vibrant commercial/residential area.

ISBN 987-0-9866899-1-8

Early Modern Philosophy

2026-06-30T18:01:35+00:00

This volume brings together selected readings from influential early modern philosophers to trace the emergence of modern scientific and philosophical thought. Through structured excerpts and guided organization, the book explores shifts in epistemology, natural philosophy, and metaphysics, highlighting debates about knowledge, perception, substance, identity, and causation. Covering figures from Bacon and Galileo to Locke, Berkeley, and Hume, it offers readers a coherent pathway through the intellectual transformations that defined the early modern period and laid the groundwork for contemporary philosophy.

How Middlesex County was Settled with Farmers, Artisans, and Capitalists

2026-07-03T15:24:02+00:00

The need to attract settlers to Southwestern Ontario in the 1830s resulted, at least in part, from a growing fear that if the land bordering Lake Erie remained largely unoccupied it could be absorbed into regions to the south of the Great Lakes and ultimately become part of the United States. Indeed, this fear was not unfounded. As late as 1827 the overall population of Middlesex County, which at the time reached Lake Erie and was somewhat larger in area than today, was only 9,838 (History of the County of Middlesex, 1889). In addition, there was considerable sympathy among certain segments of the population for a republican form of government similar to that which had been established in the United States following the American Revolution.

In what follows, we discuss the purpose of The Canada Land Company, the role played by John Galt in organizing the Company, the nature of the immigrants desired by the Crown, and the methods used by the Company to attract these immigrants. To fully understand the experiences of the immigrants who settled this area we also describe the sea voyage for those who travelled in steerage as well as for those with sufficient funds to travel as cabin passengers. We then conclude with the arrangements made by the Crown and the Company to assist the newly arrived immigrants to find jobs and/or to purchase land.

ISBN 9780981221427

The London Normal School and Rural Education in Southwestern Ontario

2026-07-03T15:10:51+00:00

For nearly 60 years the London Normal School, constructed in 1898-1899, was one of the major facilities for the training of teachers who taught in the rural communities of southwestern Ontario. The purpose of this booklet is to provide an overview of the changes in teaching style, teacher training and rural schooling that took place prior to and during the early years following the opening of this facility. We begin with a discussion of the status of elementary education preceding the emergence of the Ontario normal school system. Here the focus is on the pioneer period where rural school "instructors were essentially school keepers rather than school teachers...(and their success)...depended mainly upon their qualifications as disciplinarians" (McCutcheson, 1941, p. 25).

Next, we describe the events that led to the development of the Ontario normal school system and the nature of teacher training in Ontario during the mid-to-late 1800s. We then focus on the London Normal School to illustrate how the philosophy of early childhood education had changed around the turn of the last century, how these changes manifested themselves in a new child-centered curriculum, and how this new curriculum was implemented in the rural areas during the early years of the 20th century.

From Sea to Sea: Perspectives on Music Education in Canada

2026-06-18T16:47:52+00:00

This book was edited by Dr. Kari Veblen and Dr. Carol Beynon with assistance of Stephanie Horsley, Uresha DeAlwiss, and André Heywood. It was previously housed by the Coalition for Music Education at www.musicmakesus.ca and by Andre Heywood at alheywood.110mb.com/ebook/. This version of the book contains all of the material from the previous two sites, as well as an updated chapter summarizing the content of its companion print book, which will be available through Wilfred Laurier University Press (2012).

Growing Up Jewish in the 15th Ward

2026-07-03T15:16:44+00:00

From the mid-1800s through the mid-to-late 1950s the original Jewish neighborhood in Syracuse was located in the 15th Ward, which was bordered by what is now East Water Street, Montgomery Street, East Adams, and University Avenue. Starting around the turn of the last century, the Jewish portion of the Ward was confined to an area of approximately 25 square blocks. Within this area there existed three temples (Adath Jeshurun, Adath Yeshurun, Concord), three synagogues (Ahavath Achim, Beth Israel, Poiley Tzedeck), and one shul (Folk) that served the religious needs of the Jewish community. There were also many Jewish grocery stores, restaurants, bakeries, pharmacies, physicians and dentists that served the more secular needs of the community. Generally speaking, the 15th Ward contained a highly self-sufficient, close-knit, and vibrant Jewish neighborhood. In a way, it was the Syracuse equivalent of New York's Lower East Side, minus the pushcarts.

Marivaux avec Michel Deguy

2026-07-03T12:45:03+00:00

Vol. IV of the Eighteenth-Century French World Series-The University of Western Ontario, edited by Servanne Woodward, Jeremy Worth, and Wilson Baldridge. ISBN 0-7714-2269-5

Mestengo Press and the copyright holders have granted permissions for Western Libraries to post this book online for free public access.
The print version of this book was published with Promenades autobiographiques in one volume.
The essay, "L'originalité de Marivaux," by Reginald McGinnis, is not available.
The original cover illustration is not available. The new cover image is provided by Servanne Woodward.

Autobiographical Journeys. Promenades autobiographiques

2026-07-02T19:48:06+00:00

Vol. III of the Eighteenth-Century French World Centre-The University of Western Ontario, edited by Servanne Woodward and Jeremy Worth. ISBN 0-7714-2269-5

"Le nomadisme de Sade en Italie" de CIaire Antoinette Lindenlaub
"Supplément(s) en voyage: Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Victor Segalen," de Kimberley J. Healey
"'Promène-toi toi-même.' Les inconciliables visages de Julien Green," by Anne-Cécile Pottier-Thoby

The original cover illustration is not available. The new cover image is provided by Servanne Woodward.

Altered Narratives

2026-06-18T20:16:12+00:00

Vol. I of the Eighteenth-Century French World Centre-The University of Western Ontario, edited by Servanne Woodward, Anthony Purdy, Minnette Gaudet, and Peter R. Saìz

Public Space of the Domestic Sphere. Espace public de la sphere domestique

2026-07-03T13:03:05+00:00

Vol. II of the Eighteenth-Century French World Centre-The University of Western Ontario, edited by Servanne Woodward, Roland V. Bonnel, Alain Goldschläger, Christine Roulston, and Peter R. Saìz. ISBN 0-7714-1968-6.

Mestengo Press and the copyright holders have granted permissions for Western Libraries to post this book online for free public access.
The print version of this book was published with Altered Narratives: Female Eighteenth-Century French Authors Reinterpreted in one volume.
The original cover illustration is not available. The new cover image is provided by Servanne Woodward.