Concordia historian and university president to deliver annual Robert Babcock Lecture Oct. 30
Graham Carr, University of Maine alum, historian, president and vice-chancellor of Concordia University in Montreal, will deliver the annual Robert Babcock Lecture at 3:10 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 30 at Bodwell Lounge in the Collins Center for the Arts.
In his talk, titled “The Histories We Inherit: Concordia’s Reckoning With the Pasts of Its Founding Institutions,” Carr, who earned his Ph.D. in history from UMaine in 1983, will explore the role universities can and should play in addressing the legacy of colonialism and anti-Black racism on campuses and in greater society. He will discuss two case studies from Concordia’s recent history: a formal apology that it issued for the role systemic racism played in student protests and their aftermath in 1969, and its response to the role two religious orders with ties to university played in Canada’s infamous residential school system. In both examples, Concordia has had to come to terms with the actions of its founding institutions.
The talk is free and refreshments will be provided afterward. The UMaine History Department and the Canadian-American Center are hosting the event.
Every year, the History Department invites a graduate from their doctoral program to present the Robert Babcock Lecture. Babcock was a professor of history at UMaine who studied the working-class experience in North America.
For more information or to request a reasonable accommodation, please contact Emma Schroder, emma.schroeder@maine.edu.