Faculty and Staff

Who to Contact

Unsure of who to contact in the History department?

The departmental chair is the principal administrative officer of the department. She or he is responsible for chairing departmental meetings and carrying out its decisions in regard to academic policy and other matters. The chair conveys departmental recommendations to the dean of Arts, and represents the department in other forums within the university. Serious academic problems or complaints should be referred to the departmental chair who will endeavour to resolve the difficulty or offer advice on how the matter can best be dealt with. The departmental chair is currently David Smith (office: DAWB 4-135A; extension: 3321; email: dasmith@wlu.ca).

The undergraduate officer is a faculty member appointed to help students with course selection and program requirements. The undergraduate program coordinator is currently Dana Weiner (office: DAWB 4-153; extension: 2092; email: historyadvising@wlu.ca).

The graduate officer is a faculty member within the History department who is appointed to manage the graduate program. Senior students interested in graduate studies in History might find it useful to consult the graduate officer about programs and scholarships available. The graduate officer is currently Blaine Chiasson (office: DAWB 4-138; extension 3954; email: bchiasson@wlu.ca).

Our official means of communication is with your Laurier email account. Students are expected to regularly check their Laurier email account for important notices from the university community. Students are also expected to send emails to official members of the university community from their Laurier email account in order to ensure delivery. Emails sent from non-Laurier accounts, such as Hotmail, may be identified as spam and not delivered. Your cooperation is appreciated.

Administrative Staff

Heather Vogel
Senior Administrative Assistant

Professors

Gavin Brockett
Associate Professor, Middle East and Turkey

Blaine Chiasson
Associate Professor, Modern China, Sino-Russian Relations
Graduate Officer

Cynthia Comacchio (Retired as of July 1, 2022)
Professor, Canadian Gender, Family, Class and Health

Adam Crerar
Associate Professor, Rural Ontario, 20th-Century Canada

Darryl Dee
Associate Professor, Early Modern France and Europe

Karljürgen Feuerherm
Associate Professor, Ancient Near East and Egypt

Judith Fletcher
Professor, Classical Greek Literature, Gender and Law

Leonard Friesen
Professor, Imperial Russia, Soviet Union, International Relations

Jeff Grischow
Associate Professor, Africa, Comparative Development Studies
Associate Director, Tshepo Institute for the Study of Contemporary Africa

Mark Humphries
Professor, Canadian Social, Military and Medical History

Lianne Leddy
Associate Professor, Indigenous history in Canada, Indigenous peoples and the environment, Gender and Indigenous peoples

Amy Milne-Smith
Associate Professor, Victorian Britain, Culture and Mental Illness

David Monod
Professor, American Social and Cultural History

Darren Mulloy
Professor, Post-1945 American History

Susan Neylan
Associate Professor

Chris L. Nighman
Professor, Medieval and Renaissance Europe
Coordinator, Medieval Studies Program

Eva Plach
Associate Professor, Modern Europe, Poland

Roger Sarty (Retired as of July 1, 2022)
Professor, Naval and Military, Canadian History

David Smith
Associate Professor, Anglo-Atlantic World, Law and Business
Chair, Department of History

Kevin A. Spooner
Associate Professor, North American Studies
Director, Laurier Centre for the Study of Canada

Barrington Walker
Professor, Black Canadian History, Immigration and Migration, Race and Settler Colonialism
Associate Vice-President, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Dana Elizabeth Weiner
Associate Professor, Early America amd U.S. to 1880, African American, Gender, Race
Undergraduate Officer