Uncovering the stories of empire
Professor Gauvin Alexander Bailey focuses on the lives of colonized people and their legacies in a new book – the third in an unofficial trilogy – about architecture and slavery in the French Empire.
Summer research awards fuel bold discoveries and exhibits
155 Â鶹¹ÙÍø’s students were awarded the Undergraduate Student Summer Research Fellowships (USSRF) and Undergraduate Student Research Assistantship (USRA) awards this summer.
Students worked full-time for 16 weeks on their research projects, publishing their abstracts in the Inquiry@Â鶹¹ÙÍø’s Journal this month, an undergraduate research publication.
The unique sights of Â鶹¹ÙÍø's research – photo essay
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. In the case of Â鶹¹ÙÍø’s Art of Research, those words tell a powerful story of discovery and impact from a perspective rarely seen – the researcher’s own. The Â鶹¹ÙÍø’s photo and video contest takes the public behind the scenes of these one-of-a-kind views from researchers as they pursue research that is shaping the world.
Art History Speaker Series – Material Ecologies: Media, Infrastructures, Relations
Date
Thursday October 22, 20262:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Location
Art History Speaker Series 2026
Chemical Photography and the Coal Tar Complex
Join us October 22 for another in our Art History Speaker Series featuring Michelle Henning (University of Liverpool), on "Chemical Photography and the Coal Tar Complex".
All series lectures are free and open to the public.
Student Research
Lucian Mussells
Artificial Intelligence and Digital History Week
Date
Thursday September 17, 20262:30 pm - 4:00 pm
Location
George Teves Room: University ClubWhat the Humanities Bring to University's Digital Future
Kevin Kee: Â鶹¹ÙÍø's University
Artificial Intelligence and Digital History Week
Date
Wednesday September 16, 20262:30 pm - 4:00 pm
Location
Machines and Minds: Twentieth-Century Origins of History in the Age of AI
Chad Gaffield: University of Ottawa
Artificial Intelligence and Digital History Week
Start Date
Monday September 14, 2026End Date
Tuesday September 15, 2026Time
2:30 pm - 4:00 pmLocation
Jeffrey Hall 422Simulating Historical Processes
William Turkel - University of Western Ontario
Artificial Intelligence and Digital History Week
Date
Tuesday September 15, 20262:30 pm - 4:00 pm
Location
Artificial Intelligence and the Future of History
Marnie Hughes-Warrington - Adelaid University, Australia
Sjoukje G. van der Laan
Sjoukje G. van der Laan
Adjunct Faculty
Sjoukje G. van der Laan (she/her/us) holds a BA in Art History from the University of Groningen (The Netherlands), and a MA and Professional Doctorate in Conservation & Restoration of Cultural Heritage from the University of Amsterdam (The Netherlands), specializing in modern & contemporary art conservation and restoration. Sjoukje gained experience in the conservation studios of the Smithsonian Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (Washington, D.C.), Municipal Museum of Contemporary Art (Ghent, Belgium), and the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (The Hague, The Netherlands). Over the years, she has worked as a leading conservator in private practice in both Europe and Canada, and is since 2016 also employed at the Art Gallery of Ontario as conservator of contemporary art. Her specialization gives her experience with conserving and restoring a wide variety of (synthetic) materials, objects, paintings, kinetic and electronic art, and complex contemporary art installations. Sjoukje is a strong advocate for the conservation and preservation of cultural heritage, and emphasizes that engagement in our shared heritage allows us to understand and learn from the past while moving into a connected future.