New lecture series to celebrate John Meisel

New lecture series to celebrate John Meisel

The John Meisel Scholar Series in Contemporary Political Controversies to hold its inaugural event on Thursday, Nov. 23.

By Peter Jeffrey

November 15, 2017

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A lot has changed across this country since John Meisel first took up residence here at Queen鈥檚 in 1949 as a lecturer in Political Studies. But one thing that remains a constant is the existence of political controversy and the need for scholars, policy makers, and the public to explore and address it.

This is where a new annual lecture series at Queen鈥檚 will come in. The John Meisel Scholar Series in Contemporary Political Controversies is set for Thursday, Nov. 23 from 4 to 5:30 pm in the Agnes Etherington Art Centre. The inaugural visiting scholar will be Debra Thompson from the University of Oregon and the title of her lecture is 鈥淭rump, Race, and Time鈥.

鈥淭his scholar series is an ideal way for the university to celebrate John鈥檚 incredible career and the contributions he has made to Queen鈥檚 and Canada in his roles as a professor, public servant, and public intellectual,鈥 says Zsuzsa Cserg艖, Political Studies Department Head. 鈥淗e was an important voice in many of this country鈥檚 most important debates over many decades, including discussions over the future of Canadian culture and arts, and battles over the constitution, to name a few.鈥

Professor Meisel was also a pioneer in research into political behavior and he wrote widely on Canadian elections, political parties, Quebec politics, science policy, and cultural policy. He was the founding editor of two prestigious academic journals, the Canadian Journal of Political Science and the International Political Science Review. From 1980 to 1983 he was Chair of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission and later served as president of the Royal Society of Canada.

Recently he celebrated his 94th birthday at the Queen鈥檚 University Club where members of the Political Studies department unveiled the scholar series founded in his honour. The event will also highlight the important contributions of Queen鈥檚 Political Studies to scholarship and public engagement both nationally and internationally.

The lecture is open to the public and is being sponsored by the Faculty of Arts and Science with support from alumni.

For more information visit the . 

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