Public Lecture:
The Chinese Canadian Immigration Project
Speaker: Professor Peter Ward
Moderator: Dr Elizabeth Sinn
Date: 3 April 2008 (Thursday)
Time: 7:15 - 9:00 pm
Venue: e-Learning Lab, G/F, Main Library, The University of Hong Kong
Language: English
This lecture is co-sponsored by The University of Hong Kong Libraries and The University of British Columbia
About the Lecture
The Chinese Canadian Immigration Project
The Chinese Canadian immigration project explores the dynamics of migration flows between China and Canada from the mid 19th to the mid 20th century. It is based on the Canadian Register of Chinese Immigrants, a list of almost 100,000 Chinese who entered Canada between 1851 and 1949, most of whom were required to pay a discriminatory and restrictive entry fee – the so-called Head Tax. Using this core document, the project will examine migration between China and Canada, its relationships to patterns of immigrant recruitment in China and settlement in Canada, and the socio-economic factors underlying these population movements.
About the Speaker
Appointed University Librarian pro tem at UBC in March 2007, Dr. Peter Ward oversees the operations of the Library and the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre. A professor and former chair of the Department of History (1991-96), Dr. Ward served as Associate Dean of Arts (Strategic Initiatives) from 2003 to 2005 before being appointed Interim Deputy University Librarian.
Dr. Ward is currently at work on a collaborative research project entitled “The Chinese Canadian Migration Project”; it will trace emigration patterns of Chinese emigrants to Canada during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, examining the health and living standards of the migrants and their source communities. He is also writing a history of personal hygiene in western Europe and North America from the mid 19th century to the recent past.
Professor Ward’s research interests fall into two broad areas, Canadian social history and the history of health in modern Europe and North America. He is the author of several books including, Courtship, Love and Marriage in Nineteenth Century English Canada (1990), Birth Weight and Economic Growth: Women’s Living Standards in the Industrializing West (1993), A History of Domestic Space: Privacy and the Canadian Home (1999) and White Canada Forever: Popular Attitudes and Public Policy Toward Orientals in British Columbia (1978), which was cited by the Social Science Federation of Canada as one of the 20 most important books supported by the Council during the previous 50 years.
Dr. Ward received his PhD (History) in 1973 from Queen’s University. He earned his MA (History) in 1966 and BA (English Literature) in 1964 from the University of Alberta.