Undergraduate history and classics students from around Atlantic Canada will converge on St. Francis Xavier University March 2-4 to share their research and take part in friendly scholarly debate with peers from around the region.

StFX will host the Atlantic University Undergraduate History and Classics Conference, a student-led, faculty-advised event, now in its sixth year.

“We expect between 20 to 30 presenters, all upper-year students, mostly all honours students,” says organizer Tom Richards, a fourth year honours history student from Regina, SK and president of the StFX History Society.

Presentations will offer much diversity in topic matters, he says, running the spectrum from talks on evolution in post-war British identity to the use of animation in media.

The presentations are scheduled to take place in the Gerald Schwartz School of Business, Rooms 205 and 215, and the public is encouraged to attend. Event details will be available on the StFX History Department webpage.

Other events planned for the conference include a Celtic ceilidh in Dennis Hall, faculty book launches, and a banquet.

Mr. Richards says the conference helps show students they can get serious about academics and gives them a taste of what academics do.

 “It’s nice to show and present your work to others, and it gives you an idea of what it’s like if you want to further your degree in that field,” he says.