Hi all,
I am Derek (he/him) writing to you from UVic, in Lkwungen and WSÁNEĆ territory and I live just down the road near PKOLS (Mt. Doug). I also work at CapU, on Sḵwx̱wú7mesh and Tsleil-Waututh lands. I come from a very small community (about 50 people) in the Ottawa Valley called Tramore, though I usually say I am from the bustling metropolis of Killaloe (pop. 700), birthplace of Beaver Tails!
As a historian of settler colonialism in Canada, the territory acknowledgement is important to me because it connects very closely to the work that I do on an everyday basis. I am especially interested in how to translate this activity to online environments. So, this MicroCourse seemed like the perfect opportunity at the perfect time. Thanks!
Fun fact: in grad school I was in a parody cover band (à la Weird Al) called The Footnotes. We wrote new lyrics to popular songs and made them about the experience of grad school. Ex: We Are the Champions became We Are Historians. It was the nerdiest thing ever, but also a lot of fun. We even put out an album, though (thankfully) you cannot find it on Spotify.
Looking forward to working with you all!
Derek