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SUMMARY:Vancouver Island University Arts and Humanities Colloquium
URL:http://www.harbourliving.ca/event/vancouver-island-university-arts-and-humanities-colloquiumnov22/
LOCATION:Malaspina Theatre at Vancouver Island University :: 900 5th Street Nanaimo, V9R 5S5
DESCRIPTION;ENCODING=QUOTED-PRINTABLE:Arts and Humanities Colloquium Revisits BC’s 1983 Solidarity Movement=0D=0A=
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In the summer and fall of 1983 British Columbia was engulfed in political turmoil. The Social Credit government of the day had introduced a tough financial restraint program aimed at curbing public spending, and the left in British Columbia, always a significant force, came together to challenge the government. The confrontation lasted almost four months. There were marches in the street, drawing tens of thousands; rallies across the province; strikes; and filibusters in the legislature. New organizations were set up to coordinate the protest, bringing together unions, political parties, human rights groups, and anti-poverty associations, among others. The left was on the march. This was the Solidarity movement of 1983. =0D=0A=
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Dr. Gordon Hak, VIU Department of History, will reflect on the turbulent events described above as he presents “BC’s 1983 Solidarity Movement 30 Years On: Something for the Left to Celebrate or Best Forgotten?” Dr. Hak’s illustrated presentation is the concluding session of the Fall 2013 VIU Arts and Humanities Colloquium Series. It is admission-free and refreshments are available before the lecture, and a time for discussion and questions will follow the talk.  =0D=0A=
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Dr. Hak was drawn to revisit the BC Solidarity movement because, despite its early promise, it ended in a most unsatisfactory manner from the perspective of those on the left. Many of the constituent groups felt that they had been let down. Recriminations flew back and forth. Hak notes, “many blamed trade union leaders for looking only to their own interests, selling out community groups, and undermining the possibility for a new reinvigorated leftist movement in the province.” But he adds that “labour leaders defended themselves, arguing that further protest or a general strike would have done more harm than good.” =0D=0A=
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Drawing on material contained in his recently released book, The Left in British Columbia: A History of Struggle, Dr. Hak will use the Colloquium forum to argue that there was more to Solidarity than just a debatable conclusion. “From a historical perspective it was a moment when the British Columbia left rather remarkably, if temporarily, came together, overcoming a longstanding tradition of division.” Hak also classifies the Solidarity uprising as “a militant stand against the ascendant New Right and neo-liberalism, an attempt by the left to turn back the immense economic and political change that swept across the western world after the 1970s, creating the world in which we now live.” =0D=0A=
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The Arts and Humanities Colloquium Series highlights the impressive research being done by VIU faculty through the presentation of admission-free public lectures open to students and the general public. The Series continues on Friday, January 24th when Professor Sasha Koerbler, VIU Department of Music, presents “One Bird, Two Notes: Bird Painting in Music.”=0D=0A=
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For more information on the Arts and Humanities Colloquium Series, contact Dr. Timothy Lewis at 250 753-3245, local 2114 or < Timothy.Lewis@viu.ca >=0D=0A=

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