A Magical Time
The Early Days of the Arts at Simon Fraser University
- Publisher
- Harbour Publishing Co. Ltd.
- Initial publish date
- Mar 2025
- Category
- General, Study & Teaching, Higher, Organizations & Institutions
-
Hardback
- ISBN
- 9781998526062
- Publish Date
- Mar 2025
- List Price
- $38.95
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Description
Simon Fraser University went from an idea in 1963 to opening its doors in 1965, a feat that led it to be dubbed “the instant university.” This multi-authored history chronicles the excitement of that first radical decade of the arts at SFU.
The late 1960s was a time when, for many, a new world seemed possible, a world in which the old ways would be overthrown forever. Everywhere was affected by this spirit, but as a new university, Simon Fraser was particularly influenced by the social milieu. Early SFU was shaped by a vision of a new kind of university where thought was free-flowing and collaborative, with blurred lines between disciplines and an abandonment of hierarchies for a democratic approach to governance and learning, education that occurred on campus and in the community, free from the traditions of more established academic institutions.
Many caught the fire that had consumed visionary artists in earlier generations, forging many enduring artistic accomplishments. For others it was a time of personal exploration and discovery, when the dictum “Don't let your classes interfere with your education” was built into the very bedrock of the university.
Richly illustrated with ephemera and photographs from the era, with chapters on each of the major artistic disciplines and attention to key personalities, A Magical Time traces how the spirit of innovation and the core belief in interdisciplinarity shaped events over the next six decades at SFU.
This project stems from the collaboration of a committee formed by the Simon Fraser University Retirees Association.
About the authors
Frances Atkinson's profile page
Tessa Perkins Deneault's profile page
Born in Montreal, Carole Gerson is a professor in the English Department at Simon Fraser University. Her research on Canadian literary and publishing history and on early Canadian women writers has resulted in many publications, including two books on Pauline Johnson. She was a member of the editorial team for the major three-volume project History of the Book in Canada, for which she co-edited volume 3, covering the period 1918–1980.
Christine Hearn's profile page
Francis Mansbridge’s interest in the history of the North Shore was stimulated by his dozen years as an archivist in North Vancouver. A love of outdoor recreation has led him to spend extensive time exploring the Hollyburn area. Prior to his archival work, Francis taught English at a number of colleges and universities, mostly at the College of the Rockies in Cranbrook. He holds a PhD in English from the University of Ottawa and has published extensively on both academic and popular subjects. His previous books include God’s Recording Angel, a biography of the Canadian poet Irving Layton, and Launching History: The Saga of Burrard Dry Dock. The latter book won the B.C. Lieutenant-Governor’s award for historical writing in 2002.
Francis Mansbridge's profile page
Hildegard Westerkamp's profile page
Max Wyman is one of Canada’s foremost cultural commentators. For more than three decades he wrote arts criticism and analysis for Vancouver newspapers and CBC radio. The Compassionate Imagination is his seventh book on the arts in Canada. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada, a former member of the board of the Canada Council for the Arts, and a former President of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO. He lives in Lions Bay, near Vancouver, BC.
Other titles by
Paddling Her Own Canoe
The Times and Texts of E. Pauline Johnson (Tekahionwake)
In Due Season
Canadian Women in Print, 1750–1918
Canadian Poetry from the Beginnings Through the First World War
Tilda Jane
History of the Book in Canada
Volume Three: 1918-1980
E. Pauline Johnson, Tekahionwake
Collected Poems and Selected Prose
Vancouver Short Stories
The Prose of Life
Sketches
Other titles by
James K-M
Cave Paintings
Liz Magor
The Mouth and other storage facilities
Walter Tandy Murch
The Spirit of Things
Jerry Pethick
Works 1968 - 2003 From Collections on Hornby Island
The Insurance Man
Kafka in the Penal Colony
Robert Young
Lacunarian Picturing
Joan Balzar
Vancouver Orbital
Take Your Time
Marianna Schmidt
Denise Hawrysio
Situational Prints
