Mennonites in the City
Friday, November 30 and Saturday, December 1, 2001
Weekend Symposium
Eckardt Gramatte Hall
515 Portage Avenue Winnipeg, Manitoba
It has been said that Anabaptism was born in the city, matured into a Mennonite peoplehood in the countryside and was rejuvenated as a dynamic cultural force in the city. It has also been said that Anabaptism was born amongst villagers, people of the crafts and the farm, and as such has always been in danger of losing its distinctiveness of peace, simplicity and community in the modern city. This conference will seek to focus a debate on this and related issues by examining the history and social basis of the Mennonite life in the city. The conference will highlight the Canadian experience, but papers will also reflect aspects of this phenomenon in Russia, the United States and Germany.
Friday, November 30
7:00 p.m.: AN URBAN PIONEER
Chair: Royden Loewen, Chair in Mennonite Studies
Greetings: Constance Rooke, President,
University of Winnipeg
- Keynote Address: Harry Loewen, Kelowna, BC, "Reflections of an Urban University Mennonite Studies Professor"
- Tributes: Al Reimer, Winnipeg; Catherine Hunter, University of Winnipeg
Saturday, December 1
8:30-9:30: URBAN IMAGES: U.S. AND GERMANY
Chair: Ted Regehr, University of Calgary
- Hans Werner, University of Manitoba, "'Feeling at Home': Soviet Mennonites in Bielefeld, Germany, 1950*1990."
- Dora Dueck, University of Manitoba, "Images of the City in the Mennonite Brethren Zionsbote, 1890*1940"
Coffee: 9:30-10:00
10:00-11:00 a.m. THE CITY AND ANABAPTISM
Chair: Paul Redekop, Menno Simons College
- Keynote Address: Leo Driedger, University of Manitoba, "Call of the City: Rediscovering Anabaptism."
11:00-12:30: INADVERTENTLY URBAN IN CANADA
Chair: David Giesbrecht, Mennonite Historical Society of B.C.
- Sam Steiner, Conrad Grebel College, "The City and the Formation of the Mennonite Conference of Eastern Canada."
- Johann Funk, Okanagan University College, "Urbanites by Default: Mennonites of the Fraser Valley."
12:30-1:30: LUNCH
1:30-3:00: CROSSING BORDERS IN RUSSIA
Chair: Marlene Epp, Conrad Grebel College
- Natasha Ostasheva Venger, University of Dniepropetrovsk, "Mennonite Industrial Dynasties in Alexandrovsk."
- James Urry, Victoria University of Wellington, "Growing up with Cities: The Mennonite Experience in Russia and the Early Soviet Union."
Coffee 3:00- 3:30
3:30-5:15: WEAVING THE WINNIPEG WEB
Chair: Anna Ens, Winnipeg
- Bruno Dyck, University of Manitoba, "Exploring Congregational Clans: Playing the 'Mennonite Game' in Winnipeg."
- Paul Harms, University of Alberta, "Social Experience and Ethnic Icons in the Enactment of Mennonite Identity in Winnipeg"
- Karen Dyck, University of Winnipeg, "Invisible Labour of Survival: The Contribution of Mennonite Women to their Family Businesses in North Kildonan, 1930*1960."
7:00: POETS, MENNONITES AND THE CITY
Chair: Mavis Reimer, University of Winnipeg
- Keynote Address: Di Brandt, University of Windsor, "The Poet and the Wild City"
- Conference Summary: James Urry, Victoria University of Wellington
Registration: There is no conference registration and admission is free.
Publication of Conference Proceedings: The Journal of Mennonite Studies, issue # 20, 2002, will feature selected papers from the conference. To subscribe write: The Journal of Mennonite Studies, University of Winnipeg, 515 Portage Ave., Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3B 2E9 or email r.loewen@uwinnipeg.ca
Lodging: Participants may stay at the newly refurbished Holiday Inn, 360 Colony Street, half a block east of the University of Winnipeg. A special 'university' rate of $79.00 plus tax is offered to participants who let the hotel know that they are attending the Mennonite Studies conference at the university on November 30 and December 1.
Meals: may be purchased on campus or at any of the dozen restaurants within a block or two of the university.
Free Parking: is available a block west of the university in Lot E on Young Street, just south of Homer's Restaurant. Plenty of other parking spaces are also available for reasonable rates in the following spots: the Mall Parkade (above the bus depot) with entrance off of Colony Street, one block east of the university; at the Bay parkade two blocks southeast of the university; in several Imperial Parking lots on the east and west sides of the university.
Event Poster Please click the poster to view a full-sized image.
ALL SESSIONS WILL BE HELD AT:
ECKHARDT GRAMATTÉ HALL, UNIVERSITY OF WINNIPEG