Recent Class Notes

Books and Beyond

  • Conversations with Chordates

    Conversations with Chordates

    Anastasia Shavrova, Artsci鈥�13, MSc鈥�17.

    What do extroverts, dinosaurs, snake-infested marshes, and Mongolia all have in common? They鈥檙e all featured subjects on Conversations with Chordates, a podcast launched last fall by Anastasia Shavrova, Artsci鈥�13, MSc鈥�17. While Ms. Shavrova works toward her doctorate in reproductive evolution at the University of New South Wales, she uses the podcast to engage fellow scientists in non-scientific conversations on an eclectic range of topics. You can find it on Spotify, Apple, and SoundCloud.

  • Evaluating Urban and Regional Plans: From Theory to Practice

    Evaluating Urban and Regional Plans: From Theory to Practice

    Mark Seasons, Artsci鈥�75

    The planners who design our cities and communities often don鈥檛 know if their plans will succeed. Mark Seasons, Artsci鈥�75, a professor of planning at the University of Waterloo, says understanding which practices have worked in the past 鈥� and which ones haven鈥檛 鈥� can help take the risk out of urban planning. His 2021 book, Evaluating Urban and Regional Plans: From Theory to Practice, shows planners and planning students how to learn from past successes and mistakes to make better decisions in the future.

  • Olga Onuch & Henry E. Hale The Zelensky Effect

    The Zelensky Effect

    Dr. Olga Onuch, Artsci鈥�05

    What enabled Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to stand his ground and lead his country so impressively against an invasion at the hands of an aggressive neighbour? Dr. Olga Onuch, Artsci鈥�05, and co-author Henry E. Hale tackle that question in The Zelensky Effect, published earlier this year by Oxford University Press. They learned that the answer is less about a charismatic leader and more about a shared culture and a strong national identity, hard-won after a tumultuous history.

  • You Don't Have to Look the Part: How East Asian Women Thrive as Entrepreneurs. Winnie Wong.

    You Don鈥檛 Have to Look the Part: How East Asian Women Thrive as Entrepreneurs

    When Winnie Wong, Com鈥�11

    When Winnie Wong, Com鈥�11, learned that only two per cent of venture-capital funding goes to female-led startups, she decided to do something about it. Ms. Wong, a professor at the SP Jain School of Global Management in Singapore, wrote and published You Don鈥檛 Have to Look the Part: How East Asian Women Thrive as Entrepreneurs to explore the barriers Asian women face and share tips for overcoming them 鈥� from the likes of Canva founder Melanie Perkins and fashion mogul Vera Wang.

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