UCalgary History students travel to Germany for PURE projects

Supervised by Dr. Petra Dolata, two UCalgary History undergraduates travelled to Germany to carry out research projects funded through the Program for Undergraduate Research Experience (PURE), which provides students with a unique opportunity to develop research skills through experiential learning.

Damase Anderson-Camacho is a fourth-year undergraduate student who majors in both Art History and History. Her PURE project entitled “Weimar Lesbian Periodicals and Marketing to the Homosexual Consumer” took her to Berlin this summer. Here is what she had to say about her research: 

“I am taking a deep dive into the 1920s lesbian subculture of Berlin, primarily through an examination of two magazines marketed to an audience of predominantly queer women. These magazines included similar images to one another, portraying women in typically aestheticized fashion. 

What my research sets out to determine, through a close examination of primary and secondary sources, is how these images were similar to or different from those found in a general women’s magazine, aimed at a heterosexual yet still modern audience. Combining visual analysis of specific images from the magazines with location mapping to determine how these magazines reached their audiences, this research will illuminate the ways in which an early queer community began to conceptualize itself.”

Matthew Mettam, a third-year History Major and Honours student, spent five weeks in Freiburg where he was affiliated with the research group of Dr. Melanie Arndt, Chair of Economic, Social and Environmental History at the Albert Ludwig University Freiburg. He had the following to say about his project and his experience:

“I am grateful for the opportunity to have travelled to Germany to work on my project, ‘Investigating Canadian-German Intercultural Encounters in Post WWII Lahr, Germany.’ Using a cultural-historical perspective, I am examining the town of Lahr, located in Southwestern Germany near the French border, which hosted a Canadian military base between 1967 and 1994. There, the Canadians used Lahr as one of their main headquarters for European operations until their withdrawal in 1994, bringing their families over from Canada and establishing their own infrastructure in Germany for the long-term presence. 

Because the Canadians lived in Personal Military Quarters (PMQs) near native German neighborhoods, drove on German roads, and played sports alongside German teams, Lahr is an ideal historical case study for Canadian-German intercultural interactions. In carrying out this project, I aim to shed light on the often-overlooked history of the post-1967 Canadian Overseas Forces and answer questions related to life on a military base in a foreign country. How often did Canadians and Germans interact with one another? Did the difference between the English and German languages play a role in facilitating/inhibiting connections? Did Canadians change their behavior/adapt to their new environment over time? Were there any cultural sticking points? Were problems, controversies, or disagreements resolved? How did Canada’s time in Lahr impact participating Canadian families and German residents after 1994? 

During my visit in Germany, I consulted sources at the Lahr city archives and the University of Freiburg Library. I also used maps, pictures, and documents to create a multimedia document related to the Base. While this project is a combination of cultural history and “Alltagsgeschichte” (history of everyday life), one of its most important components is using media and the memories of former CFB Lahr residents to make the history of Canadian Forces Europe more accessible to those without access to German archives.”

We hope you enjoyed a great summer in Germany!