Dr. Edward MacDonald presents Island Studies October Lecture The Romance of Prince Edward Island: A Tour Through the 1941 Visitors' Guide

The Island Studies Lectures Series gets under way for a new season on Tuesday, October 18, at 7 pm in the SDU Main Building Faculty Lounge on the UPEI campus. Kicking off the season is UPEI historian Dr. Edward MacDonald, who will present a public lecture, “The Romance of Prince Edward Island: A Tour Through the 1941 Visitors' Guide.”

Along with fellow Islander Dr. Alan MacEachern of the University of Western Ontario, Dr. MacDonald has been working for many years on a history of Prince Edward Island tourism. In 1941, for special reasons, Prince Edward Island dressed itself up as “The England of Canada” in a bid to attract war-wary American tourists. One visitor saved the guide, adding their own comments in the margins. Six decades later, that guide has come back to the Island. Its pictures, text, ads, and annotations provide a revealing glimpse into an industry that was still struggling to define itself.

Dr. Edward MacDonald teaches in the History Department at UPEI. His research focus is the social, cultural, and environmental history of Prince Edward Island. Along with Dr. Josh MacFadyen and Dr. Irene Novaczek, he is co-editor of Time and A Place: An Environmental History of Prince Edward Island, co-published by Island Studies Press and McGill-Queen’s University Press. The best known of his seven books is If You’re Stronghearted: Prince Edward Island in the 20th Century (October 2000).

Admission to the lecture is free, and everyone is welcome to attend.

Watch for details for another lecture about islands–near and far–November 15. For more information, please contact Laurie at iis@upei.ca or (902)894-2881.