Dear friends of the UMIH,

As we are getting closer to the end classes, please join us for UMIH’s last event this semester:

 

-Portals, Potions, and Politics: Dungeons & Dragons and the Esoteric Impulse and Imagination, 1965–1980

Gregory Jones-Katz (Institute for General and Comparative Literature at Goethe-Universität/ American Studies Department at TU Dortmund) 

Date: Wednesday, December 3rd at 2:30 pm, the presentation will be streamed at 409 Tier, zoom link https://umanitoba.zoom.us/j/69775861871?pwd=abNQfCUulg8AtO0efhGb4ypq8IQRm7.1

In this presentation, Gregory Jones-Katz will explore the early cultural and intellectual contexts of Dungeons & Dragons, today widely recognized as the beating heart of the role-playing game industry. In particular, he will historicize the biographies and writings of D&D’s creators, E. Gary Gygax (1938-2008) and Dave Arneson (1947-2009), and other figures, like Muhammad Abd al-Rahman Barker (1929-2012). For more information, see the attached poster’s QR code or visit our website.

 

Also, a reminder about the forthcoming international conference for the Winters semester:

 

- International Conference, “Identity in Motion: Literary Representations of Refugees, Exiles, and Immigrants”. UMIH, February 5-6, 2026.

 

The Institute for Humanities at the University of Manitoba invites proposals for papers and panel presentations for the international conference Identity in Motion: Literary Representations of Refugees, Exiles, and Immigrants. This conference seeks to explore the diverse literary portrayals of displacement, migration, exile, and the refugee experience across genres, languages, and cultures. We welcome interdisciplinary approaches, including but not limited to literary studies, cultural studies, history, and sociology.

The format for this conference is hybrid (in person/Zoom). The deadline for submitting proposals is January 5th 2026. For more information, please see attached pdf, visit our website or contact Dr. Shymchyshyn, Mariya.Shymchyshyn@umanitoba.ca

 

Best,

Jorge

 

Jorge A. Nállim

Director, Institute for the Humanities

Faculty of Arts Humanities Research Professor

Department of History

405 Fletcher Argue Bldg.

University of Manitoba

Winnipeg, MB R3T 5V5

jorge.nallim@umanitoba.ca

https://umanitoba.ca/arts/jorge-nallim

 

Sanda McGee Deutsch and Jorge A. Nállim (eds.), Antifascism(s) in Latin America and the Caribbean: From the Margins to the Center (Cambridge University Press, 2025). For more information, visit our blog,

https://cambridgeblog.org/2025/08/antifascisms-in-latin-america-and-the-caribbean-from-the-margins-to-the-center/