Campion College at the University of Regina hosted the Regina book launch of two recent publications by Campion professors Dr. John Meehan, SJ and Dr. Lee Ward on Thursday, December 2, 2004 in the Campion College cafeteria.
Meehan's book, The Dominion and the Rising Sun: Canada Encounters Japan, 1929-1941, is regarded as "the first major study of Canada’s diplomatic arrival in Japan and, by extension, East Asia. It examines the political, economic, and cultural relations forged during this seminal period between the foremost power in Asia and the young dominion tentatively establishing itself in world affairs." Primarily a diplomatic history, the book also explores the impact of traders, interest groups, and missionaries on Canadian attitudes toward Japan during the interwar years. The Dominion and the Rising Sun is published by UBC Press.
An assistant professor of history and chaplain at Campion College, Meehan is no stranger to Asian culture. His work was inspired by a seven-month stay in Nagano Japan, where he taught English and Russian. Meehan received a BA in history and Russian Studies from McGill University, a diploma in theology from Magdalen College, Oxford University, a MA in international relations from John Hopkins University (Washington, DC) and a PhD in history from the University of Toronto.
Published earlier this year by Cambridge Press, Ward's book, entitled The Politics of Liberty in England and Revolutionary America, was officially launched in Regina on December 4, 2004. The book constitutes what Ward describes as "an effort to address some of the problems contemporary political theorists and intellectual historians have encountered in writing about the Anglo-American political tradition." Ward's book explores the roots and development of Anglo-American political and constitutional thought and practice, while examining the philosophical origins of the Anglo-American tradition from the days of the Glorious Revolution in seventeenth-century England to the American Revolution.
Ward joined the Campion College faculty in July as assistant professor in political science. He received his BA from the University of Toronto and MA from Brock University. He completed his doctorate in political theory at Fordham University in 2000. Prior to coming to Campion, Ward was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University.