History Fans Get Rare Access to U of T’s Timothy Snyder
By Mysha Kapelyukh ‘27
Last week, 10 students accompanied Mr. Vien and Mr. Harvey to listen to a lecture by Professor Timothy Snyder at the University of Toronto. Professor Snyder recently moved from Yale University, where he taught for 24 years, to U of T’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy where he introduced a new course called "Hitler and Stalin Today," focusing on the legacy of authoritarian regimes.
Waking up bright and early that morning, the group of enthusiastic and excited students made the rainy trip to U of T’s historic Convocation Hall in the heart of the downtown campus. Inside, they were able to listen to the lecture; a first time for many of the group to do so in a true, university setting!
The lecture was the last one for Professor Snyder’s class this term and focused on summarizing previous course content, WW2 history, dictatorships, conflict, lessons that can be taken away from the past, and re-occurrences from ‘history’ in the modern world while tying in a philosophical/deep thinking approach.
The students, already familiar with Professor Snyder from reading passages from his bestselling book On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century in Mr. Vien’s Grade 10 Civics course, all took something away from the two-hour experience, while taking notes and listening to the famous author they had read about in class.
After what seemed like a short time, the lecture ended and the group was escorted into a separate room where they personally got to meet Professor Snyder. Both students and teachers alike asked deep questions about the meaning of history itself, geo-political affairs and even our very own Prime Minister’s speech! After these thought provoking discussions, each student received a signed copy of On Tyranny before heading back to CDS. Everyone took something interesting away that day and enjoyed this unique experience!
On behalf of all of these students, we would like to thank Mr. Vien for organizing this opportunity, Mr. Harvey for accompanying them, and Mr. Viotto for allowing this to happen.
Land Acknowledgment
The Country Day School wishes to recognize and acknowledge the land on which the school operates. Our nearest Indigenous Nations are now the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and the Chippewas of Georgina Island. The Dish with One Spoon Wampum covenant is often cited as an example of the shared responsibility for caring for these lands among the Huron-Wendat, Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee peoples who would call these their traditional territories. CDS respects the relationship with these lands and recognizes that our connection to this land can be strengthened by our continued relationship with all First Nations, by acknowledging our shared responsibility to respect and care for the land and waters for future generations.
School Information
Junior, Middle and Senior Schools
13415 Dufferin Street, King, Ontario L7B 1K5
(905) 833-1220
communications@cds.on.ca
admissions@cds.on.ca
Founded in 1972, The Country Day School is a co-educational private school offering programs in JK-12 and located on 100 acres north of Toronto in King.
13415 Dufferin Street, King, Ontario L7B 1K5
(905) 833-1220
communications@cds.on.ca
admissions@cds.on.ca
Founded in 1972, The Country Day School is a co-educational private school offering programs in JK-12 and located on 100 acres north of Toronto in King.
