Mennonite
Historical
Society
of Alberta

Dawn S. Bowen fonds

Accession 2004.009

Title and Physical Description

Dawn S. Bowen fonds. — 1990-2001. — 2.5 cm of textual records

Administrative/Biographical History

Dawn S. Bowen, was born in 1964 in Quantico, Virginia, USA, living most of her life in Virginia with short periods in Maine and Ontario. Her education included a BA in Geography and International Affairs from Mary Washington College in 1986, an MA in Canadian History from University of Maine in 1990 (Thesis Title: “The Transformation of a Northern Alberta Frontier Community”), and a PhD in Geography from Queen’s University in 1998 (Dissertation Title: “‘Forward to a Farm’: The Back-to-the-Land Movement as a Relief Initiative in Saskatchewan during the Great Depression”). She has taught Geography at Mary Washington College (with a brief experience at Queen’s University) from 1991, specializing in historical/cultural geography with a focus on the Canadian West. During her academic years, she has received numerous honours such as the Fulbright Fellowship, Institute for International Education (1992-1993); the Jepson Fellowship, Mary Washington College (2004-2005); Distinguished Member, The National Society of Collegiate Scholars (2003), and the Richard Palmieri Outstanding Professor Award (2004). She has been a member of the Editorial Board of The Southeastern Geographer, 2000-2002 and newsletter editor and Secretary/Treasurer of the Canadian Studies Specialty Group, Association of American Geographers, 1996-1999. Her publications and academic presentations with focus on Mennonites include:

  • “To Bolivia and Back: Migration and Its Impact on La Crete, Alberta.” Journal of Mennonite Studies 22 (2004): 59-82.
  • “Agricultural Expansion in Northern Alberta in the Late Twentieth Century.” Geographical Review 92:4 (October 2002): 503-525.
  • “Die Auswanderung: Religion, Culture, and Migration among Old Colony Mennonites.” Canadian Geographer 45:4 (Winter 2001): 461-473.
  • “Preserving Tradition, Confronting Progress: Social Change in a Mennonite Community, 1950-1965.” American Review of Canadian Studies 25:1 (Spring 1995): 53-77.
  • “Mennonites on the Move: The Recent Exodus from Bolivia,” presentation to Mary Washington College, Department of Geography, Fredericksburg, Virginia, November 20, 2002.
  • “Agricultural Expansion and Community Building: A Northern Alberta Case Study,” presentation to Ohio University Geography Colloquium, Athens, Ohio, April 26, 2002.
  • “Agriculture, Forestry, and Farm Expansion in Northern Alberta,” presentation to South Dakota State University Geography Conference, Brookings, South Dakota, March 30, 2001.
  • “To Bolivia and Back: Migration and Community Formation,” paper presented to Return of the Kanadier: A History Conference on a Migrant People, Winnipeg, Manitoba, October 4, 2002.
  • “The Agricultural Frontier and the Timber Industry: Northern Alberta in the 21st Century,” paper presented to Association of American Geographers, Annual Meeting, Los Angeles, California, March 21, 2002.
  • “Religion, Culture, and Migration: The Causes and Consequences of Old Colony Mennonite Relocation,” paper presented to International Conference of Historical Geographers, Triennial Meeting, Québec City, Québec, August 18, 2001.
  • “Expanding the Agricultural Frontier: Northern Alberta at the Close of the Twentieth Century,” paper presented to Canadian Association of Geographers, Annual Meeting, St. Catharines, Ontario, June 3, 2000.
  • “‘The Last Best North’: Agricultural Expansion in Northern Alberta,” paper presented to Association of American Geographers, Annual Meeting, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, April 8, 2000.
  • “The Agro-Forestry Frontier: New Developments in Alberta’s North,” paper presented to Association of Canadian Studies in the United States, Biennial Meeting, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, November 18, 1999.
  • “Mennonite Migrations in the Twentieth Century: A Northern Canadian Perspective,” paper presented to Association of American Geographers, Annual Meeting, Atlanta, Georgia, April 7, 1993.
  • “A Battle They Could Not Win: The Introduction of Public Education into a Conservative Mennonite Community,” paper presented to Western Social Science Association, Annual Meeting, Denver, Colorado, April 23, 1992.
  • “Searching for a Promised Land: Migration To and From a Northern Alberta Mennonite Community,” paper presented to Southeastern Division of the Association of American Geographers, Annual Meeting, Asheville, North Carolina, November 26, 1991.
  • “Embracing the Unknown: The Migration Patterns of Northern Alberta’s Mennonites,” paper presented to Association for Canadian Studies in the United States, Biennial Meeting, Boston, Massachusetts, November 23, 1991.
  • “Expanding the Farmer’s Frontier: Three Settlements in Alberta’s North.” Eastern Historical Geography Association, Annual Meeting, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, September 12, 1991.
  • “Migration to a Northern Frontier: The Homesteaders of the Fort Vermilion District, Alberta, 1915-1940,” paper presented to Canadian Association of Geographers, Annual Meeting, Kingston, Ontario, June 7, 1991.
  • “Social Change in a Mennonite Community: La Crete, Alberta, 1950-1965,” paper presented to Western Social Science Association, Annual Meeting, Reno, Nevada, April 27, 1991.
  • “Cultural Change on the Northern Agricultural Frontier: The Transformation of an Alberta Mennonite Community,” paper presented to Eastern Historical Geography Association, Annual Meeting, Quebec City, Quebec, October 5, 1990.
  • “Early Agricultural Development in the Lower Peace River Country, Alberta, 1879-1935,” paper presented to Canadian Association of Geographers, Annual Meeting, Edmonton, Alberta, May 31, 1990.
  • “Pioneer Settlement in the Lower Peace River Country,” paper presented to Pioneer America Society, Annual Meeting, St. Charles, Missouri, November 10, 1989.
  • “Agricultural Land Expansion in Alberta’s North, 1980-1999,” poster presentation for Southeastern Division of the Association of American Geographers, Annual Meeting, Tampa, Florida, November 22, 1999.

Scope & Content

The fonds consists of published and unpublished materials regarding the geographic and historic experiences of the Mennonites in Northern Alberta in the Fort Vermilion and LaCrete area

Source of Acquisition

Gift by Dawn S. Bowen, 2004

Notes

Accession 2004.009 and 2010.003, all filed with 2004.009
Last updated 17 Mar 2007 – Judith Rempel
Revised July 2012

Files Inventory

Box 1
1 – 1 The Transformation of a Northern Alberta Frontier Community, MA Thesis – 1990
1 – 2 Preserving Tradition, Confronting Progress: Social Change in a Mennonite Community, 1950-1965 [published in The American Review of Canadian Studies, Spring: 53-77] – 1995
1 – 3 Die Auswanderung: Religion, Culture, and Migration among Old Colony Mennonites [published in The Canadian Geographer, 45(4): 461-473]

Copies of papers received from Dawn Bowen as Accession 2010.003 but filed with accession 2004.009.
1-4 Group Disorganization, by Peter Goertzen
1-5 Mediums of Conflict.  An Illustration, by Peter Goertzen
1-6 Cultural Change, March 1969, by Peter Goertzen
1-7 Learning Systems in La Crete, Alberta, by Wilfred Gilchrist.