Book Launch: Listening to the Fur Trade
A new book by Dr. Daniel R. Laxer (PhD) reveals histories of sound and music in an era before sound recording
The Department of History hosts a brown bag lunch talk with Dr. Daniel R. Laxer (PhD), author of Listening to the Fur Trade (2022).
Date: Tuesday, Sept. 27
Time: 12–1:30 pm
Location: Arts Building Room 104, 9 Campus Dr., Saskatoon
Free and open to the public
About this event
In Listening to the Fur Trade, Daniel Laxer unearths traces of music, performance, and other intangible cultural phenomena long since silenced, allowing us to hear the fur trade for the first time. Laxer’s book uses the written record, oral history, and material culture to reveal histories of sound and music in an era before sound recording.
Copies of the book will be available for sale. The presentation will include singing and fiddling.
About the speaker
Daniel R. Laxer graduated with his BA in history and music from the University of Alberta and went on to study the history of fur trade with a focus on sound and music for his MA at York University and PhD at the University of Toronto. He has published in academic journals such as Ontario History, The Journal of Canadian Studies, and Material Culture Review. His newly published book is part of the Early Canada / Avant le Canada series with McGill-Queen’s University Press. He currently works as a historical researcher for the Negotiations and Reconciliation Division of Ontario’s Ministry of Indigenous Affairs.
Upcoming Events
Literature Matters: Competing Visions of Ireland in the 1840 Painting A Blind Girl at a Holy Well
Mar 18, 2026
A public talk by STM English faculty member Kylee-Anne Hingston
(CANCELLED) Global Café: The Human Rights Crisis in Iran: Narratives, Insights, and Actions
Mar 18, 2026
An evening of art performance and discussion
Nativism and internal migration in Canada
Mar 19, 2026
This lecture will be presented by Isabelle Côté, associate professor in the Department of Political Science, Memorial University of Newfoundland