Join us April 18th for the book launch of James Urry’s new ethnographic publication, On Stony Ground: Russländer Mennonites and the Rebuilding of Community in Grunthal, published by University of Toronto Press.

The publisher’s description reads:

On Stony Ground presents a historical ethnographic account of a generation of Mennonites from the Soviet Union who, following Russia’s revolution and civil war, immigrated to Manitoba during the 1920s. James Urry examines how they came to terms with a new land and with their new neighbours, including other Mennonites, Ukrainians, French Canadians, and Indigenous Peoples.

The book discusses the impact of the Great Depression and how the immigrants struggled with their identity in Canada as Hitler and Stalin rose to power in Germany and the USSR. It reveals the immigrants’ desire to maintain their faith, language, and culture while encouraging their children to take advantage of an education conducted mainly in English. On Stony Ground explores how prosperity following the Second World War helped the immigrants to build a community in conjunction with others, including Mennonites and non-Mennonites, and to accept their new home in Canada.

Come and enjoy a presentation of the text by James Urry, livestreamed from New Zealand, and enjoy dialogue and refreshments.

About the author: James Urry (originally from London, England) is a New Zealand anthropologist, historian, author and a former professor and current adjunct research fellow at the School of Social and Cultural Studies at Victoria University of Wellington in Wellington, New Zealand. Urry is a world authority on the history of Russian Mennonites.