Graduate Students
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Abubakar Abdulkadir Dissertation Title: The 'Emergence' of the Verse Tradition in Mauritania: Intellectual History and the Culture of Islamics Scholarship in the "Land of Million Poets". My research - which focuses on Mauritania's scholarly and literary traditions within Islam, Arabic poetry, intellectual religious thought, and examination of scholarly libraries and archives - brings to the fore Saharan perspectives on knowledge production and transmission. |
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Emad Afkham Dissertation Title: The Popular Resistance among German Peasant in the Late 16th Century |
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Jane Allred DissertationTitle: Indology, Grammar and Philosophy of Language in Pre-modern South Asia |
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Kyla Bansemer Thesis Title: Early Modern Alchemy in England |
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Samantha Blais Dissertation Title: Struggling to Survive: Health Impacts of Hydroelectric Development in Northern Manitoba's Indigenous Communities, 1954-2018 My research analyses the health impacts of hydroelectric development on Misipawistik Cree Nation, Pimicikamak Cree Nation, Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation, O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation, Tataskweyk Cree Nation, Fox Lake Cree Nation, and Norway House Cree Nation in northern Manitoba. By examining the impacts of mega-hydroelectric developments in northern Manitoba and focusing on the social determinants of health, meaning the social, economic, cultural and political inequities that impact the health of communities and individuals specifically in Indigenous communities, I will investigate how hydroelectric development has caused the public health crisis that these communities have struggled with for more than half a century. I will also explore what historical dynamics enabled hydroelectric development to occur and continue with little to no consultation in northern Manitoba despite the enormous health impacts. |
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Frederik Blank Dissertation Title: “They too founded Canada”? Situating the History of German settler-migration to Canada in Settler Colonial Theory I am interested in Canadian settler colonialism and settler colonial theory. Moreover, I am looking at colonial history and legacies, and the public debates on these topics. This also includes public history and memory in Canada, Germany and beyond. |
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Deepro Chakraborty Dissertation Title: Critical edition of Jagadhara’s Bālabodhinī on the Kashmiri recension of the Kātantra grammar with the subcommentary of Śitikaṇṭha (Book I) My research interests include Sanskrit philology and textual criticism, codicology, Sanskrit linguistic traditions, Sanskrit literature, Indo-European linguistics and premodern South Asian history. |
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Chris Chang-Yen Phillips Dissertation Title: Paleontology and Power in Yoho National Park Chris is fascinated by fossil sites like the Burgess Shale, their ability to connect us with the deep past, and power relationships exposed by negotiations over access and activities there. He loves learning about science, nature, and history, especially through his local history podcast Let's Find Out. |
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Westin Dowie Dissertation Title: Assent of the Gods: The Legitimization of Conflict through Religious Narratives in Antonine and Severan Rome I am interested in the ways in which religion was used by the elites of the Roman Empire to legitimize their rule and justify imperial policy and conflicts. Through the study of ancient Roman artwork, architecture, and primary sources, I hope to illustrate the importance of religious narratives in the construction of imperial identities in times of conflict and social strife. |
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Benjamin Dompreh Darkwa Thesis Title: Environment and Disease in the Era of Colonial Gold Coast (1919-1945) My research interest is in the history of environment and medicine in pre-colonial and colonial Africa. Primarily, my interest concerns how culture, environmental changes and resilience have shaped the course of disease history across Africa. With a prime focus on the colonial era of Gold Coast (contemporary Ghana), my MA thesis seeks to understand how environmental conditions and African tropical diseases impacted colonial authorities and their general responses toward their new environment. Put differently, the work seeks to examine how the perceived notion of West Africa as “The White Man’s Grave” -due to the mass death of missionaries to Africa in the 19th century- shaped the subsequent colonial responses towards the tropical conditions and diseases in Africa during the 20th century. |
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Rowan Drisner |
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Karrie Englander Dissertation Title: Ancient Greek Medical Practices within the Domestic Sphere during the Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic Periods (600 BCE - 31 BCE) Ancient Greek medicine was a varying conglomeration of beliefs and practices that changed due to geography, philosophy, time period, gender, and social class. Medical practitioners in the domestic sphere relied on traditional and local knowledge that varied across geographical bounds, dependent on the local resources available. My research is based on existing evidence that can inform us about ancient care for the sick and the local resources available for use in those medical practices. This will include an analysis of the spatial data to find out what it can tell us with regards to the spread of specific medical knowledge. |
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Michael Gillingham Thesis Title/Topic: Irish Literature and Religion I am tracing depictions of Jews and Judaism in Irish literature from 1800 to the present. I am focusing on how these Jewish characters are constructed as maleficent or beneficent strangers in the context of an emerging Irish Catholic nationalism. Central to this project is the character Leopold Bloom from James Joyce's novel Ulysses. Bloom's identity as a Jew, more prescribed than embraced by Bloom, situates Bloom as a test of various forms of Irish hospitality and cosmopolitanism. |
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Kate Goodhelpsen Thesis Title: Canada's First World War Nursing Sisters |
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Mack Raymond Harding Thesis Title: Heroes of Old, Warriors of Renown: Historicizing the Role of the Nephilim in Popular Culture To best understand the resurgence of interest in Nephilim, I analyze the various contexts they are found in by focusing primarily on aspects of horror and monstrosity. Doing so helps explain the resurgence of these creatures in popular media and why they have been increasingly associated with esoteric horror narratives as opposed to the biblical tales they originate from. This study explores how these sources (and many others) make claims on concepts of heroism, victimhood, gender, and birthright by utilizing the Nephilim mythos. |
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Nathan Hodder Dissertation Title: Lilith: From Mesopotamian Demon to Wife of Adam Ancient Judaism, Ancient Christianity, Ancient Near Eastern Religion, Greco-Roman Religion, Hybridization, Historical Criticism, Textual Criticism, Biblical Criticism, Theory of Religion, Lilith, Satan, Demons, Magic, Cosmogony. |
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Shu-Chen Hsu-Hsiung Dissertation Title: Chinese Christianity Globalized: the transnational movement of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee and its relationship with the modern Chinese states: 1922-1997 My research interets include the fields of Christianity in China, modern East Asian history, and the globalization of religion. My subject is a Chinese Christian movement variously named as the "Little Flock," the "Local Church," or the Lord's recovery. |
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Alla Hurska Thesis Topic: Arctic, Russia, Icebreakers, International trade Alla Hurska is an Associate Fellow with the International Centre for Policy Studies (Kyiv), and an Analyst in the Jamestown Foundation (Washington, US) and she is pursuing her Masters degree in History at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. Her areas of interest include geo-economic and geopolitical issues in the post-Soviet area, including the Arctic region. Together with Prof. Marples she just published a book "Joseph Stalin. A Reference Guide to His Life and Works". |
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Samantha Kallen Project Title: Canada and the Cold War My general topics of interest include 19th and 20th century Western Canadian history, and Cold War history. In combining these interests, the topic of my Master's thesis project is Alberta in the Cold War, in particular, Alberta civil defense and the construction of bomb shelters. I plan to explore multiple questions over the course of my research, such as how the Cold War affected Alberta, why were bomb shelters constructed, and how were bomb shelters a manifestation of cold War reality or consciousness. |
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Aditi Khare Dissertation Title: Industralisation/De-Industralisation of Indian Textile Industry under Early British Colonial System, 1750-1850 |
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Jemima Kiboro Dissertation Title: Who are they? A Sociological Study of the Faith Communities who Attend Masses led by the Roman Catholic Womenpriests Reform Movement Intrigued by the presence and activities of the Roman Catholic WomenPriests reform movement in Canada and the USA, I am motivated to investigate the Faith Community of men and women who attend these women priests-led liturgies to determine who exactly they are, what exactly brings them to the women-led liturgy and how they define for themselves the meaning of being followers of the RCWP reform movement. I will further investigate the reasons that lead them to attend these liturgies, the spiritual needs that are fulfilled in by the RCWP, and finally, what they wish for the future of RCC.The rationale behind the study is that I want people to understand the agency of women's Spiritual Authority and the wealth of faith and creativity they can bring to the church. |
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Hannah Kirchenbauer Dissertation Title: Witchcraft and Magic in Medieval Scandinavian Literature |
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Iaroslav Kovalchuk Dissertation Title: Sovietizations of Western Ukraine: The Communists Party in Galicia and Transcarpathia My dissertation project compares the establishment of the Communist Party of Ukraine in the two West Ukrainian regions, Galicia and Transcarpathia, which became the new western borderlands of the Soviet Union after World War Two. I see my study as a culturally and socially informed research of the central political institution of the Soviet system, the Party. In general, I am interested in the 20th-century history of the socialist regimes, their legitimacy, and how they connected with society. |
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Ana Kupinska Dissertation Title: Between Glory and Sorrow: building of the national history narrative in post-maiden Ukraine |
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Steven Langois |
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Lea Lavy Dissertation Title: The Abuse of Women and Children in Hassidic Groups My research explores ancient customs, devotional religious practices, and religious norms that lead to fanaticism and sectism, bring the practice of listening to the Rabbi to the extreme. The purpose of her research is to raise awareness to issues of abuse within the Orthodox Jewish community as well as abuses that may result from religious affiliations. |
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Hsiao-Hsuan Lee Dissertation Title: Buddhist Culture and Family Violence in Tang (618-906) and Song (960-1276) China My research interest is family history in Tang and Song China. My thesis will argue that the culture of Buddhism played a significant role, alongside Confucianism, in negotiating domestic violence and building family relationships in Tang and Song China, two dynasties stretching from the seventh to thirteenth centuries. |
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Bethany McMillan Thesis Title: Early Nineteenth Century European Fur Trade Perspective of Indigenous Perceptions of the Rocky Mountains |
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Ian Miller Dissertation Title: Morphophonology and Semantics of Latin Diminutives I have a general interest in the reading, writing and speaking of Latin and Classical Greek. Neo-Latin (i.e. Latin used from the Renaissance to the modern day) and the Latin from the Late Roman Republic especially interest me. My research, general speaking, focuses on the phonetic development involved in these languages. In my doctoral dissertation I will investigate the morphophonology and semantics of proper Latin diminutives and other words which have only the appearance of proper Latin diminutives. |
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Frederick Mills Dissertation Title: Cultural Diplomacy and Soft Power Instruments of Conduct of Soviet Middle Eastern Policy, 1955-1964 |
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Kristina Molin Cherneski Dissertation Title: Keeping oneself to oneself: Privacy in 19th-Century Britain My research explores the changing meanings and manifestations of privacy in 19th-century Britain. I am interested in tracing how the idea of personal privacy was shaped by social forces like urbanization, industrialization and expanding government, as well as by individual concerns and cultural factors like gender, race and class. |
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Grace Nicoll Dissertation Title: The Two Swords: Medieval Popes and the Power of Ritual, 1075-1300 I study the Middle Ages, and my area of research focuses on the papacy during the high medieval period. Papal supremacy came to be expressed in increasingly dramatic ways from 1075 to 1300, and this raises the question of the role that art and ritual played in the popes’ attempts to legitimize their claims to lordship. These claims embed themselves in the symbolism of ecclesiastical artwork and also in the religious rituals described within liturgical texts. The interpretation of such sources requires an interdisciplinary approach, and I will utilize anthropological methods and iconographic analysis in my examination of papal power. |
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Francois Pageau DissertationTitle: From Turlupins to Vaudois: Heresy and Witchcraft in Arras, 1420-1460 |
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Colby Parkkila Thesis Title: Creating Canada’s ‘National Playground’: Tourism Development, Indigenous Labour, and Representations of Indigeneity in Rocky Mountains Park, 1880-1930 I am interested in post-confederation Canadian history, primarily in the areas of Indigenous and settler relations, the National Parks system, Rocky Mountain history, Rocky Mountain tourism, and prairie history. My research is a historical analysis of the tourism economy in Rocky Mountains Park, now known as Banff National Park, between 1880 and 1930. I seek to explore how Indigenous Peoples were involved and invested in the economy of Rocky Mountains Park, what the relationship between tourism companies and Indigenous labourers was like, and how Rocky Mountains Park and Indigeneity were represented in tourism literature and promotional materials. |
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Sean Patterson Thesis Title: "What Do we Strive For? A Transnational History of Makhnovist Ideology and Identities in War, Exile, and Memory" My dissertation research investigates the Makhnovist movement (1917-1921) as a borderland phenomenon whose ideology and identities were shaped by its unique location at the cultural and political crossroads of southern Ukraine's Zaporizhia region. |
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Riley Penny Thesis Title: Law and Exile: Cold War Politics, Canadian Law, and Chilean Refugees, 1973-1983 |
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Autumn Reinhardt-Simpson Thesis Title: Memory, Power, and Churching Reform in England: A Bourdieusian Analysis Early modern ritual reform in England, gender and Reformation, religious reform and the intellectual lives of early modern women, early modern religious conversion, recusancy and church papistry, memory and reform, women and liturgy, liturgical change, medieval England, German, French, and Latin languages. |
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Madhusudan Rimal Dissertation Title: A Textual & Historical Study of the Laṅkāvatāra: A Sanskrit Manuscript of Buddhist Medicine |
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Catherine Saffran Project Title: Imperial Masculinity during the British Empire |
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Rachel Schmalz Dissertation Title: Nikita Khrushchev and the Crimean Peninsula My research will examine the implications of Nikita Khrushchev's transfer of the Crimean Peninsula to the Ukrainian SSR in 1954. One of my research questions will be whether ethnicity plays a role in the identity of the people living in Crimea and how that affects the authoritative power over the region. I hope to draw a connection to contemporary events in Ukraine concerning Vladimir Putin’s illegal annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014. |
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Ashley Sims Dissertation Title: “Give over all trade and become a country gentleman:” material culture, masculinity, and social mobility in globalized Europe, 1600-1700 I am currently expanding my recently completed doctoral project (Fall 2022) and am particularly interested in examining family life on a Scottish estate from c.1650-1680. |
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Julia Stanski Dissertation Title: In Service, In Silence: Representations of Edwardian Domestic Servants in Western Canadian Living History Museums |
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Konstantin Tebenev Dissertation Title: German Journeymen Associations and the Rise of Misogyny in Fifteenth-Seventeenth Centuries |
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Connor J. Thompson Dissertation Title: The Pioneer-as-Symbol: Historical Memory and Public Commemoration on the Canadian Prairies, 1945–1976 |
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Arwen Thysse 陳藹文 Dissertation Title: Mixed-race experiences and relationships in medieval Scandinavia I am interested in intercultural and mixed-race relations in medieval Scandinavia, cross-cultural contacts in the global Middle Ages, as well as questions of personal and social identities. |
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Sharon Venne |
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Salima Versi Dissertation Title: Contemporary Islam & Canadian Ismailism General focus of contemporary Islamic studies, but research more specifically examines contemporary Nizari Ismailism and Ismaili identity, particularly in Canada. |
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Natasha White |
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Mike Zhou Dissertation Title: French-speaking Regions in the Holy Roman Empire I am interested in the cultural history of Western and Central Europe, particularly that of the Holy Roman Empire in the early modern period. Previously I have spent substantial time studying Habsburg history, and one of the research I did as an undergrad deals with a wedding ceremony between a Habsburg archduchess and a duke of Bourbon lineage in the Duchy of Parma. That research, along with my interests in reading Francophone history writings, encouraged me to explore the history of French-speaking regions in the Holy Roman Empire as a MA student. |