PhD Student Profiles

Africa

See Michael Ferguson in Middle East

Facil Tesfaye

Facil, who holds an undergraduate diploma in African Studies and PoliticalScience from Humboldt University, Berlin and an MA in Political Science from the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), is undertaking a doctorate at the Indian Ocean World Centre in McGill”s Department of History and Classical Studies on “Statistical Practices & Human Rights Abuses in Rwanda and Zanzibar.” He has gained a number of scholarly awards including a Research Scholarship at the Centre interuniversitaire de recherche sur la science et la technologie (CIRST), Montréal (2005-6), a prize for academic excellence at UQAM (2006) IOWC/McGill fellowship (2007) and the McGill PhD fellowship (2008). He speaks fluent Amharic, English, French and German.

Facil has considerable experience as an organizer, teacher and researcher. His work experience includes attachments as a documentalist to the European Community delegation to Addis Abeba (1993-7). While studying in Berlin, he served on the administrative councils of the African Students Union (1999) and Ecumenical Centre for Foreign Students (2001-02), as well as helping to organize a conference on Religious Plurality in Ethiopia (“Religiöse Pluralität in Afrika ausgehend vom Beispiel Äthiopiens”) at Humboldt University. He has served as a Research Assistant to Professor Rainer Mackensen of the Department of Social Sciences, at the Technische Universität, Berlin (2003-4), and as a Tutor at the Centre Paolo Freire, Department of Political Science, UQAM (2007). In addition, he was a Teaching Assistant to Professors Gwyn Campbell and Matthew Schnurr, both of the Department of History and Classical Studies at McGill University (2007-2008), as well as to Professor Jean-Pierre Beaud of the Department of Political Science, UQAM (2005-2006). He has presented papers at a number of international conferences.
facil [dot] tesfaye [at] mail [dot] mcgill [dot] ca (Email Facil Tesfaye)
Website
Tesfaye.CV.2010
[CV2010.doc - MS Word - 68.5 KB]

Ancient History

François Gauthier

François Gauthier holds a BA and MA from Université de Montréal. He is currently a PhD candidate in the department of History and Classical Studies at McGill and is working under the supervision of Professor Hans Beck. His present research is focusing on the political culture of the Roman Republic, the Romanization of Italy and the Peloponnesian War. Other fields of research and interests include the army of the Later Roman Empire, the Punic Wars, the Second World War and military history. Complementary experience comprises the study of Latin, Ancient Greek, German, Latin epigraphy and numismatics. He has worked as a teaching assistant for courses on Roman History at Université de Montréal and for Ancient History at McGill.

François Gauthier est titulaire d’un baccalauréat et d’une maîtrise en histoire à l’Université de Montréal. Il est présentement candidat au doctorat au département d’Histoire et Études Classiques de l’Université McGill et travaille sous la supervision du professeur Hans Beck. Ses recherches se concentrent présentement sur la culture politique de la République romaine, la romanisation de l’Italie et l’histoire de la Guerre du Péloponnèse. Ses autres intérêts et champs de recherche incluent l’armée de l’Empire romain tardif, les Guerres puniques, la Seconde Guerre mondiale et l’histoire militaire. Sa formation universitaire comprend l’étude du latin, du grec ancien, de l’allemand, de l’épigraphie latine et de la numismatique. Il a travaillé comme auxiliaire d’enseignement pour des cours d’histoire romaine à l’Université de Montréal et  pour des cours d’histoire ancienne à l’université McGill.
francois [dot] gauthier3 [at] mail [dot] mcgill [dot] ca (Email Francois Gauthier)
CV François Gauthier [.pdf]

Alex McAuley

After completing his B.A. in Ancient History and Canadian History at McGill, Alex McAuley departed for the UK and completed his M.Sc in Classics at the University of Edinburgh, and has now returned to McGill as a doctoral candidate in Ancient History under the supervision of Prof. Hans Beck. Building on previous research and an enduring interest in ethnicity, identity, and nationalism, his doctoral dissertation examines how the ethnic identity of the Greeks of Mainland Greece responded to the much broader, multicultural, and pluralistic world that was emerged after the conquests of Alexander the Great. 

Alex’s other principal field of research is the Seleucid Empire. He is the author of the ongoing Genealogy of the Seleucids project and website, which provides the research basis for articles on Seleucid royal women, royal ideology and practice, and dynastic marriage. The project and his ongoing research enjoy continued affiliation with the University of Edinburgh and the Waterloo Institute for Hellenistic Studies. He has spoken at numerous conferences in Canada, Scotland, and England, and continues to collaborate with a network of colleagues based in Canada, the UK, and Europe. At McGill, he serves as an editorial and research assistant to Prof. Beck, has worked as a teaching assistant in Greek History and East Asian History, and is now a course lecturer in Latin.

In addition, he delves into the reception of the Classical World, the portrayal of Classics in Film and Cinema, and the History of Jazz.
alexander [dot] mcauley [at] mail [dot] mcgill [dot] ca (Email Alex McAuley)
CV Alex McAuley [.pdf]

 

Britain

Gregory Bouchard

I am writing my dissertation on David Hume's publishing career, focusing on the manner in which he presented his works as material commodities to his contemporary print marketplace. Hume lived several different lives: the failed professor, the essayist, the historian, the infidel, the statesman, and the staple of convivial gatherings. Most studies on Hume define him too narrowly, overlooking the social sphere tying his various lives together, and offering a skewed picture of the intentions behind his publications. My work has taken me to the National Library of Scotland where I have spent countless hours consulting Scottish newspapers and periodicals, the minute books of clubs like The Select Society and Belles-Lettres Society, Hume's manuscripts, and numerous other understudied sources. My work in Montreal has been funded in part by the McGill Hume Collection Research Grant, established by David and Mary Norton. I am actively engaged in presenting my research at conferences in North America and Europe. My teaching interests include Western Civilization with a classical liberal arts approach, early modern intellectual history, early modern Britain, and Scottish Enlightenment culture. In Winter of 2013, I will be teaching a special topics course at McGill on The Enlightenment.

Outside of academia, I have an active life as a music journalist, focusing especially on digital culture and researching music scenes in faraway places like Iceland and Barcelona. I am a co-editor for Midnight Poutine, recently named one of the top ten music music blogs in Canada by CBC 3. For the past three years I have served as a judge for Quebec's independent music awards (GAMIQ).
gregory [dot] bouchard [at] mail [dot] mcgill [dot] ca (Email Gregory Bouchard)

Marie-Luise Ermisch

Marie-Luise Ermisch, who holds a BA in History and International Relations from the University of British Columbia and an MA in History from McGill University, is currently a doctoral candidate in the Department of History and Classical Studies at McGill. While her historical interests range across time and space from the British Empire to post-independence Latin America to East Germany, her principal area of research lies in the humanitarian aspects of the history of development. Primarily her research focuses on the rise of international nongovernmental organizations within the 20th-century. Marie-Luise also has diverse experience in teaching, organizing and community work. In 2008 and 2009 Marie-Luise worked with the Government of Uganda on the World Bank-funded Sustainable Management of Mineral Resources Project and as a Development Program Officer with the Ugandan Entebbe Women Association for community and environmental development projects. Marie-Luise also has much experience teaching, having worked as a teaching assistant for a variety of classes, while also being a certified English teacher with experience teaching children and adults both in Canada and abroad. For her publications and other work experience, please see her CV below.
marie-luise [dot] ermisch [dot] last [at] mail [dot] mcgill [dot] ca (Email Marie-Luise Ermisch)
Ermisch CV  [.doc]

Justin Irwin

I hold a Bachelor of Arts and a Masters degree in History from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, and I am currently a PhD candidate studying British history at McGill under the supervision of Brian Cowan. My research concerns the formation of a Baptist confessional identity between the Restoration of Charles II and the end of the reign of William III. Central to this research is the question of just what exactly it meant to belong to a particular religious group at the end of the seventeenth century, and how a self defined group is able to engage with a broader society through print, literature, and religious practice. I am also interested in the sometimes millenarian or utopian currents within religious and political dissent: the prospect of radical change held out by beliefs and ideologies has been an enduring concern of mine, and in this respect my choice of topics owes a certain amount to my reading of Christopher Hill’s World Turned Upside Down. Beyond the confines of my own thesis I have considerable interest in British political history, particularly in printed polemic between the Civil War and the Revolution of 1688, and in issues of religious conflict and toleration more broadly. My comprehensive exam fields included seventeenth century France and Atlantic History, and I have teaching interest in these fields, as well as in Early Modern Europe, the Reformation, and of course British history.
justin [dot] irwin [at] mail [dot] mcgill [dot] ca (Email Justin Irwin)

Vlad Solomon

Vlad Solomon, who holds a BA and MA in History from McGill University, is currently working on his doctoral thesis on the cultural and political impact of anarchism in late Victorian and Edwardian Britain, under the direction of Professor Brian Lewis. Vlad’s research interests include British and European labour history, as well as the history of libertarian and left-wing political ideas in Britain and Europe and their relationship to cultural/artistic movements. He has worked as a teaching assistant for courses on modern Eastern Europe and medieval/early modern Western Europe. His other interests include modernist literature (especially works by Franz Kafka and Robert Walser), critical theory, and music (in particular 60s and 70s soul).
vlad [dot] solomon [at] mail [dot] mcgill [dot] ca (Email Vlad Solomon)

Kathryn Steinhaus

Kathryn Steinhaus earned her Bachelor of Arts at Gonzaga University where she graduated summa cum laude with a degree in History, minor in Classics, and concentration in Women’s Studies. Her Masters in History is from McGill University, and her MA research project involved a comparison of the Welsh Nationalist Party, Plaid Cymru, under Saunders Lewis and Gwynfor Evans. She is currently working towards her PhD. Her dissertation will be a microhistory of English fascist Unity Mitford with special emphasis on gender, class, and the ideological appeal of fascism. Her fascination with fringe movements stems from her background as an activist involved with several social justice movements. Although her studies have encompassed Britain from the Victorian period through the Second World War, her primary interests are interwar Britain, British fascism, George Bernard Shaw and the Fabian Society, the history of Catholicism in Britain, gender theory (particularly as it applies to historical methods), Celtic nationalisms, and wider Welsh history.

Kathryn is currently a full-time faculty member at Seminole State College in Sanford, Florida, in the Department of History and Humanities.

Photo of Penyberth Three in Wales after an arson attempt.
kathryn [dot] steinhaus [at] mail [dot] mcgill [dot] ca (Email Kathryn Steinhaus)

James Wallace

Much of my research to date has focused upon the history of gender and sexuality in Early Modern Britain, particularly during the long eighteenth century. I am currently developing my thesis topic, which will examine how the rhetorical construction of masculinity in Scotland interacted with a flourishing production and circulation of cheap print in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Through an examination of sources such as chapbooks, broadside ballads, and their accompanying woodcuts I also seek to interrogate the relationship between visual/oral and print culture and their role in defining normative and subversive categories of gendered behavior. Other research interests focus on the relationship between public sex and perceptions of public space in eighteenth-century British cities and how male prostitution interacted with/within an increasingly visible homosexual subculture in Early Modern Britain. I received my B.A from the University of Toronto in 2004, specializing in history, and subsequently obtained my MSc, in economic and social history from the University of Edinburgh in 2005. My oral comprehensive fields are on Early Modern Britain, nineteenth-century Britain, and Renaissance-Reformation Europe. Finally, I am also quite fortunate to have been supervised by both Brian Cowan and Brian Lewis who endlessly encourage my work.
james [dot] wallace2 [at] mail [dot] mcgill [dot] ca (Email James Wallace)

Matthew Wyman-McCarthy

Matthew Wyman-McCarthy earned his Bachelor of Arts from Queen’s University with a major in History. He also completed his Masters of Arts in History at Queen’s where his research focused on the Atlantic World and European intellectual history. Matthew is currently preparing his dissertation on the British abolitionist movement tentatively titled Rethinking the Empire, The Imperial Origins of British Abolitionism, 1775-1793. His thesis seeks to contextualize the emergence of antislavery within the broad rethinking of empire that occurred in Britain in the aftermath of the American Revolution. In particular, his work highlights parallels between abolitionism and other contemporaneous imperial developments such as calls to reform the British presence in India, the founding of missionary societies, and the establishment of colonies in West Africa and New South Wales. Overlaps between antislavery and these other issues help show how abolitionism was part of a widespread effort to make the British Empire a more moral and centralized undertaking. Matthew’s broader academic interests include slavery and the slave trade, Atlantic History, and the history of human rights. He has a passion for travel and ultimate Frisbee, and believes that the best conversations about research occur at the pub.
matthew [dot] wyman-mccarthy [at] mail [dot] mcgill [dot] ca (Email Matthew Wyman-McCarthy)

Canada/Quebec

Pierre-Luc Beauchamp

Je travaille présentement sur ma thèse de doctorat, qui porte sur l’histoire des publications universitaires au Québec. Je me concentre sur l’évolution du système de publications scientifiques menant à l’émergence d’un réseau de presses universitaires. La notion de culture scientifique est particulièrement importante dans mon analyse. J’ai également un fort intérêt pour l’épistémologie et à la philosophie de l’histoire, ainsi que pour la théorie en général. J’ai développé des champs d’expertise en histoire du Canada, en épistémologie de l’histoire et en histoire politique et intellectuelle de France. Je suis donc intéressé par plusieurs aspects de l’histoire, du culturel au politique, avec un intérêt marqué pour l’histoire des idées. Auparavant, j’ai réalisé une maîtrise en histoire canadienne (Université du Québec à Montréal), qui portait sur les liens en le sport et l’identité collective. J’ai publié des articles et comptes-rendus sur le sujet dans diverses revues. Je suis également détenteur d’un baccalauréat en enseignement de l’histoire et de la géographie (Université du Québec à Montréal) et j’enseigne actuellement les sciences humaines au secondaire et au collégial.

I am currently working on my PhD Thesis on the history of scholarly publishing in Québec. I focus on the evolution of the academic publishing system that led to the emergence of university press network. The concept of scientific culture is central to my analysis. I am also interested in epistemology, philosophy of history and in theory in general and have developed fields of expertise in Canadian history, historical epistemology and French political and intellectual history. Hence, I have an interest in many fields of history, from cultural to political history, with a specific interest into history of ideas. Previously, I completed my M.A. Thesis in Canadian history (Université du Québec à Montréal)on links between sport and collective identity and have published articles and book reviews in this area. I have also a B.A. (Université du Québec à Montréal) in Education (history and geography) and I am currently teaching social sciences in high school and college.
plucbeauchamp [at] hotmail [dot] com (Email Pierre-Luc Beauchamp)

Catherine Braithwaite

Catherine Braithwaite is currently writing her doctoral dissertation at McGill University entitled, “Let the Women Organize the Bazaar”: Medical Philanthropy, Religion and Montreal Hospitals, 1840-1940”. Catherine holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with a specialization in History as well as a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Concordia University. Following a business career in human resources management, she returned to school to complete her Masters of Arts in History from McGill University and then embarked on doctoral studies. Her dissertation focuses on the intersection of gender, religion and ethnicity in the establishment of early 19th and 20th century hospitals in Montreal during a period of transition from a religious-based medical charity to the eventual dominance of scientific medicine. She is particularly interested in the complex public and domestic role occupied by women in the gendered world of hospital institutions over the course of the century. While the research and writing of the dissertation consume a large portion of her time at the present moment, the scholarship of teaching is also one of her passions. She completed a Diploma in University Teaching from the University of New Brunswick in 2008 which allowed her to focus on the development of pedagogical skills and techniques. What little spare time she has is taken up with cooking, family and walking the dog!
catherinebraithwaite [at] videotron [dot] ca (Email Catherine Braithwaite)

Jean-François Constant

Je m’intéresse à l’histoire culturelle et sociale du Québec et du Canada aux XIXe et XXe siècles. Ma thèse porte sur l’évolution de la notion de besoin essentiel à Montréal entre 1870 et 1914. L’urbanisation et l’industrialisation croissantes des sociétés occidentales tout au long du XIXe siècle entraînent une insertion de plus en plus grande de l’économie de marché dans la vie quotidienne des individus. En étudiant le cas montréalais, je cherche à déterminer en quoi l’interaction entre l’économie de marché et la satisfaction des besoins jugés essentiels à la vie quotidienne transforme la notion même de ce qui est essentiel en milieu urbain. Cette transformation est perceptible notamment à travers l’évolution des revendications du mouvement ouvrier, la mutation des pratiques d’assistance, la construction d’un savoir « scientifique » sur les biens de consommation courante et la régulation de ceux-ci par l’État, ainsi que l’évolution du commerce de détail. Mes recherches précédentes ont porté sur l’histoire des expositions agricoles et industrielles au Québec et en Belgique. De façon plus générale, je m’intéresse à l’histoire de la consommation et du libéralisme, l’histoire urbaine ainsi qu’à l’épistémologie des sciences humaines. Pour connaître mes publications, prière de consulter le CV ci-joint.
jean-francois [dot] constant [at] mail [dot] mcgill [dot] ca (Email Jean-François Constant)

Caroline Durand

Caroline Durand poursuit ses études doctorales au Département d’histoire de l’Université McGill sous la direction de Suzanne Morton grâce au soutient financier du Conseil de recherches en sciences humaines du Canada. Elle détient une maîtrise en histoire de l’Université de Montréal, dans le cadre de laquelle elle a rédigé le mémoire Chanson québécoise et redéfinition identitaire, 1960-1980. Elle publiera en 2007 l’article « Entre exportation et importation : la création de la chanson québécoise selon la presse artistique, 1960-1980 », dans la Revue d’histoire de l’Amérique française. Elle a aussi collaboré avec Michèle Dagenais pour l’écriture de « Cleansing, Draining, and Sanitizing the City: Conceptions and Uses of Water in the Montreal Region », paru dans la Canadian Historical Review en décembre 2006. Son projet de thèse actuel, Cultures alimentaires et idéologies au Québec, 1920-1970, exploitera des sources diversifiées pour analyser les discours et les pratiques alimentaires et nutritionnelles des Québécois et Québécoises francophones.
caroline [dot] durand2 [at] mail [dot] mcgill [dot] ca (Email Caroline Durand)

Elizabeth Kirkland

Elizabeth’s dissertation, "Standards of Citizenship: Elite Women, Philanthropy, and Religion in Montreal, 1880-1920", examines the role of elite women in creating a realm of social and political influence for themselves in Montreal and beyond. As political actors, these women possessed concerns beyond suffrage to education, legal and social reform, the arts, and health care. Conscious that Montrealers had numerous overlapping and conflicting visions of "nation" and that identities are multiple and complex, she examines the interactions (and absence of interactions) among the women and their organizations. In a broader sense, Elizabeth is interested in the creation of an elite culture and the role of women within this culture.

Elizabeth est doctorante à l’Université McGill. Sa thèse intitulée « Standards of Citizenship : Elite Women, Philanthropy, and Religion in Montreal, 1880-1920 » porte sur le rôle des femmes de l’élite dans la création, à Montréal et par-delà ses frontières, d’un domaine d’influence sociale et politique qui leur est propre. En tant qu’agents politiques, ces femmes avaient des intérêts qui allaient au-delà du suffrage, tels que l’éducation, certaines réformes légales et sociales, les arts et le système de santé. Dans le cadre de cette recherche, elle explore les interactions (et l’absence d’interactions) entre les femmes et leurs organisations en étant consciente que les Montréalais avaient des conceptions différentes de la nation, des conceptions qui étaient souvent divergentes, mais qui, parfois, se recoupaient. J’observe aussi ces femmes en ayant en tête leurs identités multiples et complexes. De façon plus générale, je m’intéresse à la création d’une culture d’élite et au rôle des femmes à l’intérieur de cette culture.
m [dot] kirkland [at] elf [dot] mcgill [dot] ca (Email Elizabeth Kirkland)

Daniel Lachapelle Lemire

Mes champs d'intérêts sont l'histoire de l'immigration canadienne, l'histoire du Japon moderne et l'histoire de la Chine moderne. De façon cohérente, mes recherches portent sur l'immigration japonaise au Canada, avec en particulier les questions d'identité et de diaspora dans un contexte transnational. Mon parcours a commencé à l'Université de Montréal par un baccalauréat combinant études de l'Asie de l'Est et histoire, suivi de plusieurs splendides années passées au Japon. J'y ai travaillé à titre de traducteur/interprète (français, anglais, japonais), d'attaché aux relations publiques, d'enseignant et de conférencier, en plus d'obtenir la sixième dan en iaido et la deuxième dan en kendo. À mon retour, j'ai obtenu ma maîtrise en histoire à McGill et j'y poursuis actuellement mes études au doctorat, sous la direction de M. John Zucchi, M. Thomas Lamarre et Mme Johanna Ransmeier. Ma dissertation de maîtrise était une analyse de l'historiographie des Canadiens japonais, dans le contexte de la diaspora japonaise. Dans ma plus récente publication, qui s'intitule "Historical 'Truth', State Building and Narratives: The Case of Nogi's 'Junshi'", j'ai déconstruit le mythe bâti autour du suicide du général Maresuke Nogi (1849-1912). Je garde donc un pied fermement planté de chaque côté du Pacifique.

Ma vraie vie se déroule à la maison, avec ma femme et ma fille.

My fields of interest are Canadian immigration history, modern Japanese history and modern Chinese history. Coherently, my research is focused on the Japanese immigration to Canada, with an emphasis on the issues of identity and diaspora, in a transnational context. My journey began at Université de Montréal with a bacchelor's degree combining East Asian Studies and History, followed by many splendid years spent in Japan. I worked there as translator/interpreter (French/English/Japanese), public relations attaché, teacher and speaker, while obtaining a sixth dan in iaido and a second dan in kendo. Back home, I received an M.A. in History at McGill, where I am currently enrolled as a Ph.D. student under the supervision of Prof. John Zucchi, Prof. Thomas Lamarre and Prof. Johanna Ransmeier. My Master's research paper was an analysis of the historiography on Japanese Canadians in the context of the Japanese diaspora. In my most recent publication, which is entitled "Historical 'Truth', State Building and Narratives: The Case of Nogi's 'Junshi'," I deconstructed the myth built around the suicide of general Maresuke Nogi (1849-1912). I thus keep one foot firmly planted on each side of the Pacific.

My real life happens at home, with my wife and daughter.
daniel [dot] lachapellelemire [at] mail [dot] mcgill [dot] ca (Email Daniel Lachapelle Lemire)

Sonya Roy

 I am specialized in early twentieth century Canadian and Quebec history. I am particularly interested in the history of masculinity, immigration, socialpolicy, ethno-cultural relations, and racism. Based on etiquette manuals published in Quebec, my Master’s dissertation explored the codes and stakes of male seduction and uncovered important links between seduction and the construction of masculine identity. My doctoral thesis is on single men in Montreal during the Depression of 1930s, a particularly difficult period for these men who were broadly excluded from government aid policies. My study focuses on the values and moral postures that defined these discriminatory policies and examines the assistance procedures instituted by civil authorities, philanthropic organisms, mutual societies, unions and political parties. I analyse the impact of notions of class, religion, ethnicity, gender, citizenship and age on the organization and distribution of assistance. Specifically, I look to highlight the power relations between different social actors and single men who, in an effort to assert their rights and assure their survival, increasing respond through gestures of conciliation, contestation and resistance. I have also developed an interest in the history of taxation. The first results were presented at the 2009 Meetings of the Canadian Historical Association in my paper « "Avez-vous un chien, un Vieux garçon ou une automobile?": Le cas montréalais de la taxe des célibataires, 1918-1923 ».

Je suis spécialisée en histoire du Québec et du Canada du début du 20e siècle. De manière générale, je m’intéresse à l’histoire de la masculinité, de l’immigration, des politiques sociales, des relations interethniques et du racisme. En me basant sur des manuels de savoir-vivre publiés au Québec, mon mémoire de maîtrise portait sur les codes et les enjeux de la séduction masculine et visait à approfondir le lien entre la séduction et la création d’une identité masculine. Ma thèse de doctorat porte sur les hommes célibataires à Montréal pendant la crise économique des années 30, période particulièrement difficile pour ces hommes généralement exclus des politiques d’aide gouvernementales. Mon étude s’attarde aux valeurs et aux normes morales qui ont défini ces politiques discriminatoires et examine les démarches d’aide instaurées par les autorités civiles, les organismes philanthropiques et d’assistance mutuelle, les syndicats et les partis politiques. J’analyse l’impact qu’ont eu les notions, de classe, de religion, d’ethnicité, de genre, de citoyenneté et d’âge sur l’organisation et la distribution des secours. Plus particulièrement, je compte mettre en lumière les rapports de pouvoir qui s’installent entre ces différents acteurs sociaux et les hommes célibataires, qui pour faire valoir leurs droits et assurer leur survie multiplient les gestes de conciliation, de contestation et de résistance. J’ai aussi développé un intérêt particulier pour l’histoire de la taxation. Les premiers résultats ont fait l’objet d’une communication dans le cadre du Congrès de la Société historique du Canada

de 2009 : « "Avez-vous un chien, un Vieux garçon ou une automobile?": Le cas montréalais de la taxe des célibataires, 1918-1923 ».
so_roy [at] msn [dot] com (Email Sonya Roy)

Daniel Rueck 

Daniel Rueck studies the history of ecology, land-use, and boundary-making at Kahnawake, a Mohawk community near Montreal. Using data from a number of historical sources he is constructing maps of land ownership and land-use, and piecing together the stories of a number of Kahnawake landowners who were affected by the industrial development of Montreal and the intrusive actions of the Canadian government. Of particular importance for his research are the cultural contingency of land ownership (meaning that ownership means something different to people of different cultural groups) and the ecological consequences of these cultural differences. Rueck's micro-historical study sheds light on the techniques used by nation-states and capital to impose uniformity and linearity on landscapes and to suppress cultural differences of indigenous peoples, as well as some of the ways indigenous people were able to adjust to new circumstances and resist actions aimed at their cultural annihilation.
daniel [dot] rueck [at] mail [dot] mcgill [dot] ca (Email Daniel Rueck)

Daniel Simeone

In the area of 19th century Canadian and Quebec history, Daniel explores the concept of bankruptcy in 1840-1900 Montreal. At the intersection of economic, social, intellectual, and cultural history, bankrtupcy helps to bring out the links between the morality of contractual relations, the material reality of merchants, and the process and application of law during the period of the construction of the regulatory state.

Daniel begun his doctoral studies under the supervision of Dr. Suzanne Morton in 2010, after having received the masters degree, at McGill,under the direction of Dr. Jarrett Rudy. He holds a  masters of mathematics from McGill, and has a background in Computer Science and Theatre Studies.

Dans le domaine de l'histoire du 19e siècle canadien et québécois, Daniel explore le concept de la faillite à Montréal entre 1840 et 1900. La faillite se trouve à l'intersection de l'histoire économique, sociale, intellectuelle et culturelle. Les liens entre la moralité des relations contractuelles, la réalité matérielle des petits commerçants, et le processus de l'application des loi pendant la construction du pouvoir d’État font partie d'une histoire riche à découvrir.

Daniel a commencé ses études  doctorale sous la direction de  Dre Suzanne Morton en 2010, après l'obtention d'une maîtrise, à McGill, sous la direction de Dr Jarrett Rudy. Il détient une maîtrise en mathématiques de l'université McGill, et a également un background en informatique et en art dramatique.
daniel [dot] simeone [at] mail [dot] mcgill [dot] ca (Email Daniel Simeone)

Glenn Walker

Glenn Walker’s specialization is nineteenth century Canada, particularly ecology, land use, surveying, land re-distribution, agriculture, forestry, hunting and fishing. He is interested in most aspects of nineteenth century material culture and rural life, including craftworks, tools, housing, architecture, domestic furnishings, tourism, and leisure. His thesis, “The Changing Face of the Kawarthas” focuses on how evolving patterns of land use and new material practices reshaped the landscape and ecology of south-central Ontario between the 1830s and the start of the twentieth century. Glenn is also engaged in public history, recording community memories through museums and oral history
glenn [dot] walker [at] mail [dot] mcgill [dot] ca (Email Glenn Walker)

China

See Wee Siang Margaret Ng in Medical History

Continental Europe

Margaret Carlyle

I am a doctoral candidate in History at McGill University, having completed a double honours B.A. at the University of Winnipeg in 2005 followed by an M.A. in 2006 also at McGill. My Master’s research paper looked at Aotourou, an eighteenth-century Tahitian brought to Paris in 1769 by the French explorer Louis-Antoine de Bougainville. Examining Aotourou’s natural knowledge tradition has led to my interest in the history and philosophy of science. My current work focuses on gender and female practitioners of science in eighteenth-century France, specifically the ways in which women’s marginalised position outside the official sites of scientific production did not result in women’s outright exclusion from participation in them. Women practitioners were forced to adopt novel strategies in order to partake in scientific debate in a variety of capacities: publicly and privately, officially and unofficially, openly or behind-the-scenes. Often overlooked as ‘invisible assistants,’ not enough work to-date has taken into full account the contributions women have made to the construction of modern science, not simply as assistants to male producers of knowledge, but as practitioners and thinkers themselves, with individual worldviews, agendas, and biases that provided the contexts for their science-in-the-making. Besides reading on these topics, I love anything by Colette, I. Murdoch, B. Brecht, G. Greene, and I. McEwan. My other interests include swimming, volleyball, cooking, music-listening, travelling, arts & crafts, and trying to convince people that kale is good for you and can taste good too!

Étudiante au doctorat en histoire à l’Université McGill, j’ai complété une double licence à l’Université de Winnipeg en 2005, suivie d’une maîtrise en 2006, également à McGill. Mon projet de maîtrise retraçait l’histoire d’Aotourou, un Tahitien ramené à Paris en 1769 par l’explorateur français Louis-Antoine de Bougainville. En examinant les connaissances naturelles d’Aotourou, je me suis intéressée à l’histoire et la philosophie des sciences. Mon projet actuel concerne le genre et la contribution féminine aux sciences dans la France du siècle des Lumières. Je vise surtout à démontrer comment la marginalisation des femmes des sites ‘officiels’ de production scientifique ne les a nullement empêchées de s’y impliquer de plusieurs façons innovatrices. Afin d’y participer sans la reconnaissance des structures masculines, les femmes scientifiques ont dû adopter des stratégies particulières dans des milieux autant publics que privés, officiels que non officiels, ouvertement ou secrètement. Souvent perçues comme des ‘assistantes invisibles,’ les femmes scientifiques demeurent un sujet nécessitant des recherches plus approfondies. En plus de contester la perception des femmes comme de simples assistantes des scientifiques masculins, je veux également dévoiler la nature de leurs contributions. Ce sont d’abord des femmes dynamiques qui se sont lancées dans des projets scientifiques. L’examen de leurs travaux nous révèle qu’elles ont développé des idées, des visions du monde, des objectifs et des présuppositions qui leurs sont propres, tout en s’inscrivant dans un contexte intellectuel et social particulier. En plus de me consacrer à ces recherches, je m’intéresse à la littérature et en particulier à Colette, I. Murdoch, B. Brecht, G. Greene, et I. McEwan. Mes intérêts et loisirs sont variés et incluent la natation, le volley-ball, la cuisine et gastronomie, la musique, les voyages et les arts. Je vise, enfin, à déboulonner les graves préjugés contre le chou frisé, ce légume sain et potentiellement délicieux!
margaret [dot] carlyle [at] mail [dot] mcgill [dot] ca (Email Margaret Carlyle)

Marie-Hélène Coté

Doing research and teaching History are my passions!
Having completed my MA with Professor B. Coward and J. Swann, I’m now pursuing my PhD under the supervision of N. Dew and B. Cowan. My thesis is a comparative  study of the English The Gazette, and the French La Gazette, during the 1650s. As a diplomatic historian, I want to establish the degree of information that was transmitted to the general public on diplomatic events and on foreign affairs.
I’m also very interested in the elements of change that took place in the diplomatic sphere, after the Treaties of Westphalia. Even if they generally agreed on the importance of 1648 in this field, few historians have taken the time to clearly analyse the nature of these changes and how widespread they were throughout Europe.
Finally, the development of the idea of a united and peaceful Europe remains a very intriguing notion to me. It seems fascinating that in early modern Europe, a time when war was a normal and/or important element of life, some people would start to draft ideas to create general peace for all of Europe. How significant is this, considering that less then four centuries later, the EU would emerge from the seeds of war...!
marie-helene [dot] cote1 [at] mail [dot] mcgill [dot] ca (Email Marie-Hélène Coté)
Marie-Helene.Cote.CV  [.doc]

Anna Dysert

Anna Dysert is a doctoral student in the Department of History and Classical Studies at McGill University under the supervision of Prof. Faith Wallis. She holds a BA in Classics (McGill), an MA in Medieval Studies (Toronto), and an MLIS in Archives (McGill). She specializes in manuscript studies and the history of the book with particular attention to the production and transmission of scientific and medical texts. Anna is also involved with digital humanities initiatives, including digitization and electronic editing of medieval manuscripts. She is interested in the physical attributes of the manuscript book and will pursue her work in codicology and paleography as the 2010-2011 recipient of the Newberry Library/Ecole nationale des chartes Exchange Fellowship in Paris. In addition to her studies, she has experience working in archives and rare books cataloguing. Outside the university, she is an active musician and an amateur printer on an old iron handpress.
anna [dot] dysert [at] mail [dot] mcgill [dot] ca (Email Anna Dysert)

Andrew Rath

Andrew Rath is a doctoral candidate at McGill University. A native of Newport Beach, California, Andrew graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in History from Georgetown University. He then completed a Master of Science in Comparative Politics of Empire from the London School of Economics and Political Science. His Master's thesis discussed events in European colonies during the First World War. His Doctoral dissertation is an interdisciplinary examination of the Crimean War outside of modern Ukraine/Black Sea, and is supervised by Dr. Valentin Boss. Andrew serves as a teaching assistant for a number of Empire-related courses at McGill.
andrew [dot] rath [at] mail [dot] mcgill [dot] ca (Email Andrew Rath)

Brian Wemp

My current research concerns the development of consumer culture in Paris in the late nineteenth century. The working title of my thesis is Learning to Live Like Paris: The Origins and Influence of France’s First Consumer Economy. More broadly, my research interests include the social background surrounding Parisian department stores and the emergence of consumer credit in the nineteenth century, the development of the national transportation network in France under the Second Empire and Third Republic, urban history in France and Victorian England, as well as work, leisure, and distraction in nineteenth century Europe.
brian [dot] wemp [at] mail [dot] mcgill [dot] ca (Email Brian Wemp)

Japan

See Daniel Lachapelle Lemire in Canada/Quebec.

Latin America

Laurent Corbeil

Je m'intéresse généralement à tout ce qui touche l'histoire des Amérindiens sur tout le continent américain, mais je me spécialise en histoire du Mexique. Pendant ma maîtrise (UdeM), j'ai étudié les relations entre les Tzeltales – Indiens des Hautes terres du Chiapas – et l'État mexicain postrévolutionnaire au milieu du 20e siècle. Pour mon doctorat, mon attention se portera sur les relations inter-amérindiennes en Nouvelle-Espagne, plus précisément dans la ville minière de San Luis Potosí au 17e siècle. Mon objectif sera de mieux comprendre les modalités d'interaction entre groupes amérindiens distincts. Je m'attarderai donc aux questions des mariages, des baptêmes, des confréries religieuses, des relations économiques, des crimes et violences, des relations de pouvoir, etc. J'espère ainsi mieux comprendre comment cette société coloniale s'est construite elle-même, au-delà des catégories préétablies par les Espagnols.

I'm interested in everything that has to do with Native history on the whole American continent, but I specialize in Mexican history. My M.A. thesis (UdeM) focused on the relations between the Mexican post-revolutionary State and the Tzeltales – a native group from Chiapas highlands – in the mid-20th century. For my PhD, I am now studying the relations between native groups who lived together in the mining city of San Luis Potosí in the 17th century. I will thus pay attention to marriages, baptisms, religious confraternities, economic relations, crimes and violence, power relations, etc. I hope to understand how, despite the official Spanish categories, this colonial society constructed its own self.
laurent [dot] corbeil [at] mail [dot] mcgill [dot] ca (Email Laurent Corbeil)

Saul Guerrero

I used to be a chemist (Universidad Simon Bolivar, Caracas, Venezuela, 1974) with a Diplôme d’Ingénieur in Polymer Engineering (Ecole d’Application des Hauts Polymères, Strasbourg, France, 1977) and a Ph. D in Polymer Physics (Bristol University, 1980). After nearly seven years teaching in the Materials Science Department of the Universidad Simon Bolivar I switched profession and became a Business Development Manager in Petrochemicals and then an International  Supply and Marketing Manager for fuel products for the Venezuelan State Oil Company PDVSA. When life became unpredictable I sought guidance in the study of History and completed an  M.A. in Global History at the University of Warwick, United Kingdom,  in 2009. Thanks to the support of a Peter Cundhill Fellowship I am presently a doctoral candidate in the History Department at McGill, under the supervision of Prof. Daviken Studnicki-Gizbert. I am applying my knowledge of chemistry, and a curiosity about correlations that should exist in sets of numerical data that reflect chemical processes, to study the extent of the human and environmental damage caused in the New World by the refining of silver using mercury. For the 250 years that roughly comprise the Early Modern  Era an average of at least 480 tons of mercury in various forms were lost every year to the environment, mainly around mining sites in what is today Bolivia, Peru and Mexico. The scale of this historical collateral damage, and the contrasting silence in the historiography, is what has drawn me to this subject. Away from my research, what I most enjoy at present is just taking care of my grandchild Manuela every chance I get.

Luis Van Isschot

 I hold a BA in History from the University of British Columbia (UBC) and an MA in Spanish and Latin American Studies from Simon Fraser University (SFU), as well as a PhD in History from McGill. I have recently begun a post-doc at the City University of New York (CUNY). I am a social historian and human rights specialist focused on Latin America in the twentieth century. I was born and raised in Montreal and have lived in Peru, Colombia and Spain, as well as Vancouver and Toronto. I currently live in Montreal with my partner Stephanie and our two kids, Jordi and Nicolasa.

My PhD dissertation, completed under the supervision of Catherine C. LeGrand, examines why and how, and with what impact, people living in conflict areas organize collectively to assert human rights. My socio-historical approach challenges the work of scholars who recount the history of human rights from the point of view of lawyers and lawmakers. Established by Standard Oil in 1919, the oil enclave of Barrancabermeja is a critical battleground in Colombia’s armed conflict, and one of the most militarized urban areas anywhere on earth. The history of human rights in this extraordinary city is the history of an epic struggle over natural resources, regional development, justice and democracy. Drawing on dozens of oral interviews, as well as rare and previously unexamined local and national archives, I situate the experiences of frontline human rights defenders within the broader history of enclaves, social movements, and the international movement for human rights. My work emerges out of the creative tension between scholarship and practice. For more than a decade I have been academically and professionally concerned with human rights in conflict areas. I have conducted field research and worked in Colombia, Peru, Guatemala, Haiti, Mexico, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In 1998 I worked in Colombia for 12 months as a human rights observer with Peace Brigades International (PBI), and have returned many times since. I have worked for more than a decade for various Canadian and international NGOs in the promotion of human rights and social justice in Latin America.
luis [dot] vanisschot [at] mail [dot] mcgill [dot] ca (Email Luis Van Isschot)
Van Isschot CV  [.pdf]

Middle East

Rashed Chowdhury

My research focuses on interactions between Islam and the state from the nineteenth century onwards. I am also interested in modernisation and nationalism in the Muslim world, as well as Muslim minorities in Europe. I received a BA (Hons.) in international relations at Grinnell College (Grinnell, Iowa) and an MA in Islamic studies at McGill. My master’s research, funded by SSHRC, examined the political role of Shi‘ite Muslim scholars during the establishment of the Iraqi state. Currently, I am working (under the supervision of Prof. Malek Abisaab) on a doctoral dissertation on Islam and modernisation in the Ottoman Empire under Sultan Abdülhamid II (r. 1876-1909), specifically examining the political and social context of the construction of the Hijaz Railway. I have received several grants to support my doctoral work, including the Robert Vogel Memorial Award in History, the Recruitment Excellence Fellowship, the Principal’s Graduate Fellowship and, most recently, an FQRSC bursary. I have worked as a teaching assistant in courses on world history, Middle-Eastern Islamic movements, modern Eastern-European history and modern African history.

I recently contributed a book chapter examining perceptions of the War in Afghanistan in Bangladesh and Turkey. I also write regularly for the Belarusian cultural and political magazine ARCHE. Apart from English, I speak Russian, Belarusian, Bengali and French, and have a reading knowledge of Arabic, Turkish (modern and Ottoman), Polish and Hindi.
rashed [dot] chowdhury [at] mail [dot] mcgill [dot] ca (Email Rashed Chowdhury)

Michael Ferguson

Michael’s research focuses on questions of identity, marginalization, and minorities in the late Ottoman Empire and early republican Turkey. For his doctoral thesis, he aims to uncover the history of emancipated African slaves in Izmir around the turn of the twentieth-century. Little is known about this seemingly lost branch of the global African diaspora and through studying it he aims to add to the literature on the rich diversity of the late Ottoman experience. More generally, Michael is interested in the history of the Muslim World including the Balkans, the Middle East and Africa.

Prior to beginning his PhD at McGill University, Michael attained a B.A. in History from Carleton University (2004) and a M.A. in Islamic Studies from McGill University (2006). Following the completion of his M.A., Michael spent the 2006-2007 academic year teaching English in a top-ranked private high school in Istanbul, Turkey while at the same time improving his Turkish language skills and continuing his research.

Michael is the recipient of the Joseph Armand Bombardier SSHRC fellowship and has recently contributed a chapter on the history of emancipated African slaves on Crete in the late Ottoman period in an upcoming volume edited by Ken Cuno and Terrence Walz.

When not working on his thesis, Michael greatly enjoys cooking Mediterranean-style food. He is also interested in environmental issues, such as the fate of the temperate boreal rainforests of western North America and the dangerous state of world-wide fishing stocks.
michael [dot] ferguson [at] mail [dot] mcgill [dot] ca (Email Michael Ferguson)
Website

Sarah Ghabrial

My research areas include nineteenth- and twentieth-century North and East Africa under French rule, slavery and emancipation in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and colonial and post-colonial regimes of citizenship and 'multiculturalism.' I am also interested in the development of sexual and gendered identities and feminist movements in Islamic cultural contexts, both within and outside the MENA.

My doctoral thesis, under the supervision of Professor Gwyn Campbell and with funding from the SSHRC, explores the organization of colonial legal regimes in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Algeria – specifically Kabylie and the M'zab valley. This was a period of renewed European enthusiasm for the ‘emancipation’ of Africans, which in the Algerian context often intersected with the ubiquitous ‘Woman Question’ and on-going debates over the limits of French intervention into local marriage, divorce, kinship, and cohabitation practices. In following slavery- and marriage-related polemic and litigation, this study also traces the material impacts of a sustained Orientalist program to render pre-colonial legal systems knowable and predictable. Above all, my dissertation is centrally concerned with how the women and girls at the heart of these debates navigated these historical shifts, and how they used legal reform to realize and redefine emancipationist agendas both within and beyond courts and tribunals.

Beyond the booky world of thesis-writing and assistant-teaching, I am passionate about education equity and curriculum reform in Canada; for the past six years I’ve been a founding member and co-organizer of a grassroots collective advocating for the inclusion of gender studies at the secondary school level in Ontario.
sarah [dot] ghabrial [at] mail [dot] mcgill [dot] ca (Email Sarah Ghabrial)
Website

Emrah Sahin

Emrah Sahin studies American and Ottoman diplomacy and social history (1880s-1910s). He received degrees from Middle East Technical University and Bilkent University. His dissertation, Transatlantic Crossings: American and Ottoman Perceptions in a Progressive Age, 1875-1910, examines socio-cultural aspects of the United States and Ottoman relations by focusing on American missionaries in the Ottoman Empire and Ottoman immigrants in the United States. Currently, Sahin is writing dissertation’s third chapter, “Battle of Letters: Ottoman Responses to Typography and Missionary Publications.” This chapter deals with Ottoman perceptions toward printing and papers and their reflections on papers American missionaries printed and distributed in the Empire. Sahin will also write on American Islam in the 1890s and contribute to Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. His articles appeared in International Journal of Turkish Studies, The Journal of the Historical Society, and World History Bulletin. Last year, his research received Turkish Cultural Foundation Fellowship and his teaching won Arts Faculty Student Teaching Award at McGill University.
emrah [dot] sahin [at] mail [dot] mcgill [dot] ca (Email Emrah Sahin)
Emrah Sahin CV  [.pdf]

Mark Sanagan

I’m a doctoral candidate specializing in the history of the modern Middle East. I did my undergraduate degree in the University of Toronto’s Visual Studies program and received an MA from McGill’s Institute of Islamic Studies in 2006. My Masters thesis explored the intersections of sexuality and violence with competing narratives of nationalism in the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict. I benefitted greatly in writing that thesis from a fellowship given to me by the Institute of Islamic Studies that allowed me to conduct research throughout the occupied Palestinian territories in the summer of 2006. I was also the recipient of the Institute’s Cedrik Goddard Memorial Award in my graduating year.

My research interests focus primarily on the British Mandate in Palestine, and the historiography of the conflict. My dissertation, while in its initial stages, will examine the hunt for – and eventual death of – Izz ad-Din al-Qassam. This particular story will act as an entry point to broader discussions on British imperial policing, counter-insurgency policies and indigenous collaboration on the one hand, and collective memory and nationalist myth-making on the other. While my research focuses on the Arab-Israeli conflict and the modern Middle East in general, I have been fortunate enough to lecture and work as a teaching assistant on topics such as African history, al-Qaeda, Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolution.

I spend my free time with my family that includes an amazing partner, young twins and a Boston terrier named Otis.
mark [dot] sanagan [at] mail [dot] mcgill [dot] ca (Email Mark Sanagan)

Medical History

Etienne Gosselin

I am doctoral student in history of medicine and also affiliated with the Department of Social Studies of Medicine. My dissertation entitled Constructing Post-War International Health: The CDC, Epidemiology and the Politics of Foreign Aid (1960-1980) explores the role of Centers for Disease Control in the shaping of international health programs of communicable disease control and eradication, and the interplay between the mobilization of epidemiological techniques, development programs aimed at Third World countries and the geopolitics of the Cold War. My research, under the supervision of Dr. Thomas Schlich, draws from the records of the CDC, its publications, the archives of the United States Public Health Service, and documents from the Agency for International Development. I have completed a BA in history with a minor in international relations from the Université de Sherbroke. My MA thesis, "La lutte contre le sida au Québec: Le Centre québécois de coordination sur le sida (1989-1995)", also obtained at the Université de Sherbrooke, focused on the response of public health authorities to the AIDS epidemic in Québec. More generally, I am interested in the history of 20th century international health, epidemiology of communicable diseases, and the links between medical knowlegde and practices with politics and health policy.
etienne [dot] gosselin [at] mail [dot] mcgill [dot] ca (Email Etienne Gosselin)

Tim Newfield

My historical interests concern environmental and biological phenomena of pre-industrial Europe. Episodes of human and livestock disease, and climatic anomalies are forefront. Additionally, the impact of such events on human societies and economies, and livestock populations, is of interest. Methodologically, I am very interested in the marrying of textual and material evidence and the application of postmodern critical theory to available texts. Historiographically, I am concerned with the interpreting of the identity, extent and impact of medieval pathogenic and climatic events.

I have completed a MA thesis on the first quantifiable cattle panzootic in western history under the supervision of Richard Hoffmann, presented a paper on the impact of that fourteenth-century event and another on the increasing frequency of cattle epizootics in late medieval and early modern Europe. I have also presented two papers reviewing the scholarship of the Early Medieval Pandemic and critiquing the evidence supporting claims regarding its supposed bubonic plague identity. I am currently working on a PhD thesis under the supervision of Faith Wallis that addresses human and livestock disease, climate and famine in Carolingian Europe.

Tim.Newfield.CV  [.doc]
tnewfield [at] hotmail [dot] com (Email Tim Newfield)

Margaret Wee-Siang Ng

I am currently writing my dissertation, "Childbirth in Late Imperial China: Medical Texts and Social Realities,” in which I compare childbirth practices recommended in male-authored medical texts with those represented in literary sources (novels, legal cases, vernacular Chinese religious writings) within the context of social practices in Qing China (1644-1911), with the aim of learning about what happened in the birth chambers. I am working under the supervision of Prof. Robin D.S. Yates. My other two fields are in the history of medicine, following the thematic thread of medicine for women from the Greco-Roman medical tradition, up to the Medieval and Renaissance periods, and into early modern Europe, and Japanese cultural history, with emphasis on gender issues in modern and contemporary Japan. I received a B.A. in English Literature and History from Trent (Ontario, Canada), and after my M.A. from McGill, I worked for Oxford University Press in Singapore for a short period and subsequently slogged in the non-profit sector in Yokohama, Japan for several years. I now labor with delight in exploring details on anything that is from yesterday.
tuzhi [at] yahoo [dot] com (Email Margaret Wee-Siang Ng)

United States

See Emrah Sahin under Middle East.