The Reflections on Research series asks our associates to go beyond the specifics of their research findings, which are often published elsewhere, and to instead reflect on the scholarship process and the subjective factors that brought them to the work.
Issue 16: "The Metabolism of Empire: Watermills in Long Nineteenth Century, Ontario"
An interview with Johannes Chan, a PhD candidate in the Science & Technology Studies Graduate Program. He is a graduate associate at the Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies and a recipient of the SSHRC Doctoral Scholarship (2024, 2025).
Issue 15: “I have a sense that gay is diluting significantly.” Gay Nostalgia in a Post-Gay World and the Intergenerational Transitions of Toronto’s Church-Wellesley Village (1973-2023)
An interview with Gary Myers, a PhD candidate in History. He was a recipient of the Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship (2021-2024) and Women's Canadian Historical Society of Toronto Graduate Scholarship (2021-2022). Gary was born in Toronto, and has had a lifelong interest in Toronto history, including an immense interest and passion in LGBTQ2+ history. He has witnessed changes in Toronto’s development since the 1960s, along with changes in gay Toronto and Toronto’s Church-Wellesley Village since the 1980s.
Issue 14: Dis/possessing Gender: Anti-Blackness, Debilitation and Trans Distress in Kavanagh v. Canada
An interview with Joshua Falek (they/them), a PhD candidate in gender, feminist, and women’s studies. Their research thinks together trans subjectivity, anti-Blackness, and affect. They have essays published in or forthcoming from journals including TSQ: Transgender Studies Quarterly, CR: New Centennial Review, Feminist Theory, and Rhizomes: Cultural Studies in Emerging Knowledge. They are the editor of “Aporias,” a special section of Lateral: Journal of the Cultural Studies Association.
Issue 13: Investigating the Impact of Cryogenic Landslides on Lakes in the Eastern Mackenzie Delta (NT, Canada) Using a Paleolimnological Framework
And interview with Victoria Carroll, a PhD student in the Department of Geography. She is a recipient of a Borealis Training Award, adjudicated by the Robarts Centre, to support students involved in northern fieldwork. She also received the Northern Studies Training Award from Polar Knowledge Canada in 2023.
Issue 12: Researching Experiences of Racialization, Disability and Mental Health Within Asian Populations Using Arts-Based Methods
An interview with Cindy Jiang (she/her), a PhD student in the Department of Critical Disability Studies. She is a graduate research associate at the York Centre for Asian Research and a member of the Board of Directors of Eviance (formerly the Canadian Centre for Disability Studies) and Museum of Mental Health (formerly Friends of CAMH Archives). Cindy is a recipient of numerous prestigious scholarships, including the SSHRC CGS-D Award (2021-2023) and OGS (2019, 2022).
Issue 11: A Multistoried Artist: Holistic Self-Reflexivity in Childhood Studies
An interview with Kate Moo King-Curtis (she/her/elle), a recent MA in Humanities graduate with extensive experience in the arts and film industry in Canada and the United States. She is affiliated with the Robarts Centre’s ‘Children and Young People Interdisciplinary Research Network’ (CYPIRN) research cluster as an External Associate. In it, she looks to engage in meaningful collaborations to build knowledge with, for, and about diverse young people in a Canadian context, while completing a post-graduate program in Art Therapy.
Issue 10: Provincial Policies and Rural Realities: A Case Study of Public Education Needs in Rural Ontario
An interview with Hamza Arsbi (he/him), a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Education at York University. He is the founder, director and project manager of the Mind Lab, a youth hub that focuses on advancing education through scientific experiential learning.
Issue 9: The Reproduction of New Forms of Nationalisms in Museums: A Comparative Study of the Royal Ontario and the Grand Egyptian Museums
An interview with Umbrin Bukan (she/her), a PhD candidate in Social and Political Thought at York University. She is a Graduate Associate with the Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies, and her research areas are in comparative politics and international relations, focusing on nationalism and museums, and nation building.
Issue 8: An Evaluation of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Policies in Canadian Universities.
An interview with Sophia Martensen (she/her), a fourth-year doctoral student in Socio-Legal Studies and a Teaching Assistant with the Department of Social Science at York University. She is an Associate at the Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies, the Canadian Law and Society Association, and the Centre for Feminist Research at York. Sophia is also the recipient of a 2023 Congress Graduate Merit Award, and currently holds a 2023/2024 Ontario Graduate Scholarship.
Issue 7: No Pipeline to Utopia: Ideology, Disavowal, and the Politics of the Trans Mountain Expansion
An interview with Isaac Thornley, a PhD candidate in Environmental Studies, a Teaching Assistant, and a freelance communications professional. He is interested in producing research, advocacy, and educational content that supports movements for social and environmental justice in Canada and beyond.
Issue 6: Regulating Platform Moderation of Hate Speech
An interview with Mandy Lau, PhD candidate in Linguistics and Applied Linguistics at York University. She is a Graduate Associate at the Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies and holds a SSHRC Canada Graduate - Doctoral Program award.
Issue 5: We Are All Treaty People. Understanding Why Indigenous People Signed Treaties
An interview with Emily Belmonte who was awarded the Odessa Prize for the Study of Canada for the best undergraduate paper in a fourth-year course for Understanding Treaty One: Subsistence and Survival 1871-1888.
Issue 4: Art & Research Around HIV/AIDS, Queer Art and Sex
An interview with Andrew Zealley (Environmental Studies) on his dissertation, Risky Beeswax: Artistic Responses to the Biopolitics of HIV/AIDS, awarded the Barbara Godard Prize for the Best York University Dissertation in Canadian Studies in the summer of 2021.
Issue 3: Children, Youth and the Performing Arts in a Pandemic
An interview with Professor Abigail Shabtay (Humanities) who is an Assistant Professor in the Children, Childhood, and Youth program. She is currently the Principal Investigator for three SSHRC-funded projects related to children, youth, and the performing arts.
Issue 2: Sexual Exploitation of Girl Children in the Entertainment Industry in Ontario and Quebec
An interview with Professor Clara Chapdelaine-Feliciati (International Studies, School of Public and International Affairs) who was recently awarded a SSHRC Insight Development Grant (2020-2022) for her legal and bilingual project 'Sexual Exploitation of Girl Children in the Entertainment Industry in Ontario and Quebec.’
Issue 1: Undergraduate Essay Prize Awardee Reflects on her “Graduate Student-Level Work”
In this issue Natalia Santilli talks about being awarded the Robarts Centre’s 2019-2020 Odessa Prize for the best undergraduate paper in a 4th-year course that advances our knowledge of Canada for her paper, “The Abject Horror of the Spanish Influenza in Canadian Theatre.”