Editor’s note: This post is part of an occasional series entitled “Unearthed,” edited by Heather Green and co-sponsored by Unwritten Histories, in which emerging environmental historians in Canada discuss what brought them to the field, why they value environmental history, and how it connects with life outside of academia. Find all the interviews from this series here.
Caitlynn Beckett is currently a PhD student in Geography at Memorial University in St. John’s Newfoundland, where she also completed her MA in 2017. She is a settler scholar from Treaty 4 Territory and grew up in Regina, Saskatchewan. Her research interests include processes of mine remediation, environmental justice, impact assessment and community engagement in resource extraction across Northern Canada.
Ian J. Jesse is a PhD candidate in history at the University of Maine. His research explores the varied connections between wild animals and rural communities in the Northeast. He received 2017-2018 Fulbright Doctoral Student Fellowship and currently holds a University of Maine Canadian-American Center Fellowship.
Judith Ellen Brunton is a doctoral candidate at the University of Toronto’s Department for the Study of Religion. Judith’s current project explores how legacies of oil extraction allow for specific contemporary imaginaries of the good life in Alberta. With case studies on: Imperial Oil’s publications on history and culture, Energy Heritage sites, The Calgary Stampede, and various corporate aspirational initiatives. Judith held a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Doctoral Scholarship to pursue her research. She is currently a junior fellow at Victoria College and Massey College at the University of Toronto.