Women Making History in Canada

Young woman reading by the light of a kerosene lamp. Shilly Shally Lodge, Gatineau Park. N.D. Rosemary Gilliat Eaton / Library and Archives Canada, No. R12438

Can  you believe that it is already Unwritten Histories’ second anniversary? I can’t. I remember the days when this was a wee little baby blog that only my friends read. 🙂 So of course,  Stephanie and I wanted to do something special for the occasion. But saying nice things about this blog is pretty boring. So instead, we are going to use this opportunity to highlight the work of women-identified, who are either graduate students or recent graduates, who are making history.  We are obviously fans of men-identified scholars and the work that they do. However, we recognize that women continue to be underrepresented in senior academic ranks and leadership positions, face widespread gender bias in student evaluations, and perform a disproportionate amount of service work and emotional labour. We also recognize that there is incontrovertible evidence of bias against female scholars and the fields of women/gender/feminist history in Canada. 

While Unwritten Histories can’t solve these problems, but what we can do is to highlight the amazing work being done by by these scholars. The scholars we have listed below have all made substantial contributions to the field of Canadian history.  The list is organized alphabetically. Each profile contains a short biography and a list of selected publications. The name of each scholar is also linked to their Twitter accounts, in the event that you would like to keep up with their work.

A couple of quick caveats. First, the term “woman-idenfied” basically refers to all scholars who identify as female. The use of this term is deliberate, so as to include both cis-gendered and trans women.  Second, we limited this list explicitly to graduate students or recent grads who are engaged in the field of history specifically. Finally, we would like to point out that this is a partial list at best. Since, we can only include so many people in one blog post, we had to limit our list to ten. But hopefully we can do a part two!

So without further ado, here are the profiles:

Katrina Ackerman is a sessional instructor in the Department of History at the University of Regina. She holds a Ph.D. in history from the University of Waterloo. Katrina is a specialist in medical history, and her research examines economic factors that have shaped government and non-governmental opposition to abortion access in Atlantic Canada in the late twentieth-century. Not only is her work thoughtful, compassionate, and compelling, but it is also explicitly policy-oriented, particularly in light of ongoing issues regarding access to abortion in the Atlantic provinces. Katrina places a high premium on service to the profession, and she is currently chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Representations for the Canadian Committee on Women’s History (CCWH), examining issues of regionalism, diversity, and inclusion to assist the committee in better serving its membership. Oh, and she also happens to be the Program Chair and Local Area Coordinator for this year’s CHA Annual Meeting in Regina. You know, in her spare time.

Select Publications

• “In Defense of Reason: Religion, Science, and the Prince Edward Island Anti-Abortion Movement, 1969-1988,” Canadian Bulletin of Medical History 31, no. 2 (Fall 2014): 117-138.
• “Before Mifegymiso: A History of Rural Women’s Access to Abortion,” Active History Blog November 24, 2016.

Jessica DeWitt is a doctoral candidate in the Department of History at the University of Saskatchewan. She studies the comparative history of state and provincial parks in Idaho, Alberta, Ontario, and Pennsylvania, a subject that, to date, has been largely ignored by environmental historians. Her research focuses particularly on examining parks embedded within specific contexts through time as part of broader regional, ecological, and social trends. She is also the social media editor for NiCHE, and, in this position, has almost single-handedly created the online community of environmental history scholars. We’re not entirely sure when she sleeps, because in addition to her work at NiCHE, she also manages five other social media accounts, is an assistant at the University of Saskatchewans’s Historical GIS lab, is a regular contributor to NiCHE’s blog, The Otter, and produces regular content for her personal blog. Jessica is also a powerful advocate for femme-identified academics who experience sexism and abuse in the workplace, having co-founded the Academic Sharing Circle, a safe-space for female-identified and non-binary academics dedicated to providing resources, advice, support, and celebration for one another.

Select Publications:

• “Between Stewardship and Exploitation: Private Tourism, State Parks, and Environmentalism,” RCC Perspectives: Transformations in Environment and Society: Environmental Knowledge, Environmental Politics (December 2016): 41-46.
• “Parks For and By the People: Acknowledging Ordinary People in the Formation, Protection, and Use of State and Provincial Parks,” in Environmental Activism on the Ground: Processes and Possibilities of Small Green and Indigenous Organizing, eds. Liza Piper and Jonathan Clapperton, (Calgary: University of Calgary Press, forthcoming 2018).

Crystal Gail Fraser (Gwichya Gwich’in from Inuvik and Dachan Choo Gèhnjik) is a doctoral candidate and contract instructor in the Department of History & Classics at the University of Alberta. Her research explores the agency of Northern Indigenous peoples at residential and day schools in Nanhkak Thak (Inuvik region, Northwest Territories) in the second half of the twentieth century. Through her work on this project, as well as others, Crystal has become a leader in community-engaged scholarship in Canada, which emphasizes the importance of building and maintaining relationships. She is also actively engaged in Indigenous resurgence work, particularly with respect to the #SpeakGwich’inToMe Campaign, dedicated to revitalizing the Gwich’in language. Crystal is also at the forefront of reconciliation efforts both inside and outside of academia. Perhaps the best example of this is her work, with Sara Komarnisky, on the 150 Acts of Reconciliation project. Originating as a blog post on Active History, it has been developed into a poster series, in collaboration with Lianne Charlie (descendant of the Tagé Cho Hudän (Big River People), Northern Tutchone speaking people of the Yukon).

Select Publications:

• “‘Who’d wear an apron in an igloo!’ Indigenous Girlhood and the Refashioning of Girl Guides in the Northwest Territories, 1950s to 1970s,” in Indigenous Women’s History: An Edited Collection, edited by Mary Jane Logan McCallum and Susan Hill (Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, forthcoming 2019).
• With Ian Mosby. “Setting Canadian History Right: A Response to Ken Coates’ ‘Second Thoughts about Residential Schools.’” Active History Article, April 18, 2015.

Natasha Henry is a doctoral candidate in the Department of History at York University and the new president of the Ontario Black History Society. Her scholarly research focuses on Black enslavement in early Ontario. However, Natasha is best known for her work as a history educator with a commitment to research, collect, preserve, and disseminate the histories of Black Canadians. She is a practicing educator with more than nineteen years of experience. Her award-winning work, which is accessible and content-rich, is utilized by elementary and high-school educators working across the country. Her dedication to inclusive education and equity principles in teaching is evident in every aspect of her work, whether through her work with Historica Canada, her creation of educational resources for online exhibits, or her wonderful website full of teaching resources.

Select Publications:

• “Black History Instruction in the Canadian Context and the role of Critical Role of Teacher Training (working title),” in Perspectives on the Teaching of Black History in Schools, Brad Maguth and Merry Merryfield, eds., Research in Social Education series, (Scottsdale, Arizona: Information Age Press, forthcoming).
• “Where, Oh Where, is Bett? Locating Enslaved Africans on the Ontario Landscape,”Unsettling the Great White North: African Canadian History, The Spotlighting and Promoting African Canadian Experiences (SPACE) initiative of The Harriet Tubman Institute for Research on Africa and Its Diasporas at York University, Michele Johnson and Funké Aladejebi, eds., (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, forthcoming).
• Talking about Freedom: Celebrating Emancipation Day in Canada, (Toronto: Dundurn Press, 2012).

Anne Janhunen is a doctoral candidate in the Department of History at the University of Saskatchewan. Her research focuses on the environmental history of Anishinaabeg land use, labour, and collective political activism in Ontario in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Anne does remarkable work on two entirely different fronts. First, she is an exceptional scholar of settler colonialism, asking pointed and insightful questions about historical representations of Indigenous peoples. Second, Anne is an outspoken advocate for people with disabilities on Twitter, particularly in academia. She frequently tweets and retweets on the subject of academic ableism, and often provides helpful guides to making conference presentations, lectures, and website more accessible to people with disabilities.

Select Publications

• “‘Colonization Road’ and Challenging Settler Colonialism in Canada,” Active History November 3, 2016.
• With Michelle Desveaux, Patrick Chassé, Glenn Iceton, and Omeasoo Wāhpāsiw, “Twenty-First Century Indigenous Historiography: Twenty-Two Must-Read Books,” Canadian Journal of History 50, no. 3 (Winter 2015): 525-548.

Mica Jorgensen is a doctoral candidate in the Department of History at McMaster University. She studies the history of gold mining and how it affects the landscape. Her most recent work is on the Porcupine Gold Rush of Northern Ontario and how international science and politics shaped the industry. She is a leader in the fields of digital and environmental history, a regular contributor to NiCHE, the former NiCHE New Scholars representative, and always seems to be flying somewhere to give a public talk or presentation. She is a master when it comes to marrying local and transnational histories as well as critical analysis and social justice, effectively demonstrating the continued relevance of history in the present. As an example, she recently published a piece in The Conversation on the legacy of silicosis, a disease that continues to kill miners both in Canada and around the world.

Select Publications:

• ’Into that Country to Work:’ Aboriginal Economic Activities during Barkerville’s Gold Rush,” BC Studies no. 185 (Spring 2015): 109-136.
• “’A Business Proposition:’ Naturalists, Guides, and Sportsmen in the Formation of the Bowron Lakes Game Reserve,” BC Studies 175 (Autumn 2012): 9-34.

Maddie Knickerbocker is a doctoral candidate in the Department of History at Simon Fraser University (who should be defending this summer!) Her research focuses on the intersections of cultural curation and political activism in Stó:lō communities throughout the twentieth century. Maddie is a leader in community-engaged oral histories and material culture studies, and an innovator in history education. In both her personal and professional life, she is a model for politically-engaged scholarship and an outspoken advocate for Indigenous rights. She regularly contributes hard-hitting, and sharp critiques of settler colonialism on Twitter, including her personal mission to ensure that individuals and organizations learn how to properly spell the term “Stó:lō”. In addition to her work as a scholar, Maddie also advocates on behalf of graduate students at Simon Fraser University through her work with SFU’s Teaching Support Staff Union.

Select Publications

• With Sarah Nickel, “Negotiating Sovereignty: Indigenous Perspectives On The Patriation Of A Settler Colonial Constitution, 1975-83,” BC Studies no. 190 (Summer 2016): 67-87.
• “What We’ve Said Can be Proven in the Ground”: Stó:lō Sovereignty and Historical Narratives atXá:ytem, 1990-2006,” Journal of the Canadian Historical Association 25, no. 1 (2013): 297-342.

Joanna L. Pearce is a doctoral candidate in the Department of History at York University. Her research focuses on the history of the blind and visually-impaired people in Ontario, disrupting the traditional view of the blind as victims or, as educators from the era believed, moral failures. Joanna’s use of primary sources created by the blind and their families emphasizes their agency and advocacy.  She is in the midst of making an important historical intervention in the field of Canadian history, which seldom addresses the history of disability. But, really, her middle name should be “advocate.” That’s because in addition to her scholarly work, she is an outspoken, unflinching, and uncompromising advocate for disabled people, female students, and graduate students. For instance, her work has directly led to an increased focus on accessibility issues at the CHA Annual Meeting. At present she is on the picket lines for the CUPE 3903 Strike, holding York University responsible for the safety and well-being of its students and contract faculty. She is also a lead organizer around the campaign to secure funding for a Sexual Violence Response Office in the final bargain.

Select Publications

• “The Tactile Babble Under Which the Blind Have Hitherto Groaned: Dots, Lines, and Literacy for the Blind in Nineteenth-Century North America,” in Edinburgh History of Reading: A World Survey from Antiquity to the Present Volume Two: Common and Subersive Readers (‘The Work’), eds. Mary Hammond and Jonathan Rose (Edinburgh: Edinburg University Press, forthcoming).
• “Not for Alms but Help: Fund-raising and Free Education for the Blind,” Journal of the Canadian Historical Association 23, no. 1 (2012): 131-155.

Robyn E. Schwarz is a doctoral candidate in the Department of History at Western University. Her research focuses on the history of single mothers and the development of welfare programs in Ontario from 1945 to 1980 particularly in relation to the idea that single mothers are “problem women.” But what makes Robyn remarkable is her ability to tie her historical research into a passion for addressing contemporary injustices, particularly around women’s issues. She is an outspoken advocate for access to abortion rights and is the co-founder of Pro-Choice London Ontario, an advocacy group dedicated to sexual health and reproductive justice. She is always on top of current events, and does not hesitate to add her voice to public conversations, demonstrating her knowledgeability and a keen sense of justice.

Select Publications

• “A Continental Centennial: Situating Expo 67 within the Canadian-American Relationship,” in Celebrating Canada Volume Two: Commemorations, Anniversaries and National Symbols​, edited by Raymond Blake and Matthew Hayday (Toronto: UTP, 2018), 313-338.
• “When Protecting Free Speech Means Taking Away a Woman’s Right to Choose: Andrew Scheer and the Anti-Abortion Movement in Canada,” Reproductive Activism and Abortion Research Network Blog, January 22, 2018.

Sarah York-Bertram is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Gender, Feminist, and Women’s Studies at York University. Her research focuses on the history of sex work and sex workers on the Canadian prairies in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and the erasure of these histories from public spaces and memories. Sarah is the very embodiment of the best of feminist scholarly activism: politically-engaged, thoughtful, compassionate, and courageous. Her thoughtful and articulate Twitter essays are the stuff of legend. Her commitment to social justice has made her an outspoken advocate, in both her personal and professional life, for the rights of women, LGTBQ+ folk, sexual-assault survivors, Indigenous peoples in Canada, and those struggling with mental illness. At present she is also on the picket lines for the CUPE 3903 Strike, and has been a forceful critic of the current York administration.

Select Publications:

• With Andrea Eidinger, “Imagining a Better Future: An Introduction to Teaching and Learning About Settler Colonialism in Canada,” Unwritten Histories, February 20, 2018.
• With Marie Lovrod, Lisa Krol, “Decentering Expected Voices and Visibilities through Connective Learning in a Feminist Transnational Bridging Pilot,” Engaged Scholar Journal: Community-Engaged Research, Teaching, and Learning 2, no. 2 (Fall 2016): 65-83.

A big thank you to all of the scholars listed for the fantastic work, and for agreeing to be included in this blog post! If you enjoyed this blog post, please consider sharing it on the social media platform of your choice. And don’t forget to check back in on Sunday for a brand new Canadian History Roundup. See you then!

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