Dr. Catherine Carstairs
"I am very honoured to receive this award and humbled to be among other outstanding scholars at the University of Guelph. It is also a particular thrill to be elected alongside Cynthia Comacchio from the Tri-U whose work I've always greatly admired!" says Catherine.
Two Tri-U scholars internationally renowned for their work were named as Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada on September 3, 2024. This recognition by the RSC is the highest honour in the Arts, Social Sciences, Humanities, and Sciences. The citations are included below.
Dr. Catherine Carstairs, University of Guelph
Catherine Carstairs is a nationally and globally renowned scholar and historian whose work focuses on health and inequity. Her award-winning work demonstrates how racism, colonialism, gender inequity, ageism and class have shaped our past and created health inequalities today. With a longstanding record of international and interdisciplinary collaborations, her research has had a major impact on the discipline of history and generated wide-spread media interest.
Dr. Cynthia Comacchio, Wilfrid Laurier University
Cynthia Comacchio’s award-winning studies on childhood and youth in Canada have made significant inroads into the historical cultures of the young. She is especially interested in how self formation is mediated by shifting class, gender, sexuality, and racial prescriptions, and influenced by new technologies and media. Her inaugural application of interdisciplinary and transnational frameworks, regarding age and generational relations, place her in the top rank of Canadian social historians whose work is internationally recognized.
Dr. Cynthia Comacchio
"I’m equally thrilled about being inducted with Catherine as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. We've worked on grad committees together and have many research interests in common," says Cynthia who is now retired. "I did my PhD at Guelph ... before she was born," she adds with a smile.