The Tri-University Graduate History Program is a partnership among three programs at three universities in south-western Ontario: the University of Guelph, the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University.
This page lists MA students who began studies in Fall 2020.
Ally Amodeo
Pronouns: she/her
Home University: Waterloo
Email: a2amodeo@uwaterloo.ca
Education: BA (Hons) History, Subsidary in English, St. Francis Xavier
LinkedIn: /allysonamodeo/
Supervisor: Dan Gorman
Ally's research interests revolve around the British Empire, especially researching the socio-cultural realities of the colonial interface, from the perspectives of intersecting subaltern communities and by using a subaltern lens to analyze the past. Her SSHRC-funded MA investigates child fostering and adoption in the British territories between 1800-1850. She intends to complete a thesis.
Malcolm Anderson
Home University: Waterloo
Email: m35ander@uwaterloo.ca
Education: BA (Hons) History, Waterloo
Supervisor: Troy Osborne
Malcolm's research interests focus around the social history of early modern Europe and specifically Britain, although they sometimes shift outside of the period or to economic and political history as well. Some previous research topics include the effects of the alcohol trade on British drinking establishments, the historiography of the Thirty Years War, the presentation of African culture in 19th century British freak shows, and the social control policies of the Cromwellian Protectorate. He completed an Honours BA in History at Waterloo in 2020, along with a minor in Anthropology. In his free time, Malcolm plays video games, takes care of his dogs, runs a Dungeons and Dragons game for his friends, and tries to nail down an actual, defined research focus. He intends to complete a Major Research Project (MRP).Jihad Baayoun
Pronouns: he/him
Home University: Laurier
Email: baay0610@mylaurier.ca
Education: BA (Hons) History, Laurier
Social Media: Search for Jihad Baayoun
Supervisor: Blaine Chiasson
Jihad's interests lie in the Middle Ages and in Asian history. He was awarded the SSHRC scholarship for research into the Satsuma Rebellion but decided to change topics to the Mongolian invasion of Japan under Khublai Khan. He is extremely passionate about history. He says, "I am fortunate to work as an RA under Dr. Chiasson and as a TA for Dr. Chris Nighman and Alicia McKenzie." For hobbies, he recently gained an obsession with Charmed Aroma candles and puzzles and had a 3,000 piece puzzle framed. He intends to complete a Major Research Project (MRP).
Noah Churchill-Baird
Pronouns: he/him
Home University: Laurier
Email: chur2660@mylaurier.ca
Education: BA (Hons) History & Political Science, Laurier
Supervisor: Adam Crerar
Noah's proposed research will focus on the analysis of Canadian culture, sport and popular culture through the lens of the 1972 Summit Series. The research aims to answer questions about important cultural themes to Canada in the 1970s and the Cold War. Those themes include the English-French tensions, Canadian impressions of nationalism and identity, Canada-US relations and how Canadians saw themselves on the international stage. Other research interests include non-indigenous perceptions of Indigenous acts of resistance in the Canadian context. Noah intends to complete a Major Research Project (MRP).
Erin Fortier
Home University: Waterloo
Email: edfortie@uwaterloo.ca
Twitter: @erinkurian
Education: BA (Hons) History, Waterloo
Supervisors: Steven Bednarski
Erin Fortier graduated from the University of Waterloo in 2018. Her research interests include medieval environmental history, church history, pilgrimages, and how nature has been conceptualized over time. For her Major Research Project (MRP) she hopes to explore how climate impacted Medieval travel, with a focus on pilgrimages. Erin is balancing a Masters with learning Latin, writing novels, and spending time with her dog.
Jacqueline Gergal
Pronouns: she/her
Home University: Waterloo
Email: jgergal@uwaterloo.ca
Education: BA (Hons) English-Rhetoric, Media, Professional Communication & History Co-op, Waterloo
LinkedIn: jacqueline-gergal-175918186
Supervisor: Steven Bednarski
Jacqueline Gergal graduated in the spring of 2020. Continuing with her MA at the University of Waterloo, Jacqueline focuses on Medieval and Early Modern Climate and Environment. Within this area, Jacqueline examines the relationship between consumerism, environment, and culture to understand how people have been altering natural environments to suit a variety of their needs and desires. Understanding the relationship between the birth of consumerism in the late Medieval period and environmental degradation allows for historians to understand trends and relations to climate change and anthropocentrism in the modern day. She intends to complete an Major Research Project (MRP)
Mihai Giboi
Home University: Laurier
Email: gibo2490@mylaurier.ca
Education: BA (Hons) History, Mount Allison
Supervisor: Tarah Brookfield
Mihai Giboi is an MA student from Wilfrid Laurier University. Originally from Romania before immigrating to New Brunswick in 2009, he obtained his BA from Mount Allison University, where he majored in History and double minored in Political Science and Philosophy before his admittance into the Tri-U History Graduate Program.
In a broad sense, Mihai's research interests include Cold War history, political history, along with the history of conflict and genocide. The topic of his MRP will analyze the issue of Canadian Arctic sovereignty during the Cold War by examining the Canadian Rangers' role in maintaining national control amid concerns regarding American presence in the region. He firmly believes that because of climate change, the relevance of the Arctic in international politics is growing as the availability of natural resources and new shipping routes increase. Currently, as several nations stake their claims over the region, Mihai hopes that his MRP will assist in shedding light over the Canadian Rangers’ maintenance of national sovereignty in the Arctic.
Joe Giuffre
Home University: Waterloo
Education: BA (Hons) History & Business, specialization in Global Interactions, Waterloo
Joe's research interests are in Canadian History, Military history, the appeal and accuracy of historical video games. His Master's Research Project centers around the Canadian soldiers during the Second World War who participated in airborne operations. He looks most at the First Canadian Parachute Battalion, and analyzes the way that they were presented to Canadians, during and after the war, as the elite. To do this, he looks into the contextualized use of Paratroopers by other militaries during the Second World War, as well as to representations of the Canadian Army as a whole to the contemporary public.Upon completing his MA program, he says, "I intend to pursue law and continue to study how different cultures and nations interact over time, and if all goes to plan, eventually put it to good use in the world."
Amanda Hooper
Home University: Waterloo
Email: a2hooper@uwaterloo.ca
Education: BA (Hons) History, Ryerson
Supervisor: Gary Bruce
Amanda graduated from Ryerson University in June 2020 with a Bachelor of Arts Honours Degree in History. While at Ryerson, Amanda was awarded a Santander Universitäten Scholarship to study Nazi Germany at the Free University of Berlin in their six-week intensive summer program. Amanda’s current research focuses on Holocaust memory in Berlin, including various memoirs, memorials and sites, as well as Holocaust education efforts in Berlin since the city’s reunification in 1990. She will complete a major research paper at the University of Waterloo.
James Howey
Home University: Waterloo
Education: BA (Hons) Political Science & History, specialization in International Relations, Waterloo
Supervisor: Alex Statiev
James' thesis is on the use of Enhanced Interrogation, and Torture, in Counter Insurgency Operations. After graduationa, he will most likely go Ottawa for an Intelligence job, or seek work in the Department of National Defence. He is also considering a doctorate on the Cold War's military technology and doctrine development. Outside of academia, he keeps himself fit, and has a hobby of marksmanship. He says, "My supervisor, Dr. Alexander Statiev, specializes in the social aspect of warfare and Counter Insurgency, so I'm very lucky to be working with someone from the field."
Jonathon Jackson
Home University: Waterloo
Education: BA (Hons) History, minor in English Language and Literature, Waterloo
Jonathon's research interests include public history, sport history, and pop culture history. His research is on heritage and commemoration in the world of professional hockey, centred on the career and lasting influence of former Toronto Maple Leafs coach, Hap Day. He intends to continue with graduate history studies at Western University. Working in public history/heritage is his long-term career goal.
Taylor Jeoffroy
Pronouns: she/her
Home University: Waterloo
Email: tmdjeoff@uwaterloo.ca
Education: BA (Hons) History & English, Waterloo.
Supervisor: Gary Bruce
Taylor's research interests include book and literary history and looking at history through the lens of literature. Specifically she is interested in Scottish/British History and how Scottish/British history can be understood through its literature. She intends to complete an Major Research Project (MRP).
Holly Johnson
Home University: Waterloo
Email: hajohnson@uwaterloo.ca
Education: BA History, MacEwan University
Supervisor: Greta Kroeker
Holly is a recent graduate from MacEwan University receiving her Bachelor of Arts in History. She was one of the featured students for the graduating class of 2020. She says, "I am excited to begin my MA in History at the University of Waterloo through the Tri-University program." Her area of study primarily focuses on European sexual history and changing ideologies regarding sex, sex crimes, and marriage in the early modern period. She intends to complete a thesis.
Oliver Johnson
Pronouns: he/him
Home University: Laurier
Email: john5930@mylaurier.ca
Education: BA (Hons) History, Laurier
Supervisor: Blaine Chiasson
Oliver's research interests include Anglo-Chinese relations in the nineteenth century, Hong Kong print and media culture during the British occupation, and the emergence of a distinct Hong Kong Chinese identity adjacent to the mainland Chinese identity. His work will mainly focus on Chinese language newspapers printed in Hong Kong, using them to identify the trends of intellectual heritage present in the movements for Chinese independence in 1911 and 1949. In earnest, this works aims at revealing the complex layers of multi-cultural interaction in a highly diverse global trade hub as well as its impact on the surrounding states. Outside Chinese history, Oliver's research interests include legal and economic history across the British empire and Europe in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries as well as fine arts and European languages.Oliver intends to complete an Major Research Project (MRP).
Elaine Jones
Home University: Waterloo
Education: BA (Hons) History, minor in Curatorial Studies, Ryerson
Elaine's research interests include, public history and contemporary US domestic social history, including fashion history, business history and popular culture. Her thesis project is a study on fashion history, particularly the evolution of street wear and consumer culture, and will incorporate digital public history with an online exhibit. After completing her MA, Elaine hopes to work as a curator and write popular history books.
Rachel Manes
Pronouns: she/her
Home University: Waterloo
Email: r2manes@uwaterloo.ca
Education: BA (Hons) History, Minor in German Studies, McMaster
Twitter: @rachelmanes_
Supervisor: Marlene Epp
Rachel Manes' research focuses on the experience of German immigrants in North America after World War II. She previously completed her BA in History with a Minor in German Studies at McMaster University. Other research areas of hers include: German 1920s Expressionist Film Movement, Holocaust legacy, and the immediate post-war years in Europe. In her spare time, Rachel is often found reading, writing, or cheering on her favourite soccer team, FC Bayern Munich.
Britta McBride
Home University: Guelph
Email: bmcbri05@uoguelph.ca
Education: BA History, Athabasca
Supervisor: Catharine Wilson
Britta's research focuses on the 1937 inmate riot at Guelph Reformatory and the impacts of that event upon Ontario prison reforms. Her great-uncle was an inmate-participant in the riot, and some of his writings from the reformatory have led her to look at prison-farm riots as forms of labour unrest, rather than as destructive criminal acts. Her decade-long career as a floral designer specializing in funeral work has led to a broader interest in the history of cemeteries and funerary practices in Canada. She balances her academic career with creative hobbies, such as cross-stitching, crocheting, and DIY projects. Britta intends to complete a Major Research Project (MRP).
Desmond Oklikah
Home University: Guelph
Email: doklikah@uoguelph.ca
Education: BA History, University of Cape Coast, Ghana
Twitter: @OforiOklikah
Supervisor: Femi Kolapo
Desmond Oklikah is an MA History graduate student at the University of Guelph. His research interest includes the Ghanaian diaspora in North America, the political economy of digital agriculture in Africa/Ghana, and food securities. His MA thesis focuses on cultural identity and expression among Ghanaian immigrants in Toronto, 1980s-2000.
Stephanie Plante
Pronouns: she/her
Home University: Laurier
Email: plan4150@mylaurier.ca
Education: BA (Hons) History, Research Specialization, Laurier
Supervisors: Eva Plach
Steph's research interests include Holocaust and memory studies, Eastern Europe, UNRRA, and Jewish-Polish relations. Her MRP will examine the wartime experiences of Polish-Jews in France over the course of WWII to break away from traditional historiography of Vichy concerned with the machinery and politics of the regime.
Nicolette Silva
Pronouns: she/her
Home University: Waterloo
Email: nkmaesil@uwaterloo.ca
Education: BA (Hons) History & Legal Studies
Supervisor: Andrew Hunt
Nicolette Silva's research focuses on how film and pop culture cross over into the discipline of historical study. She examines how films reflect and shape the cultures, time periods, and societies that produce them. She is a fan of the video essay format, and finding new and innovative ways to communicate history to the public. Nicolette believes film can be an intriguing and engaging way to spark interest in history as an academic discipline. She intends to complete a Major Research Project (MRP).
Hilary Sotomayor
Home University: Guelph
Email: hsotomay@uoguelph.ca
Education: BA (Hons) History, Guelph
Supervisor: Norman Smith
Hilary is writing a thesis on adaptations of The Ballad of Mulan, comparing depictions of Mulan as woman and citizen to their political and cultural contexts. She previously completed BA in Honours History at the University of Guelph, though she was originally an Anthropology major. Her research interests include the history of mental health in the Victorian era, popular culture, revolutions and insurgencies, gender and sexuality, and Asian history, with particular emphasis on Chinese and Filipino history. Other academic interests include Art History and Philosophy. Outside of the University, she loves gardening, YA fantasy novels, building Gunpla and her Nintendo Switch.
Jared Warren
Pronouns: he/him
Home University: Laurier
Email: warr4250@mylaurier.ca
Education: BA (Hons) English & History, Laurier; BEd, Western
Supervisor: Adam Crerar
Jared Warren is returning to Laurier for his MA in History. His research interests include Canadian history, World War I, and the history of the British Empire. He completed his BA in History and English at Laurier in 2017, followed by two years at Western University for teachers' college, where he obtained his BEd in 2019. He is employed as an occasional (supply) high school teacher with the Waterloo Region District School Board. He intends to complete a Major Research Project (MRP).