Julia Smith and Sean Carleton, students in the Canadian Studies Ph.D. program based in the Frost Centre for Canadian Studies and Indigenous Studies at Trent are each recipients of a Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplement, an award granted by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). Results of the competition were released in December and the supplements will support Ms. Smith while she studies in New York City and Mr. Carleton while he studies in London, England.

The Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplement supports high-calibre Canadian students, who are already recipients of prestigious SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarships, in building global linkages and international networks through the pursuit of exceptional research experiences abroad. Applicants are evaluated based on the linkage between their current program of research goals, their proposed research study abroad activities, and their future research/career goals. Trent University recommended both Ms. Smith and Mr. Carleton for the award, and each student was also sponsored by a professor at their chosen international host university.

“Sean and Julia are most deserving of this support,” said Dr. Julia Harrison, director of the Frost Centre. “They are very promising young scholars whose work will make important contributions to the field of Canadian Studies. I know that they will be excellent ambassadors for the Canadian Studies Ph.D. and Trent more broadly while they are in London and New York respectively.”

Ms. Smith will spend a semester in fall 2012 as a visiting scholar at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York examining archival collections on American labour organizing. Mr. Carleton will conduct research through the Economic History Department at the London School of Economics and Political Science. His doctoral work examines how the establishment of state schools played a crucial, though highly contested, role in the creation and development of a capitalist, settler society in British Columbia between 1849 and 1925.

“I was elated and excited,” Ms. Smith said when asked how it felt to be a recipient. “Spending a semester living and working in New York City is an amazing opportunity and something I would not be able to do without this award.

“This opportunity will significantly enhance my doctoral research on Canadian labour organizing in the post-World War II period,” she added. “Given the transnational nature of North American labour movements, it is critical to examine the experience of Canadian workers alongside those of their American counterparts. This award enables me to conduct this important research.” Accessing records at the Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives at New York University will offer Ms. Smith a wealth of relevant material and make for an important contribution to her doctoral research.

Originally from North Delta, British Columbia, Ms. Smith came to Trent after completing her M.A. at Simon Fraser University. “I chose Trent for my Ph.D. because it is home to some of the top scholars working in my research area,” she said. “The faculty, staff and students of the Frost Centre have made me feel completely supported since the day I decided to study at Trent. What a great sense of community we have at Trent.” After completing her doctoral work at Trent, Ms. Smith hopes to continue her career in academia with a teaching or research position.

Mr. Carleton, originally from North Vancouver, also completed his Masters degree at Simon Fraser University. “I chose Trent to have the opportunity to work with a number of excellent scholars in my areas of interest,” he said. Trent’s commitment to Indigenous Studies also appealed to Mr. Carleton, who lists Trent’s excellent interdisciplinary scholars and supportive community among reasons to study at Trent.

Currently completing his second year of his PhD, Mr. Carleton also aspires to become a professor and is looking forward to conducting research at the National Archives in London. “This supplement means I can travel to London and access rare sources related to my project,” he said. “These sources will greatly contribute to my main doctoral research work by broadening my dissertation to account for international linkages between colonialism, capitalism and the rise of mass schooling during the mid-to-late 19^th and early 20^th century.”

The opportunity to study abroad offers more than access to rare resources – studying in another country at another school is in itself a learning opportunity. Mr. Carleton will live and work in London, studying at one of the most prestigious schools in the world. “Experiencing the academic environment at the London School of Economics is a tremendous opportunity,” he says, commenting on the added academic value of conducting research abroad.