PhD Graduate student profiles

Fred Burrill

I am a doctoral student whose research grows out of my engagement in the struggles against gentrification and for the right to housing in the working class neighbourhood of St-Henri, where I am looking at collective memory in the context of deindustrialization.

My dissertation, “Displacement Wars and the Battle for Collective Memory in Saint-Henri, 1970-2016,” seeks to complicate the bifurcation of industrial past and post-industrial present. In opposition to the vision of developers and politicians, the self-perception of many long-time neighbourhood residents continues to be grounded in forms of solidarity and community activism deeply rooted in radical traditions that are in many ways the heritage of industrial organization. By tracing through interviews the history of popular mobilizing for local rights (to housing, employment, health care, and against gentrification) in the years of economic dislocation following the closing of the Lachine Canal, I hope to problematize our understanding of Montréal as a post-industrial city. When we pay attention to the contingent nature of global economic shifts in a very local context, important questions arise. How and when in Montréal did decision-makers begin to understand industrialism, as an economic production scheme and a system of social organization, as belonging to the past? What was the reaction of poor and working people to this new understanding of their collective history? What role did the resistance of these communities have in creating the vision of urban space we experience today, and how did they ground this resistance in their own memories of the past?

Julie Guyot

Julie Guyot (M.A,. in History) has always been interested in the history of ideas, the story of dependent peoples and movements toward emancipation.  Within the framework of her master's degree studies at UQAM, she focused her research on 18th century Irish history and Lower Canada history of the first half of the 19th century.  Her thesis was a comparative study of the public discourse of Theobald Wolfe Tone (1790-1798) and Louis-Joseph Papineau (1827-1837).  Currently studying for a doctorate in the School of Canadian and Irish Studies (SCIS)-History Department at Concordia University, her proposal is to continue the rich comparison of Ireland and Quebec, albeit in a new direction, widening her analysis of the speeches and political campaigns of Louis-Joseph Papineau from 1837-1867 against colonial domination by juxtaposing his activities and heritage with the political career of his Irish contemporary, the renowned “Catholic Emancipator” Daniel O'Connell for the years 1823-1845.

The candidate will be concentrating on the situation of Ireland after its constitutional union into the United Kingdom (the Union Act of 1801) and the situation of Lower Canada (which had by now become Eastern Canada) after its union with the colony of Upper Canada (1840).  It must be understood that both territories remained under the rule of Great Britain.  In this context, the analysis aims to highlight the different forms of expression of colonial consciousness of the two parliamentarians under study.  Their demands, which can be qualified as democratic and autonomist, not to say liberal or republican, will be examined from a constitutional perspective as well as that of political philosophy.  The underlying problem is thus the evolution of the workings of imperialism with respect to these lands under British administration.

This transnational approach will allow her to demonstrate how important it is to gain an understanding of the relations, and types of relations, between England and her satellite nations.  This will enable her to outline British political thought, so essential for a threefold perspective on identity and culture; namely, the British (central imperialist), the Irish (close periphery), and the Canadian (outlying peripheral colony).  Her approach intends to contribute to the study of  the local constructions of identity in relation to empire.  Her research leads finally to question as to what degree the work of Daniel O'Connell, which some see as representing constitutional nationalism, led to the emergence of the Catholic Nation and ultimatly to the affirmation of Irish nationalism.  In turn, is not Papineau's discourse a sort of civic nationalism that springs from an awareness of his Americanness («Américanité»)?   It is likewise crucial to clarify Papineau's intellectual and political heritage.  To what extent did Papineau contribute to anchoring and developing a national and republican tradition in Quebec ?

Julie Guyot is also a Professor at Cégep Édouard-Montpetit.

Gabryelle Iaconetti

Supervisor – Dr. Rachel Berger

Thesis Title -  "Locating Local Expressions of Bisexual Activism in Ontario, 1990s-2000s"

Research Interests - Bisexual history, LGBTQ+ activism, affect theory, support groups, oral history, archives

Gabryelle is a PhD student in the Department of History and affiliated with the Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling. Her research focuses on bisexual activism, community building and affective histories in late twentieth century Ontario. She holds an MA in History from Concordia University and MISt (Master of Information Studies) from McGill University with a specialization in archival sciences.

Lauren Laframboise

Supervisor – Dr. Steven High

Thesis Title -  “Gender, migration, and deindustrialization in Montréal and New York’s garment industries.”

Research Interests - Labour History, Women's and Gender History, Race & Migration, History of Capitalism, Deindustrialization

Lauren Laframboise is a PhD student at the Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling in the Department of History at Concordia University. Her research explores the impacts of deindustrialization in the apparel industry in Montréal and New York City. In 2021, Lauren completed her MA in History at Concordia, and from 2020-2022 she was the Associate Director of Deindustrialization and the Politics of Our Time (DéPOT). She has worked on a variety of public history projects in Montréal, including museum exhibitions, online oral history platforms, documentary film and radio, and walking tours.

Eliot Perrin

Supervisor — Dr. Steven High 

Thesis Title — "Flour Mill se fane?" Deindustrialization and Urban Renewal in Sudbury's Francophone Quarter." 

Research Interests — Deindustrialization, labour history, urban planning, commemoration, built heritage, cultural history. 

Born and raised in the Toronto area, I've been living in Montreal since 2003 but remain a devoted Leafs fan. Received my BA from McGill and my MA from Concordia. Have also worked as an archivist for many years, and continue as such at COHDS.

Eimear Rosato 

Supervisor - Dr. Gavin Foster 

Thesis Title - "Across the Peace Line: Difficult Spaces, Contested Histories and Intergenerational Memory of the Troubles in 'Post-Conflict' Northern Ireland." 

Research Interests - Irish History, Oral History, Public History, Memory, Intergenerational Memory, Heritage, Post-Conflict histories, The Troubles, Revolution. 
 

Eimear Rosato is a PhD Student within the Department of History and affiliated with the School of Irish Studies. Her work focuses on the intergenerational memory of the Troubles in North Belfast, using an Oral History methodology to trace the memory through the landscape of post-conflict (or transitioning) communities. She has an article recently published in 'Glencree Journal; Dealing with the Legacy of Conflict in NI', and a book review in the Canadian Journal of Irish Studies.

Hugo Rueda

Hugo Rueda (Santiago, Chile, 1985) is a PhD student in the History Department at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. He holds a bachelor’s degree in History (Universidad de Chile, 2008), a master’s degree in Art History (Universidad de Barcelona, 2013), and a second master’s degree in Latin American Studies (Universidad de Chile, 2014). Both his professional background and current academic interests have an inter- and multi-disciplinary approach within the humanities, with a special focus in cultural history, as well as visual, material, and heritage studies in Latin America.

Under the supervision of Dr. Nora Jaffary and Dr. Erica Lehrer, Hugo’s research investigates the origins and development of history museums in Latin America, specifically those in Chile.  His research analyzes the discourses, collections, and display methods in history museums from the 19^th century onwards, establishing connections between the narratives provided by the museum, and currents in political, social and historiographical thought. 


Aside from being a graduate student, Hugo is also a biker, amateur painter, enthusiastic reader, and a dog lover.