MA Colloquium
Each year in early to mid-April, the graduate program hosts an MA Colloquium—a symposium where Master’s students present and discuss their cognate essays or thesis projects in progress. This event is an opportunity to share the research they have been developing over the past months and to engage in thoughtful conversation with faculty and fellow graduate students.
Presentations are understood to be works in progress. Their research is not complete, and they are encouraged to share questions or request feedback. Faculty and peers attend in a supportive capacity, offering insight, discussion, and constructive suggestions.
The colloquium is primarily intended for members of the department and graduate students. While it is not formally promoted as a public event, students may request permission for a family member to attend on an individual basis.
The following is the schedule and topics related to the 2026 colloquium.
Session 1 – 9:30-10:45am
Prof. Francine McKenzie, Moderator
Hannah Brett - Producing Legal Subjects and Defining Womanhood: Gender and Authority under the Dominions Land Act, Manitoba, 1872-1930
Nina Harle - The Treadgold Concession
Klaus Rerup - Contested Futures: Tradition and Modernity in late Qing and Early Republican China, 1840-1917
Session 2 – 11:00-11:45am
Prof. Robert MacDougall, Moderator
Theo Avgeropoulos - Keeping "Toronto the Good": The Toronto City Police Department's Suppression of Communists under Chief Constable Dennis Draper, 1928-1933
Bailey Ashton - The Filthy Mouth of a Dirty Conscience: The Portrayal of Imperialism, Race, and White Supremacy in American Soap Advertisements, 1850-1950.
Lunch – 11:45-12:30pm
Session 3 – 12:30-1:15pm
Prof. Alan MacEachern, Moderator
Brock Lanctot - Canadian Headstone Inscriptions of the World Wars
David Seston - American Scripts, Canadian Images: Anglo-American Comics and Visual Nation Identity during the WECA Era
Session 4 – 1:15-2:00pm
Prof. Monda Halpern, Moderator
Emily Liashko - Decolonizing the North American Gaze: Canadian-Ukrainian Social History as a Challenge to Russian Imperialist Hegemony (1930s–Present)
Ridwan Bashir - The Anti-FGM Movement in Canada 1990-1997
