If you are interested in the history of Canadian sport, recreation, leisure, or tourism and want to pursue graduate studies, send me an email. Applications from prospective MA and PhD students are welcome. Proposed graduate research projects related to Canadian history and cultural studies can be considered for supervision.
Students who study with me come from varied degree backgrounds. From the arts and humanities to social sciences, education and law, my students bring unique and often interdisciplinary backgrounds to their graduate studies of leisure, environment, and Canada. They tend to have an interest in work related to the history of recreation, sport, parks, conservation, environmental advocacy, travel and tourism themes, adventure, travel literature, tourism, guiding, outdoor recreation, outdoor life and education, children in nature, play, playgrounds, urban reform, art and art education, camps and camping, ski history, women's and gender history, health, and heritage, along with related topics. You are encouraged to explore possibilities for graduate research and supervision by contacting me.
The main scope of my research work pertains to Canada, the West, and mountain regions in the period from the late 19th century through the 20th century. National parks and heritage in the Canadian Rockies are a key regional focus for research, along with related themes in Alberta, British Columbia, and the Yukon Territory. I'm also interested in sport and parks in urban history and on the prairies. National sport organizations, winter sports, winter cities, and club life are other areas of research. Feel free to contact me to discuss potential research and graduate work.
Graduate Assistantships are available for teaching and research at the University of Alberta. Prospective applicants are encouraged to apply early for graduate funding opportunities through the Social Sciences and Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and University of Alberta Awards. Consult the graduate secretary in advance for deadlines.
Graduate Student Scholarships and Awards
Graduate student success is a major focus of my teaching. Awards and scholarship success for MA and PhD students is fostered through individualized mentorship. Graduate student achievements have included:
2014-2015
University of Ottawa Research Visitorship, Institute of Canadian and Aboriginal Studies (ICAS)
Eleanor Luxton Historical Foundation Research Fellowship
2013
U of A Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research Teaching Award (campus wide)
2009
Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship
Eleanor Luxton Historical Foundation Research Fellowship
2008
Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship
2007
SSHRC Post-Doctoral Fellowship
U of A Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research Teaching Award (campus wide)
U of A Dissertation Fellowship
U of A Andrew Stewart Memorial Graduate Prize (academic merit, 25/year campus wide)
2006
Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship
U of A Walter Johns Award
Eleanor Luxton Research Fellowship
Provost Scholarship
2005
SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship
U of A Andrew Stewart Memorial Graduate Prize (academic merit, 25/year campus wide)
U of A Walter Johns Award
U of A Dissertation Scholarship
Provost Scholarship
Province of Alberta Graduate Fellowship
2004
Province of Alberta Fellowship
Primary Academic Graduate Supervision
Current
2016-
Michelle Murphy. MA Recreation and Leisure Studies.
2014-
Paulina Retamales. PhD student. A Childhood History of Play in Edmonton, Alberta: Local Children's Voices in Public History and Outdoor Environmental Education.
Completed
2014-2016
Xinjun Zhang. MA Recreation and Leisure Studies.
2012-2015
Chen Qi. MA Recreation and Leisure Studies. "Who Won the Battle of Village Lake Louise? Public Policy, Ski Industry, and Tourism in Banff National Park." MA Thesis. (On leave 2013-2014).
2011-2013
Paulina Retamales. "Gyro Club Playgrounds and Children's Recreation in Edmonton, Alberta: Outdoor Play, Civic Life, and Urban Reform, 1922-1949." MA Thesis.
2011-2012
Thomas Palm. MA Physical Education Studies, Norwegian Institute of Sport, Exchange Co-Supervisor.
2002-2007
Zac Robinson. “‘Selected Alpine Climbs’: The Struggle for Mountaineering in the Canadian Rockies, 1886-1961,” PhD dissertation.
2003-2005
Sheila Campbell. “Branding the Last Best West: Regionalism, Tourism, and the Construction of the Tourist Gaze in Alberta, 1905-1940,” MA Thesis, Recreation and Leisure Studies.
2003
Jacqueline Hutchinson. “The Life and Death of Alison Hargreaves, Mountaineering and ‘Bad Motherhood,’” Research Paper, MA Recreation and Leisure Studies.
Graduate Supervisory Committees and Examination Committees
2013
Katarina Welsch, "Catharine
R. Whyte et la preservation du patrimoine culturel des Rocheuses
canadiennes: Une visionaire en avance
sur son temps," MA thesis, Faculty St. Jean, University of Alberta, Examination Committee.
2012-present
Deb Schrader, "Seeing, knowing, doing: Remaking food systems through emerging world views," PhD Candidate, Faculty of Education, University of Alberta, Supervisory Committee.
2012
Nicole Eckert-Lyngstad, Cultural Anthropology Studies of Warden Cabins in Jasper National Park, MA thesis, Faculty of Arts, Department of Anthropology, University of Alberta. Defence Examiner.
2010-2012
Tai Munro, "Rethinking Climate Change Through Photography: Engaging with Outdoor Educators on the Personal, Professional and Political Issues," PhD diss., Faculty of Education, University of Alberta, Supervisory Committee and Examination Committee.
2009
Yanan Lin, “Parks and Visitor Expectations among Chinese Canadians,” MA thesis, Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation, University of Alberta. Supervisory Committee and Defence Examiner.
Suzanne de la Barre, “Place Identity, Guides, and Sustainable Tourism in Canada’s Yukon Territory,” PhD diss., Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation, University of Alberta. Defence Examiner.
2004-2008
Gregory Ramshaw, “The Construction of Sport Heritage Attractions,” PhD diss., Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation, University of Alberta. Supervisory Committee and Defence Examiner.
2002-2007
Connie Bresnahan, “John Muir in Canada,” PhD diss., Department of Renewable Resources, Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry, and Home Economics, University of Alberta. Supervisory Committee and Defence Examiner.
2004-2005
Katherine Milliken, “Picturing the Spiritual Sublime: An Exploration of the Vauxes’ Selkirk and Rocky Mountain Landscape Photographs,” MA Thesis, Faculty of Art and Design, University of Alberta. Defence Examiner.
2005
Gabrielle Zezulka-Mailloux, “The Nature of the Problem: Wilderness Paradoxes in Jasper National Park,” PhD diss., Department of English and Film Studies, University of Alberta. Candidacy Examiner and Defence Examiner.
2004
Jennifer Lynn Brower, “Buffalo National Park and the Second Demise of the Plains Bison in Canada: 1909-1940,” MA Thesis, Department of History and Classics. Defence Examiner.
David Verhulst, “Evolving Perspectives: Integrating Environmental History and Heritage Appreciation in Dinosaur Provincial Park,” MA Thesis, Recreation Management, Acadia University. External Defence Examiner.
2003-2006
Sean Ryan, Environmental History and Outdoor Education, Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation, University of Alberta. Supervisory Committee and Candidacy Examiner.
2003-2004
Phil Mullins, Environmental Education and Dwelling, PhD program, Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation, University of Alberta. PhD Supervisory Committee.
2002
Bruce Erickson, “Representations of Masculinity in Climbing,” MA Thesis, Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation, University of Alberta. Defence Examiner.
2001
Glynys Sian Smith, “Women Undergraduates at the University of Alberta, 1950-1975,” MA Thesis, Department of History and Classics, University of Alberta. Defence Examiner.
1999
Angela Specht, “The Practice of Heritage: A Case Study of Stony Plain,” PhD Candidacy, Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation, University of Alberta. Examiner.