Two history professors honoured at the 2016 Congress of the Social Sciences and Humanities
Two distinguished faculty members from UPEI’s Department of History were honoured with national awards at the recent Congress of the Social Sciences and Humanities conference in Calgary. Dr. Lisa Chilton, an associate professor at UPEI, and a leading authority on migration within the British Empire, with a particular focus on women emigrants, received the Canadian Committee on Migration, Ethnicity, and Transnationalism Article Prize from the Canadian Historical Association (CHA). Dr. Edward MacDonald, noted Island historian, associate professor, and chair of history at UPEI, was honoured with the 2016 G. E. Clerk Award from the Canadian Catholic Historical Association (CCHA).
Dr. Chilton’s award recognized her article, “Sex Scandals and Papist Plots: The Mid-Nineteenth-Century World of an Irish Nurse in Quebec,” published in the Journal of Women’s History 27(3), September 2015. The award citation from the Canadian Historical Association reads:
“Taking the perspective that gossip and public scandal open a window into ‘social politics’ of mid-nineteenth century Quebec, Chilton deftly traces the religious, class, national, and gendered tensions of empire through the life and career of nurse Jane Hamilton, an Irish immigrant to Canada in 1849 whose brief career at the Quebec Marine and Emigrant Hospital was marred by ‘petty rivalries’. Chilton reveals the multiple influences of transnational forces within a specific workplace, providing a nuanced account of the connection between international contexts and individual lives. The grounding of this analysis in rich archival sources gives the article vivid and compelling detail that make it ideal for teaching the history of migration, ethnicity, and transnationalism.”
Dr. Chilton’s is the author of “Agents of Empire: British Female Migration to Canada and Australia, 1860s—1930,” published by University of Toronto Press in 2007.
The G. E. Clerk Award from the Canadian Catholic Historical Association is given biennially to recognize “the broad commitment and contributions of the nominee to the field of Canadian Catholic history (scholarly/educational/archival) and to the administration and mission of the CCHA/SCHEC.” UPEI’s Dr. Ed MacDonald certainly fits that bill. He has published and presented on the history of Catholicism and Catholic education on Prince Edward Island, and was cited for his scholarship, but particularly for his service to the CCHA executive. Since 2006, he successively has filled the positions of secretary, vice-president, president, and president-general on the CCHA board. In 2015 he began a term as associate editor of the CCHA’s academic journal, Historical Studies.
“The Faculty of Arts proudly congratulates Dr. Lisa Chilton and Dr. Ed MacDonald on their recent awards at the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences in Calgary,” said Nebojsa Kujundzic, Dean of the Faculty of Arts at UPEI. “These awards are a testimony to the highest level of scholarly achievement at the University of Prince Edward Island.”
The University of Prince Edward Island prides itself on people, excellence, and impact and is committed to assisting students reach their full potential in both the classroom and community. With roots stemming from two founding institutions—Prince of Wales College and Saint Dunstan’s University—UPEI has a reputation for academic excellence, research innovation, and creating positive impacts locally, nationally, and internationally. UPEI is the only degree granting institution in the province and is proud to be a key contributor to the growth and prosperity of Prince Edward Island.
