Meet the recipients of the 2021 Congress Graduate Merit Awards - June 1

Blog
May 25, 2021

Nominated by member scholarly associations of the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, the 2021 Congress Graduate Merit Awards recognize exceptional graduate students who will be presenting their work at the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences. Throughout Congress, we are profiling 2021 award recipients. Read on to learn more about the outstanding research of our graduate community, and join the conversation on Twitter using #CGMAProfiles.


Michelle Scott

Director of Indigenous InitiativesSt. Mary’s University and Doctoral studentWerklund School of EducationUniversity of Calgary

Endorsed by the Canadian Society for the Study of Education (CSSE) 

Primary research area

I am interested in embodied stories of complex belongingness as flights from colonial violence in arts-based research.

Presentation at Congress 2021

Sacred Multiplicity: A Métissage of Complex Belonging

How would you describe the research you will be presenting at Congress 2021?

As female scholars of Mi’kmaw, Métis, Irish, English, German and French origins, we come together to weave our embodied stories and create an enspirited relational curriculum that explores belonging, selfhood and sacred multiplicity. Through the relational praxis of métissage (Hasebe-Ludt et al., 2009), and a creation-based métissage approach (St. Georges, 2020), we explore multiplicity, affinity and difference in our entwined stories with the intention of generating meaningful understandings of Self and Other.

"Who are we in this place now? What is our colonial healing? How do we learn to locate ourselves in our origin, ancestral and contemporary stories?"

How does the research you will be presenting connect with the Congress 2021 theme, “Northern Relations” and/or the conversations Congress 2021 is continuing under last year's Congress theme (cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic), “Bridging Divides: Confronting Colonialism and Anti-Black Racism”?

Our work connects with the theme of “Bridging divides: Confronting colonialism” as our multi-layered stories are responding to pivotal questions of our time: Who are we in this place now? What is our colonial healing? How do we learn to locate ourselves in our origin, ancestral and contemporary stories? These are tracing paths outside of colonial logics and dualism, seeking to unveil, explore, negotiate, and envision the potential and possibilities of our interconnections.  

What is your favourite part of the Congress experience?

My favourite part of the Congress experience is attending scholarly talks and getting to gather with like-minded individuals and have generative and nourishing conversations!

Share your hopes for Congress 2021.

I hope that Congress 2021 creates spaces for people to virtually gather; gather together, gather strength, and gather fortitude for the next year when we can hopefully all be gathered together again.


Enzo Guerra

MA candidate, McMaster University 

Nominated by the Canadian Philosophical Association (CPA) 

Primary research

Area applied ethics, specifically the ethics of human genome editing.

Presentation at Congress 2021

The Moral Failings of Vaccine Procurement

How would you describe the research you will be presenting at Congress 2021?

In November 2020, we received news that some vaccines candidates, such as Pfizer and Moderna, are highly effective at preventing Covid-19. While this is good news for some countries, the light at the end of the tunnel remains far off for others. The demand for a Covid-19 vaccine within the global free market has led to the large procurement of vaccines by countries who possess the economic resources to attain them, while low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are forced to wait. My research considers the way we procure vaccines on a global scale and argues that our approach possesses moral failings.  

Share your hopes for Congress 2021.

I hope Congress 2021 will be a time of learning and growth, despite the hardships brought by COVID-19.


Carolyn Mackie

Doctoral student, Toronto School of Theology, University of Toronto

Endorsed by the Canadian Theological Society (CTS) 

Carolyn Mackie (she/her) is a doctoral student at the Toronto School of Theology, University of Toronto. She focuses her research on the connections between theology and philosophical anthropology in the writings of Søren Kierkegaard. 

Presentation at Congress 2021

Guilt and Responsibility: The Church as Repentant Sinner(s)

How would you describe the research you will be presenting at Congress 2021?

My paper explores whether and in what way individuals bear responsibility for harm done by groups to which they belong, such as nations or religious groups. I use Hannah Arendt’s analysis of corporate guilt and responsibility in the wake of the Holocaust as a model for how Christian churches might properly understand their collective responsibility for past harm perpetrated. 

How does the research you will be presenting connect with the Congress 2021 theme, “Northern Relations” and/or the conversations Congress 2021 is continuing under last year's Congress theme (cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic), “Bridging Divides: Confronting Colonialism and Anti-Black Racism”?

My research explores what it means for Christian churches to take responsibility for historic harm they have perpetrated, particularly harm to Indigenous peoples in the residential school system.  

Share your hopes for Congress 2021.

I am hoping to connect with others in my field, as well as learn from those outside my field through the Big Thinking lecture series. 


Maimuna Khan 

MSW student, Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary

Endorsed by the Canadian Association for Social Work Education (CASWE)

I am a master’s student at the Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary, specializing in International and Community Development. My work focuses on both local and transnational contexts of community development, social policy, and knowledge production. My primary research area examines the operation of colonialism, racism, and ableism through dominant discourses and institutional practices of professions like social work as they shape the experiences of disabled and Mad Muslim women. 

Presentation at Congress 2021

Navigating Uncharted Terrains of Practice: The Experiences of Disabled and Mad Muslim Women Within Social Work

"I unpack how these discourses construct disabled and Mad Muslim women and shape their experiences of accessing and using services. I also critically problematize the role of social work in reproducing dominant neocolonial, racist, and ableist discourses through their practice."

How would you describe the research you will be presenting at Congress 2021?

My presentation is based on my thesis research, in which I use Critical Discourse Analysis to examine dominant discourses as they shape the experiences of disabled and Mad Muslim women within helping professions such as social work. Grounded in Transnational and Critical Race Feminisms and Critical Disability Studies, I unpack how these discourses construct disabled and Mad Muslim women and shape their experiences of accessing and using services. I also critically problematize the role of social work in reproducing dominant neocolonial, racist, and ableist discourses through their practice.

How does the research you will be presenting connect with the Congress 2021 theme, “Northern Relations” and/or the conversations Congress 2021 is continuing under last year's Congress theme (cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic), “Bridging Divides: Confronting Colonialism and Anti-Black Racism”?

My presentation speaks to last year’s Congress theme of “Bridging Divides: Confronting Colonialism and Anti-Black Racism” as well as this year’s Canadian Association for Social Work Education subthemes “Critical Dialogues and Interventions to Address Systemic Racism” and “Decolonizing Equity in Social Work Education: Efforts to Intervene Across and Work Through Difference.” I connect to these themes by centering my discussion around decolonizing and resisting the dominant constructions of disabled/Mad Muslim women’s bodies, while challenging social work as a profession of contributing to the preservation of colonialism through such constructions.

What is your favourite part of the Congress experience?

My favourite part of the Congress experience in previous years has been to connect with other researchers and scholars from different institutions and from across disciplines. I have especially enjoyed sharing with and learning from other students about our similar research interests and shared experiences within Academia. I always look forward to learning about the kinds of critical research, community organizing, and activism folks are involved in and how we can network and collaborate to support one another’s work.    

"I always look forward to learning about the kinds of critical research, community organizing, and activism folks are involved in and how we can network and collaborate to support one another’s work."

Share your hopes for Congress 2021.

I’m looking forward to Congress 2021 as I get to share the beginnings of my master’s thesis with a wide audience for the first time. I look forward to using this year’s Congress as an opportunity to introduce critical conversations into academic social work spaces that may resonate with others. As such, I hope to have meaningful and curious discussions with other researchers around my topic area in ways that may contribute to new connections and potential collaborations in the future.   

These profiles have been condensed for length and clarity.