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Two undergraduate students in the Department of History presented their research at the 19th annual Inquiry@Queen’s Undergraduate Research Conference, held on 6-7 March 2025. Joshua Kautto, a History major in third year, presented a paper entitled “Enlightened Savages: An Analysis of the Influence of Wendat Politics and Social Structure on European Enlightenment Thinkers.” Undertaken as a research paper in Dr. Scott Berthelette’s “Indigenous Peoples and New France” course and with Dr. Andrew Jainchill as I@Q faculty supporter, Joshua explains about his work, “What I seek to convey is not only some aspect of the untold history of the Wendat, repressed by colonial epistemological violence, but also the introduction of a new, globalist perspective to the Enlightenment paradigm that allows for broader understandings of the period at large.” This was Joshua’s second time presenting at I@Q. “I have such a personal passion for history,” Joshua enthuses, “so to be given the chance to discuss it even further and elevate the status of some of my work is a no brainer for me.”

Chelsea Lam, a fourth-year History/Con-Ed student, was inspired by her work as a Kingston Penitentiary tour guide to undertake research on the history of women’s education programs at the Prison for Women from 1965 to its closing in 2000. Chelsea’s project, “Re-evaluating the Path to Rehabilitation Through Inclusion: Education at the Prison for Women, 1965-2000,” part of a HIST 514 independent research course with Dr. Steven Maynard, took the form of an annotated research guide. Noting that most research on prison education focuses on men’s penal institutions, Chelsea hopes that her guide, “by juxtaposing the official narratives of the Correctional Service of Canada with the lived experiences of inmates, educators, and observations of visitors, provides a more nuanced understanding of education at the P4W.” Reflecting on her participation in I@Q, Chelsea says, “It was an incredibly rewarding experience that enabled me to wrap up my project and gain presentation experience that will be valuable for graduate school and beyond.”

Students wanting to know more about independent research course options in the Department of History can find out about them here.