Research Grants

Recipients of the Maxwell Studentship in Human Geography

2008

Thomas Cummins-Russell, Concordia University
The networks of Montréal’s independent musicians
An important component of Montréal’s cultural economy is its independent music scene, which has gained global recognition due to the success of bands such as The Arcade Fire, Islands, and Wolf Parade. These bands and many others in Montréal are called “independent” because they operate outside of the production and distribution channels of the five major record labels, which dominate the North American and global music markets. The concentration of independents in Montréal has become well known, and the city has been mentioned as a centre for independent music in Spin Magazine (2004) and the New York Times (2005.)

This study will look at the place-based attributes of Montréal that contribute to the success of independent musicians and will also examine how independent musicians in Montréal are able to thrive despite lacking the significant advantages that being signed to a major label can bring.

The preliminary findings of this study will be presented at the Canadian Association of Geographers annual meeting in May 2008 in Quebec City. The final results will be presented at the Association of American Geographers conference in Las Vegas in March 2009.

2007

Alana Ramsay, Queen’s University
Prisoner Lumberjacks: German WWII POWs in Canada’s Forests
During the Second World War German prisoners of war were thrust into the role of impromptu Canadian loggers in Northwestern Ontario and elsewhere. This research will explore how the German POWs transformed the Canadian landscape during and after WWII by investigating the role of ideology, economic interest and the personal circumstances of the prisoners in Northwestern Ontario’s forestry industry.

2006

Cory Dobson, University of British Columbia
Curbing Gentrification: Preserving Canada’s affordable housing stock.

2005

Martha Stiegman, Concordia University
How the movement to strengthen Community-based Fisheries Management is building alliances between native and non-native coastal communities in Southwest Nova Scotia.

2004

Suzanne Belliveau, University of Guelph
Vulnerability of Rural Agricultural Communities in Canada to Climate Change: A Regional Comparison.

2003

Véronique Bussières, Concordia University
Community-based Protected Area for the Watershed and Coastal Area of the Old Factory River, East Coast James Bay: Context, Considerations and Challenges.
This research looks at acquiring a better understanding of the policy context and human dimension of coastal resource management, especially as it relates to indigenous peoples. In particular, the scope and efficacy of marine protected areas as a management tool in an indigenous setting.

2002

Shirley Chiu, York University
Ethnic Identity Formation: A Case Study of Caribbean and Indian Hakkas in Toronto
Shirley Chiu interviews Carribbean and Indian Hakkas to determine the role of place in forming their identity.

2000

Geoffrey Elliott Lee Rempel, University of British Columbia
Citizenship and Identity Among Mexican Immigrants in Vancouver
This project focuses on the citizenship (broadly defined) of Mexican migrants living in Vancouver. Because this ethnic group has been largely ignored by academic researchers, little is known about them. Therefore, the project first attempts to answer basic questions about this group: how many there are, why they left Mexico, why they are living in Vancouver, their class positions in Mexico and here, their current job status, degrees of integration into Canadian society, what organizations they participate in and what services they use, their legal status, their continuing ties to Mexico.

1999

Kerry Lake, Trent University
Identity and Icons: The Evolving Canadian Landscapes of the Lighthouse and the Grain Elevator
Kerry Lake takes a unique look at Canadian icons such as the lighthouse and prairie grain elevator.

1998

Priya Kissoon, York University
The Migration and Housing Record of Homeless People in Toronto
The objective of this research is to discover, through pre-formatted “housing resumes”, and examination of hostel and shelter intake forms, the housing experiences of the homeless, including their route of migration for their city, province, state or country of origin, to the hostel circuit in downtown Toronto. Integral to this research is the examination of the conditions in which people lived prior to an episode of homelessness and the coping mechanism they employed to prolong their periods with housing and minimize their periods without housing.

1997

Shari Fox, University of Waterloo
Indigenous Ecological Knowledge of the Inuit: Application for Studying Climate and Climate Change
The goals of this project are to document Inuit perceptions and understanding of climate and climate variability; to document how Inuit hunting patterns, methods, technologies, and locations have adapted to climate variability in the past; and to identify the potential Inuit response to effects of future (predicted) long-term climate change.

1996

Mike Buzzelli, McMaster University
The Italian-Canadian Landscape in Toronto from 1945 to the Present
The research project is concerned with the changing landscape of Italian-Canadian settlement in Toronto from 1945 to the present. Following British and Chinese-Canadians, Italian-Canadians are the third largest ethnic group in Toronto and have had a considerable impact on the residential and retail landscape. In the post-War period, they replaced British-Canadians as the largest ethnic group in the St. Clair Avenue and Dufferin Street area. This neighbourhood became (and remains) the symbolic centre of Toronto’s Italian-Canadian community.

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“I grew up hearing all about the Sydney steel mill, the tar ponds and the controversy over the cleanup. The more I read and learned, the more my curiosity was piqued. It seemed a natural area for me to take my studies.”

— Hannah MacDonald,
Mount Allison University

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