Rebecca Friend

Rebecca Friend (she/her) recently completed a PhD in Public History at Carleton University (Ottawa, Canada), where she also holds an MA in Public History and a Graduate Diploma in Curatorial Studies. Her research focuses on representations of children and childhood across Canadian commemoration sites like monuments and museums, shedding light on the engagement of young people as collaborators at these sites. Rebecca is a trained museum professional who has worked as a researcher and consultant for national museums across Ottawa. She is currently the Director of Operations and Programs at the Landon Pearson Resource Centre for the Study of Childhood and Children’s Rights, and also serves as an Instructor within Carleton’s Childhood and Youth Studies program.

Research Contributions

Refereed Publications

Friend, Rebecca, and Monica Eileen Patterson. “Echoes of Experience: Encountering Children and Childhood in the Canadian History Hall.” Jeunesse, Young People, Texts, Cultures 13, no. 2 (2021): 10–37.

Patterson, Monica and Rebecca Friend. “Beyond Window Rainbows: Collecting Children’s Culture in the COVID Crisis.” Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archive Professionals 17, no. 2 (2021): 167-178.

Forthcoming Publications

Friend, Rebecca. “Casting Childhood at Ottawa’s South African War Memorial.” Monumental Memories: A Critical Reading of Memorials, Monuments, and Statues in Canada’s Capital Region, edited by David Dean and Tonya Davidson. McGill-Queen’s University Press, 387-391. (In-press, expected publication Spring 2027).

Friend, Rebecca. “Depicting Disasters at the Canadian Museum of Nature.” Journal of Disaster Studies: 1-16. (Article accepted, August 2026.)

Friend, Rebecca. “Children’s Museology in Retrospection: Examining the Canadian Museum of Civilization’s Family Treasures Project.” Children’s Museology, edited by Monica Eileen Patterson. Routledge. 1-27. (Chapter accepted, July 2025). 

Non-Refereed Publications

Friend, Rebecca. “Considering Children in Museums.” Muse: The Magazine of the Canadian Museums Association. Winter 2024.

Friend, Rebecca. “Identity Formation and National Celebration: Canada 150 Edition.” Quebec Heritage News 11, no. 4 (2017): 10-11.

Conference Presentations

Friend, Rebecca. “The Adult/Child Divide: Engaging Young People’s Perspectives from the Past.” Canadian Historical Association Annual Meeting. Charlottetown, University of Prince Edward Island. 2 June 2026. 

Friend, Rebecca. “Collaborative Curating with Young People: Insights from the Canadian Context.” COREM Workshop: Intergenerational Pedagogies of Remembrance: Arts, Curatorship, and Youth Participation. Wrocław, Poland. 8 October 2025.

Friend, Rebecca. “Poster: Young People in Canadian Museums: Towards Intergenerational Solidarity.” National Council for Public History. Montréal. 27 March 2025.

Friend, Rebecca. “Poster: Capturing Childhood in Canadian Museums: Findings from a Nation-Wide Survey.” International Federation for Public History. Belval, Luxembourg. 5 September 2024. 

Friend, Rebecca. “Children’s Constructions of Familial Pasts: The Canadian Museum of Civilization’s Family Treasures Project.” Society for the History of Childhood and Youth Conference. Guelph, University of Guelph. 9 June 2023.

Friend, Rebecca. “Children’s Museology and Collecting Practices During Times of Crisis.” Thinking Through the Museum Annual Meeting. Warsaw, Poland. 3 June 2022. 

Friend, Rebecca. “Hollow Castings: Commemorations and Canadian Childhood.” Remembering Childhood Workshop. Nottingham, Nottingham Trent University. 10 March 2020.

Friend, Rebecca. “Poster: Artifacts and Authenticity: Thinking Through Museum Exhibitions for Children.” Symposium on Family Learning, Inclusion and the Value of Play in Museums. Gatineau, Canadian Museum of History. 4-5 December 2019. 

Friend, Rebecca. “Echoes of Experience: Tracing Children’s Voices in the Canadian History Hall.” The Intersection of Youth and Museums. Lethbridge, University of Lethbridge. 8 Apr. 2019.

Creative Outputs

Co-curator. Morsels of Memory: A Taste of Ottawa’s Food History. Mar. 30 – Apr. 11, 2019. Gallery 112, City of Ottawa Archives. Ottawa, Canada.

AWARDS

• Norman Hillmer Award, Carleton University, Winter 2026
• Underhill Travel Bursary Ontario, Carleton University, Fall 2025
• Underhill Travel Bursary Ontario, Carleton University, Winter 2025
• Ontario Graduate Scholarship, Carleton University and Ontario Govt., 2025-2026
• Ontario Graduate Scholarship, Carleton University and Ontario Govt., 2024-2025
• Underhill Travel Bursary Ontario, Carleton University, Fall 2024
• Frank H. Underhill Graduate Scholarship in History, Carleton University, Winter 2024
• Travel Bursary 2, Carleton University, Summer 2023
• Travel Bursary 2, Carleton University, Summer 2022
• Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Doctoral Scholarship, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, 2021-2024
• Shannon Scholarship in Canadian Social History, Carleton University, 2021
• Department Entrance Scholarships, Carleton University
• Franklin H. Underhill Graduate Scholarship in History, Carleton University, 2020
• Reesa Greenberg Award, Carleton University, Winter 2020
• Travel Bursary 2, Carleton University, Winter 2020
• Department Entrance Scholarships, Carleton University, 2018
• Martin Lewis Memorial Book Prize for History, Concordia University, 2017