Meredith Inksetter obtained her BA Honours in art history. Inksetter entered the program to gain a comprehensive view of history through an examination of the “visual culture of the past.” During the course of her studies, Inksetter gained a perspective on the political, social, religious and cultural themes humans, throughout history, have rendered through visual mediums.

“The Bachelor of Arts degree in art history provided me with the ability to think about the world in a different way, to understand the important role played by art within the history of humanity, to understand history as a dynamic and ever-changing area and to develop ways of seeing and interpreting that can be applied not only with academic settings, but within the everyday world in which we live,” said Inksetter.

Inksetter will pursue her Masters in art history at Carleton. She will examine nineteenth century art and its depictions of the body to gain insight on the “medical and cultural understanding of disease, sexuality and abnormality.”


Catherine Marshall
completes her BA Honours in art history and discovers a love of scholarship. Marshall initially returned to her studies with the intention of bolstering her career. Although she had studied art at the Ontario College of Art and Design in the ’80s and has maintained an interest in painting, she never intended to become a scholar.

Assisted by funding from Carleton and SSHRC, Marshall will continue her studies through the art history MA program. She is particularly interested in religious art produced in the medieval period.

“My BA experience – excellent professors, lots of hard work, and Carleton’s resulting recognition – has instilled confidence in me that I have the ability to pursue a future in scholarship,” said Marshall.

Chelsea Omel has taken her BA Honours in art history on the road. The recent alumna is currently traveling in Europe and North Africa.

During her undergrad years in art history, Omel developed an interest in the history of photography, multimedia art and performance art. Although she maintains that these areas might not fall within traditional art history definitions, it was the freedom to explore these mediums that attracted her to the program.

“My long-term plan is to pursue a career in the arts, perhaps something related to dance, photography or new media,” said Omel.


David Shea
completed his BA in film studies with a minor in history. An emerging filmmaker, Shea was interested in both the theoretical and practical aspects of filmmaking. While he continued to work on his film career throughout his time at Carleton, he found the film studies program supplemented his technical abilties with an appreciation for the history of film, the industry and the “construction of film culture.” Shea credits the program with providing him a broader cultural and financial perspective of Canadian film and television production -knowledge that proved instrument in his work at the department of Canadian Heritage at the Canadian Audio-Visual Certification Office (CAVCO).

Although he is planning a hiatus from the academic world he anticipates he will return to further study historical representations in film and the challenges associated with this.

“I am currently putting the final touches on a short 16mm film that I wrote, produced and directed that will be screened in early August, and I am also working on a couple of articles on film for local publications.”

Other Senate Medalists Include:

Jessica Aylsworth, BA, Art History