The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) today announced that Carleton’s Ian Wereley is among the top five finalists in its 2016 Storytellers challenge.
Wereley is a doctoral candidate in Department of History who researches the history of oil and energy. His SSHRC Storytellers video, called Imagining Energy in Transition: Past, Present, Future, examines what Canada stands to gain from shifting to alternative energy sources.
Wereley is writing his dissertation under the supervision of Aleksandra Bennett. As he explains on his profile page: ” My dissertation project explores the rapid and complex transition from coal to oil that occurred in Britain during the early twentieth century, and delves into the ways in which Britons imagined energy and interpreted their experiences of becoming modern oil consumers. Using understudied sources such as cartoons, advertisements, maps, theatrical productions, and travelling exhibitions, my work reconstructs the discourses of transition that Britons created to help navigate their entry into the rapidly changing and unpredictable ‘Age of Oil.’ Through this research, I have discovered many parallels to present-day debates about energy security, pipelines, the longevity of oil supplies, and climate change, which suggest that British experiences during the transition toward oil offer many important lessons for how contemporary petro-societies might interpret and imagine their current transition away from oil.”
“The Storytellers challenge follows through on SSHRC’s mandate to connect social science and humanities research with Canadians,” said SSHRC President Ted Hewitt. “These students, and their creative, compelling stories, stand as shining examples of Canada’s next generation of research communicators. Congratulations!”