Sara Harvey
| Degrees: | Bachelor of Arts Honours in History (June 2021) |
| Email: | saraharvey@cmail.carleton.ca |
What is your favourite thing about the program?
My favourite thing about the history program is how many opportunities we have for doing research on topics that interest me! From the co-op program to practicum, and research grants and opportunities, there are so many ways to follow your passions and interests and work with professionals and people who you otherwise would not meet! I have been able to write papers and do projects on topics from elephants in advertisements in Victorian London, to a brief history of cats, to Barbies! There is so much freedom to research topics you like and discover new interests.
What will you miss the most?
I am going to miss how really amazing everyone in the history department is! From my professors to the students I have been able to work alongside and with, there are so many fascinating people I have met and learned from through this department. I am going to miss walking through the history floor, seeing all the posters of upcoming events, all the people studying and waiting for office hours, and running into professors and classmates. I am so thankful that I chose history as my major as this department is truly the best department at Carleton and I am so thankful to everyone who made it so!
What is your favourite reading/book/text from the program?
My favourite reading from a class was “Early modern midwifery: splitting the profession, connecting the history” by Samuel S. Thomas which was from my fourth-year seminar, HIST4100 with Professor Phillips. This article helped me figure out a topic for my final history paper and helped me develop an interest and passion for the history of midwives. My favourite book was “A Spy in the House” by Y.S. Lee that I read in my first-year seminar with Dr. Danielle Kinsey. This book helped me see how history can be seen and portrayed through different lenses and how many different ways you can look at one topic.
Both of these texts helped me discover and develop an interest in microhistory and how much information there is about history on a smaller level.
What’s next for you?
I am currently working at the McLaughlin Library in Oshawa as the local history intern! I am making content on how to research their collection and learning about local Oshawa history. In the fall, I will be starting Algonquin College’s Applied Museum Studies Program!