Meet Ellen Yarr! Ellen is a 2nd year MA student under the supervision of Megan Gaucher in the thesis stream. Ellen will be completing her thesis defence within the next few weeks and was also awarded SSHRC back in the fall of 2024!
Check out what lead Ellen to pursue her MA here in our department and what her experience in our program is like!
What lead you to pursue your MA in Legal Studies at Carleton?
I really wanted to work with Megan Gaucher, my thesis supervisor, who is one of the only people in the country doing critical work in the field of citizenship, migration, and family formations in Canada. I read a lot of Megan’s work in my undergrad, and it really sparked an interest for me in the ways in which family, sexuality, gender, migration, and citizenship intersect in unique ways in political discourse.
Tell us about your research, and what you hope to gain out of it by the time you complete your degree?
My research investigates two cases of what I am calling “domestic imperialism,” that is, a ‘softer’ form of contemporary imperialism in which discourses of protection and paternalism are used as vehicles for expansionist and or/exclusionary policies. My first case study is the 2015 Canadian Zero
Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act, where the guise of protecting white Canadian women was used as a tactic of enacting racist border policies. My second case study is the United States occupation of Afghanistan and the paternalization of Afghan women facing the oppression of the Taliban. It examines how the United States ultimately abandoned any semblance of a benevolent mission in Afghanistan by failing to engage substantially with the Afghan women in the country. I am particularly interested in the role of white women in furthering these instances of contemporary imperialism.
I don’t see this research or this degree as a means to an end, but rather see myself as being lucky enough to be able to continue my academic career beyond my undergrad. I think engaging in the activity of research and investigation of topics that interest you, in and of itself, is an extremely valuable exercise, and if you have the means to do it, then you should!
What advice would you give to incoming students?
Engage critically with the academic institutions that you are a part of. As students, it is easy to simply do your work and keep your head down, but academic institutions thrive when the voices of students are heard. Get involved and speak up for yourself and your fellow students, even when it’s not easy. Your learning experience will be strengthened if you actually apply the critical thinking skills that you are taught to the world around you.
Are you interested in learning more about our MA program? Check out our website here for more details!