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MAIS Grad Joins UPEI as Assistant Professor

Charlottetown, PEI (June 30, 2022)—

Last summer we announced that MAIS graduate Patrick Augustine had received his Ph.D. from the School of Indigenous and Canadian Studies at Carleton University. This month we’re thrilled to announce that Dr. Augustine will be joining UPEI as an Assistant Professor in the new Faculty of Indigenous Knowledge, Education, Research, and Applied Studies (IKERAS).

Congratulations, Patrick! This is SUCH good news for UPEI and for Island Studies. 

And with Patrick comes partner Margaret Augustine (nee Mizzi), another MAIS graduate; Margaret is currently finishing up her Ph.D. looking at women’s work on Gozo, Malta, using a feminist island-geographical lens.  

Welcome back to the Island, Patrick and Margaret! 

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Dr. Laurie Brinklow takes over as Island Studies Chair/MAIS Coordinator

Charlottetown, PEI (April 25, 2022)—  

The University of Prince Edward Island is pleased to announce the appointment of Assistant Professor Dr. Laurie Brinklow as the new Coordinator of the Master of Arts in Island Studies (MAIS) program and Chair of the Institute of Island Studies (IIS). She has been carrying out the roles in an interim capacity since May 1, 2020, with the retirement of Dr. James Randall. 

Dr. Brinklow is no stranger to Island Studies, serving as IIS Publishing Coordinator and research project administrator in the 1990s and 2000s, Coordinator of the IIS and UNESCO Chair in Island Studies and Sustainability from 2014 to 2020, and as a sessional instructor in the MAIS program since 2014. She herself completed the Master of Arts in Island Studies program in 2007 and went on to do her PhD in Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of Tasmania. Founder of Charlottetown’s Acorn Press, she has published widely in academia and has two volumes of poetry, the most recent being My island’s the house I sleep in at night (Island Studies Press). She is Secretary of the International Small Island Studies Association and Iceland’s Honorary Consul to Prince Edward Island.  

Says Dr. Brinklow, “I owe a huge debt of gratitude to all those who came before me with their own visions for Island Studies: people like Harry Baglole, Brent MacLaine, Godfrey Baldacchino, Jim Randall, Ed MacDonald, Jean Mitchell. They are my mentors and inspirations in this Island Studies journey. And getting to meet islanders from around the world, to be part of a huge Island Studies family – what better way to spend one’s life?”  

As MAIS Coordinator, she hopes to continue to grow the program, solidifying UPEI’s reputation as the premier academic institution in Island Studies. Boasting over 60 graduates and 65 local and international students coming from as far away as England, Taiwan, Egypt, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Nigeria, the interdisciplinary program focuses on island tourism, sustainability, international relations, and public policy on Prince Edward Island and other islands. As Chair of the IIS, she will continue to build on networks and collaborations with UPEI colleagues, government departments, and other institutions in Canada and around the world, being a bridge between the University and the community and focusing on PEI’s economic, environmental, and cultural health and well-being. She will continue to help Island Studies Press’s Bren Simmers produce award-winning publications that celebrate the Island’s culture and stories. And she will continue to work closely with Dr. Jean Mitchell, UPEI’s UNESCO Chair in Island Studies and Sustainability, to expand small islands’ sustainability across intersecting socio-economic, cultural, aesthetic, and environmental domains in the Pacific and Caribbean. Dr. Brinklow’s own research explores “islandness” and people’s attachment to islands through the language of art in Tasmania, Newfoundland, and other north Atlantic islands. 

The mother of two daughters and soon-to-be four grandchildren, Laurie lives in Charlottetown with her musician husband Michael Mooney and cat Alvin– when she’s not travelling to other islands. 

Media contact:
Bren Simmers Island Studies Press
902-566-0386
ispstaff@upei.ca

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[Research] Retention on PEI: A Survey

March 29, 2022 —

The Institute of Island Studies at the University of Prince Edward Island is working with the Department of Economic Growth, Tourism and Culture to better understand population mobility and retention on Prince Edward Island. We want to know the factors that have led to the outmigration of PEI residents as well as those factors that have prompted PEI residents to remain in the province. Hearing from both those who have left and those who have stayed is important. In the end, the key motivation is to improve retention of newcomers. What we learn will feed into the next population strategy.

Researchers have created two online surveys: one for current PEI residents and one for former PEI residents. Says Dr. Laurie Brinklow, Interim Chair of the Institute of Island Studies, “All of us who live on PEI know stories about why some people leave the Island and some people stay, but we don’t have any concrete data to back this up. This is why we’re hoping to hear from as many people as possible through these two surveys. Reaching those who have left is going to be the most challenging, so once you’ve filled it out, if you know people who have moved, we’d love it if you could forward the link to them.”

The deadline for the completing survey is midnight April 15. Participants have the opportunity to enter a draw for one of fifty (50) $15 gift cards.


Population Retention Survey – Current PEI Residents: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PopulationRetentionCurrentResidentsofPEI

Population Retention Survey – Former PEI Residents: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PopulationRetentionFormerResidentsofPEI

DEADLINE: April 15

Please feel free to pass along these links to other current and former PEI residents who might be interested in sharing their thoughts on why they have remained on PEI, or why they moved away. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Laurie Brinklow at brinklow@upei.ca or Jim Randall at jarandall@upei.ca

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Island Lecture: Trade in the Nicobar Islands with Shaina Sehgal March 2022

ISLAND LECTURE SERIES | MARCH 2022
Trade in the Nicobar Islands
Shaina Sehgal March 2022
Tuesday, March 22nd, 2022 · 1pm AST (UTC-4)
Watch video

In the second installment of our Island Lecture Series, Shaina Sehgal presents some of the findings from her Ph.D. research on the Nicobar Islands. The Nicobar Islands is a little-known archipelago in the eastern Indian ocean. However, these islands were ports-of-call along the ancient sea route from West Asia to South-East Asia and reported by traders and sea-farers throughout history. In this talk, Sehgal sketches the trading world of the Nicobar Islands between the 18th and 19th centuries. Analysis of historical texts, maps and images from this period shows the connection between seasonal trade within the archipelago and trade with the Nicobar Islands. This study concludes that these islands were a site of sustained contact within the bustling Indian Ocean world until the early 20th century.

Watch recordings of our past events!

ABOUT OUR SPEAKERS

Shaina Sehgal is an interdisciplinary scholar who has studied the social and environmental issues across diverse and challenging terrains across India (mountains, forests, and islands) over the past decade as a graduate student and researcher at Ambedkar University Delhi, India. Her Ph.D. in Human Ecology examined trade, agriculture, development and governance in the Nicobar Islands, using archival research, quantitative data analysis, social network analysis, and ethnographic research.

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MAIS News: Student Awards

MAIS Students Win SSHRCC Awards

We are pleased to announce that two of our MAIS students, Greg Elison and Alyssa M. J. Gillespie, are receiving awards from last year’s Canada Graduate Scholarships Master’s Program Competition from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRCC)!

Congratulations, Alyssa and Greg!


Greg Elison: MAIS Thesis Student. Thesis title “The Path to Carbon Neutrality – Community Based Renewable Energy on Prince Edward Island”

Originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Greg received his Bachelor of Arts with Honours from Mount Allison University in International Relations and a double minor in Economics and History.

As a thesis student in the MAIS program, he has chosen to focus his research on regional development, economic decarbonization, and Islandness with the hopes of utilizing this interdisciplinary approach to explore the socio-economic factors that facilitate community renewable energy expansion on Prince Edward Island.

Alyssa M. J. Gillespie: MAIS Thesis student. Thesis title “Roots, Routes, and Rural Youth Retention on Prince Edward Island”.

Alyssa is a born and raised P.E.Islander with an undergraduate degree in Anthropology and English from the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI). As a Master of Arts in Island Studies thesis student, she is applying her degree to the study of rural youth on Prince Edward Island and their migratory habits.

Alyssa’s scholarly pursuits are anchored in her passion for child and youth studies, culture, and relation to place, and she has a particular interest in creative writing, specifically poetry. She has worked with the L.M. Montgomery Institute, housed in the Robertson Library of UPEI, since the fall of 2019 as an editorial assistant for the Journal of L.M. Montgomery Studies.

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