You are invited to an information session focusing on UPEI’s Master of Arts in Island Studies program. In addition to the traditional thesis-based option, you are now able to take one of three course-based streams specializing in Island Tourism, Sustainable Island Communities, and International Relations & Island Public Policy. Join MAIS Program Coordinator Dr. Laurie Brinklow online for a brief presentation and to answer any questions you may have. Joining the call will be some current students to provide their perspectives on the program.
An information session will take place on Zoom on Tuesday, March 19, at 10 a.m. AST.
MAIS Thesis Defence: Fiona Steele “When stories lead to sustainable tourism – the role podcasting plays in the development of sustainable tourism on islands.”
Wednesday, April 26, 4-6 p.m. ADT on Zoom
Please join us on a round-the-world thesis defence by MAIS student Fiona Steele. Entitled “When stories lead to sustainable tourism – the role podcasting plays in the development of sustainable tourism on islands.”
Please join us on a round-the-world thesis defence by MAIS student Fiona Steele, entitled “When stories lead to sustainable tourism – the role podcasting plays in the development of sustainable tourism on islands.”
The thesis is co-supervised by Drs. Susan Graham (Business) and Laurie Brinklow (Island Studies), with UPEI Adjunct Graduate Faculty member Dr. Andrew Jennings (University of the Highlands and Islands) serving on the committee. Dr. Valia Papoutsaki from New Zealand will serve as External Examiner, and Dr. Jean Mitchell (Sociology/Anthropology) will chair.
To receive the Zoom link, please contact Dr. Laurie Brinklow. Everyone is welcome!
Event contact: Laurie Brinklow, Institute of Island Studies, UPEI Brinklow@UPEI.ca
The MAIS program was well-represented at two recent international Island Studies conferences in Croatia and Shetland.
ISISA UPEI contingent
Attending and presenting their research at the 18th International Small Islands Studies Association (ISISA) “Islands of the World: Nature and Culture” conference hosted by the University of Zadar, Croatia, June 13-17, were MAIS students Jenna Gaudet, Helena Ryan, and Richard Wedge. MAIS sessional instructor and PhD student Andrew Halliday (University of New Brunswick) also presented, as did Prince Edward Island scholars Laurie Brinklow, Godfrey Baldacchino, and Anna Baldacchino. Special congratulations go to Jenna and Andrew on receiving student scholarships from ISISA and the conference organizers!
ISISA Jenna and Helena
To give you a glimpse into MAIS research, here are the presentation titles: – Jenna Gaudet: “Islands of Control: Gated Communities and the Future of Island Life” – Helena M. Ryan: “Female Island Youth in Parts Per Million (ppm) Volumetric Voices: Sustainable Development through the Islandness of Lucy Maud Montgomery, Autumn Peltier, and Greta Thunberg “ – Richard Wedge: “Neoliberalism and Health in Tonga” – Andrew Halliday: “The Island Within: Prince Edward Island’s Involvement in the Atlantic Bubble” – Godfrey Baldacchino: “Doing Island Studies: A Methodology Primer Takes Shape” – Anna Baldacchino: “A Walk Down Memory Lane: A Review of ISISA Newsletters (2012-2021)” – Laurie Brinklow: “The Disappearing Island: Exploring Islandness and the Language of Art in the Anthropocene” – Laurie Brinklow with Brady Reid (Memorial University): “Generosity Through Crisis: Comparing Opportunities of Multi-Jurisdictional Socio-Economic Recovery through Philanthropy in Atlantic Canada”
In addition to a full academic program with 4 keynote speakers, 93 papers presented, and 120 participants from around the globe, the organizing committee led by University of Zadar’s Aniça Cuka also put together three stunning field trips to islands off the coast of Zadar, including Uglijan, Pag, and Dugi otok, giving us a small glimpse of life in this beautiful Croatian archipelago.
Two weeks later, MAIS students joined Laurie at the Small Island Cultures Research Initiative (SICRI) Island Studies International Conference (ISIC 16) entitled “Creativity, Ingenuity, and Practice” hosted by the Centre for Island Creativity at the University of the Highlands and Islands in Shetland. They were Andrew MacPherson, Fiona Steele, and Maggie J. Whitten Henry (presenting remotely). Wonderful congratulations go to Fiona for being recognized for the Best Student Presentation at the end of the conference!
Presentations at the ISIC 16 included: – Andrew MacPherson: “Reimagining Canada as an Archipelago: Two Islands as Depicted in Recent Speculative Fiction” Fiona Steele: “Creative Approaches to Sustainable Island Tourism” – Maggie J. Whitten Henry: “Recursive islandness in creative practice: Entangled negotiations with abundance, loss, tradition, and time” – Laurie Brinklow: “My island’s the house I sleep in at night: Nissopoesis and island-making”
Conference organizers were Andrew Jennings from UHI (who is also a member of the Institute of Island Studies Advisory Committee), along with co-convenors Evangelia Papoutsaki and Meng Qu from SICRI.
Plans for the conference field trip to the northernmost islands of Yell and Unst were thwarted when the ferry to Yell broke down, but in true island fashion, conference organizers came up with an equally fabulous program: a bus tour of Shetland narrated by Andrew and his colleague, UHI professor and archaeologist Simon Clarke. Conference-goers did get to experience a short ferry ride later to another island in the archipelago: to Bressay, across Lerwick’s harbour, for an evening at the local arts and community centre.
On behalf of the students, Laurie would like to thank the Office of Development and Alumni Engagement, the UPEI Student Union, and ISISA and the University of Zadar for funding assistance that allowed them to participate in these invaluable experiences.
Fiona, Laurie, and AndrewMaggie presentingFiona presentingAndrew presenting
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.
