Carolyn Podruchny
Director
Carolyn Podruchny is a University Professor in the Department of History.
Mission Statement: My professional and personal goal is to champion Indigenous sovereignty and resistance, make sense of Canada’s colonial past, and to support reconciliation by exploring the history of encounters and relationships.
Podruchny is preparing two scholarly editions of the writings of the fur trader and North West Company partner John McDonald of Garth for the Champlain Society. She also co-edited two collections about Indigeneity in the Philippines, one with the University of Hawai’i Press and the other with the University of the Philippines Baguio Cordillera Studies Centre. Recent articles have explored Metis women’s history in 19th-century buffalo brigades. She has served as co-editor for the Journal of the Canadian History Association / Revue de la Société historique du Canada and Histoire sociale / Social History (for which she is currently the director) and she co-edits a series with McGill-Queen's University Press.
Research Interests: Canadian Studies, Canadian colonialism, fur trade history, Indigenous histories, French colonialism in North America; Indigeneity in the Philippines
Visit: www.carolynpodruchny.ca/pages/
Email: carolynp@yorku.ca
Laura Taman
Coordinator
Laura Taman joined the Robarts Centre as Coordinator in May 2000. She holds an MA from York University’s Graduate Program in Women's Studies where her research focused on women and public policy. Laura is responsible for administration, research and development support in a wide range of research activities at the Robarts Centre, including project design and administration, assistance to researchers, and facilitating the work of Robarts Centre staff, York faculty, visiting researchers and others engaged in work on the Centre’s initiatives. A member of the York community for many years, Laura has served as: a teacher at the York University Cooperative Day Care; a research assistant at the Office of the Master, Atkinson College; staff at Reception and Course Registration in the Division of Continuing Education (Atkinson College); and Executive Officer of the Atkinson Student's Association.
Email: llt@yorku.ca
Misba Chowdhary
Research Communications and Programs Assistant
Misba Chowdhary (she/her) holds an MA in Human Geography from York University. Her research explores the intersections of natural disasters, religion, caste based violence, and rapid urbanization, particularly examining the rise of India's middle class and their perceptions of natural disasters and social violence through the lens of memory making. Her duties revolve around supporting the media and knowledge mobilization needs of the Robarts Centre.
Email: misbac@yorku.ca