Prof. Beverly Soloway
- PhD Candidate - History, York University
- MA History (Specialization in Women's Studies), Lakehead University, 2007
- HBA History (Environmental Studies minor), Lakehead University, 2006
- BA Sociology, Lakehead University, 2006
Beverly Soloway specializes in Canadian history with additional interest in environmental history, the history of science and technology, and the interactions between gender and history.
Currently, she is completing her PhD dissertation “The Fur Trader’s Garden: The Environmental Impact of Horticulture in Rupert’s Land, 1670-1770.”
At present, research interests explore the role of food in history following a variety of social and cultural paths to understand why we prepare, consume, and enjoy food the way to do. Current food-related projects include:
- looking at how the arrival of the HBC in the subarctic and their use of vegetable gardens impacted the physical landscape of the Hudson Bay Lowlands and cultural environment of Mushegowuk residents
- interconnections between the loss of Mushkegowuk gathering knowledge and British-style gardening in the subarctic
- how WWI food control impacted the Lakehead including vacant-lot gardening, Soldiers of the Soil, gendered expectations, and food choices and availability.
Other research interests include:
- exploring colonial connections between the HBC and other 17th century enterprises such as the Carolina Colony and the Royal African Company
- the comparative roles of the country wife in the HBC's Rupert's Land (Canada) and the East India Company's India
- and the historical role of gender and bully behaviour.
Photography: interested in both creating my own images as historical record, and the role of images in studying history.
Courses Taught:
2017-2018
HIST 3731 FA History of Medicine, 1500-1800
HIST 3332 WA/WAO Popular Culture in Modern Canada
2016 Fall
HIST 3333 FA / INDI 3333 FA Colonial Encounters in Canada Exploring the historical relationship between Indigenous peoples and Euro-Canadians and the impact of this interaction on cultural and physical landscapes.
2015 - 2016 Fall, Winter
HIST 3336 WA: Women and Gender in Recent Canadian History Studying the lived experiences of Canadian women in Victorian and modern times (1840-1990), paying particular attention to images as a primary source.
Lecture themes: relationships & sexuality; bonds of womanhood; social regulation; suffrage & the body politic; women, food & health; women & education; labouring women; and travelling women.
HIST 3330 FA / INDI 3330 FA / NORT 3330 FA The North American Fur Trade