Latest posts
Summary of my master's thesis on YouTube
23 Aug 2023 - DavidI recently published a summary of the first half of my master’s thesis on YouTube
Read the full postHow we divested UQAM (or at least took all the credit)
29 Mar 2022 - DavidOne day I was at UQAM with some other Divest McGill organizers answering questions about the history of Divest McGill. Once the interview ended, we asked what was happening at UQAM. The master’s student who was interviewing us sighed. Not much was happening at all, it seemed. I mentioned to him that I was studying at UQAM, for some reason. He seemed surprised, as I was the only anglophone there, but pleased. We agreed we’d meet later to see if we wanted to organize a divest movement at UQAM.
Read the full postWhat hazard?
07 Sep 2020 - DavidWhen I talk about the “hazards of studying conservatism,” fair question: what hazards am I talking about?
Read the full postDone at UQAM
21 Jul 2020 - David
Just submitted the final, approved version of my master’s thesis. I’m done and I’m really proud of it. (Learn more about my subject here)
I got the idea of applying for a master’s studying conservatism around the summer of 2016. Sounded great back then because Trudeau was in and Trump hadn’t been elected yet!
I’ve been studying at UQAM’s since January, 2017 and I can’t say enough good things about my education and the good people I met there: always thoughtful discussions in class, political science is a fabulous department. I learned a lot more in three years here than in my undergrad at McGill, no doubt about it.
I was basically the only anglophone around. I learned a lot about feeling different yet feeling welcome. I think I met only one other anglophone student the whole time I was there.
But I’d recommend it to anyone. UQAM is a special place. I’m going to miss it. I think every single one of my professors offered that I could write in English but I decided to do everything in French. That was a real challenge but I got it done with a lot of generous help, especially from my supervisor Jean-Guy Prévost, who was top-notch from the beginning to the end. I also couldn’t have done any of this without parter, my family, and my Quaker community.
Read the full postSeeking Giant Shoulders to Stand On
04 Jul 2020 - DavidI was underwhelmed and often disappointed by much of what I read about conservatism in general and Harper in particular.
Read the full postThe Harper paradox: my master's thesis
28 Jun 2020 - DavidMy thesis chases around ex-Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper trying to figure out where he got the idea for making tough-on-crime policies the center of his 10 years in power, considering:
- Crime had been falling for 15 years
- No population in the world feels safer than Canadians
- These policies didn’t win many votes
I Study Conservatism
21 Jun 2020 - DavidFor those who don’t know, I entered my master’s (after writing a mess of a manifesto) feeling irritated by what I saw as low-quality, careless and occasionally intellectually lazy work about conservatism, including work about right-wing populism, men’s rights, creationists, and all lives matter.
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