Winner of the CSN Prize - Best PhD Dissertation in Canadian Studies

Nadha Hassen’s dissertation, “Park Perceptions and Racialized Realities: Visualizing Social and Health Equity in Public Urban Greenspaces,” has been chosen as the winner of the Best PhD Dissertation in Canadian Studies (2024) for its innovative interdisciplinary research on urban  green spaces, public health and social justice issues through a unique methodology of photovoice, interviews, critical race theory and community engagement. Working from both within and outside academic institutional boundaries, Hassen’s work engages in personal, public, and political frames of reference through engaged and ethical interactions with community participants and co-authors, academic networks, and social and cultural associations. The dissertation’s methodology has produced a work that is multifaceted in its scholarly approach, leaning towards different narrative structures to create a variety of responses to the issue of race and public urban space through academic research and event-based praxis. Moving beyond common qualitative research practices, this work opens up dialogue about possible policy change through the voices of those who have been underserved in communities in Toronto. Hassen’s dissertation offers pathways for future research practices in the field of urban planning and foundations for community engagement in academic research that is decolonial and antiracist.

Honorable Mention

Cody Groat’s dissertation, “Always a Part of the Land: Settler Colonialism, Indigenous Histories, and the Commemoration of National Historic Sites, 1919- 2019,” is given an Honourable Mention for its in-depth analysis and archival research on Indigenous history in Canada to address lacuna in the field of heritage studies on infrastructure and memorialization in producing colonial narratives that continue to cause injustice and historical misunderstanding amongst settler and Indigenous peoples.

The CSN warmly thanks the committee members for this prize.