Sarah Keeshan is graduating with a masters degree in History, having previously completed her undergraduate degree in History and Classics at Carleton.
Originally from Ottawa, when Ms. Keeshan chose »Ź¹Ś²©²Źappās Graduate Studies for her masters (turning down Cambridge in the process), she had never been to Nova Scotia.
āI had always wanted to live by the ocean, so I said, āWell, wonderful, thereās a great university right by the ocean, how could I not go here?ā And Iām so glad that I did.ā Halifax has lived up to her high hopes. āI love the farmers market, I love that you can walk pretty much everywhere.ā »Ź¹Ś²©²Źapp has also exceeded her expectations. āMy supervisorās absolutely phenomenal,ā she says, āand I love the culture here."
Ms. Keeshan has no doubt that History is her calling. āItās vocational. Itās like, I love thisā¦ Iāve always loved this. I donāt know if I should blame my parents or not,ā she muses, adding that her fatherās ābedtime storiesā were frequently pulled from the annals of Roman history.
Nowadays, Ms. Keeshanās speciality is the medieval period. āI love the Middle Ages, because on one level, itās so unlike todayā¦ itās very raw on so many levelsā¦ itās a really evocative period, and I think itās because itās not rational or tidy or clean.ā She especially has a soft spot for the messy 14th century ā āit was almost apocalyptic in its chaos,ā she says brightly ā and wrote her thesis on the Peasantsā Revolt in 1381 England, a rebellion that culminated in the assassination of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the storming of the Tower of London.
When not perusing historical tomes, Ms. Keeshan has acted as a warden at the Kingās College Chapel. She has also worked at »Ź¹Ś²©²Źappās Writing Centre and as a research assistant.
Having completed her masterās degree, Ms. Keeshan now has her eye on a PhD in history, perhaps moving her focus into the 1100s. āI like centuries when things were chaotic, apparently!ā