Merve Erdilmen is an MA candidate in the Department of Political Science at McGill University. Merve first came to Canada in 2014 as a MITACS Globalink International Research Intern for a project in the Department of Political Science at UQAM. Now as a MITACS Globalink fellow, she is also a member of the Centre for the Study of Democratic Citizenship (CSDC). Her main focus is on immigration and citizenship, non-electoral forms of political participation, migrant integration and participation in Canada and Europe, and the EU integration policies. Before coming to McGill, she studied sociology at Sciences Po Paris (Institut d'études Politiques de Paris) and philosophy and sociology at Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey.
Paper Title: "The Protracted Cyprus Conflict: Lessons on the Shortcomings and Effectiveness of the EU in Conflict Resolution".
Paper Title: "The Protracted Cyprus Conflict: Lessons on the Shortcomings and Effectiveness of the EU in Conflict Resolution".
Brittany Witham is a first-year M.A. student of European and Russian Affairs at the Munk School of Global Affairs in Toronto. Previously, she completed her B.A. (Honours) in International Studies - International Cooperation and Conflict at the University of Saskatchewan and worked three years with the Government of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, attracting Foreign Direct Investment from Europe to the province. Brittany's current research focuses on the connection between illiberal democracy and conflict prevention in the European Union.
Paper Title: "Frozen Conflicts, Illiberal Democracy, and European Conflict Prevention in the 21st Century."
Paper Title: "Frozen Conflicts, Illiberal Democracy, and European Conflict Prevention in the 21st Century."
Emily Koller is a second year MA student in European, Russian and Eurasian Studies at the Munk School of Global Affairs. She completed her Bachelor work at Carleton in Public Affairs and Policy Management. Much of her undergraduate work focused on public policy and international human security. Her interests are in the relationship between international institutions and States in the areas of migration and security.
Paper Title: "Northern Ireland and its Relations with the EU and the UK."
Paper Title: "Northern Ireland and its Relations with the EU and the UK."
Griffin Cornwall is a second-year MA candidate at the Centre for Russian European and Eurasian Studies at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs. Previously, he has completed a double BA specializing in political science and Russian language at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. Griffin’s research interests are the evolving role of Russian media (particularly disinformation) in post-Soviet conflicts in which it has been involved, specifically Transnistria 1991-2, the 2008 war against Georgia, and the ongoing crisis in the Donbas.
Paper Title: "Flexible Truths: Russian Media Culture and the Disinformation Campaign in the Ukraine Crisis."
Paper Title: "Flexible Truths: Russian Media Culture and the Disinformation Campaign in the Ukraine Crisis."
Victoria Sztanek and Grace Levy are both second year MA candidates at the Munk School of Global Affairs: The Centre for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies. Both coming from a background in the history and politics of Russia and Eastern Europe, they are intrigued by the re-emergence of Cold War rhetoric in the media today, and its implications for the future.
Paper Title: "A New Cold War?: NATO and its Role in Past and Present Tensions Between Russia and the West."
Paper Title: "A New Cold War?: NATO and its Role in Past and Present Tensions Between Russia and the West."
Eilish Hart is a first year MA student at CERES, working in the fields of history, political science, and comparative literature. Her research focuses on migration and cultural exchange in the history of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, as well as memory politics in post-Communist states.
Paper Title: "Obstacles to Registration for Internally Displaced People in Ukraine (2014-2016)."
Paper Title: "Obstacles to Registration for Internally Displaced People in Ukraine (2014-2016)."
Artist-in-Residence Michael Gotting is an author, writer, and journalist. His novel Contrapunctus (Counterpoint) was published in September 2015. He received his MA in North American and German Studies from the Freie Universitat Berlin. Gotting writes for ZEIT Online, Deutschlandfunk, and the Tagesspiegel, and works as a freelance artist and curator for Berlin's postmigrant theatre Ballhaus Naunystrasse.
Rachel Peters is a first year CERES student at the Munk School of Global Affairs. She completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Pittsburgh in French and History, but spent the past year in Germany on a Fulbright grant where she experienced the commencement of the "open door" policy "close-up". Her current research interests are immigration, integration in Germany and the role that history plays in the acceptance of immigrant communities in Europe. Rachel loves living in Canada but misses living super close to Aldi.
Paper Title: "Borderlines and Bloodlines: historical themes in Hungarian refugee politics and their effects on public opinion."
Paper Title: "Borderlines and Bloodlines: historical themes in Hungarian refugee politics and their effects on public opinion."
Cristina Stoica is a second-year M.A. Candidate at the Centre for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies at the Munk School of Global Affairs. She holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts in History, European Union Studies, and American Studies from the University of Toronto. Along with her colleagues, she is Co-Chair of this year's CERES Graduate Student Conference, as well as Senior Editor of CERES' Graduate Student Journal, Eurasiatique. Her research interests include, but are not limited to ethnic conflict, nationalism, identity politics, and statehood in Central and Eastern Europe. In her spare time, she enjoys travelling, playing the piano, and kayaking.
Paper Title: "A Case Study of the Szekely Community in Transylvania: Will Self-determination Result in Territorial Autonomy?"
Paper Title: "A Case Study of the Szekely Community in Transylvania: Will Self-determination Result in Territorial Autonomy?"