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Journey through the past

Conovocation profile: Sarah Keeshan, History (MA)

- May 22, 2012

MA grad Sarah Keeshan. (Danny Abriel photo)
MA grad Sarah Keeshan. (Danny Abriel photo)

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 Dalhousieā€™s Graduate Studies for her masters (turning down Cambridge in the process), she had never been to Nova Scotia.

ā€œI had always wanted to live by the ocean, so I said, ā€˜Well, wonderful, thereā€™s a great university right by the ocean, how could I not go here?ā€™ And Iā€™m so glad that I did.ā€ Halifax has lived up to her high hopes. ā€œI love the farmers market, I love that you can walk pretty much everywhere.ā€ Dalhousie has also exceeded her expectations. ā€œMy supervisorā€™s absolutely phenomenal,ā€ she says, ā€œand I love the culture here."

Ms. Keeshan has no doubt that History is her calling. ā€œItā€™s vocational. Itā€™s like, I love thisā€¦ Iā€™ve always loved this. I donā€™t know if I should blame my parents or not,ā€ she muses, adding that her fatherā€™s ā€œbedtime storiesā€ were frequently pulled from the annals of Roman history.

Nowadays, Ms. Keeshanā€™s speciality is the medieval period. ā€œI love the Middle Ages, because on one level, itā€™s so unlike todayā€¦ itā€™s very raw on so many levelsā€¦ itā€™s a really evocative period, and I think itā€™s because itā€™s not rational or tidy or clean.ā€ She especially has a soft spot for the messy 14th century ā€“ ā€œit 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 Kingā€™s College Chapel. She has also worked at pilipiliĀž»­ā€™s Writing Centre and as a research assistant.

Having completed her masterā€™s degree, Ms. Keeshan now has her eye on a PhD in history, perhaps moving her focus into the 1100s. ā€œI like centuries when things were chaotic, apparently!ā€