Meet our Newest Graduate: Cara Peacock!

Meet Our Newest Graduate!

Cara Peacock’s MA thesis was entitled “Indigenous Feminist Philosophy in Idle No More: Theorizing the Space-Time of Canada’s Settler Colonial Politics and Alternative Decolonial Imaginaries”. It was written under the supervision of Dr. Gina Starblanket and Dr. Daniel Voth

 

Tell us a bit about your thesis! What was it about and what were its main arguments?

My thesis explores Indigenous feminist philosophy from the ground up through a case study of Indigenous women’s political organizing through Idle No More (INM), theorizing how politics operates across space and time to configure both the settler state politics of Canada and decolonial alternatives. My thesis argues that (1) settler colonialism configures Canadian politics across space and time, functioning to contain and eliminate Indigenous political life, and (2) the Idle No More was configured by Indigenous conceptions of space and time which understand kinship as emerging from relation to land and spans the past, present, and future, enabling the movement to engage in novel forms of politics and power. I operationalize these interventions to theorize new Treaty imaginaries, examining how the settler state circumscribes Indigenous visions of governance and Treaty and how INM creates otherwise forms of political citizenship, belonging, participation, and Treaty relations at the grassroots.

Any favourite memories from your research or at UCalgary Political Science you’d like to share?

There were lots of great memories from my time at UCalgary, but I’m most grateful for the really great classes and scholars I got to engage with, from professors to my peers. I enjoyed being a part of a really welcoming and fun community where I was able to explore all of my nerdy interests about Indigenous politics and political philosophy. I am grateful for all the things I was able to learn from others and the great connections I was able to make.

Where has your degree taken you now?

I just started my PhD in Political Science at the University of Toronto where I study political philosophy. My research examines settler colonialism, Indigenous and Black feminisms, and Western political thought at the nexus of race and colonialism, specifically looking at the State of Nature tradition in Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau. I am grateful that my time at UCalgary has prepared me for this next step in my academic journey.

Any final words of advice?

I think that with any degree I undertake the most important outcome is me and not the degree itself. Of course, the degree is also pretty important! Grad school should help you grow as a scholar and, ideally, as a person too. My advice is to prioritize your mental and physical well-being and learn when you need to slow down and take a break. Grad school should be an enriching experience, not an exercise in resilience, so remember to take care of the most important part of your degree: You!

 

Congratulations Cara Peacock on your degree!

 

Please visit the UCalgary Political Science website o find out more about our current and past graduate students.