Dr. Lachlan MacKinnon Awarded Prestigious Tier 2 Canada Research Chair
Date Posted: Jul 23, 2019
Dr. Lachlan MacKinnon, Cape Breton University Assistant Professor of History, has been named the recipient of a prestigious Tier 2 Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Post-Industrial Communities.
Dr. MacKinnon has established outstanding research in the fields of deindustrialization and post-industrial communities. As the CRC, Dr. MacKinnon will produce an innovative contribution to the international scholarship in this field by exploring the global forces that produce deindustrialization, and examining the ways in which local communities have responded to its pressures.
“Cape Breton, with its experience of coal and steel production, is a living laboratory of post-industrial transformation,” says Dr. MacKinnon. “I’m very much looking forward to connecting this history with those from around the world, and exploring which types of policy frameworks have found success in responding to the economic, social and political challenges of deindustrialization.”
The Chair will provide Dr. MacKinnon with the opportunity to expand on his current research, while further developing research connections throughout North America and Europe. “This will position Cape Breton University at the centre of an unfolding international discussion about the aftermath of industrial decline,” Dr. MacKinnon explains.
“We are delighted that Dr. MacKinnon has been named the Canada Research Chair in Post-Industrial Communities,” says Tanya Brann-Barrett, Associate Vice-President, Academic & Research, Research and Graduate Studies. “His expertise and research in the field will make an impact in Cape Breton and across the world.”
In addition to a variety of scholarly outcomes including academic books and research articles, Dr. MacKinnon says his goals for the CRC include the creation of several digital humanities projects such as an audiowalk of the former Sydney Steel site, a virtual reality museum dedicated to the history of the Sydney Steel Corporation and an archive of audio and video clips of post-industrial landscapes in Canada. Dr. MacKinnon is eager to include students in the process, and has already hired one student research assistant.
An emerging scholar in his field, Dr. MacKinnon has already established an outstanding research profile and a world-class publication record, which will undoubtedly result in international recognition during his CRC.
Congratulations, Dr. MacKinnon!