CHELSEA HARTLEN

Writing Specialist | PhD Candidate, History

Hi, I'm Chelsea.

As a Writing Specialist, I bring a holistic and intersectional approach to supporting student writers overcome systemic barriers to academic writing and expression.

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As a PhD Candidate in History at the Centre for Scottish Studies (University of Guelph), I explore how intersectional identities inform access to sanctioned violence to enact and perform discipline, social control and conflict resolution.

MY STORY

2021 PhD History (Guelph), in progress
2014 MA History (Dalhousie)
2012 BA (Hons) History (Dalhousie)

I started my academic journey in my hometown of Halifax, Nova Scotia, where I completed a BA (Hons) and MA in History at Dalhousie University. Presented with a flash drive full of scanned court records, I dove in and discovered my passion for the history of justice, violence and social control.

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I was torn between doctoral study in Scotland and Canada, but SSHRC made the decision for me and, three weeks after the successful defence of my MA thesis, I landed in Guelph, Ontario. Since 2014, I have been maintaining and analysing a database of homicides and near-lethal assaults in support of my dissertation, tentatively entitled 'Homicide and the Emerging State: Unlawful Killing in Scotland's Justiciary Court, 1493–1558'.

During many semesters as a teaching assistant in history and learning and curriculum support, I discovered a passion for empowering students. For many, the ivory tower is a hostile and inaccessible place rife with ableism, classism, racism and sexism. In my current role as a Writing Specialist, I do my best to equip students with the tools necessary to break through these barriers, with the hope that they will go forward armed with the tools to achieve their academic goals and the knowledge to change society for the better.

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Keep exploring my site to learn more about me.