Summary of my master's thesis on YouTube

23 Aug 2023 - David

I recently published a summary of the first half of my master’s thesis on YouTube

Read the full post

How we divested UQAM (or at least took all the credit)

29 Mar 2022 - David

One day I was at UQAM with some other Divest McGill organizers answering questions about the history of Divest McGill. Once the interview ended, we asked what was happening at UQAM. The master’s student who was interviewing us sighed. Not much was happening at all, it seemed. I mentioned to him that I was studying at UQAM, for some reason. He seemed surprised, as I was the only anglophone there, but pleased. We agreed we’d meet later to see if we wanted to organize a divest movement at UQAM.

Read the full post

What hazard?

07 Sep 2020 - David

When I talk about the “hazards of studying conservatism,” fair question: what hazards am I talking about?

Read the full post

Riddle Me This

29 Aug 2020 - David

Riddle me this:

Read the full post

Done at UQAM

21 Jul 2020 - David

Just submitted the final, approved version of my master’s thesis. I’m done and I’m really proud of it. (Learn more about my subject here)

I got the idea of applying for a master’s studying conservatism around the summer of 2016. Sounded great back then because Trudeau was in and Trump hadn’t been elected yet!

I’ve been studying at UQAM’s since January, 2017 and I can’t say enough good things about my education and the good people I met there: always thoughtful discussions in class, political science is a fabulous department. I learned a lot more in three years here than in my undergrad at McGill, no doubt about it.

I was basically the only anglophone around. I learned a lot about feeling different yet feeling welcome. I think I met only one other anglophone student the whole time I was there.

But I’d recommend it to anyone. UQAM is a special place. I’m going to miss it. I think every single one of my professors offered that I could write in English but I decided to do everything in French. That was a real challenge but I got it done with a lot of generous help, especially from my supervisor Jean-Guy Prévost, who was top-notch from the beginning to the end. I also couldn’t have done any of this without parter, my family, and my Quaker community.

Read the full post

Seeking Giant Shoulders to Stand On

04 Jul 2020 - David

I was underwhelmed and often disappointed by much of what I read about conservatism in general and Harper in particular.

Read the full post

The Harper paradox: my master's thesis

28 Jun 2020 - David

My thesis chases around ex-Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper trying to figure out where he got the idea for making tough-on-crime policies the center of his 10 years in power, considering:

• Crime had been falling for 15 years
• No population in the world feels safer than Canadians
• These policies didn’t win many votes

Read the full post

I Study Conservatism

21 Jun 2020 - David

For those who don’t know, I entered my master’s (after writing a mess of a manifesto) feeling irritated by what I saw as low-quality, careless and occasionally intellectually lazy work about conservatism, including work about right-wing populism, men’s rights, creationists, and all lives matter.

Read the full post