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The Medieval Digital Research in Arts and Graphical Environmental Networks (DRAGEN) laboratory, is offering ten $900 scholarship opportunities for students to immerse themselves online in history this summer. The scholarships are being offered to students registered for Queen’s University’s Bader International Study Centre’s (BISC) six week “Archaeology with the Castle Online” field school, taking place May 10-June 17, 2021.
The DRAGEN Lab is a learning hub located on the St. Jerome’s University (SJU) campus that leads a $10-million “Environments of Change” project funded by a partnership grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), and other partnering agencies. The seven year project focuses on the use of emerging digital technologies to investigate the historical relationship between climate and culture in the Middle Ages. In 2014, its founder, Steven Bednarski, a professor of History at SJU and the University of Waterloo and an award-winning teacher, developed an innovative study abroad experience at 15th-century Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex, England. The 2021 summer scholarships continue Bednarski’s and the DRAGEN Lab’s legacy of helping emerging scholars acquire skills at a faster rate by experiencing Herstmonceux in a virtual way.
Students who register for the program will broaden their perspective by experiencing key British heritage institutions virtually, and participate in a livestream first-ever excavation of Herstmonceux Castle’s Gamekeeper’s Lodge (circa 1440). Students will also be able to use their archaeological training to analyze 3-D replicas from the dig, while also benefiting from learning in small and personalized classes. Over the six week program students will take CLST 408/Archeology Fieldwork Practicum (1.0 credit at University of Waterloo; 6.0 credits at Queen’s University). Third- and fourth-year students also have the opportunity to take CLST RESEARCH 594, an independent study course that allows them to perform supervised research (0.5 credit at University of Waterloo; 3.0 credits at Queen’s University).
“Herstmonceux Castle served as my inspiration to develop a study abroad program for students at our university,” added Bednarski. “I know how transformative of an experience studying this castle can be for students interested in archaeology and medieval history. Offering these scholarships ensures students have the opportunity to keep being part of this experience during a time when being on-site is not possible.”
Click here to find out how to apply for the program and for a DRAGEN Lab scholarship, before the application deadline on April 1, 2021.
