Tarah Brookfield
Campus: Wilfrid Laurier
Office: RAC West 309
Email: tbrookfield@wlu.ca
Phone: 519-756-8228 ext. 5792
Research Projects
My early research focused on studying Canadian women’s political participation as voters and activists. Most recently it has expanded to include children and youth’s classification and involvement as citizens. In both these cases, I’m interested in understanding how Canada’s participation in outbreaks of war across the twentieth century influenced and changed political conditions and participation.
My current project is a book manuscript entitled Cold War Comforts: Canadian Women & Child Welfare. This research examines women’s concerns about children’s health and safety during the nuclear arms race and outbreaks of war in Europe and Asia between 1945 and 1975. The women’s welfare solutions varied wildly and included civil defence, support for the United Nations, the disarmament movement, foreign relief and international adoption. I’m also beginning a new project that examines Canadian children and youth’s conceptions of nationalism and internationalism during the Cold War and their participation in child-lead international development projects such as the Trick or Treat for UNICEF campaign.
Representative Publications:
- “Maverick Mothers and Mercy Flights: Canada’s Controversial Introduction to International Adoption,” Journal of the Canadian Historical Association, 19(1) 2009, 307-330.
- “Divided by the Ballot Box: The Montreal Council of Women and the 1917 Election,” Canadian Historical Review, 89(4) December 2008: 473-501.