Laura Madokoro

Laura Madokoro completed her doctoral studies at the University of British Columbia in November 2012. She then moved on to pursue postdoctoral work at Columbia University, New York City. She is now assitant professor at the Department of History and Classical Studies at McGill University. She maintains her interest in migration as a formative influence on contemporary social life and is currently pursuing research on the history of medical exclusions of migrants in North America.

Experience as a Trudeau Scholar

Reflecting on the past few years, I feel very fortunate to have been a Trudeau Scholar. The financial support provided by the Trudeau Foundation was critical, allowing me to conduct research in archives in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Hong Kong. More valuable however, are the extraordinary conversations and rich collaborations I pursued as a result of relationships forged during my time with the Foundation. The one thing I will always associate with gatherings of the Trudeau Foundation is a kind of quiet but dynamic “buzz”. This buzz is literal; the product of people from various disciplines and backgrounds coming together to share ideas, discuss, and debate. It is also metaphoric, describing the buzz that I carry with me in my work, a reminder of the value of publicly-engaged scholarship that the Trudeau Foundation is so committed to fostering.