Postgraduate Bursaries

Alison Kimlinger and Alexander Salt, both from the University of Manitoba, were recipients of CCUSB postgraduate travel bursaries to assist them in attending the workshop. Read their thoughts on the workshop and how it contributed to their own research.

Alison Kimlinger

My M.A. thesis is an analysis of the institutions in Canada and the United States that manage the border, the Canada Border Services Agency and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and what their creation in the aftermath of 9/11 has meant for border management. For one, it was great to get a perspective outside of the region I study in (the Prairies) and to hear about the issues facing more populated areas around Buffalo. The border where I reside is very remote and the challenges are different; surveillance and monitoring of a vast wilderness, whereas in Buffalo the challenge is the overwhelming amount of commercial and personal travel that crosses the border. The issues raised by the speakers all provided me with a new perspective, and for me personally it was beneficial to understand the effects the institutions I study have on the border communities.

The cultural aspect, especially things Dr. Gilbert brought up in her presentation, was something I had previously not given much thought to, but cultural representations of the border are now something I will point to in my thesis. Additionally, the European perspective was a fantastic addition to the discussion. Often these types of events are just Canadians and Americans going back and forth. The outside perspective, especially bringing in comparisons of the EU and differences and similarities there, was fantastic. All in all, this workshop was an invaluable opportunity for a junior scholar like myself to be among some of the greatest minds studying the Canada-US border and to be a participant in these discussions. Dr. Hale's presentation, in particular, provided me with insight in regards to the CBSA that I was unaware of. I returned to Manitoba with a fresh perspective and new avenues to explore with my research.

Alexander Salt

My current research is centered on U.S-Canadian defence relations. Specifically I have been examining the role that strategic culture plays in explaining the behavior and attitudes that militaries have towards technology and how it impacts interoperability. The various discussions during the Niagara workshop proved to be exceedingly insightful, particularly those surrounding the role of culture.

I very much enjoyed the section of Christopher’s Sands’ presentation where he discussed the techno-centrism embedded within U.S. culture and how the U.S. Customs Border Control has a preference for embracing technological solutions to problems. My research certainly echoes Dr. Sands’ argument, as the U.S. military continues to utilize a variety of information technologies to their fullest advantage.  It will certainly be very interesting to watch how technology, particularly digital kiosks will alter the way consumers experience border crossings in the coming years.

It was also very interesting to listen to Dr. Hale go into great detail regarding just how closely the various border patrol organizations in Canada and the U.S. cooperate jointly in operational matters. 
Overall, as someone who is relatively new to the study of the U.S.-Canada border, I found the Niagara workshop to be an incredibly fulfilling experience. It was fantastic to be exposed the trans-Atlantic research network of scholars who are focusing on this topic.