Aileen Friesen

Aileen Friesen is an Associate Professor in the Department of History at the University of Winnipeg, affiliated with the Faculty of Arts. She also serves as Executive Director of the Plett Foundation, focusing on interdisciplinary historical research and community engagement. Her work bridges academic and public history through initiatives like heritage cruises and educational outreach.

Education Background: While specific degrees are not detailed in the text, her academic roles and publications suggest advanced training in History, likely with a PhD in Russian or Mennonite Studies. She is associated with the Centre for Transnational Mennonite Studies and the H. Sanford Riley Centre for Canadian History.

Research Interests:

• Mennonite History: Focuses on migration, religious dissent, and colonial experiences in Siberia and Ukraine.
• Russian/Soviet History: Explores Orthodoxy’s role in colonization, state-religion interactions, and ethnic group policies.
• Migration Studies: Analyzes displacement patterns, transnational identity formation, and diaspora communities.

Her work frequently intersects with environmental history, religious studies, and colonial studies.

Publications Trends: Recent scholarship emphasizes Siberian Mennonite communities, Soviet-era religious policies, and transnational ethnic mythologies. She combines archival research with oral histories, as seen in The Russian Mennonite Story (2018) and Colonizing Russia’s Promised Land (2024). Her 2020 analysis of Omsk bishops reveals how spiritual networks shaped colonial dynamics.

Awards & Grants: No specific awards listed. However, her publications and roles suggest sustained institutional support for research in Mennonite and Russian studies.

Labs/Teams: Active in the Newberry Consortium in American Indian Studies and the State Socialism Workshop. Collaborates with the Oral History Centre and the Centre for Rupert’s Land Studies.