Deirdre McCorkindale

Deirdre McCorkindale is an Assistant Professor in the Department of History at the University of Guelph’s College of Arts. Her research focuses on African Canadian and African American history, with expertise in Black settlement in southwestern Ontario, the Jim Crow era, scientific racism, the Underground Railroad, Black activism, and the history of slavery and abolition. She can be reached at dmccorki@uoguelph.ca.

• Education:
  • Ph.D., Queen's University (2025)
  • M.A., University of Western Ontario (2012)
  • B.A., University of Western Ontario (2011)

McCorkindale investigates historical intersections of race, education, and activism in North America. Her work examines racialized systems of oppression, including scientific racism and Jim Crow segregation, alongside community resilience through education and the Underground Railroad.

Her publications include a 2022 book chapter analyzing segregation in Kent County schools, critical reviews of works on Loyalist slavery and Viola Desmond’s legacy, and a 2018 blog post addressing racial equity in Canadian universities. These outputs reflect interdisciplinary engagement with history, sociology, and critical race studies.

McCorkindale has contributed to documentaries such as Crossroads: Buxton (2022) and The North Star: Finding Black Mecca (2021), highlighting Black history in southern Ontario.