معرفی
Rebecca Beausaert is an Assistant Professor and the Francis and Ruth Redelmeier Professor in Rural History at the University of Guelph (since July 2025), with a concurrent role as Adjunct Professor (2013–2025). She holds a Ph.D. from York University (2013), an M.A. from Western University (2006), and a B.A. (Honours) from Western University (2005). Her research focuses on rural and small-town Ontario, exploring themes such as food history, sport and leisure culture, gender dynamics, and public history. She co-founded the What Canada Ate project, which examines culinary history through curated exhibits.
Her teaching spans institutions including Wilfrid Laurier University, Seneca Polytechnic, and the University of Toronto Mississauga, with courses on Canadian history, food history, and the First World War. She has curated over a dozen exhibits, both physical and virtual, focusing on topics like food culture, war memorabilia, and rural communities. Notable exhibits include Kitchens of the Future (2025) and Healthy, Happy, Wholesome: Cooking and Wellness in Canadian History (2022).
Beausaert’s publications include her 2024 monograph Pursuing Play: Women’s Leisure in Small-Town Ontario, 1870–1914, and articles on topics like bicycle culture, abortion trials, and wartime voluntarism. Her work bridges academic and public history, with blogs on NiCHE and Active History exploring themes like culinary labor and winter leisure.
- Awards: 2023 Canadian Historical Association Teaching Prize, Dorothy Duncan Award (2018–2019), and multiple fellowships including the Ramsay Cook Fellowship (2011, 2009).
- Grants/Projects: Co-directs What Canada Ate, leading student-curated exhibits since 2018. Active in public history initiatives, including collaborations with museums like the Woodstock Museum.
