Sheinin, David

Boxing and the Third Place: Mapping Community and Urban Revitalization in Early Twentieth Century Winnipeg

Type:
Names:
Creator (cre): McKeown, Matthew F, Thesis advisor (ths): Sheinin, David, Degree committee member (dgc): Hatton, Nathon, Degree committee member (dgc): Wright, Robert, Degree committee member (dgc): Kidd, Bruce, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University
Abstract:

This study considers the impact of urban revitalization through community engagement and the promotion of activities, in particular boxing in early twentieth century Winnipeg. It details the development of a multiethnic amateur boxing league which arose in the city during this period, using both qualitative and quantitative sources and a series of maps. This research shows how spaces in Winnipeg, like the Young Men's Christian Society, the One Big Union and the Winnipeg City Police Amateur Athletic Association, used boxing to support young men and boys from various ethnic, class and religious backgrounds. Winnipeg newspapers, such as the Winnipeg Tribune, offer rich quantitative sources, including boxing cards that list fighters' names, dates, and locations. When paired with census data, maps, and archival information from institutions like the YMCA, these sources provide a wealth of detail on Winnipeg's ethnic, class, and religious composition. This study leverages these resources to advance the understanding of spatial dynamics and demonstrates how analyzing third places can address questions about segregation in the city.

Author Keywords: Boxing, GIS, Sports, Third Place, Winnipeg, Young Men's Christian Association

2025

The Rise of Property and the Death of the Moral Economy: Enclosure and Social Unrest in Late-Eighteenth Century England

Type:
Names:
Creator (cre): Martel, Ewan, Thesis advisor (ths): Sheinin, David, Degree committee member (dgc): Wright, Robert, Degree committee member (dgc): Elton, Hugh, Degree committee member (dgc): Bargain-Villéger, Alban, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University
Abstract:

AbstractThe Rise of Property and the Death of the Moral Economy: Enclosure and Social Unrest in Late-Eighteenth Century England – Ewan Martel

Eighteenth-century Great Britain was a kingdom marked by the rise of a property-based and highly individualistic conception of social and economic structures came a doctrine of improvement based upon extracting the most value from a tract of land possible. Parliamentary enclosure was critical to this change, seeing lands converted from something of communal value to individual property. This work argues that the growth and implementation of parliamentary enclosure was a source of immense social unrest in late-eighteenth century Britain as the process and its supporting ideologies were inherently counter-intuitive to traditional systems of communal land ownership and subsistence. This paper utilizes primary sources from both landowners implementing enclosure and the responses of commoners and enclosure's opponents to better understand the agency of the peasantry in their fight against a damaging practice and how forms of unrest were multi-faceted and prevalent, despite the growing power of the land-owing gentry.

Author Keywords: Class, Common Lands, Eighteenth-Century, Enclosure, Great Britain, Social Unrest

2023

Labour, Migration and Resistance: The Legacy of INTERCEDE in Domestic Workers Advocacy in 1980s Ontario.

Type:
Names:
Creator (cre): Haruna, Jamila Idris, Thesis advisor (ths): Sheinin, David, Degree committee member (dgc): Wright, Robert, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University
Abstract:

In 1980s Ontario, racialized migrant domestic workers faced systemic exploitation, precarious immigration status, and exclusion from labour protections, reinforced by provincial and federal policies that devalued domestic labour. This thesis examines how INTERCEDE, a Toronto-based coalition, challenged these structural inequalities. Employing an intersectional approach, this study reveals how race, gender, immigration status, and class collectively marginalized migrant care workers.

Drawing on extensive primary sources, it analyzes INTERCEDE's influence on major policy changes, including reforms to the Foreign Domestic Movement (FDM) program and to provincial labour laws. The thesis argues that while INTERCEDE efforts contributed to securing significant, albeit often fragile, victories, these gains highlighted both the power of activism and the persistent challenges under neoliberal regimes.

It contributes to feminist labour history, migration studies, and care work scholarship by demonstrating how organized resistance reshaped Canadian policy and contested institutionalized marginalization.

Author Keywords: Care Activism, Care Work History, Feminist Labour History, INTERCEDE, Migrant Domestic Workers, Resistance

2026

Profoundly Misunderstood: Nuclear Energy in Ontario, 1940s – 1980s

Type:
Names:
Creator (cre): Ellis, Ian, Thesis advisor (ths): Wright, Robert, Degree committee member (dgc): Sheinin, David, Degree committee member (dgc): Nicol, Heather, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University
Abstract:

This study examines the intersection between nuclear energy in Ontario, Canada, with popular forces acting upon it between the 1940s and the mid-1980s. It finds that nuclear energy was the target of changing epistemology as society shifted to a post-modern framework in its perception of technology. Technology was irreparably associated with potential encroaching governmental Technocracy. Nuclear was additionally impacted by a societal misunderstanding of the engineering design philosophy, success through failure, as a negative aspect. These factors then combined with the common psychological phenomenon of affective heuristics to produce a society that was fundamentally opposed to nuclear energy on intellectual principles, safety principles, and base psychological principles. It is the finding of this paper that these factors almost assuredly contributed to the cancellations of and shift away from nuclear power in Ontario. This study offers a rebuttal to the overarching popular misconceptions of, and apprehension toward, nuclear energy.

Author Keywords: nuclear, Ontario, post-modern, risk, technology

2024

Biography of Arturo Cruz Jr

Type:
Names:
Creator (cre): Muniru, Faisal, Thesis advisor (ths): Sheinin, David, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University
Abstract:

Arturo Cruz Jr., born in 1953, was a highly influential and respected figure in Nicaraguan Politics. He was involved in the Contras. Cruz played a crucial role in supporting the Contras, helping to secure U.S. funding for the group which was a rebel group formed by the US against the Sandinista dictatorship in the 1980s. Later, he also served as the Nicaraguan ambassador to the US between 2007 and 2009. His involvement in the Contras was a controversial part of his career, but it did not define his contribution to Nicaraguan Politics. In this role, he worked tirelessly to influence American foreign policy towards his home country, which included advocating for democracy, human rights, and press freedom. Cruz's efforts to promote these values were a testament to his dedication to improving the lives of Nicaraguans. Cruz was deeply involved in various peace agreements in Central and Latin America, working towards resolving conflicts and promoting stability in the region. His contribution to the region went beyond Nicaragua, and he was well-respected for his efforts towards promoting peace and stability. Throughout his career, Cruz was a strong advocate for democracy and human rights. He believed that these values were essential for a country to prosper and develop. Cruz was a vocal advocate for press freedom and recognized the critical role of the media in promoting democracy and holding government officials accountable. This biographical study aims to explore the life and contributions of Arturo Cruz Jr. towards Nicaraguan Politics and the wider Latin American region. Through a detailed analysis of his life, this study seeks to shed light on an important

2023

The Rise of Property and the Death of the Moral Economy: Enclosure and Social Unrest in Late-Eighteenth Century England

Type:
Names:
Creator (cre): Martel, Ewan, Thesis advisor (ths): Sheinin, David, Degree committee member (dgc): Wright, Robert, Degree committee member (dgc): Elton, Hugh, Degree committee member (dgc): Bargain-Villéger, Alban, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University
Abstract:

AbstractThe Rise of Property and the Death of the Moral Economy: Enclosure and Social Unrest in Late-Eighteenth Century England – Ewan Martel

Eighteenth-century Great Britain was a kingdom marked by the rise of a property-based and highly individualistic conception of social and economic structures came a doctrine of improvement based upon extracting the most value from a tract of land possible. Parliamentary enclosure was critical to this change, seeing lands converted from something of communal value to individual property. This work argues that the growth and implementation of parliamentary enclosure was a source of immense social unrest in late-eighteenth century Britain as the process and its supporting ideologies were inherently counter-intuitive to traditional systems of communal land ownership and subsistence. This paper utilizes primary sources from both landowners implementing enclosure and the responses of commoners and enclosure's opponents to better understand the agency of the peasantry in their fight against a damaging practice and how forms of unrest were multi-faceted and prevalent, despite the growing power of the land-owing gentry.

Author Keywords: Class, Common Lands, Eighteenth-Century, Enclosure, Great Britain, Social Unrest

2023

Profoundly Misunderstood: Nuclear Energy in Ontario, 1940s – 1980s

Type:
Names:
Creator (cre): Ellis, Ian, Thesis advisor (ths): Wright, Robert, Degree committee member (dgc): Sheinin, David, Degree committee member (dgc): Nicol, Heather, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University
Abstract:

This study examines the intersection between nuclear energy in Ontario, Canada, with popular forces acting upon it between the 1940s and the mid-1980s. It finds that nuclear energy was the target of changing epistemology as society shifted to a post-modern framework in its perception of technology. Technology was irreparably associated with potential encroaching governmental Technocracy. Nuclear was additionally impacted by a societal misunderstanding of the engineering design philosophy, success through failure, as a negative aspect. These factors then combined with the common psychological phenomenon of affective heuristics to produce a society that was fundamentally opposed to nuclear energy on intellectual principles, safety principles, and base psychological principles. It is the finding of this paper that these factors almost assuredly contributed to the cancellations of and shift away from nuclear power in Ontario. This study offers a rebuttal to the overarching popular misconceptions of, and apprehension toward, nuclear energy.

Author Keywords: nuclear, Ontario, post-modern, risk, technology

2024

Entertain Me: The History of Commodified Racism and the Exploitation of African Americans in Professional Wrestling

Type:
Names:
Creator (cre): Crozier, Jason Michael, Thesis advisor (ths): Sheinin, David, Degree committee member (dgc): Hatton, Charles N, Degree committee member (dgc): Wright, Robert, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University
Abstract:

The scope of my scholarship has undergone a primarily interdisciplinary approach with an emphasis on historiographic scholarship and method, with the support of communication and sociological theory to underpin my core arguments in each chapter. I use the theories of Third Space, commodified racism, and common sense racism in combination to provide an in-depth analysis of prior scholarship on professional wrestling, contemporary and historic fan activities, and biographic information about professional wrestlers. My first chapter examines prior scholarly methodologies and approaches for broaching the topic of professional wrestling while providing a unique and effective alternative for negotiating with the complex and often-tenuous relationship between professional wrestling, race, and collective memory. I evaluate the seminal works that make up the body of previous professional wrestling scholarship, specifically focusing on dramaturgy as a scholarly approach that limits focus to in-ring performance. In Chapter 2, I provide an in-depth analysis of first-hand accounts by and about Black professional wrestlers, charting the ways in which commodified and common sense racism affect both their careers and personal perspectives on race. Drawing on the tradition of minstrelsy, the chapter defines the ways that Black professional wrestlers have been categorized as mere sources of entertainment rather than being portrayed as skilled, athletic, or serious contenders for wrestling titles. My third chapter assesses twenty-first century fan engagement with professional wrestling content within the context of online Third Spaces. The chapter highlights the points of ideological division amongst fans, who both support and resist the wrestling industry's common sense and commodifying racism.

Keywords: Pro wrestling; commodified racism, common sense racism, Third Space, critical race theory, American history, fan studies

Author Keywords: commodified racism, common sense racism, critical race theory, fan studies, Pro wrestling, Third Space

2023

EMPIRE AND ITS PRACTITIONERS: HEALTH, DEVELOPMENT, AND THE U.S. OCCUPATION OF HAITI, 1915-1934

Type:
Names:
Creator (cre): Davidson, Matthew, Thesis advisor (ths): Sheinin, David, Degree committee member (dgc): Dunaway, Finis, Degree committee member (dgc): Wright, Robert, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University
Abstract:

In 1915 U.S. Marines invaded Haiti. Driven first by the epidemiological dangers in Haiti, health and medicine was made a central tenet in administering the occupation. Useful for protecting the American Marines from disease, the Service d'Hygiene (the occupation-era Public Health Service) also served a hegemonic purpose. By bringing American biomedicine to sick Haitians, the Service d'Hygiene built support for the occupation and helped foster long-term connections between Haiti and the United States. This hegemonic drive was made possible by the incorporation of non-state actors into the colonial project. To achieve this, the American authorities forged a development strategy for Haiti that was premised upon a relationship between the state and private institutions such as the Rockefeller Foundation. This strategy also encouraged Haiti to look to the United States for support, a goal successfully realized when Haitian politicians continued to do so even after the Marines left Haiti in 1934.

Author Keywords: Haiti, Hegemony, Imperialism, Public Health, Rockefeller Foundation, Service d'Hygiene

2014

Beyond Paris: Jacqueline Kennedy and the Presidency

Type:
Names:
Creator (cre): Priest, Allen George, Thesis advisor (ths): Sheinin, David, Degree committee member (dgc): Dunaway, Finis, Degree committee member (dgc): Durand, Caroline, Degree committee member (dgc): Kay, Carolyn, Degree committee member (dgc): Pruessen, Ronald, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University
Abstract:

A presidential spouse in an era of rigid gender norms, Jacqueline Kennedy frequently straddled the divide between celebrity, social acceptability, and personal desire. Yet, history remembers America's thirty-seventh First Lady more for her fashion and soft-spoken nature. Forgotten is that she was a `transitional' figure, who oversaw America's largest restoration of the White House and served as a `goodwill ambassador' for her husband. When three gunshots brought their tenure to an abrupt end, Jackie's focus shifted and she fixated on the creation of a legacy that immortalized JFK. `Camelot,' is a construct almost exclusively conceived and executed by the former First Lady. In this vein, the coming exploration delves into the private actions of Jackie during her time in as First Lady, contrasting them sharply with her public image. What emerges is a portrait the world seldom saw: one driven by raw intellect and a desire to be of service to her husband and country.

Author Keywords: Camelot, First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Restoration, White House

2014