Teaching and Professional Practice

M04 - Three Minute Thesis Competition (Heat 1)

Date: May 30 | Time: 12:00pm to 01:30pm | Location: Classroom - CL 435 Room ID:15753

Sponsor / Commanditaire : University of Toronto Press | MITACS | Abacus Data

Chair/Président/Présidente : Silvina Danesi (Executive Director, CPSA)

Judges/Juges: : Jerald Sabin (Western University) / Allison Smith (University of Toronto Mississauga)

Graduate Student Three-Minute Thesis - Terms of Reference
Ma thèse en trois minutes - Mandat

Proposal on Consilium: Catus Brooks (University of Saskatchewan)
Abstract: An inflected version of the Latin consulere is consilium, which means plan, purpose, and counsel, and advice, judgement, and wisdom. My research problem is how consilium has been appropriated from political theory. The practice of consilium has been divided among various spiritual-advisors, lawyers, social workers, field experts, and psychiatrists. The power of the consul has been divided so far from political theory that students of politics will seldom find courses on advisories, councils, and consultancies. This art, this science of the chief counsellor originated in political theory. The political theorist should take this appropriation as a serious concern and see what means are available to recover consilium to their research agenda. To show the origins of consilium in political theory, I will give a variant reading on Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics from an advisory lens. Nicomachean Ethics is commonly read as the groundwork to the Politics in political science and as a normative framework in philosophy. I do agree with these readings, yet without an advisory lens, theorists miss a great deal of the purpose of this text. Further, I analyze the successes in counselling the Catholic Church had in their administration with Constantine. I engage with Constantine’s official policy, through his letters and the Cambridge History of the Catholic Church, to draw lessons from the best past practices of Constantine and the Catholic Church. With Consilium, policymakers apply the free-spirit of political thought in their practice.

Stronger Together or Better Alone? Elements of Uncertainty in the Scottish and Quebec Independence Referenda: Sabrina Sotiriu (University of Ottawa)
Abstract: Though comparing separatist referenda is a du jour topic of interest of nationalist comparativists, developments and frameworks have been the usual variables by each these processes have been compared and contrasted. In my thesis I specifically group some of these elements under the umbrella factors of uncertainty between the Scottish 2014 and Quebec 1995 independence referenda, including but not limited. This is an important commonality to focus on, as risk adverse voters are ultimately faced to gamble over reason and emotion, or status quo versus utopia, when having to make the decision on referendum-day whether to “go at it alone” or not. In my thesis I use institutionalism (discursive, neo-institutionalism etc) to answer 4 sub-questions of my main inquiry, specifically on the importance of the referendum questions; policies versus identity politics in each; the effect of referenda-related legislation in both cases; and the voters in the two referenda compared to broader voter theory. Institutionalism alone cannot answer this question which is why I will also employ complementary voter theory as mentioned above, thus illustrating the point that in analyzing independence referenda, one theory alone cannot fully explain these processes. Methodologically, given the four-prong analysis, I use process tracing as it is a multidimensional qualitative method focused, as its name conveys, on following processes from start to finish while focusing on various aspects of the processes themselves. Process tracing involves multiple data streams acquired from interviews, archival research, survey data etc which is why it works best in my thesis work.

Political Branding in the Liberal Party of Canada from 2006 to 2015: Elisha Corbett (Queen's University)
Abstract: This paper uses content analysis to define and measure the Liberal Party of Canada’s brand from 2006 to 2015. The main research questions that this paper address is: 1) What was the Liberal Party brand in each federal election from 2006 to 2015? 2) To what extent has the Liberal Party used branding techniques in each of the four elections between 2006 and 2015? This paper has three main hypotheses. This paper first hypothesizes that the Liberal Party brand changed in each federal election. Secondly, this paper hypothesizes the Liberal Party brand became more consistent over time. Lastly, this paper hypothesizes that a positive linear relationship exists between branding and time. These questions and hypotheses form this paper’s overall argument that the Liberal Party has used branding in federal elections since 2006 and that it is a central part of their communications strategy. Further, branding is different than political framing and marketing because of the formal and principle role it has in modern political campaigns. This paper used an inductive approach to create a branding dictionary to define the Liberal Party brand in each election from 2006 to 2015. This paper then used a deductive approach to measure the Liberal Party’s branding techniques over time using the branding dictionary. This paper makes an original contribution to the political branding literature because it is the first quantitative indicator of branding and the first study of the Liberal Party’s brand over time.

Municipal-Indigenous Planning: A Qualitative Case Study of Co-production, Coexistence, and Self-determination in Thompson, Manitoba: Noelle Bouvier (University of Saskatchewan)
Abstract: With a growing Indigenous population and the increasing recognition of their inherent group rights, municipalities and Indigenous communities are increasingly looking to engage with one another. Thus, the purpose of this research is to better understand the extent to which engagement is occurring between the City of Thompson, located on Treaty 5 territory, and the local Indigenous stakeholders and rightsholders. Using qualitative case study methodology this research builds upon the two theoretical concepts of co-production and coexistence, while exploring Indigenous understandings of self-determination in the city. Alongside a document analysis of municipal-Indigenous plans and policies, semi-structured interviews were conducted with individuals from municipal government, as well as Indigenous political bodies and organizations. Based upon the thematic content analysis of this data I argue that, first, while aspects of co-production and coexistence are occurring in Thompson, urban governance has largely remained unsettled. For instance, while the Indigenous Accord planning process is one example of more meaningful engagement with urban Indigeneity, it has still faced the predominant challenges of municipal-Indigenous planning. Second, that lessons from Thompson have broader implications for the urban planning profession. Specifically that Indigenous allyship is a theoretical and practical framework that can be adapted for white-settlers with respect to developing municipal-Indigenous partnerships. Recognizing that those engaged in city planning processes occupy inherently political roles necessitates that city planners adopt an ethic of allyship in order to better address the structural inequalities that impede Indigenous participation, and to better mobilize around the opportunities presented by diverse Indigenous communities.