Student spotlight: Cameron Tardif

Cameron Tardif is a doctoral candidate in history from San Diego, California and Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He earned his B.A. and M.A. from McGill University in Montreal and now studies sport as a space of race and power in 20th-century United States and Canada under the guidance of Lawrence Glickman at Cornell.

What is your area of research and why is it important?

I am a historian of the 20th-century United States and Canada. My research focuses on sport as a space where race and power are made and negotiated and explores topics such as citizenship, borders, state-making, diaspora, and empire. My dissertation is a social history of the U.S.-Canada borderland that traces the experiences of Black, Asian, and Indigenous athletes as they move across the border. My research is important because it unsettles long standing historical narratives of U.S.-Canada relations and race-making in Canada – particularly the notion that Canada is a racial promised land.

What are the larger implications of this research?

Borders are in principle a simple idea; but in practice, extremely complicated and often asymmetric in how they are experienced. Despite being the longest international boundary in the world, the U.S.-Canada border receives very little attention.

By spotlighting the U.S.-Canada border, the larger implications are twofold. First, it challenges the historical idea of Canadian benevolence. Partly because of its proximity to a racially hostile U.S. (i.e. Asian exclusion laws, chattel slavery, and Indigenous genocide) it’s a commonly held idea that Canada is antithetical to the U.S. on racial matters. Yet, the experiences of Black, Asian, and Indigenous Canadians are informed by the same entangled histories of freedom, slavery, migration, dispossession, and citizenship-making present in the U.S.

Second, my research takes seriously the role of sport in broader topics like state-formation, citizenship, borders, and empire. Sport and sport culture are two of the most ubiquitous features of modern society and is a lens to consider dimensions of race, politics, social and cultural formations, and nationalism.

What does it mean to you to have received the Deanne Gebell Gitner ’66 and Family Annual Prize for Teaching Assistants?

Being awarded the Deanne Gebell Gitner ’66 and Family Annual Prize for Teaching Assistants was an honor that I was not anticipating. For me, teaching and working with students is the most rewarding part of academia and something I dedicate a lot of time to. To know that the faculty around me and my students appreciate the effort and energy I put into designing discussions, lectures, and activities and nominated me is almost as much of an honor as the award itself.

What did this award allow you to do that you might not have been able to otherwise?

The award allowed me to extend one of my research trips at Library and Archives Canada, in Ottawa, as well as visit family in the area. On a less serious note, I was able to go to Barnes and Noble and pick up a few new books for leisure reading – a luxury during the slog of research and writing.

What are your hobbies or interests outside of your research or scholarship?

I enjoy gardening and landscaping in my backyard. I also love to work with my hands, so I often build or take things apart – lately it’s been hanging drywall in my basement. I’m also a diehard Montreal Canadiens fan and enjoy the occasional round of golf, a pint with friends, and watering my houseplants.

Why did you choose Cornell to pursue your degree?

One of the most significant factors in choosing Cornell for my Ph.D. was the opportunity to teach. At other programs, not having duties to TA or teach is seen as a luxury. However, I specifically wanted the chance to teach – both as a TA and instructor of my own freshman seminar – which Cornell provides. I’m also lucky to have a great committee chair in Larry Glickman and appreciate the constellation of scholars within the history department that I get to work with.