Jack McCart awarded Dean’s Doctoral Excellence Scholarship
This article originally appeared on U of T Celebrates and Arts & Science News.
Jack McCart, a PhD candidate at the Centre for Medieval Studies in the Faculty of Arts & Science, has been awarded the faculty’s Dean’s Doctoral Excellence Scholarship.
The scholarship recognizes students’ academic excellence, the impact of their research and the leadership they demonstrate beyond their research activities.
McCart’s doctoral thesis is a study of memorial practices in the merchant elite of London during the 14th and 15th centuries. He delves into testaments, executors’ records, church inventories and many other primary sources to paint a complex and intimate picture of death, patronage and commemoration during this period.
“This award is an honour and an affirmation, both of the work I’m doing but also that historical scholarship is valued and fostered within the university environment,” McCart said.
McCart’s supervisor, Associate Professor Shami Ghosh, said he was “ecstatic but not entirely surprised” at McCart’s recognition. “He’s like a unicorn: an outstanding academic, someone who will excel in academic service while remaining humane, generous and compassionate in every way,” Ghosh said.
McCart, who completed his master’s degree at the Centre for Medieval Studies in 2021, has already received Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council funding and the Medieval Academy of America’s esteemed Schallek Fellowship, which enables his archival research in the United Kingdom.