“A huge part of my interest in history is making people excited about it”

Charlotte Clarke has always loved history. “How the past shaped the way things are now. How everyday people lived their lives,” she says. In her final year at Cape Breton University in Sydney, Nova Scotia, she took a course on early modern Italy and knew she’d found her topic.

“Florence and Tuscany in the 16th century have quite a bit of archival material, including material on sex work,” she says. “There are Office of Decency records, court records. It’s interesting because I don’t know what I’ll find. It’s like a treasure hunt to read between the lines and see what I can learn about everyday lives, especially with regard to health care.”

Active in peer mentorship at Cape Breton University, Clarke went on to earn her MA at U of T last year, while working on the Department of History’s flagship Florence mapping project. She’s now embarking on a PhD. “I fell in love with the research process,” she says. Her 10-year dreams include sharing that love.

“A huge part of my interest in history is making people excited about it,” she says. “I do hope I’m teaching, back in the Maritimes, and I would love to do some public-facing projects to make history a bit more accessible.”

Clarke is grateful for the financial freedom and supportive community that come with a Naylor Fellowship. Above all, she says, she’s honoured. “David Naylor is a wonderful role model and the Irving family have a huge impact in the Maritimes. Those two names associated with me is mind-blowing. A very big thank you to all of the donors and everyone involved in the fellowship.”