In this second installment of our Alumni Adventures series, we got in touch with History Alumni Shane Pacey. We asked Shane to share with us his favourite things about Queen's, his history degree and whether he had any advice he thought would be helpful for future History grads.
Departmental annual reports and file classification guides serve as invaluable resources in the work of government records archivists and government historians. They help us understand what the departments used to do and how they organized themselves to do it. This helps us to arrange, describe, and locate records in order to make them accessible to the Canadian public.
In which year did you graduate?
2006
What was your favourite history course or area of study?
East Asian history, and Canadian Indigenous history.
What is/was your favourite thing about Queen's?
There was always enough variety to the course offerings that I could find courses that appealed to my existing interests, and some about places and topics I had really never been exposed to. After the World Civilizations course in 1st year, I took courses on the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, East Asia, Latin America, Ireland, and topic-focused courses on the Vietnam War, North American Aboriginal history, and the Russian Revolution.
Of course, there was Canadian cultural and political history in there too, but I made a decision pretty early on to learn about things other than Western history, and I was pretty successful. I also paralleled my history studies with some great religious studies courses in East Asian and Indigenous traditions.
Why did you choose to study history?
I’ve always loved history, mythology, and fantasy. I grew up reading about Knights & castles, samurai & ninja, the War of 1812 (Pierre Berton’s History for Young Canadians series), everything Tolkien, and I loved a book called The Heroes of Asgard: Tales from Scandinavian Mythology, by A & E Kearny, which I bought for 10 cents at a garage sale when I was probably 8 or so. I think I recognized the interrelationship between ‘real’ history, mythology, and fantasy at a pretty early age, and remained fascinated by it.
Of course, growing up with He-man, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and the like probably warped my sense of reality too. But later, I just felt that it was important to learn history before you could understand the world, cultures, and people. I was accepted to an undergrad zoology program as well as history programs at various universities when I first applied, but the Queen’s program won out.
What are you doing now?
I’m a government records archivist working for Library and Archives Canada, responsible for the records of the federal Transport portfolio, as well as the Transportation Safety Board (the accident investigators). As a government records archivist, my job is to identify (appraise) government records of long-term historical value, to acquire and preserve those records, and to make them accessible to the Canadian public.
How has your undergraduate degree in history helped you in your career?
a) Historical context – Archival appraisal is a process that seeks to determine the long-term historical value of records. In order to do that, government records archivists have to be able to understand the activities of the federal departments in their historical context. We need to understand what a department does, how its activities have impacted or will impact Canadian society, and how it documents its activities. While my undergrad program didn’t deal specifically with the history of the Canadian federal government departments and their activities, my training in history allows me to put their activities in context, to argue for the significance of some activities over others, and to identify what records would provide the best evidence of those activities.
b) Historical research – In order to understand the current activities of the federal departments, government records archivists need to understand what those departments did in the past. Often, this specialized knowledge only comes about as a result of historical research, which I definitely spent a lot of time doing in my undergrad.
c) Writing – This job is full of writing. As Library and Archives Canada is a federal public institution, every major decision has to be argued, decided, and documented in reports and memos. So all of the writing I did in undergrad is paying off well on this front.
Do you have any advice for future history grads at Queen's?
I taught English in Korea for 6 years after graduating, and my interest in history made it a much more enriching experience than I think I would have had otherwise. I got married and traveled and I got involved in the local community as much as I could with my less-than-fluent Korean language capabilities. But when we decided to prepare to come back to Canada, I knew I would need something more than an undergraduate degree in order to work at a level in this field where I could provide for my family.
I came across information about the field of Public History and looked into the various master’s programs and their requirements. I was very interested in it because it focused on historical practice, and included work experience in the form of an internship. I started volunteering at a Korean national museum, later applied to Public History M.A. programs, and returned to Canada after having been accepted. During my studies I took courses in archival studies, got an internship placement at Library and Archives Canada, and I’ve been here ever since.
So my career advice for future history grads at Queen’s would be to explore all of your future options, find a field that interests you, and work towards it. Volunteer experience and internships are invaluable additions to your resumé and a great way to do networking in your field. For work in the federal public service, the Federal Student Work Experience Program is a good entry point for students while you continue your studies.
Ask the Queen’s History faculty and Career Services as well about the federal Post-secondary Co-operative Education and Internship Program. Students who work in placements in either of these programs are granted one opportunity to be bridged into term or permanent work in any federal department. And of course, bilingualism in both official languages in the federal public service is an asset, so it may be worthwhile enrolling in French courses at Queen’s if your chosen career path is aimed at federal government work. Good luck in finding your path!
We hope you enjoyed this segment of Alumni Adventures and as always, if you have an idea or know of someone you would like see a profile/post about, contact us on our dsc page or send us a message!