Graduate Student Research: Mick Stevens studies the origins of the Newfoundland railway
Mick Stevens examines the clash between railway fever and anti-modernism in late nineteenth-century Newfoundland. His research leads him to reflect on the intentions of industrialists, elites, and those in the tourism industry.
Mick Stevens explains his research project, which was awarded a prestigious scholarship of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada:
"The research project that I am hoping to complete by the send of Spring semester 2020 is one that looks into the construction of Newfoundland’s trans-insular railway and how this and the following expansion of sports hunting and other tourism industries affected the colony during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. There was a trans-national movement of antimodernism, a knee-jerk reaction to technological and social progress, within which Newfoundland was positioned as a therapeutic recovery space from ailments like tuberculosis or the stresses of modern industrial life. It was the 'Norway of the New World,' and marketed largely as a space through which people could return to a more natural or primitive state.
Through examination of tourism advertisements, travel narratives, hunting guides and railway schedules, I hope to ask primarily the following questions: What sort of Newfoundland did early nineteenth century industrialists, elites, and tourism boosters perceive? How were they trying to construct in the minds of their readers? How did their readers perceive the lived realities of Newfoundland as a space in contrast or opposition to the narratives that late-nineteenth century capitalists endeavoured to construct? As part of this I also want to draw attention to the lived experiences and impacts of the railway, sports hunting, and progress movement on working-class fishing communities who were directly impacted by this, and to explore the impacts to Indigenous communities on the interior and along the southern and west coasts of the island."
Mick Stevens is a M.A. candidate at Memorial University of Newfoundland, whose areas of focus include the history of imperialism and colonialism, Newfoundland history, Indigenous history, and Canadian history. He has worked previously as a research assistant for Dr. Yolande Pottie-Sherman, Dr. Rochelle Côté, and Dr. Jonathan Clapperton on projects focusing on Indigenous history in the Pacific Northwest and in Atlantic Canada, and on immigration patterns and migrant communities in the United States “Rust Belt.”