Posted on June 14; McMaster graduate students win three of six national awards

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/history_students.jpg” caption=”Churchill, Chupik, Dyck”]Three McMaster history students have been recognized for the quality of their research, winning three of the available six scholarships awarded annually by a national organization.

Doctoral students Jessa Chupik, Wendy Churchill, and Erika Dyck, have each been awarded a Hannah General Scholarship from the Associated Medical Services, winning $17,700 for their research in fields within the history of medicine.

“This is a bit of a coup for the University,” says David Wright, associate professor in the Department of History and Hannah Chair holder. “It shows our students are being recognized by their peers at the professional level for the fascinating work that's coming out of McMaster's History of Medicine program.”

Jessa Chupik is researching the relationship between institutionalized children and their families who put them in the Orillia Asylum between 1900 and 1950. She's studying 800 case files including correspondence between families and the child patients to gain an understanding of family ties and quality of relationships.

“There seems to be a belief that people who institutionalize their children are 'bad parents,' but I'm challenging that idea,” says Chupik. “Families often tried to find alternatives by seeking out chiropractors, homeopaths, and home care first. It was often very emotionally difficult for families to part with their children.”

Chupik says although letters reveal parents often tried to advocate for particular recreational activities on their child's behalf, the care children received in care was often less than ideal. She hopes her research will encourage government and policy makers when making decisions relating to long-term care facilities.

Chupik has a bachelor's degree in Native Studies and a master's degree from the Frost Centre for Canadian and Native Studies at Trent University. This year she was also awarded a doctoral fellowship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

Wendy Churchill is studying the way medical practitioners diagnosed and treated health problems in early modern Britain. She's looking specifically at female health complaints, including reproductive problems, breast disorders, venereal diseases, and hysteria, as well as treatment of diseases such as malaria and smallpox.

Churchill has spent two summers in London studying medical reports and casebooks from 1590 to 1740 Britain. Much of the information is handwritten in medical Latin, describing medical diagnosis and treatment procedures. She's looking at whether theory and practices were in agreement for treatment and diagnoses in the 1600s, regardless of the patient's gender.

“Some medical historians believe men received better medical care than women, but I think women may have been at an advantage,” says Churchill. “I'm exploring the idea that men may have paid more attention to the female body because they were interested in its processes, and they had a stake in ensuring the body remained a healthy, child-bearing vessel.”

Churchill has a bachelor's degree from Memorial University of Newfoundland and a master of history degree from McMaster. Last year she was the recipient of a doctoral fellowship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and for the past two years she was awarded an Ontario Graduate Scholarship.

Erika Dyck is investigating the use of LSD in psychiatric trials in Canada from 1948 to 1967. She's used patient records and personal interviews with people involved, including patients, doctors, nurses and politicians, to gain a better understanding of this little-explored area of psychiatry in Canada.

There are more than 2,000 publications about LSD, but most are about its use in animals, from goldfish to elephants. The Canadian LSD trials  which occurred predominantly in Saskatchewan  reportedly began with doctors and their wives first experimenting with the drug.

“Psychiatrists believed LSD was useful for modeling a schizophrenic experience,” says Dyck. “I am challenging the view that LSD was only used for unethical or recreational purposes. Doctors also saw tremendous results when they used it to treat alcoholism, because they used it to create an intense experience for their patients while encouraging them to think about their reasons for drinking. Many patients reported the drug gave them the inner motivation to stop drinking.”

Dyck has a bachelor's degree from Dalhousie University and a master's degree from the University of Saskatoon. This year she was also awarded a doctoral fellowship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

Photo caption: from left, Wendy Churchill, Jessa Chupik and Erika Dyck. Photo credit: Chantall Van Raay