Hailey Lothamer (she/her) is a Political Science student at the University of Alberta who recently published an article in the Political Science Undergraduate Review (PSUR). When interviewed about the experience, she said that being published in the PSUR really “connected [her] to the greater Political Science community at the U of A”. Read further to hear about Hailey’s research, her experience submitting to the PSUR, how the experience will benefit her in her Political Science Honours program, and her advice for other students.
Introduce yourself (name, pronouns, program, name of paper, anything else interesting about you or your work)
“My name is Hailey Lothamer and I use she/her pronouns. I’m currently majoring in Political Science and I am going into my third year of that with a minor in Spanish. And the title of the paper that I submitted to the PSUR is called ‘Section 35 of the Constitution Act and Indigenous Self-Determination in Canada’.”
What inspired you to research the specific topic of your paper?
“Well I wrote it last fall - so Fall 2020 - for a Canadian Politics class and at the time there was a lot of conversation in the news around Indigenous rights and also land use rights. Particularly, I can recall one case of the Mi'kmaq in Nova Scotia. I’m not sure if you guys heard anything about that but there was a lot of controversy about what extent their fishing rights were. And I think that topic in and of itself I was really inspired by… Indigenous peoples’ self-determination and their resiliency in fighting for their fishing rights. So I decided to do a little bit more research into that and that really inspired the central topic behind my paper.”
What was the most interesting thing you learned from researching your paper?
“That’s a big question. I learned so much obviously but one thing that I found really interesting was just this paradoxical situation that currently surrounds Indigenous rights in Canada in the sense that Indigenous rights are something that goes beyond Canadian common law and our colonial history so it is not really legitimated by it but also at the same time just the actualization of their rights and how they’re enacted in Canada at the moment is really dependent on our judicial system of course and that’s unfortunate because I think it should be recognized beyond that. But at the same time, I think it’s a really interesting situation that currently exists because I think there is so much we could do beyond that.”
What made you want to submit to the PSUR?
“Well I was taking - as I mentioned - a few Poli Sci classes in the fall and I had lots of professors that had mentioned the PSUR and how great the student team was that ran it. Obviously very true. They included it in their announcements and the likes. But, in particular, I had one Prof who really encouraged me to get involved in the Political Science community beyond the classroom and he kind of mentioned the PSUR as a great way to do that so I was really inspired by that to submit it (submit my paper that is) and I think he was definitely right about how it's made me feel more involved in the Political Science union.”
What was the submission and peer-review process like for you?
“The submission process was a bit stressful but that was my own fault because I left it until the night of the deadline to submit it. It’s pretty bad… it was like two hours before the deadline that I submitted my paper. But it was really cool honestly because I think in doing so... I had never written an abstract before and I noticed that was one thing that was required so I thought that was an interesting thing for me to do and obviously a very valuable experience because I’m sure at some point or another I will have to write an abstract. I think doing that for the submission process was super cool. And the peer-review process I honestly loved. It was very out of my comfort zone I would say for myself in having to talk to so many different people about something that I wrote and it’s obviously a little bit strange to have it so scrutinized and teared apart in a sense but honestly everyone at the PSUR was so supportive and it was a fantastic experience because I think I got to go deeper into my work which is something you don’t really do in those class peer-review sessions. It was really interesting to see everyone’s feedback and also really get into my own work a bit more and learn about my own writing style. Overall it was a very valuable process for me.”
And what was the most valuable part of that process for you?
“One thing I’ll definitely take away from this process is the organization structure of writing such an article or a paper. I think before, as writing my own papers, I really kind of get in my own head about doing that and it’s not really much forethought that goes into that. Having the peer-reviewers and copy-editors look over my paper, I think it was really valuable for them to go over overarching things like ‘oh, can we move this paragraph with the other one?’ and really get into bigger details such as organization that doesn’t really come up for me so much so I think that was a really valuable process. And also just like really critically analyzing ‘is this a necessary part of my article?’ was really great for me because it’s not something that I feel you get into very much in the classroom and so having other brilliant students take a look at your work and be like ‘it might be stronger if you do this’ and make suggestions and give feedback was incredibly valuable for me.”
Is there anything that you can think of that maybe you wish you had known at the beginning of the process or that you might have done differently?
“Well definitely I would have submitted earlier. That’s a big one. I think something else that I would have liked to have known is just… I guess I think it would have made a difference for me to know more about the team or just know that you guys as a team are so supportive and I think that was maybe a bit of having a more virtual experience that I didn’t know anybody who was part of the PSUR copy-editing team or their administrative staff. But I think I would have loved to know that you guys are real individuals and real students like myself who also have similar passions and are so encouraging and supportive throughout the process. That was really a pleasant surprise for me to have”
You have been published in your undergraduate degree which is amazing. What is next for you?
“What is next for me? Well. Big question. I think I really hope to, at least in regards to this experience, build on it during my Honours sessions for Political Science. I am really excited to be doing my Honours part of my thesis in my third year or start researching for that at least. In terms of what’s next, I really hope to use this process as a valuable stepping point and kind of go from there because I think it’s really inspired probably what I will do in terms of what topic I will research. I hope to do that next at least.”
What would you say to someone who is considering submitting their work to the PSUR?
“I would say ‘go for it’. I’d highly encourage that individual. Like I mentioned before, it was a really important aspect of me feeling connected to the greater Political Science community at the U of A. Fantastic experience for me to get to know other people and other students and like-minded individuals who share similar passions throughout that process so that was really great for me. And also just a valuable experience of going through that process of getting peer-reviewed and also having copy-editing feedback. That was invaluable for my writing I’m sure. It was a fantastic experience overall and I’d highly encourage them to consider submitting if they haven’t already because you guys are a fantastic team and you are so supportive. I’m sure it would be a great experience for them.”
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