Hayle Dambrowsky (they/them) is a third year honors Political Science student with a minor in Sociology, who recently published their article “How Canada Budgeted More Space for Women: A Glimpse into the Canadian Government’s Cultural Value of Employable Women” in the PSUR!
They are also the VP Events (Community)-elect for the PSUA, and have worked with campus organizations, such as The Landing and Residence Services, throughout their undergrad. Their favourite Political Science courses have been POL S 302 (Intro to Critical Disability Theory) and POL S 448 (Gender, Media, and Politics), and would recommend them to all students.
When interviewed, Hayle said that “I genuinely believe that publishing with the PSUR shaped my undergraduate experience in ways that made me a better writer and student … Publishing your work as an undergrad is a privilege and an opportunity”. Read further to hear about Hayle’s research, their experience submitting to journals, and their advice for taking constructive criticism as a learning experience.
Hi Hayle! What inspired you to research the specific topic of your paper?
I wrote this paper as a final for POL S 225 back in Fall 2020! I was interested in how social movements and political culture influence policy decisions and government spending. I was also so interested in seeing how social movements of feminism and narratives of women in the workplace could be tracked and analyzed through the language used in official government documents and speeches. This paper reflects my interests in cultural norms and attitudes surrounding politics. I think it is important to pay attention to what and who governments prioritize in their agendas, as it can reflect a lot about our society's priorities and opinions!
What was the most interesting thing you learned from researching/writing your paper?
I connected unique feminist social movements in Canada to an analysis of Budget Speeches in 1965, 1987, and 2018. I think the most interesting takeaway from my research is how this sort of research approach could have been done by hundreds of students, across different periods, and the results would all be important. I would love to see someone take a similar approach to examine more modern Budget Speeches or government documents in terms of social movements and governmental policies we’ve seen in the past 2 to 3 years. I for sure have used and built upon the research I did in this paper on feminism movements in Canada for other courses and papers, so that has been valuable to me and my research interests! I learned a lot about political research and methods while writing this. This paper was actually my first time doing a content discourse analysis.
What made you want to submit to the PSUR?
I was encouraged to submit to the PSUR by friends who worked on the journal! I actually submitted a paper for the special Charter 40 edition and my article was not selected. The peer review process was so helpful and I learned so much from trying that I wanted to give myself another shot! I took the feedback that I had received on my writing from peer reviewers and the experience I had from another year of coursework and writing and edited this paper to submit.
What was the submission and peer-review process like for you? And what was the most valuable part
Submitting my work to the PSUR and undergoing the copyediting process was probably one of the most challenging and valuable things I have done in my undergrad. It can be kind of brutal to have this paper that received a good grade come back to you with all these comments and markups, but I was really lucky in having amazing people work with my paper! I was constantly blown away by how kind and helpful the people with the PSUR were. I was able to receive help and editing on my paper, I also had the opportunity to receive some super helpful degree and coursework advice. I genuinely believe that publishing with the PSUR shaped my undergraduate experience in ways that made me a better writer and student. Oftentimes I find, as students, we don’t have the opportunity to fully engage with other people about our writing and research. Having other people ask me questions and offer suggestions about my paper forced me to think more deeply about my perspective and allowed me to consider others!
What would you say to someone who is considering submitting their work to the PSUR?
100% submit your work to the PSUR. If you have papers that meet the journal requirements, submit them! I have been rejected and accepted to undergrad journals, and every time I have learned so much. You will be a better writer and feel more connected to the academic community by undergoing the peer-review process. Publishing your work as an undergrad is a privilege and an opportunity. I would encourage everyone to try and work with the PSUR or a student journal in some way during their undergrad.
What is a piece of advice that you would give to students as they write papers that they might submit to the PSUR?
Stick to a schedule, follow deadlines, respect your peer reviewers, and try really hard to not take constructive criticism too personally!
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