Hi there! My name is Kira A. Smith (she/her) and I am currently an AMS postdoctoral researcher in the history of medicine at the University of Ottawa. I am also an instructor at Carleton University in the History Department and at Toronto Metropolitan University in the School of Disability Studies.

I graduated with my Ph.D. from York University in October 2024. I was nominated for the Faculty of Graduate Studies Outstanding Dissertation (the results to be announced). My dissertation explores the experiences of children in Canadian provincial asylums from the period of 1880-1930.

That being said, my research interests vary beyond mad studies and psychiatric history. Some of my areas of interest are as follows: history of childhood, performance and narrative theories, Inuit and Arctic history, Métis history, social history, public history, and Canadian history. In the past, I have worked extensively on the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, the Inuit intersection with the story of the Franklin Expedition, and Métis ethnogenesis in Ontario. I consider myself a radical and activist historian regarding my subject matter.

In my spare time, I play historical board games, and remain politically engaged through activism. My activism informs my historical practice in many ways. I believe in doing work that makes a difference, and education plays a key role in that.