Alison MacAulay, PhD

Welcome! I am a historian interested in the intersections of history, research methods, and visual culture. My doctoral research (Filming History: Visual Representations of Rwanda, 1916-2014) focused on this topic in the Rwandan context, and was awarded the John Bullen Prize and the Finlayson Gold Medal. My current research deals with creative research practices, with particular attention to filmmaker-academics and their approaches to archives, memory, and knowledge dissemination. At UTM, I teach courses on film history, Rwandan history, and comparative genocide studies.

In addition to my academic work, I am passionate about public education and curriculum development. Whether it’s delivering content on human rights and genocide history to high school students, anti-racism education to children, or emergency management and preparedness to diverse audiences across Ontario, I thrive when I’m providing others with meaningful and impactful information they can use in their daily lives.

Finally, I also work closely with a number of Rwandan filmmakers on the pre- and post-production stages of their projects, including developing grant applications, assisting with script development, providing feedback on rough cuts, subtitle work, and assisting with film festival submissions.