News

Dr. Laura Eramian, SOSA Graduate Coordinator writes that SOSA is delighted to announce that Sydney Kanigan (MA, Social Anthropology) has been awarded the 2023/2024 Governor General’s Medal Award in Humanities and Social Sciences (Most Outstanding Master’s Graduate). Many thanks to Sydney’s supervisor, Dr. Fiona Martin, for supporting her nomination with a glowing letter of recommendation, which outlined the exceptional contributions Sydney’s MA thesis made to understanding debates on medical assistance in dying (MAID) for persons with mental illness as their sole underlying medical condition (MI-SUMC). As Dr. Martin’s letter explains, Sydney’s thesis “contributes in unexpected ways to the sociology and social anthropology of mental health, demonstrating dissensus among experts about the nature of mental illness, the causes of suffering for those with mental illness, and how to address shortfalls of mental health care in Canada.” Congratulations Sydney!