Dana Graham Lai

English doctoral student in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Tell us a little about yourself, including what inspires you to learn and continue in your chosen field

I am a Ph.D. student in Simon Fraser University’s Department of English. I hold an M.A. in Interdisciplinary Humanities from Trinity Western University and an M.A. in English Literature from Carleton University. My research focuses mostly on women writers, fiction and non-fiction, from the Romantic and Victorian periods. I am particularly interested in applying theories of place and ecocriticism to my chosen works under study. I want to understand how place, nation, and environment inform the individual and collective identities of women, especially in Scotland. As a descendant of the Scottish diaspora, originally from Nova Scotia, my research is not just an academic pursuit but a personal journey that reflects my background and heritage.

Why did you choose to come to SFU?

I am analyzing the complex relationships between history, place, and identity in Scottish women’s writing and, therefore, hope my work will make a significant contribution to a literary geography that explores how gender identities were constructed and contested in Scotland from about 1785 to 1830. Simon Fraser University’s Research Centre for Scottish Studies offers a platform for publicly sharing this research. My supervisor, Dr. Leith Davis, specializes in Scottish literature of the long eighteenth century. Her SSHRC-funded Insight Grant for “Mediating Jacobites, 1688-1845” and the “Lyon in Mourning” digital humanities project provide potential points of intersection with my research. I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to work with and have the support of SFU’s Research Centre for Scottish Studies.

How would you describe your research or your program to a family member?

My research examines English and Scottish literature from the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries under the umbrella of environment, place, nation, gender, and identity. This interdisciplinary approach allows me to explore the complex interplay between these factors and their influence on women’s experiences and identities.

What three (3) keywords would you use to describe your research?

Romanticism, Place, Ecocriticism

How have your courses, RA-ships, TA-ships, or non-academic school experiences contributed to your academic and/or professional development?

My RA work is related to Scottish literature and history and so it feeds into my research. I am helping transcribe the eighteenth-century manuscript, 'The Lyon in Mourning,’ for example, which has given me insight into eighteenth-century Scottish women during the last Jacobite uprisings. This period is essential to my research as it relates directly to Scottish identity and cultural memory. I am also a Royal Canadian Navy veteran. I served amongst the first women in combat in Canada in the late 1980s. My experience of space, place, and marginalization in the navy have inspired and influenced my curiosity about women, place, and how we identify with ideals of nationality.

Have you been the recipient of any major or donor-funded awards? If so, please tell us which ones and a little about how the awards have impacted your studies and/or research

I am a recipient of a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Canada Graduate Scholarship (CGS) Doctoral award (2023), the 2022 recipient of SFU’s David and Mary Macaree Graduate Fellowship, and a SSHRC-funded M.A. (CGSM) in Interdisciplinary Humanities at Trinity Western University (2022). These awards have more than monetary value—they have given me the confidence to continue my academic journey.

What have been the most valuable lessons you've learned along your graduate student journey (or in becoming a graduate student)?

Support from faculty, family, and friends is foundational to success.

How do you approach networking and building connections in and outside of your academic community?

It is hard because I am also a mom, so my extra time is reserved for my family. I always try to make myself available to other students for support. I try to reach out regularly to my peers, supervisor, and faculty to foster relationships. My academic community reaches across the Atlantic, so social media, conferences, and the publishing of papers keep me connected as well.

If you could dedicate your research to anyone (past, present and/or future), who would that be and why?

I dedicate my research to my mother Rose Marie because I know she would be incredibly proud of me if she were alive.