Student Spotlight: James Kenneth
Global Undergraduate Awards 2023 Winner
Global Winner: Classical Studies & Archaeology
The Global Undergraduate Awards recently announced the winning submissions for 2023, which include the following from Western: three Global Winners, three Regional Winners and 23 Highly Commended.
Meet James Kenneth, Global Winner in the category of Classical Studies & Archaeology (top submission in the category worldwide)
- Fourth-year student in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, completing a double major in classical and medieval studies.
- Paper Title: Science vs. The Venerable Bede
Will you provide a short summary of your research?
My research looks at the impact the personal beliefs of authors of studies related to the settlement of the British Isles – and their respective faith in a long-established historical narrative – have on the inferences they draw from their observations.
Britain’s transition from a Roman to an Anglo-Saxon culture in the middle of the first millennium CE is a poorly understood period, despite a long history of inquiry into its causes. Archaeologists once assumed that the British Isles were settled by invaders from the European continent. These assumptions aligned with – and were often the result of – the traditional narratives of the Venerable Bede, the eighth-century author of The Ecclesiastical History of the English People.
In my paper, I compare the results of three DNA studies published since 2002 investigating the impact of early medieval migrants or invaders from mainland Europe on the genetic makeup of the modern British population.
Several researchers have pointed out that this traditional narrative is challenged and contradicted by many aspects of the archaeological record and advanced scientific techniques, yet many researchers still seek to frame their conclusions to fit the traditional narrative presented by medieval historical sources.
How did you become interested in studying history?
I’ve been interested in history since I was a little kid. I grew up in Europe and used to go to old castles, ruins of castles, Roman baths, and places like those and I just fell in love with trying to imagine what the people who built that or lived then were like. That’s just always stayed with me.
Why do you think research like this is important?
It’s very clear that we base a lot of our subconscious identity, without really thinking about it, on our perception of what our history is, what our background is, and so on. There are a lot of things we do day to day that we're not even conscious of, that have been ingrained in us because of a continuous thread from hundreds, and rarely but sometimes, thousands of years ago. A lot of our identity today is tied to what we believe happened in the past, which may or may not have even happened.
Are you hoping to continue doing research like this in the future?
I'm planning to do a master's focused on medieval history. There's a lot of mystery there and a lot of things we don't know or don't understand. I'm very fascinated by that.
Why do you think programs like the Global Undergraduate Awards are valuable?
I feel that when it comes to the wider world of academia, it's not that undergraduates are looked down upon, but it does seem like undergraduate time is really seen as preparatory to doing ‘real research’. There is some really good work being done at the undergraduate level and it’s great to see it recognized.
Kenneth will present his research at the Global Undergraduate Summit in Dublin, Ireland November 5-8, and will be recognized alongside Western’s other global and regional winners.
> Read more about Western students honoured by the Global Undergraduate Awards
