Lucy Stark

""A&S History and Economics (double major); French (minor)
Supervisor: Eric Jennings, A&S History
James Fleck Undergraduate Award in the Humanities

Lucy Stark is a Lester B. Pearson Scholar and fourth-year student double majoring in History and Economics. Through independent research projects sponsored by the Laidlaw Scholars Program, Undergraduate Research Fund, and Dr. Pamela Klassen, Lucy has explored diverse topics including homelessness prevention, the history of gifted education and its intersection with the desegregation of Delaware’s schools, and Christian missionaries in Treaty 3 territory. Lucy’s varied activities included serving as UC’s Equity Commissioner, where she prioritized Truth & Reconciliation initiatives and co-founded the QR Code Collective, which seeks to re-contextualize building namesakes. Among other leadership roles, Lucy is the President of the History Collective and a Captain of the Moot Team.

Fellowship Project—Profiting from Reproduction: Women as Bearers of Men’s Economic Prosperity

In this project, I will explore the economic and racial tensions in late 18th century Saint Domingue through the lens of gendered discourse. In the fight for or against the enfranchisement of freemen of color in this colony, outspoken men advocated the use of reproductive measures (including intermarriage and selective breeding) to either contain gens de couleurin an inferior position of military service or to justify their claims to economic equality with white counterparts. I expect to demonstrate, through an examination of contemporary petitions, publications, and notarized records, how male labour was restricted and enhanced through the reproductive labour of free women of color.