Fields of study: Gender, History of Medicine, History of Nursing, Military History
Campus: Fredericton
PhD Supervisors: Dr. Cindy Brown and Dr. Erin Spinney (UNBSJ), co-supervisor
Education: BA Hons. History (UNB '20), MA History (SMU '21)
Delaney Beck is currently a PhD Candidate at the University of New Brunswick. She completed her MA at Saint Mary's University under the co-supervision of Drs. Kirrily Freeman and Leslie Digdon. You can find her Masters Thesis, Bluebirds, Bombings, and Battle: Shell Shock in Maritime Nursing Sisters of the First World War, in 2021, here: https://library2.smu.ca/handle/01/29960
Her current dissertation, "'Some of the sisters have shellshock as well as wounds': War Trauma in First World War Canadian Nursing Sisters," examines First World War Canadian Nursing Sisters and their experiences with war trauma, such as shell shock, their treatment, and the perception of their illness by other officers, their families and wider society. Through their personnel and medical files, and other written accounts, her thesis pieces together their wartime service, the conditions they faced, and the steps they took to recover.
Delaney notes that, " These women were also officers in the military, a rank which had never been granted to women before, and which greatly influenced the view of the military and physicians of their illness, along with their gender.
The women’s view of their or other women’s trauma is more difficult to trace. The experiences of these women add a new element to the study of class, gender, mental health and trauma that, until recently, has been largely focused on men, thus contributing to a greater understanding of the consequences of war."
Other recent projects: MINORITIES AT WAR https://minoritiesatwarcanada.ca/