Mélanie Méthot, PhD University of Calgary, MA Université de Moncton, BA McGill University, DEC CEGEP de Ste-Foy

Area of Study / Keywords

Canadian and Australian Legal History Bigamy Marriage

Research

I have published on the turn of the 20th century social reform movements in Montreal and Winnipeg. My current research lies within the scope of legal history. I publish on the administration of justice in Alberta.  My recent research focuses on the institution of marriage. I  research prosecuted cases of bigamy in Canada and in Australia.  Les Presses de l'Université Laval recently published my monograph:  Bigame malgré elle: La saga judiciaire de Julie Morin Russell.

Thanks to the support of SSHRC (2020-2025) for my research project: Marrying too Much: Bigamy in Australia, I am analyzing thousands of prosecuted bigamy cases in Australia. For an avant-goût check my  Research Website: https://www.thebigamyproject.com/  where with the help of students I share the fascinating stories of some of the bigamists. 

I also have an interest in the scholarship of Teaching and Learning.

Teaching

I teach history and interdisciplinary courses in the Law Crime and Justice program. My students have many opportunities to present the research they do in my courses, either locally at the Student Conference, ACURIT and symposiums I organize, or in national and international academic conferences. In 2023, three research assistants presented their research in Sydney Australia, in 2024 three students presented in Toronto at the SSHA annual conference, and in 2025 another three presented their work at the CLSA annual conference in Saskatoon. 

AUCRI 330 - Selected Topics in Law, Crime and Justice

Advanced study of a particular dimension of law, crime and justice studies. Topics may vary from year to year, depending on the instructor and student interest. Prerequisite: AUCRI 160 or AUIDS 160 (2020).

AUHIS 260 - An Introduction to the Study of Canadian History to 1867

Canada's political, social and economic development from life before European Contact to Confederation. Lectures, assigned readings, films and discussions will provide factual background on Canadian history and stimulate critical thinking.

AUHIS 261 - An Introduction to the Study of Canadian History, 1867 to the Present

Political, social, economic and cultural questions of Canada since 1867. Taking a thematic approach, lectures, assigned readings, films and discussions will provide factual background on Canadian history and stimulate critical thinking.

AUHIS 360 - Selected Topics in Canadian History

Seminar course which deals with selected topics in Canadian history. Topics vary from year to year. They are announced before registration. Subjects are selected from, but not limited to, politics, labour, education, ideas, family, the legal system, regional issues, ethnicity.

AUIDS 100 - The World in Progress: Inquiry in the Social Sciences

This course introduces students to inquiry in the social sciences, while enabling them to develop their core academic skills. This course is not an in-depth introduction to the various disciplinary fields within the social sciences, but rather a transdisciplinary introduction to the social sciences as a whole within the context of the liberal arts.

Browse more courses taught by Mélanie Méthot

Mélanie Methot

Presses de l'Université Laval. 2024 November;

• Research website