Research Interests
- Expressions of gender and sexuality in medieval western Europe.
- How visual and material culture reflect and impact social and cultural history.
Education
| 2019-2020 | University of Guelph, Master of Arts in History (in progress) |
| 2015-2019 | University of Toronto, Honours Bachelor of Arts with High Distinction, majors in History and Art History, minor in History of Religions |
Publications
Mara-McKay, Nico. “Becoming Gendered: Two Medieval Approaches to Intersex Gender Assignment.” Prandium: The Journal of Historical Studies at University of Toronto Mississauga 7:1 (2008).
For nonacademic publications, see Select Publication History.
Honours and Awards
Graduate
| 2020 | Hannah Studentship, Associated Medical Services and the Canadian Society for the History of Medicine |
| 2020 | Board of Graduate Studies Research Scholarship, University of Guelph |
| 2019-2020 | Graduate Tuition Scholarship, University of Guelph |
| 2019-2020 | University Graduate Scholarship, University of Guelph |
Undergraduate
| 2019 | Dean’s Graduation Award, University of Toronto |
| 2019 | Dean’s List Scholar, University of Toronto |
| 2019 | Award for Outstanding Performance in Visual Studies, University of Toronto |
| 2018 | Dean’s List Scholar, University of Toronto |
| 2018 | Joseph Alfred Whealey Incourse Scholarship, University of Toronto |
| 2018 | UTM Experiential Learning Bursary, University of Toronto |
| 2017 | Best Exhibition Proposal in Curatorial Studies Award, Sheridan College |
| 2017 | University of Toronto Excellence Award in Social Sciences and Humanities |
| 2017 | Marjorie E. Simonds Travel Award, University of Toronto |
| 2016 | History Emeriti Award, Historical Studies, University of Toronto |
| 2016 | Dean’s List Scholar, University of Toronto |
| 2016 | Joseph Alfred Whealey Incourse Scholarship, University of Toronto |
| 2015 | Dean’s List Scholar, University of Toronto |
| 2015 | Joseph Alfred Whealey Incourse Scholarship, University of Toronto |
Professional
| 2018 | Teaching Assistant Award, Historical Studies, University of Toronto |
| 2013 | Writer’s Grant, Toronto Arts Council |
Presentations
Papers Presented
Mara-McKay, Nico. “Patient Women: Surgical Instruments in the Treatment of Medieval Women’s Diseases.” Presented at the Canadian Society of Medievalists Congress 2020, Western University, London, 1-3 June 2020.
Mara-McKay, Nico. “Private Devotion: The Materiality of a Sixteenth Century Printed Books of Hours.” Presented at the History Across the Disciplines, Dalhousie University, Halifax, 20-22 March 2020.
Mara-McKay, Nico. “Witchcraft Pamphlets at the Dawn of the Scottish Enlightenment.” Presented at the Tri-University Conference, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, 14 March 2020.
Mara-McKay, Nico. “Sympathy for the Pittenweem Witch.” Paper presented at the Honouring International Women’s Day Conference, University of Guelph, Guelph, 6 March 2020.
Mara-McKay, Nico. “Early Modern English Witch Bottles and the Logic of Counteractive Magic.” Paper presented at the Experience and Expression in the Renaissance: Exploring Early Modern Media Conference by the Association of Renaissance Studies, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, 15 March 2019.
Mara-McKay, Nico. “Becoming Gendered: Two Medieval Approaches to Intersex Gender Assignment.” Paper presented at the Second Annual Prandium Conference, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, 19 March 2018.
Mara-McKay, Nico. “Katherina Hetzeldorfer and the Consequences of a Woman Living as a Heterosexual Man in Fifteenth-Century Germany.” Paper presented at Revealing the Renaissance: (De)constructing Early Modern Identities, Fourth Annual Conference by the Association of Renaissance Studies, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, 16 March 2018.
Mara-McKay, Nico. “The Materiality of Meret Oppenheim’s Surrealist Objects.” Paper presented at Back to Basics: Materials and Process, the Third Annual History of Art Undergraduate Conference, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, 17 March 2017.
Talks
Mara-McKay, Nico with Melissa McAffee, Susannah Ferreira, Kathryn Comper, Rosalie Engles, Brittany Payer and Richard Griffin. “Manuscripts in the Curriculum.” Library Forum, University of Guelph, 3 December 2019.
Mara-McKay, Nico and Konrad Boeschenstein. “Witch Pee and Costly Codices: Undergraduate Research Opportunities at U of T.” Toronto District School Board, Department of History, Unviersity of Toronto, Toronto, ON, 2 May 2019.
Mara-McKay, Nico. “The Future of (Chaos) Magick.” Talk presented at Flambeau Noir, Ottawa, ON, 30 April 2017.
Mara-McKay, Nico. “The History of Tarot Visuals.” Talk presented at First Thursdays: Be Magik, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, ON, 3 November 2016.
Nonacademic Panels
Mara-McKay, Nico with Salako Kalfou and April Snellings, moderated by Alison Lang. “Witch, Please: Myth versus Reality.” Panel presented at Dark Carnival, Hamilton, ON, 10 July 2016.
Mara-McKay, Nico with Lynx Sainte Marie, Clementine Morrigan, Jenna Danchuk, and Amrit Brar, hosted by Jonathan Valelly. “Magick and the Occult in the Independent Arts.” Panel presented at Canzine, Toronto, ON, 17 October 2015.
Exhibitions
Mulé, Nick and Queer Ontario, with Nico Mara-McKay. Queer Liberation Theory. The ArQuives’ Digital Exhibition, launched October 2019.
Interstice Collective (Mara-McKay, Nico, with Brendan Bradley, Natalie Chan, Anran Guo, Nada Hafez, John Ryan Manahan, Aaliyah Mitchell Harris, and Abby Nowak). Between, Blackwood Gallery, Mississauga, ON, 4-14 April 2018.
Media Appearance
“Medieval Manuscripts in the Classroom.” Interview on CTV Kitchener Evening News, 5 February 2020.
Teaching Experience
| Winter 2020 | Graduate Teaching Assistant for Marc-Andre Gagnon, Science and Technology in a Global Context, University of Guelph |
| Fall 2019 | Graduate Teaching Assistant for Peter Goddard, Early Modern Europe, University of Guelph |
| Fall 2017 | Teaching Assistant for Christopher Petrakos, Happiness, University of Toronto Mississauga |
Research Experience
| 2019 | Graduate Assistant for Nick Mulé, School of Social Work, York University Creation of a digital exhibition, Queer Liberation Theory Project, featuring forty interviews with queer academics, artists, and activists within the queer liberation movement for the ArQuives and Queer Ontario. |
| 2016-2019 | Research Assistant for Dr. Evonne Levy, Department of Visual Studies, University of Toronto Mississauga Work on the History of Art History in Canada Project (1933-2018), including gathering and interpreting data, working on the website, keeping detailed and accurate records, and working collaboratively with shared files. |
| 2018-2019 | Internship, ArQuives (previously the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives) Designed, researched, and developed a digital exhibition, Genderqueer in Canada, on nonbinary identities in Canada to be hosted on The ArQuives’ website. |
Extracurricular University Service
| 2019-2020 | General Director (elected), History, Graduate Student Association, University of Guelph |
| 2018-2019 | Secretary (elected executive), Historical Studies Society, University of Toronto Mississauga |
| 2017-2018 | Marketing Director (elected executive), Historical Studies Society, University of Toronto Mississauga |
| 2017-2019 | Volunteer Note Taker, AccessAbility Services, University of Toronto Mississauga |
| 2016-2017 | Volunteer Coordinator (elected executive), OUT @ University of Toronto Mississauga |
Nonacademic Work
| 2019-Present | Copy Editor, Broken Pencil Magazine |
Professional Associations
Canadian Society of Medievalists, Member (2019-Present)
Canadian Society for Renaissance Studies, Member (2019-Present)
Medieval Academy of America, Member (2019-Present)
Renaissance Society of America, Member (2019-Present)
Society for Medieval Feminist Scholarship, Member (2018-Present)
Languages
English (reading, writing, oral)
French (reading, oral)
German (reading)
Latin (reading)