History, Economics and Political Science (HEPS)

Emmanuelle Carle has been a member of John Abbott College’s Department of History since 2006. She holds a Bachelor degree in History (Specialization) from Concordia University, as well as a Masters from Université de Montréal and a PhD in History from McGill University. With a FCAR scholarship and a Travel Grant, she moved to Paris to research Gabrielle Duchene (1870-1954), French feminist activist, unionist, pacifist, antifascist, fellow traveller of the French Communist Party and an innovator as a propagandist. Duchêne symbolizes the ideological congruence of these movements. She has published her findings in French History and in the Archives du Féminisme (Université d’Angers).

Emmanuelle Carle has taught at McGill (First World War, Modern European History), UQAM (Histoire des Femmes au 19e et 20e siècles) and at Concordia (Intro and Modern European History and History of France since 1871). At JAC, she teaches Western Civilization and Modern History, but has also taught History of Science and Methodology in the Liberal Arts Department, Learning Techniques (Pathways), Research Methods and Integration to the Social Sciences.

Catherine Humes has been a member of the Department of History at John Abbott College since the fall semester of 2012. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies and History/Classics from McGill University, as well as a Master of Arts in the History and Philosophy of Religion from Concordia University, and a Bachelor of Education with a specialization in History and Religion from the University of Toronto (OISE).  Her interests include the history of religion, gender and social justice, and pedagogy centered on critical thinking and student engagement. She is a member of the Harassment Awareness Committee and participates in the Women’s Studies and Gender Relations Certificate at the College

André LeBlanc began his university studies in the sciences, earning a BSc in biology and psychology from the University of New Brunswick in 1990. He went on to complete his Master’s (1993) and PhD (2000) at the Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology at the University of Toronto.

After completing his PhD, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Centre interuniversitaire de recherche en science et technologie (CIRST) at the Université du Québec à Montréal (2000-2002) and in the Department of the History of Science at Harvard University (2002-2003). In 2004, he moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he taught for three years as a visiting assistant professor in the History of Science and Technology Programme at the University of King’s College. In 2008, he joined the history department at John Abbott College, where he teaches courses in world history and the history of science. Since 2011, he has taught an undergraduate seminar on the Historical, Philosophical, and Social Aspects of Science at the Science College of Concordia University.

Professor LeBlanc’s research interests include the work of the Belgian polymath Joseph Delbœuf (1831-1896), the nature of hypnosis and the placebo effect, the relationship between science and religion, the role of mind in evolution, and the problem of free will from the perspective of science. He has published in the Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, History of Science, Scientia Canadensis, Human Nature Review, The Journal of Mind and Behavior, Theory & Psychology, Biofeedback, Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology, and the Journal of Consciousness Studies.

Félix Racine began his bachelor in Political Science at the Université de Montréal but somehow graduated in History, which he pursued at the doctoral level at Yale.  Somewhat fittingly, he is now part of a department where historians and political scientists work together.  Before coming to John Abbott, Félix taught Ancient History at the universities of St. Andrews (Scotland) and McGill.  His interests include the history of geographical knowledge, pre-modern travel and the reception of Greek and Latin science during the Renaissance.  He is also on a quest to find the best historical comics.

I have been a member of John Abbott College’s Department of History, Economics and Political Science (HEPS) since 1993. Born and raised in Montreal, I attended Concordia University where I earned a B.A. and M.A., specializing in Russian and Modern European History.  For the most part, I teach Western Civilization and Modern History courses, but have also taught Research Methods and Integration in the Social Sciences (ISS). I have been privileged to take students on Historical and Archaeological tours to Europe and North Africa with Professor John Serrati for the last eleven years.  What I enjoy most about teaching at the College is the everyday interaction with students and members of the JAC community. John Abbott is both a great place to go to school and work.

Professor Fiona Tomaszewski has been a member of John Abbott College’s Department of History, Economics, Political Science and Classics since 1998. She holds a Bachelor degree in Honours History from McGill University, as well as a Masters in History and a PhD in History from McMaster University. At JAC, Professor Tomaszewski served as the Honours Social Science Coordinator from 2003 to 2012.  She also serves as a member of the Library Media Services committee of the College. For many years she was on the Social Science Program Committee. She enjoys teaching the enthusiastic and curious students at John Abbott College.

Education
David Desjardins has been a member of the Department of Economics at John Abbott College since the winter semester 2000. He Currently holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Concordia University, graduating with honours in Econometrics. Having done all of the course work and passed comprehensive examinations, he holds a Ph.D. A.B.D (all but dissertation), which he may finish should the timing prove right. He has also studied at the University of British Columbia (Economics) and McGill University (Law).
Research
His research interests are in the area of financial economics and econometrics as it pertains to financial markets; more specifically, the area of liquidity, asset pricing, and the term structure of interest rates.
Teaching
Professor Desjardins has taught undergraduate and graduate courses at the university level along with college level classes since 1996. Given his specialty in Econometrics and statistics, much of the teaching centres around statistics and its applications.
College courses
• Introductory macroeconomics
• Introductory microeconomics
• Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences
• Research Methods in the Social Sciences
• Integration in the Social Sciences
University courses
• Introductory macroeconomics and microeconomics
• Introductory statistics
• Intermediate macroeconomics and microeconomics
• Econometrics (theoretical and applied)

Professor Provencher holds an undergraduate degree from Université de Sherbrooke and a Master of Arts degree from Dalhousie University, both in Economics.

With approximately ten years of teaching experience at the university level and over two years at the cegep level, he has taught to a wide range of students.

He quickly specialised in teaching to students that were new to Economics. His methods were very well received at Université de Sherbrooke (Canada), McGill University (Canada), and Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola (Peru).

At Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola (USIL), he was in charge of all their Economics courses for their USA and English programs. He taught courses in association with Broward College (USA) as well as the University of South Florida (USA). He also co-created their UK program in association with the University of London (under the supervision of the London School of Economics), where he taught several courses and was responsible for selecting the students that would be admitted.

His constant drive for innovation led him to develop an intuitive approach that helps students understand complicated Economic models instead of simply remembering formulas by heart.

Over the years, he specialised in teaching introductory economic courses in which he presents key models using a multi-ideology approach to ensure that students have the full picture. His areas of expertise are Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Economics of the Environment, International Economics, and Labour Economics.

In 2015, Professor Provencher set out to create online economics classes that would be available to students all around the world. He has completed one course, Introduction to Microeconomics, and is aiming at completing Introduction to Macroeconomics in the next few years.

Medoune M. Seck is a native of Senegal. He is fluent in Wolof, French, English and has limited working proficiency in Arabic. His skills in the use of technology are current and broad. He has used several instructional technologies such as Camtasia, showme application, and Wacom bamboo tablet to produce numerous instructional videos that are effectively improving the students’ learning experience. He is a fervent proponent of the integration of technology into the learning and teaching process. He sees it as potential cost-cutter for the implementation of well proven active learning strategies.
Mr. Seck holds Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts degrees in economics (currency and finance) from Paris I Pantheon-Sorbonne. He earned a Master of Arts in economics and a Graduate Certificate in Federal Statistics from George Mason University. For several years , Mr. Seck has taught economics at NOVA the largest public educational institution in Virginia and the second-largest community college in the United States, and he has been teaching economics at John Abbott since 2014.

I received my Ph.D. in political science from the Université de Montréal and my MSc in international relations from the London School of Economics. I am teaching introduction to politics, international politics, and political economy, as well as crisis management.  I am the author of Bombs, Bullets and Politicians (published by McGill-Queen's University Press).