Two students of Canadian-American Studies, Bella Barnes and Peter Wagner, have begun an internship with the Border Policy Research Institute (BPRI), contributing to a new project called “Understanding, Recovering From and Mitigating Inequities Associated with Travel Measures During COVID-19.”
The worldwide use of travel measures in response to COVID-19 was unprecedented in scale and duration. While restricting international borders may have initially slowed the spread of COVID-19 and its many variants, it also significantly disrupted individual lives, communities, and economies. To date, there has been limited research on how travel measures during the COVID-19 pandemic have been experienced differently across different population groups.
One way we hope to understand the impacts of these travel restrictions is by analyzing how news outlets covered travel measures during the pandemic. The BPRI & C/AM Internship students will assist in the collection, coding, and analysis of news-media articles on the equity impacts of COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions between the US and Canada.
This research project is part of a larger effort with the Simon Fraser University Public Health and Pandemics & Borders team.
"I am so excited to have been given the opportunity to participate in this research! I am enjoying being able to strengthen my research skills and getting to learn about how a major global event, such as a pandemic, can affect international border policies, and how these issues are handled by federal and state/provincial governments."
Bella BarnesMajor in Canadian-American Studies, minor in Salish Sea Studies
"I'm excited to learn more about research methodologies in media analysis and discover a wider view of how border closure measures were covered by mainstream media, and how those closures impacted certain groups of people."
Peter WagnerMajor in Interdisciplinary Studies, minor in Canadian-American Studies
Virtual Canada-U.S. Relations International Learning Assignment – internship not currently available. Stay tuned for future dates.
The Canadian Consulate of Canada, Seattle and Western Washington University offer the Virtual Canada-U.S. Relations International Learning Assignment. The successful candidate will participate in a virtual capacity and not be located at the Consulate General’s Seattle offices.
Open to: Western undergraduate and graduate students who are either Canadian or dual nationals (US-Canada) with an interest in Canada-U.S. relations, including political, economic, environmental, border security, defense, cultural and diplomatic elements.
Western students will earn 5 credits toward C/AM 444 (Canadian Studies Internship) with 15 – 20 hours/week. Students can enroll in C/AM 444 with the approval of the Director for the Center of Canadian-American Studies (Christina Keppie – christina.keppie@wwu.edu ).