Academic X’cellence: Sharing stories from our inspiring StFX community
It should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with StFX that our campus is filled with highly engaged students, educators, researchers, and leaders. Academic X’cellence shines a spotlight on members of our educational community to find out more about their unique experiences—both inside and outside of the classroom.
Here we meet Kulani de Larrinaga of Ottawa, ON, a second year Celtic Studies masters student, who recently received a $27,000 Canada Graduate Scholarship - Masters and will explore the prevalence of female piping and piping bands in Nova Scotia during the mid-20th century. Kulani has been a teaching assistant at StFX, is vice-president of the StFX Gaelic Society, and is a former recipient of the StFX Celtic Travel Bursary, which she describes as a life-changing experience in which she travelled to the Galetacht in An Spidéal, Conamara, Co. na Gaillimhe where she took an Irish speaking course with Coláiste Naomh Éanna.
Kulani de Larrinaga: Conducting research that contributes to a unique period in Nova Scotia music history
Could you talk about some of your accomplishments and involvements at StFX?
I received the SSHRC Joseph Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship, which was an incredible opportunity for funding my MA program this year. Additionally, I played on the StFX tennis team last year and really enjoyed competing. The female team almost qualified for nationals last year. I am also currently the vice-president of the Gaelic Society and have been enjoying trying to plan and organize events and meetings, as this is the first year it's been back in a while. I also received the Celtic Travel Bursary from StFX this summer and travelled to the Galetacht in An Spidéal, Conamara, Co. na Gaillimhe where I took an Irish speaking course with Coláiste Naomh Éanna, which was an incredible life-changing experience. I also have worked with StFX Athletics as a ticket scanner, at Angus Macdonald library as a walk-in tutor at the Academic Success Center, and as a TA for Celtic Studies undergraduate courses. All these opportunities have been incredible for meeting people and feeling even more a part of the StFX community.
Tell us more about your research
I am really excited to work on my thesis year with the funding I received with the Canada Graduate Scholarship. My project will be investigating different female piping bands across Nova Scotia in the mid-20th century. I am really excited to get my Research Ethics application approved so that I can interview some members of these bands. I have a few leads on potential contacts who were members of these female piping bands in Nova Scotia that I am interested in interviewing and finding more answers towards my research questions and project.
How does your research help inform your education?
Doing research has been crucial towards my education as it has helped me learn how to access primary resources in various archives, how to utilize academic texts as literary support, and how to achieve the proper steps in terms of learning how to write and formulate a thesis paper. I have been learning a great deal about the process of writing at the graduate level and all the steps that take part in it such as creating my own calendar to follow and dividing my work into hypothetical chapters etc. The Celtic library at StFX has allowed also for an incredible opportunity for research with a variety of primary resources and various pertinent documents pertaining to Celtic culture in Europe and in Nova Scotia.
I hope my research will contribute to a unique period in Nova Scotia music history. I also hope to illustrate through ethnomusicological feminism how these female piping bands that I am investigating have an impact on the social and cultural aspects of Nova Scotia music history.
What drew you to Celtic studies?
My mother's side has Irish heritage, and I really wanted to reconnect with my heritage by taking an Irish speaking course at uOttawa. Then from there, I became fascinated with Celtic Studies as well as Celtic music. I have always been very passionate about music, culture, folklore, and linguistics, which is also what led me towards my passion for this discipline. Some factors that drew me to doing a master's degree at StFX is that it is one of the only schools in Canada that offers a MA in Celtic Studies. Another factor was that my brother was currently doing his undergrad at StFX and my mother is an alumna. They have both talked highly about StFX. I also really enjoyed taking Celtic courses in my undergrad (at uOttawa.) I thought I might as well continue my passion for this field especially with the opportunities that StFX had to offer. I hope to continue in the field of Celtic Studies and Celtic music working at a heritage site, museum, or an institution in either Nova Scotia, Ireland, or somewhere else in Europe. I also have a teaching degree and am licensed in the province of Nova Scotia so I would potentially like to teach Scottish Gaelic or Irish in the schools in either Nova Scotia or Ireland.
Did you have a favorite course?
My favorite course so far at StFX was "Celtic Cinema." I really enjoyed watching and learning about different Celtic cultures, regions, and languages. It was a highlight because it was a really interactive experience for a course about watching movies. We were able to discuss our ideas around the movies and share our thoughts and ideas every class and that is a significant factor into what made me really enjoy this course.
