History

Bachelor of Arts in History, Woodsworth College, University of Toronto
Master of Divinity (Honours), Trinity College, University of Toronto
Doctor of Philosophy in History, York University, Toronto

Teaching and research concentrations: North America: First Nations; Great Lakes Region; Military; Material Culture; Public History and Museology

Dr. Carl Benn, Chair of the Department of History, came to Ryerson University in 2008 after working in the museum field for 34 years. His last post in that field was Chief Curator of the City of Toronto’s Museums and Heritage Services, where he fulfilled senior curatorial and managerial duties, restored heritage properties, curated exhibits, and produced other public resources, such as the award-winning web presentation, History of Toronto – An 11,000-Year Journey. Dr. Benn also taught part-time at the University of Toronto for 17 years in Continuing Studies, undergraduate History, and graduate Museum Studies; and he has been active elsewhere in the heritage field, such as serving on boards and providing consulting services to heritage agencies and other clients. His main areas of academic interest centre on Euroamerican and First Nations history in eastern North America before the 20th century. He has published extensively in journals and other venues, and his books include Historic Fort York (1993); The Iroquois in the War of 1812 (1998); The War of 1812 (2002); and Mohawks on the Nile: Natives Among the Canadian Voyageurs in Egypt, 1884-85 (2009). He currently is completing two books on aboriginal memoirs from 1812-15, and then intends to undertake research for a book on the Iroquois in the Pontiac War of the 1760s. Dr. Benn also received the 2012 Dean’s Teaching Award for the Faculty of Arts, and is a member of the graduate faculty.