Sean Carleton

Sean Carleton is a settler historian who specializes in the history and political economy of colonialism, capitalism, and education in Canada. Carleton holds BA and MA degrees in History from Simon Fraser University and a Ph.D. from the Frost Centre for Canadian Studies and Indigenous Studies from Trent University. He currently teaches in History and Indigenous Studies at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Research

Carleton's research focuses on the history of settler capitalism and schooling in Canada, with a particular emphasis on the development of the residential school system. His writing also addresses the rise of residential school denialism and its implications for reconciliation in Canada. He discusses the role of public schools in supporting settler colonialism and offers insights into the history of Indian Day Schools. Other themes of his writing include Indigenous resistance, historical perspectives on colonial strategies, and reflections on significant events in Canadian history, such as the Idle No More movement, Red Power movement, Oka Crisis and the legacy of residential schools and the Canadian genocide of Indigenous peoples.

His publications include the book "Lessons in Legitimacy: Colonialism, Capitalism, and the Rise of State Schooling in British Columbia," which was published in 2022. Some of his peer-reviewed articles cover topics like residential school denialism, Indigenous students in public schools, and the support for missionary schooling in British Columbia. He has also written about comics and their relation to critical consciousness and colonialism.. With Katsi'tsakwas Ellen Gabriel, he is the co-author of "When the Pine Needles Fall: Indigenous Acts of Resistance," which was published in 2024.

Carleton has contributed to reports and research notes about settler colonialism and media coverage of residential school denialism. He has been involved in graphic books that address historical struggles, including the Winnipeg General Strike and protest movements in Canada. He has written review articles that discuss graphic publications and their impact on understanding violence and racism in Canadian history. He has also published various book reviews on works related to Indigenous education and reconciliation.

Awards

• 2024 - Founders' Prize, Best Book (2022-2024), Canadian History of Education Association
• 2022 - Clio Book Prize, BC, Canadian Historical Association
• 2022 - Best Article Prize (2020–2022), Canadian History of Education Association.
• 2020 - 1919: A Graphic History of the Winnipeg General Strike awarded the Canadian Association of Work and Labour Studies Book Prize.
• 2018 - Top 40 Under 40, Avenue magazine, Calgary, Alberta.
• 2017 - Drawn to Change: Graphic Histories of Working-Class Struggle awarded the Wilson Book Prize by the Wilson Institute for Canadian History at McMaster University.
• 2017 - Canadian Historical Association Public History Prize for Graphic History Collective, with Paul Buhle, eds., Drawn to Change: Graphic Histories of Working-Class Struggle.

See also

• List of Canadian historians