Researcher Spotlight #9: Grace Gomashie

Welcome back to another Researcher Spotlight! This week, we spoke with the CEMVC’s post-doctoral research fellow, Grace Gomashie.

Grace joins Mount Allison from Western University in London, Ontario where she completed a PhD in Hispanic Studies in 2020. Her research interests include studying language vitality of Indigenous languages in multilingual contexts. Grace also hold a M.A. in Spanish and a B.A. in Spanish and French from the University of Ghana, Legon. Now at the CEMVC, Grace is responsible for research in equity and diversity, as well as in researcher training.

Grace has various peer-reviewed publications including “Bilingual Youth’s Language Choices and Attitudes Towards Nahuatl in Santiago Tlaxco, Mexico” (Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 2020), “Kanien’keha/Mohawk Indigenous Language Revitalization Efforts in Canada” (McGill Journal of Education, 2019) and “Language Vitality of Spanish in Equatorial Guinea: Language Use and Attitudes” (Humanities, 2019). Our team is very excited to read more of Grace’s articles in the future!

Now time for everyone’s favourite part: the Q&A section with our featured researcher!

Q: How have you found your post-doc experience at Mount Allison?

A: It has been a very rewarding and enriching experience which has allowed me to explore and expand on my diverse research interests. I have extended my research on Indigenous, Black and marginalized communities by examining how they have been represented in Coats of Arms by the dominant culture both historically and today. I enjoy working with the amazing people at CEMVC to facilitate and promote equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility in both education and broader society.

Q: What drew you to the field of Hispanic studies?

A: My journey started with a general interest in learning Spanish in Ghana during my undergraduate studies, followed by an exchange program in Cuba. I liked the field of Hispanic Studies because of its interdisciplinarity as it introduced me to a variety of courses in Linguistics, Literature, and Culture. 

Q: What is your favourite CEMVC collection?

A: I have three favourite collections whose rankings change depending on my research work at a particular time. Currently, the Coat of Arms collection is my favourite as it provides insight into the symbols and images that some nations, communities, and peoples choose to represent their identity.

Bonus Q: What is your favourite TV series and why?

A: Decisiones by Telemundo because it made my Spanish learning fun.