Nicholas Surges

CONTACT

RESUME

EDUCATION

  • MA History - Public History

    2024
    Carleton University

  • Graduate Diploma in Curatorial Studies

    2024
    Carleton University

  • BA Hons. History with a minor in Drama Studies

    2022
    Carleton University

CERTIFICATIONS

SmartServe

July 16, 2024 – July 15, 2029

240716497390
SmartServe Ontario

Standard First Aid and CPR Level "C" and AED

April 14, 2022 – April 14, 2025

Ottawa Paramedic Service
Public Education

 

Indigenous Sensitivity Training,
Level A

2019
Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres

REFERENCES

Dr. Jennifer Evans
Professor at Carleton University
Supervisor on the Populist Publics Grant and one of the Professors I TA-ed for

 

Dr. Tom Everrett
Curator, Communications Technology at Ingenium

Supervisor for my Collections Research practicum

LECTURES & CONFERENCES

Jewish Otherness in The Golem and Nosferatu

Zelikovitz Centre Student Colloquium,

Carleton University,

April 4, 2023

 

Humanizing the Inhuman: Holocaust Memory Through Perpetrator Photography

Fourth Annual Montreal Central European Workshop,

L’Université du Quebec à Montréal, March 2023

 

The Sobibor Uprising and the Telegenics of Genocide: Problematizing Filmic Representations of the Holocaust

Underhill Student Colloquium,

Carleton University,

March 17, 2023

 

Jewish Experiences and Bismarck’s Anti-Catholic Laws in Nineteenth Century Germany and Austria

HIST 2510: Nineteenth Century Germany (guest lecture),

Carleton University, November 8, 2022

About Nicholas Surges, MA, BA Hons.

Nicholas Surges

 

I am a versatile museum professional with a background in performing arts and retail management and experience in exhibit design and digital content creation. In my spare time I co-produce a popular monthly literary salon, showcasing my passion for community engagement and cultural programming. My professional approach is characterized by a strategic mindset, strong financial acumen, and a steadfast commitment to fostering diversity and inclusion.

I am a versatile museum professional with a background in performing arts and retail management and experience in exhibit design and digital content creation. In my spare time I co-produce a popular monthly literary salon, showcasing my passion for community engagement and cultural programming. My professional approach is characterized by a strategic mindset, strong financial acumen, and a steadfast commitment to fostering diversity and inclusion.

Experience

Ingenium (Canada Science and Technology Museum)

Summer Contractor

May 2024 - September 2024

  • Survey and assess available scholarship and primary source material on hydrophone technology and the history of transhuman interaction with whales
  • Liaise and collaborate with various non-profits, First Nations and Inuit communities, and advocacy groups in order to record previously-underrepresented histories
  • Prepare reports for internal use summarizing these histories, with attention paid to specific guiding questions posed by the museum

Ingenium (Canada Science and Technology Museum)

Collection Researcher

September 2023 - April 2024

  • Review existing catalogue entries in KE Emu to identify knowledge gaps in our collection
  • Research collections objects using trade literature, archival materials in acquisitions files, Ingenium library resources, and patent database
  • Write an accessible, public-facing channel blog for the museum’s website discussing digital tools for collections reassessment
  • Attend curatorial division meetings and present updates on the new discoveries
  • Contact independent scholars and manufacturers in order to consult them on collections items in need of external expertise

Summer Contractor

June 2023 – August 2023

  • Write research packets on Canada’s LGBT Purge to be used internally in preparation for the Aviation and Space Museum’s Cold War exhibition
  • Create accessible, public-facing channel blog posts summarizing takeaways from my research

Carleton University

Teaching Assistant

September 2022 – April 2024

  • Prepare educational materials such as PowerPoint presentations, polls, and quizzes
  • Facilitate two weekly discussion groups in which we discuss assigned readings and interrogate primary source materials
  • Grade student assignments and provide constructive criticism
  • Design and lead workshops on scholarly skills such as Chicago formatting, primary source analysis, writing a thesis, and using university databases
  • Provide direction and coaching to students upon request via office hours
  • Organize extra credit activities for students

Research Assistant

October 2017 – April 2024

  • Monitor traditional and social media for content related to the research grant’s focus (hate speech, mis/disinformation, and social media oversight)
  • Gather data from public-facing sites such as Twitter and Facebook using open-source tools (e.g. TAGS, a Google sheet with a script for performing data scrapes)
  • Draft and publish policy analyses on the Populist Publics blog drawing from our research
  • Develop strategies for teaching primary and secondary students media literacy skills
  • File news stories and scholarly articles in Zotero to build a database for future researchers

Naked Boys Reading Ottawa

Producer

July 2023 – present

  • Schedule and plan themed monthly shows
  • Liaise with both the venue and community partners (such as MAX Ottawa)
  • Conduct reader intake and contact prospective readers for each show
  • Write the agenda used by the cast and crew for each show

LCBO

Product Specialist

June 2022 – August 2023

  • Handle large amounts of cash and prep deposits for the evening
  • Challenge, check, and refuse intoxicated patrons in accordance with provincial law)
  • Interpret customer requests in able to match them with the best possible product for their evening

Stag Shop

Sales Associate/Key Holder

December 2019 – August 2022

  • Train new staff on policies, procedures, and corporate culture.
  • Achieved a 62% increase in sales
  • Educate customers on sexual wellness and safe product use
  • Responsible for preparing banking

Toronto Public Library

Page

October 2018 – November 2019

  • Listen to and assist patrons with their needs
  • Sort and shelve books according to cutter
  • Conduct daily reads to ensure shelves are in order

Arterra Wines

Assistant Manager

March 2015 – October 2019

  • Train staff on policies and procedures, product knowledge, and corporate culture
  • Manage inventory based on existing stock levels and sales projections
  • Motivate staff through one-on-one coaching
  • Answer customer queries to assist them in finding the products which best suit their needs
  • Ring through sales and count money at the end of the day for bank deposit.

Theatre Artist

2009-2020

  • Develop theatre grants through frameworks such as Nova
  • Familiar with Canada’s artistic landscape and DEI within the theatre community
  • Excellent presentation and creative writing skills as well as the ability to work under pressure and adapt in a live environment

Publications

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Article.Epoch Magazine
September 1, 2024

Blog. Ingenium Channel
April 29, 2024

“Mystery Music”: Digital Strategies for Collections Research

Editorial. Xtra Magazine
November 30, 2022

By refusing to drop Libs of TikTok, Shopify is selling hate

Blog. Populist Publics
April 22, 2022

The Information Arms Race: Media and the Russo-Ukrainian war

Blog. Populist Publics
February 16, 2022

‘Who watches the watchmen?’: Digital Moderation in the Age of Misinformation

Volunteer Experience

Undergraduate Councillor (History), Carleton Student Government

2021-2022

  • Voiced student concerns about asynchronous learning and perceived gaps in the department’s program (e.g. the importance of training history students in interviewing to prepare them for working with oral histories)

First Year Connections Peer Mentor, Student Experience Office

2021

  • Connected undergraduate students with on- and off-campus resources, such as scholarships, academic accommodations, and health services.
  • Trained in active listening and suicide prevention.

Vice President of Events, Carleton History Undergraduate Society

2021-2022

  • Facilitated society events such as movie nights, trivia nights, and a historical fiction writing contest
  • Crafted policy memos and statements on current events.
  • Assisted in the moderation and governance of the society Discord server.
  • Designed promotional materials using a various tools, including Canva.

AWARDS AND SCHOLARSHIPS (SELECTED)

Carleton University

  • Ontario Graduate Scholarship (2022-2024)
  • Haines Prize (2022-2023)
  • J. Carlisle Hanson Awards (2022-2023)
  • Senate Medal for Outstanding Academic Achievement (2022)
  • Donaghy Prize (2022)
  • Deans Honour List (2021)
  • Hyman Soloway Scholarship (2021)

Skills

  • Writing

  • Research

  • Critical Analysis

  • Grant Writing

  • Project Management

  • Event Coordination

  • Public Speaking

  • Facilitation

SKILLS

  • Writing

  • Research

  • Critical Analysis

  • Grant Writing

  • Project Management

  • Event Coordination

  • Public Speaking

  • Facilitation

Download My Resume

Click the button to download a copy of my digital resume.

Portfolio

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HIST 5707 Final Project

"Your City Cousins" - Cruising the Nineteenth Century

"Your City Cousins", was a gallery piece on Victorian homosexual sex work and cruising culture. The intention was to fabulate a missing visual record and to reflect on continuities between cruising culture in the nineteenth century and in the present.

portfolio_bookmarks

HIST 4006 Medieval Manuscripts

Medieval Bookmarks

A series of bookmarks that I designed as a deliverable for HIST 4006 Medieval Manuscripts in the Digital Age with Dr. Marc Saurette. Our final project for the class was to collectively design an exhibit.

portfolio_polyphonia

May 2023 - Aug 2023

"Polyphonia: The Sounds Continue"

For our class project for CURA 5002, our class was tasked with re-curating several display cases which housed the ISLAC Loaned Collection of Indigenous Percussion Instruments.

portfolio_performing_arts

Toronto, ON

Performing Arts Pieces

Before returning to school to study history, I worked as a performing artist in Toronto. In that time, I wrote and produced a number of film and theatre pieces.