Elizabeth Robinson

Elizabeth is an emerging scholar from Tiohtià:ke | Mooniyang | Montreal. She is currently pursuing an MA in Concordia's Art History program. She received her BA with Honours from the Liberal Arts College of Concordia, with a minor in Philosophy. Her undergraduate honours thesis explored Dorothea Tanning’s paintings and soft sculptures, with a particular focus on thematic parallels between Gothic literature and Tanning’s work (e.g the Sublime, ghostliness, the supernatural). Her current research focuses on women surrealists and their use of occult symbols and iconography. Elizabeth aims to understand why women and queer folk have historically been involved in the emergence of alternative spiritualities such as Theosophy and Spiritualism. Her MA thesis explores this reality by analyzing the intersection of gendered representations and occult symbolism in the surrealist paintings of Leonora Carrington and Remedios Varo. Elizabeth is grateful for funding support from the Canada Graduate Scholarship Master's Award (SSHRC) and the Master's Research Scholarship (FRQSC).