Challenging the narrative

History is often written to celebrate a single 'great man,' but who is left out of the story when we only view the past through that lens? For one University of Manitoba doctoral student, this question has driven a fascinating academic journey from the ancient Roman Empire to modern educational institutions—a journey recently recognized with the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies UM Distinguished Master’s Thesis Prize, alongside a prestigious SSHRC Canada Graduate Research Scholarship – Doctoral.

The foundation of Boyd’s current research began during her master’s degree, which took a fresh look at the founding of the Roman Empire. For centuries, Rome's first emperor, Augustus, has been portrayed as the singular architect of the Roman Principate. However, by examining the career of his closest political partner, Marcus Agrippa, a different story emerges.

While Agrippa is typically remembered merely as a great military commander, Boyd's thesis revealed him to be Augustus’ true constitutional partner. By looking beyond the usual Roman authors and analyzing often-neglected Greek-language texts, provincial sources, and material culture from the eastern Mediterranean, the research showed that Agrippa exercised military, civic, legal, and symbolic authority right alongside Augustus.

This remarkably successful partnership was eventually absorbed into an emperor-centred historical narrative, allowing Agrippa to fade from the story. Ultimately, the thesis challenged the widespread tendency in historical research to explain major political transformations through the actions of a single individual, revealing instead a model of shared authority.

The questions raised by this master's research—specifically, how dominant historical narratives are built and whose contributions are erased—paved the way for a pivot in their academic career.

Now pursuing a PhD in the Faculty of Education under the supervision of Dr. Lucy Delgado, Paige Boyd is bringing these critical questions into the modern classroom. Supported by the SSHRC CGS-D award, their doctoral research draws on Indigenous methodologies to examine how dominant historical narratives continue to shape today's educational institutions. The work investigates how these narratives influence not only what is accepted as ‘legitimate knowledge,’ but also whose ways of knowing and being are ultimately recognized and valued by the education system.

Beyond their own doctoral studies, Paige is a highly active member of the UM research community, currently serving as a research assistant on two major collaborative projects. She is contributing to the Right to Read project alongside Drs. Melanie Janzen and Xiaoxiao Du, as well as a project titled The Impact of Métis-Specific Spaces on the Health and Wellness of Métis Women and Two-Spirit/Indigiqueer People, led by Drs. Lucy Delgado, Laura Forsythe, Michelle Driedger, and Heather Foulds.

By connecting the ancient past's forgotten collaborators to today’s vital conversations about knowledge and representation, this UM researcher is proving that rethinking our history is the first step toward transforming our future.