Whether it’s between her two areas of study— history and political science—or the way she helps to build community in her role as president of the Undergraduate History Society, Kriti Maini is all about connections.
Maini arrived with her family from India in 2017 and completed high school in Halifax. She’d known she’d study the humanities from the time she was in middle school, so after high school graduation she jumped into the University of King’s College Foundation Year Program—right as the COVID-19 pandemic began. After an unorthodox start to her university studies, she entered the history program at Dalhousie.
“I like to study the process of studying history itself or historiography. It’s not so much a specific century or subject area, but how people engage with history—how we create it, how we relate to it, what role it plays in our lives.” In her second year Maini took a political science course and discovered the connection between the theories of that discipline and her understanding of history.
“I feel like the two disciplines answer questions very differently, and often in ways that complement each other.”
“I feel like the two disciplines answer questions very differently, and often in ways that complement each other.”
She’ll graduate in spring 2025 with combined honors in political science and history.
Apart from connecting her two areas of study, she’s also interested in connecting students with similar interests. As president of the Undergraduate History Society, she’s worked to gather a great team not only to publish the undergraduate journal, Pangaea, but also to create programming for history students and others in the faculty. They’ve had movie and trivia nights and a winter social, with plans for more events in the future. Maini says student societies can be a source of peer support and a way for students to make sure their university experience is not all work and no play.
“Societies and events are such an important social resource for students,” she says. “The social aspect of school is easily missed between class work and assignments. To offer events in a non-stressful, friendly atmosphere is essential and people enjoy it.”
Further reading: Cheers to the Class of 2024!
This story appeared in the DAL Magazine Spring/Summer 2024 issue. Flip through the rest of the issue using the links below.
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