Biography
Dr. L.K. Bertram is an award-winning author and Associate Professor in the Department of History at the University of Toronto, specializing in economic and material histories of, gender, sexuality, and colonialism in the 19th century North American West, including a book currently in progress on sex workers as early firearms owners in the “Wild” West. Bertram’s newest work focuses on the big histories behind algorithmic technologies (AI) and disinformation as well as a applied data packaging principles for research-based content for video-based algorithms.
Bertram’s approach to teaching focuses on creating hands-on experiences for students that build insight and skills for advanced job markets and academic success. Classroom experiences include in-gallery museum explorations, research labs with rare texts, and providing students with the opportunity to contribute to exhibitions and high-impact public history campaigns.
Courses offered vary each year but include:
HIS111 History and Social Media Algorithms
HIS312 History of Immigration to Canada
HIS318 The “Wild” West in Canada
HIS358 The History of Canada in 100 Objects
HIS417 Histories of Sex Work
HIS1017 Critical Histories for Big Publics: The AI Shift
Awards
- 2022 SSHRC Insight Grant for “The Other Little House: The Brothel as a Colonial Institutions in the Canadian North West, 1880-1895” Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council
- 2021 Clio Prize for The Viking Immigrants: Icelandic North Americans Toronto: University of Toronto Press
- 2020 Canadian Historical Association Best Article Award and CCMET Best Article Award for “‘Eskimo’ Immigrants and Colonial Soldiers: Icelandic Immigration and the North West Resistance” Canadian Historical Review 99.1
Publications
- “The Other Little House: The Brothel as a Colonial Institutions in the Canadian North West, 1880-1895” Journal of Social History 2022.
- “‘Eskimo’ Immigrants and Colonial Soldiers: Icelandic Immigration and the North West Resistance” Canadian Historical Review 2018.
- The Viking Immigrants: Icelandic North Americans (University of Toronto Press : 2020)
- “Brief History of a Complicated Sweater: Cultural Appropriation + Arctic Militarization in 20th Century Design, 1929 onwards” (Montreal: MQUP : 2020)
- “Icelandic Cake Fight: History of an Immigrant Recipe” ( : 2019)
Areas of Interest
Sex Work History; Social Media Algorithms; Public History; Digital Disinformation; Migration; Race and Colonialism; 19th-century North America; Western North America; Iceland; Museums; Material Culture; Gender and Sexuality.
Two Denver sex workers, posing with their pet dog. Colorado, ca. 1912. Courtesy of History Colorado Archives.
L.K. BERTRAM 