Arne Kislenko is an Associate Professor of History at Ryerson University and an Adjunct Professor at Trinity College, University of Toronto. He was a Visiting Professor at Freie Universität Berlin in 2006 and 2008. He teaches 19th and 20th century international relations, including courses on the history of espionage, the two world wars, the Cold War, and comparative foreign policy. In November 2005 he was named “Best Lecturer in Ontario” by TV Ontario viewers following the first “Big Ideas” series. He has received numerous other recognitions for his teaching, including winning the Ontario government’s inaugural Leadership in Faculty Teaching Awards (LIFT) (September 2007) and Ryerson University´s first President´s Teaching Award (December 2007).

Arne’s research interests include United States diplomatic history, 20th century international relations, contemporary intelligence/national security issues, and modern Southeast Asia. His publications include Culture and Customs of Laos (2009), Culture and Customs of Thailand (2004), and The Uneasy Century: International Relations, 1900-1990 (with Dr. Margaret MacMillan, 1996). He recently contributed to and helped edit Global Perspectives on the United States: Issues and Ideas Shaping International Relations (2008) and has published several chapters in books on United States foreign relations and numerous journal and encyclopaedic articles on a wide range of topics. He is currently finishing a book on United States foreign policy and Thailand during the Vietnam War era.

He graduated with an Honours B.A. in History and Politics (1987) and an M.A. in History (1988), both from the University of Western Ontario, and a Ph.D. in History at the University of Toronto (2000). Arne also worked as a Senior Immigration Officer with Canada Immigration at Lester B. Pearson Airport between 1989 and 2001, dealing with many high profile and national security cases. He appears regularly in the media commenting on current affairs, including U.S. foreign policy, national security, terrorism, immigration, and modern diplomatic history.

Kate Grisdale is a fourth year student in Arts and Contemporary Studies at Ryerson. Though she has not officially declared a major, Kate has been following the history stream after discovering a latent passion for the subject in her third year of studies. An interest and belief in the importance of exploring current international issues along with their origins is what brought about her involvement in the IID.

Sarah El-Shaarawi is a fourth year Arts and Contemporary Studies student at Ryerson University. She is working toward a major in Global Studies and a minor in Economics. Her passion for travel, politics and international development have prompted her to pursue educational and volunteer opportunities in Italy, Germany and India. Upon completion of her undergraduate degree, Sarah hopes to pursue a masters degree focusing primarily on international relations and development.