Research | Matthew Hayes

I study and research the following: Cold War history, particularly espionage and the more unusual aspects of the conflict, like the training of psychic spies; political and cultural histories of postwar Canada; conspiracy theories and those who believe them; UFOs and the supernatural; (pseudo)science and "cranks;" Atlantic Canadian literature and culture; public history; satirical political movements and actions; mortality and death studies, particularly near-death experiences; and documentary film. What unites all of this is a curiosity about what people believe and why, the importance of trust between people and institutions, and a desire to help the world, in whatever small way I can, become a better place through information literacy and critical thinking.

I'm working on several projects at the moment. My book about the history of Canada's UFO investigation, Search for the Unknown, is now available from McGill-Queen's University Press. This book is based on my PhD dissertation.

I'm also (slowly) working on a book called The Crank Files, the subject of my SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship. This book will feature a curated selection of so-called "crank" letters received by the Canadian government during the postwar years, examining the relationship between citizen and state, and providing some historical context to current debates about conspiracy theory, post-truth, and trust in government.

I've also begun researching the ethics of espionage. This combines my interests in Cold War history and espionage with my experience teaching ethics in philosophy, especially feminist ethics of care. I'm specifically working on a paper about Karen Cleveland's spy novel Need to Know as an exemplar of feminist ethics of care in action, in the contemporary intelligence world.

A list of my publications is below: