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History: A Powerful tool for Self-Reflection and Social Transformation
History: A Powerful tool for Self-Reflection and Social Transformation
As educator and historian specialising in the history of the northern half of North America now known as Canada, I believe historical analysis has the power to help us understand the world we live in and to act in ways that may improve human and social relations. I have been active in the field of undergraduate education for over thirty years, in both colleges and universities in Ontario, in Québec, and in Alberta. I work from the assumption that students can become agents of change when given a chance to acquire the skills to find and analyse information, and to relate it to their past as well as their present.
My research interests have been informed by a desire to better understand how society determines, establishes, transmits, and perpetuates social expectations and norms. For this, I have explored the history of D/deaf people as a cultural and linguistic minority in Canada in the nineteenth and twentieth century. I have been drawing parallels between their historical experience and that of other groups, such as sexual minorities and Indigenous peoples. I am also concerned with how we as historians and heritage professionals represent and perpetuate historical narratives in ways that are influenced by and that can shape relations amongst various groups in society in the past as well as in the present. This preoccupation with minority populations and cultural dynamics informs my teaching. By highlighting the power dynamics of inclusion and exclusion, I have been working towards more and more inclusive education.
Teaching and research have been increasingly merging for me. I have been exploring the impact of information fluency and literacy on the teaching of history. I have also explicitly used the Big Six Historical Thinking Concepts tool developed by Tom Morton and Peter Seixas to make historical thinking explicit and stimulate critical thinking as part of a more inclusive approach to teaching history at the undergraduate level.
Feel free to explore and browse through this portfolio, which details my teaching philosophy and experiences, as well as some of my research interests and community involvement. This site is best navigated by using the sections in the sidebar. Do not hesitate to contact me if you want to share your own insights or collaborate on the projects that appear in these pages.
I am a settler of European descent who lives on territory encompassed by Treaty Six, and teaches on the territory encompassed by Treaty Seven. These are ongoing agreements for peace and good relations between the peoples who have lived in this land from time immemorial , and the settlers, of whom I am, who came at the behest of the British Crown to share this land. Treaty Six was sealed on August 23 and 28, 1876. The Indigenous peoples who are party to Treaty Six include the Nehiyaw, the Anishinaabe, the Chipewan, and the Dakota. Treaty Seven was sealed on September 22, 1877. The Indigenous peoples who are party to Treaty Seven include the Nakota, the Nitsiitapi (Kainai, Pikani, and Siksika), and the Tsuu T'ina. All immigrants and settlers in this land are also party to this treaty. We are all treaty people.
Treaty 7 Medal source of the image: Enlivened Learning Films.
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