I specialize in Canadian theatre history, with a focus on the history of radical political intervention theatre. My secondary field at the moment is reenactment culture and "warplay".
The MLA program at the University of Guelph offers passionate and engaged students the chance to study a fascinating discipline rich with potential and boundless ambition to confront the complex challenges facing society through better design.
Immigrant families settling the land, quilting bees, and ploughing matches are examples of some of the social and economic topics of early Ontario that link my work to the larger expertise of this University concerning agriculture and rural communities.
My community-engaged research collaborations focus on the interplay between citizens – particularly young women and women in northern communities – and the framing and development of public policy.
My research will contribute to our fundamental understanding of the role of nutrition in disease prevention and strategies to implement change working through families.
I and my lab study animal welfare. We're interested in how to create good living conditions for animals kept in labs, zoos and farms; in how scientists can assess well-being objectively; and in what happens to brain and behaviour when animals are raised and kept lifelong in confining, barren enclosures.
The problems I have worked on in animal science have direct implications for genetic selection, food quality (e.g. cow milk), and animal health. On the other hand, my work in understanding the structure and driving mechanisms of ecological (e.g. plant-pollinator) networks have indirect implications for ecosystem conservation, management, and restoration.
The central research goal of my research is to examine the concept of resiliency and sustainability within the context of resource-based communities to address the often problematic relationship(s) between resource reliance, community well-being, and adaptive capacity.
