The site serves as a repository, of sorts, of my research interests and academic commitments. It seeks to advance the development of knowledge — mostly knowledge about the past and how it is defined by various institutions — and the ways in which the past is used in defining both identity, collectivity, and difference.
I am an Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction in the College of Education, along with a visiting position with the Graduate College of Library and Information Sciences, a position which I continue to hold. More recently, I was awarded a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Culture, Community and Education at Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia along with a Visiting Associate Professor position at the University of Toronto, where I research youth utilization of digital humanities to advance understanding of history.
I graduated with a PhD in Curriculum Studies from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC. I also completed a Masters degree in Curriculum Studies from the University of New Brunswick, a Masters degree in History from the University of Alberta, a Bachelors degree in Secondary Education from the University of Alberta, and a Bachelors degree in History from the University of Alberta.
My research focuses on cultural heritage institutions as pedagogical spaces. My recent research focuses primarily on issues related to how difficult events are displayed and how such events are framed as necessary knowledge.
When I am not engaged in academic work, I assist my family in running a cattle ranch in Alberta. This results in a frequent commute between the cornfields of Illinois and the foothills of Alberta, where I am reminded to ski more regularly.