Projects

Research Interests: social movements, social activism, social change, Canadian politics, global citizenship, Community Service Learning

Here are the projects I am currently working on:

The Lewis Family Business: Eighty Years of Left-Wing Politics

There are few political dynasties in Canada. One, the Lewis family, has played a prominent, though often over-looked role in Canadian politics for the past eighty years. A study of the Lewis family allows for a two-fold analysis of left-wing political activism in Canada. First of all, it permits an examination of different eras of Canadian history and the role of the left in each of those periods, from the Depression to the Cold War to the post-war boom to the rise of neoliberalism. Secondly, this study allows for an exploration into different forms and locations of political activism, including parliamentary and extra-parliamentary politics and organizing at the local, provincial, national, and international levels.

This project will offer insight into the evolution of the left in Canada from the 1930s to the present. It will also highlight the multiple and varied ways individuals can participate in left political action and contribute to the transformation of the world. The monograph that will result will be of interest to those who study Canadian politics and history, social movements and social change, and left-wing organizing in Canada and around the world.

Party of Conscience: The CCF, The NDP, and Social Democracy in Canada

To Order

This collection of essays fills a gap in the literature by providing an analysis of the role of the CCF/NDP in Canada’s past, present, and future. The collection includes a variety of articles by graduate students, emerging and established scholars, politicians, think tank activists, union members, and the general public.

Along with editing this collection, I have an article titled “Challenge from Within: The NDP and Social Movements.” It explores the interactions between the NDP and the Waffle, New Politics Initiative, and the Leap Manifesto.