Roberta Lexier, PhD
Associate Professor

Education:
PhD (University of Alberta)
MA (University of Regina)
BA in History/Political Science (University of Regina)

Position: 
Associate Professor

Phone: 403-440-8487
Email: rlexier@mtroyal.ca
Website: https://robertalexier.com

Scholarly Interests:
Roberta Lexier is an Associate Professor, cross-appointed to the Departments of General Education and Humanities. Trained as a historian, her research focuses on social movements, left politics, and feminism in Canada, global citizenship, and decolonization. Her current work examines the pro-Palestinian encampments at Canadian universities, placing these ongoing actions in historical context while seeking to understand: the demands and how they’re framed; the organizational structure of the encampments; the response from authorities; and the possible path forward.

Teaching Statement:
My goal as a teacher is to encourage students to think critically about the world and their place in it; develop the skills for life-long learning; and understand their rights and responsibilities as Canadian and/or global citizens. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are central to this approach as all voices must be given space and time to breathe, and, in every course, I employ Universal Design Learning (UDL) to ensure students’ needs are respected. My teaching also seeks to untangle higher education from the colonial project, challenging traditional approaches and techniques rooted in dominant values and beliefs. My courses are active, experiential, and grounded in problem-based approaches. Lectures are used sparingly, mainly to provide context and background, while activities and assessments offer hands-on practice with research and dissemination but also active engagement in the broader world.

Relevant publications and/or presentations:
“‘Patriarchy…always plays a role:’ Gender, the Lewis Family, and the Social Democratic Left in Canada,” The Journal of History (Forthcoming).

“The Only Cure for an Increasingly Sick System:” The Jewish Labour Bund and Social Democratic Politics in Canada,” Journal of Canadian Studies, Vol.57, No.1 (Winter 2023): 62-80.

“Social Democracy/Socialism,” in The Palgrave Handbook of Gender and Canadian Politics, eds. Manon Tremblay & Joanna Everitt (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2020): 57-78.

Lee Easton, Roberta Lexier, Gabrielle Lindstrom, Michelle Yeo, “Uncovering the Complicit: The Decoding Interview as a Decolonizing Practice,” in Reimagining curriculum: spaces for disruption, ed. Lynn Quinn (Johannesburg: African Sun Press, 2019): 149-169.

Party of Conscience: The CCF, The NDP, and Social Democracy in Canada, co-edited with Stephanie Bangarth & Jonathan Weier (Toronto: Between the Lines Press, 2018).

Recent or relevant grants, honours or awards:
SSHRC Insight Development Grant - The Lewis Family Business: Eighty Years of Left-Wing Activism

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Knowledge Synthesis Grant - Global Citizenship in a Canadian Context

Mount Royal University Internal Research Grant (Team) - Disrupting the Disciplines: Confronting Colonial Complicity