A broad-based, multi-disciplinary approach to black studies

Based in the department of Sociology and Social Anthropology, Dr. Cooper conducts research that draws from the fields of history, literature, women's studies, creative writing, and African studies. The JRJ Chair draws her foundation from the African Nova Scotian community, connecting the histories and experiences of the local community to black communities across Canada and throughout the diaspora.  

One of Dr. Cooper's priorities is to create a web portal that unifies black Canadian studies for people to view online. Her goal is to create a web version of all digital formats of black Canadian history and to create a dialogue for this area of inquiry.

Research expertise and competencies

Dr. Cooper's areas of research deal with African Canadian, African American, abolitionism, women and gender, African diaspora and black Atlantic, slavery, abolition and freedom, black literatures and dub poetry, community development and culture, Islamic world, African history, and transnationalism.

• Doctoral research: The Canadian and American black abolitionist movement of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, with a focus on transnational abolitionist Henry Bibb.
  
• Master of Arts, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (1991). Fields: education, women and gender, history, and culture.
  
• Bachelor of Arts, University of Toronto (1986). Specialization: history, (focus on world history, Africa and the studies of Islamic history). Majors: women’s studies, African studies.