My main area of research focuses on representations of the North in literature. My work is interdisciplinary, drawing on and investigating how ideas in one field influence others. In the work on the North, including the research conducted for Northern Experience and the Myths of Canadian Culture, I consider the influence of ethnography on creative writing and the application of anthropological approaches to writing and reading. Since completing my doctoral research, I have also been studying the relationship between history and fiction in Canadian writing. Writing by women and members of First Nations has been the focus of my research and teaching contributions to Saint Mary's interdisciplinary programs in Atlantic Canada Studies, Northern Studies, and Women's Studies. Most recently, I have been studying the influence of First Nations knowledge (often referred to as Traditional or Indigenous knowledge) on writing about environmental change in the Arctic.

While studying the North, I gained a deep admiration for Inuit literature and culture that inspired me to learn more about First Nations and Aboriginal literature in English. My efforts in this area have been focused on editing and teaching although I have also published articles on authors Marilyn Dumont, Thomas King, and Armand Garnet Ruffo. In 2005, along with Renate Eigenbrod (University of Manitoba) and Robert Leavitt (Mi'kmaq-Maliseet Institute), I organized "Aboriginal Oral Traditions: Theory, Practice, Ethics," a conference which was hosted by Saint Mary's University. A collection of essays from the conference is forthcoming.