Keith Williams

View Scopus Profile

Keith Williams, PhD

Assistant Professor, Education Studies

 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8191-5250
    20192026

    Research activity per year

    Personal profile

    Personal profile

    I grew up in rural Nova Scotia, on the south shore. My rural upbringing has played a significant role in influencing my thinking and my (also rural) adult life. I fell in love with theory during my Ph.D. and I try to bring my theoretical interests in conversation with my embodied and emplaced experience of the world. Although I do not identify as Indigenous, I have paternal ancestry from a Mohawk community on the northern shores of Lake Ontario and I deeply appreciate Haudenosaunee culture and values. I have lived and worked in different parts of the world and my life has been enriched by learning about how other people live and what they value. I am currently working with good friends and colleagues in Peru on projects related to the Indigenous philosophy, sacred plant medicines, and the lively agency of our non-human cousins.

    Research Interests

    My primary research interest is an attempt to respond to this crisis of connection by asking, and trying to answer, the question: how can we be better relatives to each other and to our more-than-human (MTH) relatives? My interdisciplinary research program approaches this broad question via several complementary and overlapping lines of research, including 1). the role of adult and higher education in transforming rural life for humans and the MTH; 2). psychedelics and the crisis of connection; 3). technology and our relationships with self and other; 4). interspecies communication as an approach to informing the Rights of Nature movement. In addition to my overarching research question, posthuman philosophy, Indigenous thought, critical theory, and poststructuralism all unite the strands of my research as does my own lived experience in the world and the perspectives that I bring to bear on my various areas of focus.

    Education/Academic qualification

    PhD, St. Francis Xavier University

    … → 2021

    M.Sc., University of Northern British Columbia

    … → 2000

    BSc. (Agr.), Nova Scotia Agricultural College

    … → 1996

    B.Ed. Indigenous Education, Queens University

    External positions

    Adjunct Faculty, First Nations Technical Institute

    Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

    In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

    1. SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
      SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being
    2. SDG 4 - Quality Education
      SDG 4 Quality Education
    3. SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities
      SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities
    4. SDG 14 - Life Below Water
      SDG 14 Life Below Water
    5. SDG 15 - Life on Land
      SDG 15 Life on Land
    6. SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
      SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    7. SDG 17 - Partnerships for the Goals
      SDG 17 Partnerships for the Goals

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics where Keith Williams is active. These topic labels come from the works of this person. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
    • 1 Similar Profiles
    View full fingerprint

    Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years

    Recent external collaboration on country/territory level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots or
    Explore network further
    • 7 Journal Article
    • 2 Comment/debate
    • 1 Chapter
    View all 10 research outputs