Wilfrid Laurier University’s Distinguished Lecture Series showcases the innovative research, ideas and expertise of Laurier faculty members across a wide range of disciplines. Learn from scholars who are shaping conversations in their fields and beyond. This is a chance for the Laurier community to explore emerging discoveries, engage with thought-provoking perspectives, and gain a deeper understanding of our research ecosystem.
The Laurier Distinguished Lecture Series is open to Laurier faculty members, staff, students and community members. Events are in person and free of charge. Lunch will be served.
Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Histories and Historical Practice in Canada
Relations over water: Indigenous women, fur trade families, and the digital archive
Indigenous women were at the centre of the kinship networks that made the North American fur trade possible, yet their lives and movements are often difficult to trace across a fragmented colonial archive. “Relations over water” asks what becomes possible when traditional historical research and AI-assisted digital methods are used to connect thousands of records scattered across the continent, opening new ways to trace the mobility, relationships, and experiences of Indigenous women and their families.
Professor, Education
Keeping the learner in the loop: What AI is revealing about teaching and learning
For more than two decades, Mueller’s research has followed digital technologies from classroom computers to artificial intelligence. Across those changes, one principle has remained remarkably constant: technology matters less than how it supports learners, pedagogy, agency and human relationships. AI, however, introduces a deeper challenge: when a machine can produce many of the products we have traditionally treated as evidence of learning, we are forced to reconsider what it means to know, who gets to define knowledge, and what we want to remain distinctly human in learning.
Assistant professor, Kinesiology and Physical Education
Women’s cardiovascular health across the lifespan
Williams leads the Cardiovascular Health Research Lab at Laurier. Her research explores how hormones, stress and exercise shape heart and blood vessel health across the lifespan, with a particular focus on women’s cardiovascular health. Williams’ work aims to better understand how and why cardiovascular health changes across major life stages and how we can use this knowledge to help people stay healthier longer.
