Biography

Karen Robert is Associate Professor of History at St. Thomas University, where she teaches courses on Latin American History, World History, research methods, and global automobility.  A historian of modern Argentina, her work uses material culture to explore social history and cultural myths. Her current research examines labour politics, human rights, and memory through a history of the Ford Falcon, the automobile that came to symbolize state terrorism in contemporary Argentina. She recently translated Memories of Buenos Aires: Signs of State Terrorism in Argentina, a comprehensive guide to hundreds of memory sites relating to the country’s last military dictatorship. Dr. Robert’s longstanding interest in innovative pedagogy has recently led her to explore the use of mindfulness practices to deepen students’ historical consciousness and cognitive skills. In 2013 she was appointed founding Director of the History department’s Institute of World History, which is currently in development.