Dr. Richard MacKinnon is the founding director of the Centre for Cape Breton Studies, a research centre that houses a state-of-the-art digitization lab and the Rotary Music Performance Analysis Room. His research interests include all aspects of Atlantic Canada’s culture including oral traditions, music, language, material culture and vernacular architecture. He has developed numerous multimedia projects in addition to publishing many articles. His most recent book is Discovering Cape Breton Folklore (2009). He is the editor of Material Culture Review and he has produced recordings of CBU students and faculty.