1. Work, Identity, and Place
Labour geographies; labour market restructuring and regulation; international divisions of labour; labour migration; knowledge, creativity and skills; employment equity; entrepreneurship; gender divisions of labour.
Faculty: Donald, Holmes, Kobayashi, Mullings, McDonald.
2. Globalization, Development, Economies and Sustainability
Effects of globalization neoliberalism and the new economy; development economies and restructuring; industrial geographies; commodity chains and cultural economy; economy and governance; innovation; transnational economies; political economies of cities; global change and health; international political economy.
Faculty: Donald, Holmes, Lovell, Mabee, Mullings, Rosenberg, McDonald.
3. Bodies, Health, and Health Care
The human and social body; socio/historical constructions of bodies; bodies and nature; access to health care; gender and health; emotional geographies; aging; demographic change; critical disability studies; food, nutrition, and food security; health and environment; environmental justice.
Faculty: Cameron, Davidson, Donald, Rosenberg.
4. Citizenship, Identity, Justice and Governance
Immigration; race and racism; feminist geographies; citizenship participation and social justice; social movements; identity, multiculturalism, and cosmopolitanism; urban citizenship; indigenous social justice (historical and contemporary); access to services; urban governance; urban land use planning and change; housing.
Faculty: Cameron, Chen, Davidson, Godlewska, Kobayashi, Mullings, Rosenberg, McDonald.
5. Postcolonialism, Indigenous Peoples and Place
Historical and contemporary: practices of representation; indigenous places; literary geographies; colonial and postcolonial discourses; emotional geographies of place; cultural politics of race, class, and gender; geographies of nature and science.
Faculty: Cameron, Godlewska, Kobayashi, Lovell, Mullings, Rosenberg.
6. Earth System Science
The broad emphasis in the field of Earth System Science is on developing an integrative understanding of the Earth as a physical system of interrelated phenomena. The focus is on the interaction and linkages between the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, and biosphere and on physical, chemical, and biological processes operating at a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. Measurement, integration, and modelling of earth system elements to understand these linkages are key foci of research and graduate training activities. Field measurements and sample collection are matched with laboratory and data analysis, and modelling.
The overlapping foci of faculty research fall into two broad themes: Forest Ecosystems and Cold Regions. The former emphasises the primary biophysical and physiological processes of forest systems (especially boreal), exchange of energy, water, and trace gases, and local and regional integration with remote sensing and modelling approaches. The latter focus operates across diverse polar and alpine environments, with emphasis on hydrological, marine, geomorphic and biogeochemical processes and sedimentary systems.
Faculty: Chen, Danby, Gilbert, Lafrenière, Lamoureux, Mabee, McCaughey, Scott, Treitz.
7. Geographic Information Science
Faculty examine the theoretical, technical and applied aspects of cartography, geographic information systems, remote sensing and image processing, and modeling of human and natural systems.
Specific research interests include: contemporary and historical cartography; land cover/use change detection and analysis; disease modeling; mapping/modeling human impacts on the environment; social, economical, and environmental interaction; biophysical remote sensing; image processing; resource/location optimization; geo-visualization; environmental exposure analysis; accuracy and error modeling.
Faculty: Chen, Danby, Godlewska, Scott, Treitz.
8. School of Urban and Regional Planning and Geography Department Coordinated Degree Program
The coordinated degree program is intended to help geography students who want a fast-track professional degree in urban and regional planning. The coordinated degree program makes it possible for geography students to finish their BA / B.Sc. and MPL. degrees in less time than it would take to pursue the degrees independently.
Geography and city planning are related fields. Geographers often consider the spatial implications of urban and regional issues and have a special focus on place. It is quite natural, therefore, to consider the integration of the two related fields. Today urban and regional planning is a broad field and people with different backgrounds are needed for the different work that is done by planners. The multi-disciplinary dimensions of urban planning provide students with a breadth of options to pursue in their studies.
Faculty: Donald
