Courses
GPHY 836: Qualitative Methods Graduate Seminar
Fall, 2022
This seminar introduces students to qualitative research methods and various modes of critical inquiry. The course is designed to assist graduate level researchers in developing and refining methods that can be applied towards their own theses and dissertations. Our approach will centre upon in-class discussions of weekly materials (readings, films, documentaries, podcasts), in which students will be encouraged to critically evaluate how different modes of knowing and producing knowledge interact. Research methods will include interviews, oral history, archival research, discourse analysis, participatory research and observation, and secondary textual research. Settler-Indigenous relations with respect to research will be a continuous theme throughout the semester. As the goal of the course is to strengthen research methods, students will have opportunities to apply these lessons to their own graduate work. By the end of the course, students will have established familiarity with a variety of qualitative research methods and experience in applying them to their own studies.
GPHY 370: Geographies of a Changing Arctic
Winter, 2023
This course examines contemporary issues in the Arctic with an eye to environmental, economic, and social change in the region. Particular attention will be paid to Inuit of Nunavut Territory and to the conditions and challenges that comprise day to day life in the Canadian Arctic. We will draw from academic and popular resources – especially film and documentary materials – to address subjects from both human and physical geography, including (but not limited to) climate change, Arctic sovereignty, Indigenous rights, food security, and mineral and petroleum extraction. We will also consider the nature of change – or presumptions of change – in northern regions, and how these influence popular debates about the Arctic’s future. In completing the course, students will gain a greater understanding of and appreciation for the complexity and diversity of Arctic regions, and develop skills to incorporate this critical thinking into their research, perspectives, and arguments.