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Faculty Profiles

Neil Thomlinson

Politics &Policy

University   Ryerson University
E-Mail Address   thomlins@ryerson.ca
Phone Number   (416) 979-5000 ext. 6188
Office Location   JOR-1130
Office Hours   TBA

Education

B.A. Political Science (Calgary); M.A. Political Studies (Saskatchewan); Ph.D. Political Science (Toronto)

Biography

Dr. Neil Thomlinson is Associate Professor in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at Ryerson University. He was appointed Chair of the Department effective 01 July 2006 for a five year term. A member of the School of Graduate Studies, Neil is affiliated with the MA program in Public Policy and Administration as well as the Joint (with York University) MA/PhD program in Communication and Culture. He is a frequent media commentator on urban and Canadian politics.

Before entering the world of academe, Neil was the Parts Manager of a successful Ford dealership, while also serving as a municipal councillor, Mayor, and Chair of a Regional Planning Commission in Northern Alberta. He continued to work as a partsman while completing his undergraduate studies, and also continued to serve his community as a board member, Treasurer, and President of AIDS Calgary. In recognition of that volunteer service, he was awarded the Canada Volunteer Award by Health and Welfare Canada in 1991. Neil's volunteer commitment continues. Within Ryerson, he serves on Senate, representing Chairs in the Faculty of Arts; participates actively in the Chairs/Directors’ Council of the Ryerson Faculty Association; and serves on a variety of other ad hoc committees. He also chaired the Provost’s Committee on Timetabling (2006-8), and was a member of the Senate Review Committee (2007-8). In the broader community, he serves on the Policy and Accreditation Committee of the Ontario Municipal Management Institute (OMMI) and is serves on the Board of Directors of his condo corporation (MTCC905) as Secretary.

Neil joined the Department of Politics and Public Administration as a sessional instructor in 1995, was appointed an Assistant Professor in 2000, received tenure in 2005 and promotion to Associate Professor in 2006.
His teaching and research interests include local and urban governance, Canadian government and politics, public policy, and the politics of sexual diversity and identity. He was named a “popular prof” in Maclean’s Guide to Canadian Universities from 2003 until Ryerson withdrew from participation in the Guide. His doctoral thesis, Unfinished Business: The Remaking of Toronto, was defended in December 2004.

For his up-to-date profile, please visit http://www.ryerson.ca/politics/facultyandstaff/bio_NeilThomlinson.htm

Research Interests

Urban governance(Canadian and comparative with Brazil); Canadian politics (particularly institutions of governance); public policy: sexual diversity and identity, policing, gun control.

Selected Publications

Neil Thomlinson, “Church Governance: On Bringing ‘Politics’ Back In,” The Hinge: A Journal of Christian Thought for the Moravian Church, forthcoming.

Wendy Cukier and Neil Thomlinson, “Two-tier Health Care, Education and Policing: a Comparative Analysis of the Discourses of Privatization,” Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice 47:1 (January 2005): 87-126.

Neil Thomlinson, “Race and Faith in the Moravian Church,” The Hinge: A Journal of Christian Thought for the Moravian Church 10:2 (Summer 2003): 21-26.

Neil Thomlinson, review of Laboring for Rights: Unions and Sexual Diversity Across Nations , ed. Gerald L. Hunt, Labour/Le Travail 48 (Fall 2001): 322-324.

Neil Thomlinson, “When Right is Wrong: Municipal Governance and Downloading in Toronto,” in Restructuring and Resistance: Canadian Public Policy in an Age of Global Capitalism, ed. Mike Burke, Colin Mooers & John Shields ( Halifax: Fernwood Publishing, 2000) 226-260.

Neil Thomlinson, review of The Pink and the Black: Homosexuals in France since 1968 by Frédéric Martel, Canadian Journal of Sociology Online September - October, 2000.

http://www.arts.ualberta.ca/cjscopy/reviews/pinkblack.html

Neil R. Thomlinson, “Gay Concerns and Local Governments,” in The Politics of the City: A Canadian Perspective, ed. Timothy Thomas (Scarborough: I.T.P. Nelson, 1997) 115-136.
Link to extended profile page:
http://www.ryerson.ca/politics/facultyandstaff/bio_NeilThomlinson.htm

 

 

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Harold [Innis] taught us how to use the bias of culture and communication as an instrument of research. By directing attention to the bias, or distorting power of the dominant imagery and technology of any culture, he showed us how to understand cultures.
~ Marshall McLuhan