Geography Resource Centre
New Books
Managing Displacement: Refugees and the Politics of Humanitarianism, by Jennifer Hyndman
Written by Geography Faculty Member Jennifer Hyndman: Working for humanitarian agencies in Kenya and Somalia, Jennifer Hyndman determined that in spite of their best efforts, too often the camps in which these agencies operate can offer only a short-term palliative. In Managing Displacement, Hyndman uses unique insider knowledge both to challenge the political and cultural assumptions of current humanitarian practices and to expose the distancing strategies that characterize present operations. Managing Displacement looks specifically at the powerful organizations that serve refugees -- particularly the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). Hyndman provides a close reading of humanitarianism on the ground as she examines the policies and practices of the organization at various levels. She offers constructive criticism of organizations like UNHCR, discerning patterns of "ordering disorder" and "disciplining displacement" in their responses to emergencies.
Sites of Violence: Gender and Conflict Zones, Edited by Wenona Giles and Jennifer Hyndman
Edited in part by Geography Faculty Member Jennifer Hyndman: In conflict zones from Iraq and Afghanistan to Guatemala and Somalia, the rules of war are changing dramatically. Distinctions between battlefield and home, soldier and civilian, state security and domestic security are breaking down. In this especially timely book, a powerful group of international authors doing feminist research brings the highly gendered and racialized dimensions of these changes into sharp relief. In essays on nationalism, the political economy of conflict, and the politics of asylum, they investigate what happens when the body, household, nation, state, and economy become sites at which violence is invoked against people.
In particular, these hard-hitting essays move us forward in our understanding of violence against women--how it is perpetrated, survived, and resisted. They explore the gendered politics of ethno-nationalism in Sri Lanka, the post-Yugoslav states, and Israel and Palestine. They consider "honor killings" in Iraqi Kurdistan, armed conflict in the Sudan, and geographies of violence in Ghana. This volume augments feminist analysis on conflict zones and contributes to transnational coalition-building and feminist organizing.
Indefensible Space: The Architecture of the National Insecurity State, Edited by Michael Sorkin
Includes a Chapter written by Geography Faculty Member Stevn Flusky: Showing how the upswell of paranoia and growing demand for security in the post-9/11 world has paradoxically created widespread insecurity, these varied essays examine how this anxiety-laden mindset erodes spaces both architectural and personal, encroaching on all aspects of everyday life. Starting from the most literal level—barricades and barriers in front of buildings, beefed up border patrols, gated communities, "safe rooms,"—to more abstract levels—enhanced surveillance at public spaces such as airports, increasing worries about contagion, the psychological predilection for fortified space—the contributors cover the full gamut of securitized public life that is defining the zeitgeist of twenty-first century America
Interrogating the New Economy: Restructuring Work in the 21st Century, Edited by Mark P. Thomas
Includes a Chapter written by Geography Faculty Member Steven Tuffs: This collection of original essays investigates the social, political, and economic transformations associated with the emergence of the so-called new economy, and their impact on the organization of work within Canada. Essays in the book discuss the ways in which new management strategies, new communication technologies, and efforts to revitalize the labour movement have transformed the Canadian workplace. Focusing on changes in work organization, individuals' expectations regarding work, and the institutional support provided for workers and their families, the text constructs a critical analysis of the "new economy" in order to identify both the potential for quality work experiences and the ways in which the organization of work remains a profound social problem.
Interogating Race and Racism, Edited By Vijay Angew
Includes a Chapter written by Geography Faculty Member Lucia Lo, and Edited by Social Science Professor Vijay Agnew: It is a common misconception that, in the contemporary world, racism has been somehow defeated, pushed to the boundaries of acceptable social behaviour. In fact, racism has taken on a subtler guise in the ways it is expressed. This ambiguity has made racism more insidious than it once was. Interrogating Race and Racism examines the subject of racism with a view to uncovering the many ways in which it exists today.
As a subject with so many permutations, racism is necessarily examined from a multidisciplinary perspective in this collection, featuring authors from a variety of backgrounds. Among the specific topics discussed are border politics and the search for asylum, exclusionary policies, and the struggle for substantive citizenship. The collection also features extended discussion of racism in the workplace, an illuminating and important sequence that reveals the institutionalization of racist hiring procedures despite legislation to curb such practices.
Understanding Weather and Climate, by Eward Aguado and James E. Blunt
Rising interest in climate change and severe weather phenomena are making meteorology courses more popular than ever–yet this fast-paced, one-semester curriculum is packed with complex physical concepts that can be challenging.The authors use everyday occurrences to illustrate meteorology and climatology. Dynamic illustrations from the book come to life in the new fully integrated MyMeteorologyLab website, where students have access to a variety of media and self study resources such animated tutorials, videos, and satellite loops of atmospheric phenomena. While staying true to the text’s rigorous and quantitative approach, the Sixth Edition incorporates the latest new science and issues, new technology and media to help both teach and visualize the toughest topics, with a more learner-centered architecture and design.
Maphead: Charting the Wide, Weird World of Geography, by Ken Jennings
Jennings takes readers on a world tour of geo-geeks from the London Map Fair to the librarians in the bowels of the Library of Congress, from the pre-pubescent geniuses at the National Geographic Bee to the computer programmers at Google Earth. In each chapter, Jennings delves into a different aspect of maps, culture, and history, including the maps of fiction and fantasy and hobbies like highpointing and geocaching. Maphead also explores the way cartography has shaped our history, suggesting that the impulse to make and read maps is as relevant today as it has ever been.
Creeping Conformity, by Richard Harris
Creeping Conformity, the first history of suburbanization in Canada, provides a geographical perspective - both physical and social - on Canada's suburban past. Shaped by internal and external migration, decentralization of employment, and increased use of the streetcar and then the automobile, the rise of the suburb held great social promise, reflecting the aspirations of Canadian families for more domestic space and home ownership. After 1945 however, the suburbs became stereotyped as generic, physically standardized, and socially conformist places. By 1960, they had grown further away - physically and culturally - from their respective parent cities, and brought unanticipated social and environmental consequences. Government intervention also played a key role, encouraging mortgage indebtedness, amortization, and building and subdivision regulations to become the suburban norm. Suburban homes became less affordable and more standardized, and for the first time, Canadian commentators began to speak disdainfully of 'the suburbs,' or simply 'suburbia.' Creeping Conformity traces how these perceptions emerged to reflect a new suburban reality.
