Preferred Pronouns: she, her, hers
community-based natural resource management monitoring capacity-building biodiversity conservation
Dr. Brenda Parlee is Professor in the Department of Resource Economics and Environmental Sociology in the Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences; she held the position of Canada Research Chair in Social Responses to Ecological change between 2007-2017. She joined the department in 2004, graduating with a PhD from the University of Manitoba in Natural Resources and Environmental Management (NREM) in 2005. Over the last 20 years she has led and enaged in numerous research programs focus, embraced participatory and community-based research methodologies with the aim of elevating local and Indigenous knowledge systems and finding ways to improve the sustainability of natural resources both in Canada and globally.
A key focus of Parlee’s work has been on the sustainability of resource development in the arctic; critical attention has been paid to concepts of well-being, social capital and the importance of Indigenous knowledge and participation in natural resource management systems.
She also has a variety of other research focal points including: community-based monitoring, Indigenous knowledge of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) and the sustainability of barren-ground and boreal caribou populations. An emerging project on the opportunities and challenges of cooperative management in Alberta will highlight the importance of Indigenous knowledge and best practices for conservation and sustainability.
Dr. Parlee is currently Principal Investigator of SSHRC Partnership Grant (www.trackingchange.ca) - a collaborative research initiative focused on the role of local and Indigenous knowledges in the sustainable governance of the Mackenzie River Basin, the lower Amazon and the lower Mekong River Basins. Dr. Parlee has been involved in numerous initiatives in Canada and internationally; she is currently a coordinating lead author of the Sustainable Use of Wild Species Assessment of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystems Services (IPBES) which will be released in 2021..
For more information see: www.brendaparlee.ca and https://ipbes.net/users/bparlee
Major Research Interests
Examines the relationship between development and environment at the local, regional, national and international levels. Critically discusses development strategies, the environmental and social forces promoting them, and the distribution of environmental and social impacts. Also examines alternative development strategies, sustainable development experiences and relevant international policy.
Fall Term 2020Designed for students seeking knowledge and skills for applied and collaborative social science research. Draws on diverse methodological theories with emphasis on themes, issues and tools needed for engaged scholarship. Prerequisite: R SOC 365.
Winter Term 2021This course explores the links between community and environmental sustainability using the lens of social-ecological resilience. What values/beliefs, knowledge, practices and norms have contributed towards the sustainability of local resources and ecosystems? How are small social groups demonstrating resilience in the face of larger scale political, economic, cultural, and environmental change? Drawing on interdisciplinary social science literature, the course critically discusses concepts, theories and issues of resilience from around the globe. Normally offered in alternate years. Prerequisite: *60.
Fall Term 2020Individual study. Investigations of a special problem involving field or library study and preparation of written reports. Prerequisite: consent of the Department Chair.
Fall Term 2020Designed for students seeking knowledge and skills for applied and collaborative social science research. Draws on diverse methodological theories with emphasis on themes, issues and tools needed for engaged scholarship. Not to be taken if credit received for R SOC 416. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
Winter Term 2021This course explores the links between community and environmental sustainability using the lens of social-ecological resilience. What values / beliefs, knowledge, practices and norms have contributed towards the sustainability of local resources and ecosystems? How are small social groups demonstrating resilience in the face of larger scale political, economic, cultural, and environmental change? Drawing on interdisciplinary social science literature, the course critically discusses concepts, theories and issues of resilience from around the globe. Normally offered in alternate years. Not to be taken if credit received for R SOC 443. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
Fall Term 2020