Rob Shields, DPhil

Professor, Faculty of Science - Earth & Atmospheric Sciences Admin

Contact

Professor, Faculty of Science - Earth & Atmospheric Sciences Admin
Email
rshields@ualberta.ca
Phone
(780) 234-0489
Address
Human Geography Program and Department of Sociology, 4-13 Tory (H.M.) Building
11211 Saskatchewan Drive NW
Edmonton AB
T6G 2H4

Overview

About

Rob Shields work spans architecture, planning and urban geography.  He is an award-winning author and co-editor of numerous books including  Spatial Questions, The Virtual, Lifestyle Shopping, Cultures of Internet, Lefebvre Love and Struggle, Places on the Margin, and Building Tomorrow: Innovation in Construction and Engineering as well as online projects such as strip-appeal.com and spaceandculture.com Before being awarded the University of Alberta's Henry Marshall Tory Endowed Research Chair in Sociology, Dr. Shields was Professor of Sociology and past Director of the Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies at Carleton University, Ottawa. A Commonwealth Scholar at University of Sussex, Robs early career was in passive solar design which he studied at Carleton University's School of Architecture. He founded Space and Culture, an international peer-refereed journal, and Curb Canadian planning magazine. He was 2014 City of Vienna Visiting Professor in Architecture and Planning at TUWien and is currently completing research on nanotechnology as a space of concern. 



Research

Please see my website: http://www.ualberta.ca/~rshields



Teaching

I have extensive contributions and experience in current social and cultural theory, virtual and material culture studies. I teach on urban culture, social space, situations, places, spatialisation and cultural topology.

Space and Culture research group meets every two weeks during the academic year. Occasional information is posted at https://www.facebook.com/groups/400433386690572/

For upcoming talks by the Tory Chair, see the calendar link on my website

Announcements

Please see my Teaching link to a calendar of public talks on my website

and the facebook page for the Space and Culture Research Group that meets every 2 weeks.

Courses

HGEO 452 - Human Dimensions of Environmental Change

Examination of the human dimensions of climate change. Topics include climate change politics, public perceptions and impacts, vulnerability and resilience, mitigation and adaptation. Prerequisite: Any 300-level EAS, HGP or HGEO course or Consent of Instructor. Not available for students with credit in HGP 452.


HGEO 552 - Advanced Human Dimensions of Global Change

Examination of the human dimensions of climate change. Topics include climate change politics, public perceptions and impacts, vulnerability and resilience, mitigation and adaptation. Not available to students with credit in HGEO 452 or HGP 452.


SOC 445 - Cities and Suburbia

The significance of urban social spaces and environments, architecture, planning, design and material culture. Prerequisite: SOC 100 or consent of instructor.


SOC 585 - Cities and Suburbia


Browse more courses taught by Rob Shields

Scholarly Activities

Research - Ongoing Research

Social spatialisation, Cultural Topologies, Innovation & community, visualicity, cities and suburbs as social spaces, urban cultural geography, social aspects of architecture. Settler colonialism, cities and place.  Postcolonial and decolonial theory and geopolitics.  Social aspects of infrastructure   See https://www.ualberta.ca/~rshields

Publications

‘Edmonton, Amiskwaciy Waskahikan’ and a Papaschase Suburb for Settlers'

Author(s): Gillespie, D. and Moran, K.
Publication Date: 2019
Publication: Canadian Geographer – Le Géographe Canadien
External Link: https://doi.org/10.1111/cag.12562.

'Spatializing stratification: Bogotá'

Author(s): Guevara, J., Shields, R.
Publication Date: 2019
Publication: Ardeth
Volume: 4
Issue: Spring
Page Numbers: 223--236
External Link: http://www.ardeth.eu/magazines/rights/

Spatial Questions: Social Spatialisations and Cultural Topologies

Author(s): Shields, R.
Publication Date: 2013

Demystifying Deleuze

Author(s): Shields Rob, Vallee Mickey
Publication Date: 2012