Rob Shields, DPhil
Contact
HM Tory Chair and Professor, Faculty of Science - Earth & Atmospheric Sciences
- rshields@ualberta.ca
- Phone
- (780) 234-0489
- Address
-
Human Geography Program and Department of Sociology, 4-13 Tory (H.M.) Building
11211 Saskatchewan Drive NWEdmonton ABT6G 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
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