Blog

New Publication: Gulf Cooperation Council Countries andthe Global Land Grab

Cochrane, L. and Amery, H. (2017) Gulf Cooperation Council Countries and the Global Land Grab. Arab World Geographer 20(1): 17-41. Abstract: A rapid increase in large-scale land acquisitions associated with the food-commodity price spike in 2008 resulted in a flurry of journalistic, non-governmental organization, and academic publications. One of the primary narratives that emerged was that oil-rich […]

Tags: #Global land rush #Gulf cooperation council #Land Grab #Land grabbing #Middle East

Research
Decolonizing the Mind

Decolonizing the Mind

Linda Tuhiwai Smith wrote “Decolonizing methodologies” (1999). Ngugi wa Thiong’o wrote “Decolonizing the Mind” (1986). This is essential reading and the insights are numerous – from curricula design and literary critique to social transformation and liberation. In this post I focus on one of Ngugi’s central and influential arguments about the power of language. The […]

Tags: #decolonization #Decolonizing the Mind #Language #Ngugi wa Thiongo #Power

Thought Provokers

Banting Fellow, Carleton University (2017-2019)

The 2017 Banting Fellows have been announced. Honoured to have been selected and looking forward to joining Carleton University. From Banting: http://banting.fellowships-bourses.gc.ca/en/2016-2017-eng.html Carleton University announcement available here.  Will be continuing my research in East Africa, with a focus on enabling environments engaged citizens and responsive governance.

Tags: #Banting #Banting Fellow #Carleton #Carleton University #CarletonU

Uncategorized
A History Not Told: American Slavery & Capitalism

A History Not Told: American Slavery & Capitalism

What is the half of the story we’ve not been told about slavery? Baptist explains that “America’s first generation of professional historians were justifying the exclusions of Jim Crow and disenfranchisement by telling a story about the nation’s past of slavery and civil war that seemed to confirm, for many white Americans, that white supremacy was […]

Tags: #American slavery #Capitalism #History #Oppression #Slavery

Thought Provokers
Decolonizing Methodologies

Decolonizing Methodologies

What are the ways in which research approaches and methodologies replicate colonial attitudes and processes? In “Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples” (1999), Linda Tuhiwai Smith makes these ways clear, while also presenting new pathways for research – not simply a decolonization of research, but a reformation of research that is embedded within a broader […]

Tags: #Colonialism #decolonization #Decolonizing #Methodologies #Research

Thought Provokers
The Politics of Military and Humanitarian Interventions

The Politics of Military and Humanitarian Interventions

In recent decades there has been a trend toward aligning or integrating military and humanitarian action. It has taken the form of militaries wanting to win hearts and minds, on one side, and humanitarian actors calling for military action on the other. “Contemporary States of Emergency: The Politics of Military and Humanitarian Interventions” (2010), edited […]

Tags: #Emergency States #Humanitarian Interventions #Military intervention #Military-Humanitarian #Politics

Thought Provokers