Graduate Student Profiles

Jessie Barber

B.A. Geography, University of North Carolina, Charlotte
Email: jb10qj@brocku.ca

My research is concerned with the multiple and dynamic ways gay men and lesbians connect and constitute themselves in space. I received my BA in Geography with a minor in Urban Studies from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 2010. My undergraduate research examined how the absence of a visible gay neighborhood in Charlotte, North Carolina impeded gay male and lesbian candidates from election in local government. My MA current research focuses on the location-based social networking application Grindr (available on iPhone, Blackberry and Android phones), as it is used in the Toronto context. Using Grindr allows some gay, bisexual and curious men to find other homocurious men in proximity. I propose that Grindr, despite its mobility, remains intimately linked to Toronto’s gay village. I speculate that Grindr may afford users some possibilities ‘outside’ Toronto’s gay village, but remains conditioned and constrained by spatio-temporal legacies embedded in physical space.

Natalie Currie

B.A. (Honours) History, B.Ed., Brock University
Email: nc03wn@brocku.ca

While completing the undergraduate concurrent education program I gained a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) with a major in History as well as a Bachelor of Education.  I am also currently a member of the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT).  My undergraduate experiences led me to consider the importance of space in historical circumstances and educational settings.  Because of this I am now in pursuit of a Masters’ degree in Geography.  My thesis research, then, seeks to combine my undergraduate interests and explore the relationship between curriculum and student created products within the Indian Residential School (IRS) system.  More specifically, my research aims to explore how student works of art were used as opportunities to resist the goals of the residential school curriculum.  Furthermore, it seeks to investigate how students negotiated their identities within the spaces of the IRS through classroom based art.

Sara Epp

B.A. (Honours) Geography, Brock University
Email: se03ln@brocku.ca

When I began my undergraduate degree at Brock I had planned to attend law school after gaining a degree in a subject that interested me.  I was unaware that majoring in geography would have such a large impact on my life and influence my future academic aspirations.  As a rural Niagara resident, studying rural geography and community development as they relate to the Niagara Region during my undergrad motivated me to continue studying geography and join the MA program.  For my thesis I plan to explore regional and municipal planning policies and their implications for rural community development.  Of particular interest is the ways in which the Niagara Region’s growth policies deal with competing visions for use of rural land, as it pertains to residential development and agricultural production.

Warren Jenkinson

B.A. (Honours) Human Geography, Brock University
Email: wj99ty@brocku.ca

I had not anticipated my current enthusiasm for human geography.  What was originally a quest for a pass degree turned into an honours degree, and now I’m working on my Masters.  As a local musician, I thought it would be ideal to somehow combine my love of music with my emerging passion for geography.  And so, my MA thesis focuses on the ways in which sounds constitute our environment.  I am interested specifically in studying how fourth year students in a Geography of Music course consider sound as constitutive of space.  I am also interested in the ways people respond to certain environmental sounds. I have worked as a Research Assistant, Teaching Assistant, and I’ve even played some house league sports here.  It was an important decision to come to Brock, and I think a smart one to do my Masters here.

Richard Lagani

B.A. (Honours) Geography, Brock University
Email: rl04au@brocku.ca

I am originally from Whitby, Ontario, and have spent the duration of my post-secondary education learning and developing at Brock University. My research interests include social and cultural geography, and more particularly taken-for-granted landscapes. For my Masters thesis, I am examining how door locks discipline constitution and use of domestic space. There are two main ways I intend to do this. First, I am exploring the reasons people lock the doors that connect the neighborhood and home. Second, I am exploring the relationship between lockable doors inside the home and the practices they make private. Outside of school, I enjoy spending time with family and friends, listening to music, and watching sports on television.

Kerrie Pickering

B.Sc. (Honours) Environment, Brock University
Email: kp02ad@brocku.ca

Suwathna Reel

B.A. Psychology, Geography and Urban Studies, Temple University
Email: sr11cp@brocku.ca

As a former artist and visual arts enthusiast, I am endlessly fascinated by how visual arts have been used by various institutions as a means of communication.  I am especially interested in how city-level governments are using public art as part of urban renewal/urban revitalization strategies.  Municipal involvement in public art projects is becoming more prominent as cities search for new ways to generate revenue, sometimes in ways that are harmful to local residents.  Having investigated these issues in Philadelphia, I am now focusing on the Jane-Finch neighborhood of Toronto, with emphasis on how residents are reacting to a new local landscape of public art.

Paul Russumanno

B.A. (Honours) Geography, Brock University
Email: pr04jo@brocku.ca

As an undergraduate Geography student at Brock I developed diverse insights into the relationships between humans and the spaces we occupy and move through. I am applying these insights in my MA research, which examines the implications of ‘creative’ urban renewal in the city of Hamilton, Ontario.  I am specifically interested in the privatization of public space and the neo-liberal policies that encourage and foster the development of Richard Florida's 'Creative Class'. My research is informed by Guy Debord's "Society of Spectacle", Richard Florida's "Rise of the Creative Class" and Thorstein Veblen's "The Theory of the Leisure Class".

Pius Siakwah

BA Geography and Resource Development, University of Ghana
Email: ps10fn@brocku.ca

I completed my undergraduate degree in Geography and Resource Development at the University of Ghana, Legon in 2007. I am interested in studying the dynamics of natural resources and sustainable development with keen interest in the emerging oil and gas industry in Ghana.  I intend to look at the extent to which local fishing industry can co-exist with oil and gas industry, and the prospects and challenges inherent with industry, so as not to repeat the resource curse thesis associated with most African countries. I also have interest in poverty reduction, sustainability and participatory development. I am streamlining my Major Research Paper (MRP), and intend not to stop learning and hopefully pursue a PhD. Though I appreciate the challenges, I hope to live this dream.

Heather Whipple

BA English, Swarthmore College; MA English, MLS, Indiana University
hw10jd@brocku.ca

I first started studying Geography about five years ago, when I thought I might want to change careers from academic librarianship to something more focused on environmental and sustainability issues. Since then, I've developed additional geographical interests in GIS, critical animal geography, cultural geography, and almost anything to do with grey areas, fuzzy boundaries, and liminal spaces, both material and metaphorical. Although I'm still quite committed to sustainability and shifting away from consumerism while encouraging respectful engagement with the non-human world, my thesis topic reverted to my first loves, astronomy and science fiction. I'll be researching how living in outer space is represented and imagined in popular discourse, mostly by and for those of us who will never go there.

Tomasz Wierzba

BA (Honours) Geography, Brock University
Email: tw05lz@brocku.ca

I have always been fascinated by the world around me, and have sought understanding from different disciplines; none has captured my imagination like geography. In my MA research I hope to study the relationship between government policy and quality of life, by examining the Niagara Culture Plan. My research is informed by an eclectic set of theoretical perspectives. It is problem-based and action-oriented. I can best describe myself  as a critical pragmatist with an interest in social change. The Geography Department at Brock provides me with an intellectually supportive and inclusive environment where I feel I can achieve my personal, academic and career goals.