Event Date: Friday, November 29, 2019
Critical GIScience, 1977-2019: Evolution but no Revolution
Nadine Schuurman
Professor of Geography
Simon Fraser University
Date: Friday, November 29th, 2019
Time: 3-4 pm
Location: 1004 SSC
In 1977, there was no GIScience. That evolved from the first academic discussions that year at a Harvard sponsored conference. By 1991, GIScience had emerged as a recognizable entity. Ten years later in 2001, there was a generally well understood delineation between critical GIScience scholars and those who use GIS to answer spatial questions or create algorithmic extensions to GIS suites. Since then, there has been a seismic shift in what critical GIScience constitutes and what challenges it faces. The boundaries between critical GIS and other parts of geography and computing are less distinct while its ambit is much extended. This talk offers a speed tour overview of critical GIScience from 1977 to the present with special attention to the evolution of critical GIS since 2005. I offer some insights into the challenges this scholarly niche faces as we move into a totally connected, highly surveilled world in which
the distinctions between GIS, Geography and other forms of computing are blurred.
Nadine Schuurman is Professor of Geography at Simon Fraser University. Her research focusses on three key themes: spatial access to health services and health surveillance; volunteered geographic information; and the influence of the environment on health events. Professor Schuurman is the Editor in Chief of The Canadian Geographer/Le Géographe canadien.
Part of the Department of Geography Speaker Series
Coffee & light refreshments provided.
Bring a reusable mug. Thank you!