Graduate Students

Dr. Catherine Nolin with Dr. W. George Lovell and Fredy Peccerelli
Catherine with Dr. W. George Lovell and Fredy Peccerelli at Queen's University Convocation when Fredy received an honorary Doctor of Science degree (Kingston, ON, April 2017). Photo by Alexandra Pedersen

Catherine Nolin, PhD
Professor & Chair
PhD, MA (Queen's University at Kingston, 2000), BA (University of Calgary)

Phone: 250-960-5875
Email: catherine.nolin@unbc.ca
Office: New Lab Building 8-148

X: cnolin and UNBC_GEES
Instagram: unbcgeography_ensc
Facebook: UNBCGeographyENSC

Graduate Student Supervision

Natural Resources and Environmental Studies (MA NRES Geography stream & PhD program)

Current Graduate Student Supervision & Postdoctoral Fellows

Md Adbur Rashid

Md Abdur Rashid

PhD Natural Resources & Environmental Studies (Geography), September 2022 - present
MA International Studies (International Development stream), UNBC 2015
BA, Aligarh Muslim University 1999

Dissertation Topic: Rohingya Refugee Crisis & Rethinking Development in Bangladesh

Email: rashidm@unbc.ca

Glen Thielmann

Glen Thielmann

PhD Natural Resources and Environmental Studies (Geography) student, September 2019 - present
M.Ed. Curriculum, Instruction, and Leadership, 2004, SFU, Burnaby, BC, 2004
B.A. Geography and English, UBC, Vancouver, BC, 1994

Dissertation Topic: Dead Reckoning the Curriculum: Problems of Practice related to Geography Education among K-12 educators

Book (lead author): Thielmann, G., with Lewis, R., Martin, J., Pereira, J., Truant., V. et al (2018). Thinking it Through: Social Studies Sourcebook. Toronto: Pearson.

Email: thielmann@unbc.ca
Web: https://thielmann.ca

Current Graduate Committees

Yanik Rozon, MA Natural Resources and Environmental Studies (Geography) (2022 - present), Supervisor: Dr. Tristan Pearce
Chris Little, PhD Politics, York University (2022 - present), Supervisor: Dr. Jeffrey Webber
Dave Stasiuk, PhD Geography, Kent State University (2014 - present), Supervisor: Dr. James Tyner

Postdoctoral Fellows (previous)

Marieka Sax

Dr. Marieka Sax

SSHRC Postdoctoral Researcher, September 2019 - January 2022
PhD in Anthropology (Carleton University, 2014)

Research Interests
Resource extraction; indigenous-settler relations; gender and intersectionality; rural livelihoods; traditional medicine; qualitative research methods; Peru; northern BC

Completed Graduate Student Supervision

2020

Obum Achunike

Obumneme Achunike

MNRES Natural Resources and Environmental Studies (Geography) '20
BSc Geology & Mining, Enugu State University of Science & Technology, Enugu, Nigera, 1998

Thesis Social Impacts of Oil Extraction in the Niger Delta Region, Nigeria

2019

Charlotte Connolly

Charlotte Connolly

MA Natural Resources and Environmental Studies (Geography) '19
BA Peace, Conflict and Justice Program, Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto '16

Thesis:Exporting Canada's Extractive's Approach to Development: The Nexus of Law, Violence and Development in the Case of Tahoe Resources Inc. in Guatemala

2018

Alexandra Pedersen

Alexandra Pedersen

PhD Geography (Queen's University) '18 [co-supervision with Dr. W. George Lovell]
MA International Studies (International Developmnt stream), UNBC ' 11
BA International Development, University of Guelph ’09

Dissertation:¡Somos La Puya! (We Are La Puya!): Community Resistance to Canadian Mining Company Operations in Guatemala

Pedersen, A.(2014). Landscapes of resistance: Community opposition to Canadian mining operations in Guatemala. Journal of Latin American Geography 13(1), 187-214. DOI: DOI: 10.1353/lag.2014.0018

Pedersen, A. (2014) Power, violence and mining in Guatemala: Non-violent resistance to Canada’s northern shadow. Revista: Harvard Review of Latin America, Winter.

Kirk Walker's Thesis Defence Practice Session with fellow graduate students
Thesis Defence Practice Session with fellow graduate students

Kirk Walker

MA Interdisciplinary Studies '18
Diploma - Broadcast Communications (Television) '04 - BCIT,
BA Anthropology, UNBC '12

Thesis: ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Landscape and Collective Memory in Post-Conflict Ayacucho, Peru:  Narratives and Photography of Survivors

Walker, K. (Director & Producer) and C. Nolin (Executive Producer) (2013) Documentary Film: Ayacucho: Studying Human Rights in Peru. 16 min. UNBC, Prince George, BC. http://vimeo.com/57858245

2017

Erica Henderson

MA Interdisciplinary Studies '17
BA Anthropology, UNBC '11

Thesis:Seeking Justice in Guatemala: Dignifying the ‘Disappeared’ in a Context of Impunity

Henderson, E., C. Nolin, and F. Peccerelli (2014) Dignifying a Bare Life and Making Place through Exhumation: Cobán CREOMPAZ Former Military Garrison, Guatemala. Journal of Latin American Geography, 13 (2): 97-116. DOI: 10.1353/lag.2014.0027

2015

Md Abdur Rashid

Md Abdur Rashid

MA International Studies (International Development)'15
Master of Social Science (MSS) in Sociology, National University of Bangladesh, 2000 & BA (Hons) in Sociology, Aligarh Muslim University, UP, India '99

Thesis:Gendered Violence in Gender-Based Development Projects: Conditional Cash Transfer Programs and Women’s ‘Empowerment’ and ‘Development’ in Bangladesh

2014

JP Laplante

JP Laplante

MA Natural Resources & Environmental Studies (Geography) '14

Topic: La Voz del Pueblo: Maya Consultas and the Challenge of Self-Determination for Socially Responsible Investment in the Mining Sector

LaPlante, JP and C. Nolin (2014)Consultas and socially responsible investing in Guatemala: A case study examining Maya perspectives on the Indigenous right to free, prior and informed consent. Society & Natural Resources: An International Journal, 27 (3) March: 231-248. doi: 10.1080/08941920.2013.861554

Giulliana Tamblyn

(Ysler) Giulliana Tamblyn

MA International Studies (International Development stream), '14
BA Economics, National University of Piura, Peru, '96

Thesis: “Is Resource Extraction a Curse or a Bonanza for Local Communities? Mining Case Study: Quiruvilca, Peru”

2013

Courtney LeBourdais

MA Natural Resources & Environmental Studies (Geography)'13
BA English, UNBC '08
Supervisor: Dr. Catherine Nolin

Thesis: Narratives of Negotiation: Marriage Migration in Northern British Columbia

2011

Hyae-Rim Roncin

MA International Studies (International Development)
Co-supervised with Dr. Fiona MacPhail

Thesis: The Meaning of Reconciliation and Development in Post-Genocide Rwanda

Cristian Silva

MA Interdisciplinary Studies (IDIS) '11
BA Anthropology, UNBC '07

Thesis: Exhuming Guatemala's Gender-Based Violence: Justice, Truth-Telling, and Rebuilding in a Post-Conflict Society

Alexandra Pedersen

MA International Studies (International Development) '11
BA International Development, University of Guelph ’09

Thesis: Amplifying Voices of Development: Insights from Indigenous Maya Leaders of El Quiché, Guatemala

2010

Nathan Einbinder

MA Natural Resources & Environmental Studies (NRES), Geography '10
BSc Environmental Studies, Evergreen State College '02

Thesis: Dams, Displacement, and Perceptions of Development: A Case Study from Rio Negro, Guatemala
Click HERE for more details and links to Nate's published news articles & HERE for Nate's spring/summer 2009 fieldwork update

Einbinder, N. (2016). Dams, Development and Displacement in Perceptions from Rio Negro, Guatemala, Springer Briefs in Latin American Studies. New York: Springer.

Einbinder, N. (2014). Rio Negro survivors rebuild and face the state.NACLA Report On The Americas, 47(2), 14-18.

Einbinder, N. and C. Nolin (2012) No means no: Tsilhquot’in vs. Taseko Mines Ltd. Alternatives Journal, 38 (6), November/December, 52-57. Accessible Online at: http://www.alternativesjournal.ca/energy-and-resources/no-means-no

Einbinder, N. and C. Nolin (2010). Voices from the Edge: A Mayan community shares stories of its struggle to avoid forced eviction by a nickel mine. Cultural Survival Quarterly, 34 (3) Fall, 28-33. http://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/csq/csq_article.cfm

2006

Completed Graduate Committees

Aaron Larson, MA History '21 (Supervisor: Dr. Dana Wessell Lightfoot)
Mapping Maleficia:: The Borders of Witchcraft and a Woman's World through the Witch Trials of Zug, Switzerland, 1737-1738

Chris Turner, PhD NRES (Geography) '18 (Co-Supervisors: Drs. Gail Fondahl & Michael Murphy)
"Overlap": Causes and implications of contested indigenous claims to territory in the context of the BC treaty process

Ursula Kroetsch, MSW '18 (Supervisor: Heather Peters)
Human Trafficking in BC From 2000 to 2016:  Government Personnel and Front-Line Service Providers’ Observations

Carolyn Emon, MA Interdisciplinary Studies '16 (Supervisor: Dr. Neil Hanlon)
Human Trafficking: An Examination of Available Services and Support in Prince George, BC

Ariana McKay, MSc NRES (Environmental Science) '15 (Supervisor: Dr. Chris Johnson)
Identifying Effective Measures for Environmental Monitoring by Aboriginal Communities

Barbara Willmer, MA Interdisciplinary Studies '15 (Supervisor: Dr. Richard Lazenby)
A Study of Skeletal Trauma, Gender, and Testimonio Concerning the 1984 Massacre at Putis, Ayacucho, Peru

Som Pun, MNRES (Geography)'14 (Supervisor: Dr. Greg Halseth)
The Opportunities and Limitations of First Nations Forestry Agreements in British Columbia: Collective Experience of the Tl'azt'en Nation & the Future Need for Community-Based Resource Management & Decision-Making

Sheri Bishop, MSW (Social Work) '10 (Supervisor: Dr. Glen Schmidt)
Vicarious Traumatization: The Danger of the Unknown for Transition House Workers

Joanna Kafarowski, PhD NRES, UNBC '08 (Co-supervisors: Drs. Deborah Poff & Leslie King)
Inuit Women, Decision-making and Contaminants

Karen Heikkila, MA NRES Geography, UNBC '07 (Supervisor: Dr. Gail Fondahl)
Teaching through Toponomy: Using Indigenous Place-Names in Outdoor Science Camps

Seiko Watanabe, MA International Studies, UNBC '05 (Supervisor: Dr. Fiona MacPhail)
HIV/AIDS in Rural Botswana: Poverty, Gender Inequality, Marginalization, and Stigma