Our Vision
Memorial Geography will be at the forefront of building connections with our dynamic societies and environments, and become the beating heart of collaborative and cooperative knowledge within and beyond the university.
Come study the world with us! The Department of Geography celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2020-21 and remains the only comprehensive geography program in Atlantic Canada, offering BA, BSc., Honours, MA, MSc., and PhD programs. At Memorial, Geography aims to teach students how to investigate environmental and human systems using interdisciplinary, field-informed concepts and approaches. Our Faculty teach students theories, methods and analytical techniques applicable to a wide range of questions and broad spectrum of occupations and to foster a spirit of inquiry about geography. Our research encompasses local, national, and international interests, including climate change, Arctic communities, coastal governance, electronic waste, immigration, marine habitat mapping, microplastics pollution, resource development, and urban development. Visit our Research and Faculty pages to learn more, and read our most recent Research Report.
News
McGill-Queen’s University Press have published "The Price of Gold" by
Dr. John Sandlos, Department of History and Dr. Arn Keeling, Department of Geography, Memorial University.
The book traces the troubling history of one of Canada’s most contaminated sites but also the inspiring story of Indigenous, labour, and environmental activists who resisted the ongoing poisoning of their communities.
McGill-Queen’s University Press
Dr. Carissa Brown, Department of Geography at Memorial University, was part of the hour-long show about wildfires, where she spoke about the role of climate change in the Earth's more extreme and unpredictable weather.
"There can be a feeling that 'climate change' means it's going to be hotter and hotter and drier and drier, but all around the world and here in Newfoundland, what we're actually expecting are these anomalies."
Politicizing Science: how quota quarrels lose sight of sustainable fishing.
Dr. Dean Bavington, Department of Geography, MUN, is quoted about the federal government's increase in cod quotas.
DFO’s decision to up this year’s Northern cod quota is “managerial choreography disguised as ecological concern.”
Scientists issue urgent call ahead of final plastics treaty talks
Dr. Max Liboiron, Department of Geography, MUN, was one of five academics to present at the briefing event for the upcoming Plastics Treaty Talks.
The event (August 5—14) is being touted as “the most significant global environmental agreement since the Paris Climate Accord.”
Canada downplayed arsenic exposure as an Indigenous community was poisoned
Dr. Arn Keeling, Department of Geography and Dr. John Sandlos, Department of History, Memorial University, discuss their forthcoming book, which exposes how colonialism, corporate greed and lax regulation led to widespread air and water pollution, particularly affecting Tatsǫ́t’ıné (Yellowknives Dene) communities.
"Archival records show that federal public health officials recommended the roaster be shut down until arsenic emissions could be controlled. But the company and federal mining regulators dragged their feet, fearing the economic impact."