Join us Monday, June 26 at 4:30 pm for a presentation from Dr. Josh MacFadyen, a candidate for UPEI’s Canada Research Chair in Applied Communication, Leadership, and Culture (ACLC). The presentation will be held in room 237 of UPEI’s Kelley Memorial Building.

Dr. Josh MacFadyen is an assistant professor of environmental humanities in the School of Historical, Philosophical, and Religious Studies and the School of Sustainability at Arizona State University. In 2014, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Historical GIS Lab at the University of Saskatchewan, and from 2012-2014, he was NiCHE Project Coordinator and Course Instructor at the University of Western Ontario.

His talk is titled: “Canadian Food and Energy Frontiers: Mapping the Past to Prepare Leaders for the Future.”

Abstract: Working in the disciplinary ecotones between humanities, sciences, and social sciences, Dr. MacFadyen’s research on the environmental history of Canadian food and energy shows how the digital humanities are critical to understanding and communicating sustainability transitions. Using examples from the Maritimes, Eastern Great Lakes, and the Prairies, this talk applies tools like historical Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to help understand the origin of modern commodity frontiers, industrial agriculture, and energy transitions. By equipping Arts students with digital humanities, traditional land use mapping, and critical theories of science, we will better prepare leaders who inform the policies and engage the problems associated with food and energy in the Anthropocene.