New book by UPEI's Dr. James Randall explores the study of islands

A new book by UPEI professor Dr. James Randall offers up island studies as a tool to better understand our own world of islands. An Introduction to Island Studies is an approachable look at this interdisciplinary field—from islands as biodiversity hotspots, their settlement, human migration and occupation, through to the place of islands in the popular imagination.

Featuring geopolitical, social, and economic frameworks, Dr. Randall gives a bottom-up guide to this most modern area of study. From the struggles and concerns of the Anthropocene―climate change, vulnerability, and resilience, sustainable development, through to policy making and local environments―island studies has the potential to change the debate.

An Introduction to Island Studies is co-published by Island Studies Press and Rowman & Littlefield. The book is available for sale at The Bookmark and the UPEI Bookstore, and online through the distributor, Nimbus Publishing.

Dr. Randall teaches at UPEI, where he is the UNESCO Chair in Island Studies and Sustainability. A geographer by training, he developed a love of island studies later in his career. His research spans many aspects of this interdisciplinary field, with a special interest in development, quality-of-life, and islander-newcomer relationships on small islands.

An Introduction to Island Studies was the recipient of an Internal Publication Award. Island Studies Press would like to thank Dr. Katherine Gottschall-Pass, Vice President Academic and Research, for her support in sharing this knowledge with the larger community.

For more information about the book, please contact Bren at ispstaff@upei.ca.