Emma S. Norman

Emma S. Norman
"Be the change that you want to see in the world."
—Mahatma Ghandi

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Assistant Professor of Geography, Social Sciences

Environmental and Energy Policy Program

  • PhD, Geography, University of British Columbia
  • MSc, Geography, Western Washington University
  • BA, International Studies, Colby College

Biography

I am a political and environmental geographer interested in questions related to water governance, borders, and political and cultural ecology. My work investigates how flow resources, such as water, are governed across political jurisdictions and at multiple scales.  My work also seeks to link ecosystem health with human health through models of water security and adaptive management.

I have published in a wide range of journals including the Annals of the Association of American Geography, Geoforum, Water Alternatives, Water Resources Management and AREA. I also aim to translate my work to a wider audience and have published numerous policy reports, briefing papers, and book chapters.  In addition, I have three book projects underway, dealing with issues related to transboundary water governance, the politics of scale, and Indigenous governance of shared waters.

Links of Interest

Areas of Expertise

  • Transboundary Water Governance
  • Water Security
  • Political and Cultural Geography
  • Environmental Governance
  • Nature-Society

Recent Publications

  • Norman, Emma S. 2014. "Governing Transboundary Waters: Canada, the United States, and Indigenous Communities". Earthscan Studies in Water Resource Management Series. London: Routledge. Read More
  • Norman, Emma S., Cohen, Alice, and Bakker, Karen (eds). 2013. Water without Borders: Canada, the United States and Shared Waters. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Read More
  • Norman, Emma S., Cook, Christina, Cohen, Alice (eds). 2014 Forthcoming. Negotiating Water Governance: Why the Politics of Scale Matter. London: Ashgate Press.
  • Norman, Emma S. 2013. Water. Annotated Bibliography in Geography, Warf, Barney (ed), New York: Oxford University Press. Read More
  • Norman, Emma. 2013. “Who’s counting? Spatial politics, ecocolonisation, and the politics of calculation in Boundary Bay.” Area (Royal Geographical Society) 45(2) 179-187. DOI: 10.1111/area.12000 Read More
  • Norman, Emma S., Dunn, Gemma, Bakker, Karen, Allen, Diana, and Cavalcanti de Albuquerque, Rafael. 2013. “Water Security Assessment: Integrating Governance and Freshwater Indicators.” Water Resources Management. 27 (2): 535-551 DOI: 10.1007/s11269-012-0200-4 Read More
  • Norman, Emma S. 2012. “Cultural Politics and Transboundary Resource Governance in the Salish Sea.” Water Alternatives 5(1): 138-160. Read More
  • Norman, Emma S. Bakker, Karen, and Cook, Christina. 2012. “Introduction to the Themed Section: Water Governance and the Politics of Scale.” Water Alternatives 5(1): 52-61. Read More
  • Norman, Emma S., Karen Bakker, and Gemma Dunn. 2011. Recent Development in Canadian Water Policy: An emerging water security paradigm, Canadian Water Resources Journal. 36(1): 53-66, DOI: 10.4296/cwrj3601053 Read More
  • Norman, Emma S. and Bakker, Karen. 2009. Transgressing Scales: Transboundary Water Governance across the Canada – U.S. Borders. Annals of the Association of American Geographers. 99 (1): 99-117. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00045600802317218 Read More

Recent Funding

  • “Managing Impacts of Global Transport of Atmosphere-Surface Exchangeable Pollutants in the Context of Global Change.” National Science Foundation: Dynamics of Coupled Natural and Human Systems Program No. 10-612. Judith Perlinger (PI), Co-PIs' Emma Norman, Shiliang Wu, Noel Urban, and Hugh Gorman. Michigan Technological University. (1.45 million) 2013 - 2016
  • "Governing Transboundary Waters: Canada, the United States, and Indigenous Communities". Michigan Technological University Research Excellence Fund - Scholarship and Creativity. (6,000) 2013-2014
  • "Water without Borders: Canada, the U.S. and Shared Waters." Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation. with Karen Bakker and Alice Cohen ($64,000) 2010-2013
  • Mellon Research Fellowship, American Indian College Fund, “Our Water, Our Future: Re-framing Transboundary Water Governance for, and by, Native Communities” ($40,000) 2011-2012
  • Consulate General, Seattle, Research Grant to support “A Shared Environment, A Shared History: (Trans)boundary Governance and the Salish Sea Council” ($10,000) 2008

Presentations

Research Projects

  • Managing Impacts of Global Transport of Atmosphere-Surface Exchangeable Pollutants in the Context of Global Change (2013 - Current)
  • Transboundary Water Governance between Canada and the U.S.
  • Water Quality Issues and First Nations in British Columbia
  • Water Security and Adaptive Governance

Teaching Experience

  • SS 2400 Introduction to Human Geography
  • SS 3410 World Resources and Development
  • SS 6000 Social Theory and the Environment
  • GEOG 340 Political and Cultural Ecology
  • GEOG 410: Environment and Society
  • NES 360: Shared Governance