Michigan Technological University

Department of Social Sciences

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, Department of 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.

Areas of Expertise

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

Recent Publications

  • Emma Norman. Forthcoming 2013. “Who’s counting? Spatial politics, ecocolonisation, and the politics of calculation in Boundary Bay.” AREA (Royal Geographic Society). Read More
  • Emma Norman, Gemma Dunn, Karen Bakker, Diana Allen and Rafael Cavalcanti de Albuquerque. Forthcoming 2013. “Water Security Assessment: Integrating Governance and Freshwater Indicators.” Water Resources Management. DOI: 10.1007/s11269-012-0200-4 Read More
  • Norman, Emma. 2012. “Cultural Politics and Transboundary Resource Governance in the Salish Sea.” Water Alternatives 5(1): 138-160. Read More
  • Emma Norman, Karen Bakker, and Christina Cook. 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
  • Emma S. Norman, Karen Bakker 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

  • 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
  • Walter and Duncan Gordon Family Foundation Program Grant, to support “Water without Borders?” book project ($64,000) (with Karen Bakker and Alice Cohen) 2010-2012
  • 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

  • “Water without borders? Reflections on water governance and environmental security” Environmental Engineering Seminar Course, Michigan Tech University, November 16, 2012
  • “Re-framing transboundary water governance for, and by Native Communities: An analysis of shared governance and shared waters in the Yukon River Watershed and Salish Sea Basin.” Association of American Geographers Annual Conference, New York City, New York, February 28, 2012
  • “Water Security Assessment and Community Governance” Canada Water Network Conference. Ottawa: ON March 2, 2011

Research Projects

  • Water without Borders? Canada, the United States and Shared Waters (Edited book forthcoming with University of Toronto Press)
  • Water Governance and the Politics of Scale (Edited book forthcoming with Ashgate Press)
  • Water Security and Adaptive Governance
  • Water Quality Issues and First Nations in British Columbia
  • Linking Ecosystem and Human Health: Atmospheric Environmental Pollutants and Cold Water Fish Consumption in the Great Lakes
  • Governing Transboundary Waters: Canada, the United States and Indigenous Communities (Writing Project with Earthscan – Routledge Press)

Teaching Experience

  • SS 2400 Introduction to Human Geography
  • SS 3410 World Resources and Development
  • Global Issues Read More

Department of Social Sciences

Academic Office Building
1400 Townsend Drive
Houghton, MI 49931

Ph. 906-487-2113
Email: socialsciences@mtu.edu

Michigan Technological University

1400 Townsend Drive
Houghton, Michigan 49931-1295
906-487-1885

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