A man named by University Affairs as one of the 12 key academic Twitter accounts to follow is coming to the St. John’s campus.
Dr. Raul Pacheco-Vega, assistant professor with the Centre for Economic Research and Teaching in Mexico, will deliver the George Story Lecture this month, which will focus on crucial questions of resources, sustainability and human rights.
The global bottled water market is priced at about USD$230 billion a year, and growing. Dr. Pacheco-Vega will discuss the global politics of bottle water markets and analyze whether commodifying the vital resource is compatible with the global norm of the human right to water as set by the United Nations.
Dr. Pacheco-Vega is an expert on natural resource governance and the factors that help or hinder policy-making in this area. His major research focus has been sanitation, wastewater and pollution control. He also studies environmental policies and governance.
#ScholarSunday
Dr. Amanda Bittner, Department of Political Science, and Dr. Arn Keeling, Department of Geography, were responsible for nominating Dr. Pacheco-Vega as the George Story lecturer.
These departments, together with the School of Graduate Studies, are sponsoring his visit.
“Dr. Pacheco-Vega is known in many circles as the ‘king of academic Twitter,’ having founded the hashtag #ScholarSunday, and he spends a great deal of time promoting academic kindness and wellness across disciplines,” said Dr. Bittner.
“We are so lucky that he is coming to Memorial to talk about his work, and that he has agreed to deliver substantive talks on both water and waste – his area of research – as well as provide professional development seminars in partnership with the School of Graduate Studies. He is well-known for the incredible resources that he creates and shares with students and faculty alike, and it will be a real pleasure to get to talk to him in person and hear his advice about issues and challenges that we all face.”
The Chronicle of Higher Education recommends him as one of the 15 indispensable academic Twitter accounts to follow, and calls him a model of the contemporary, publicly engaged, internationally networked scholar. For more information, follow Dr. Pacheco-Vega on Twitter, search his other hashtag #AcWri or visit his website.
Schedule of events
Note: Students wishing to attend the professional development workshops with Dr. Pacheco-Vega should sign up via EDGE.
Tuesday, Oct. 29, from 7-9 p.m., in Bruneau Centre for Research and Innovation: The Market for Human Rights: The Politics of Global Bottled Water Consumption within a Human Right to Water Framework. Public lecture followed by reception. Free parking is available in lot 17.
Wednesday, Oct. 30, from 10 a.m.-1 p.m., in SN-2000: Academic Writing: Professional Development for Graduate Students (includes lunch with students 12-1 p.m.).
Thursday, Oct. 31, from 2-5 p.m., in Bitters Pub, Feild Hall: Self-care in the Academy: Professional Development Workshop for Graduate Students (includes snacks/happy hour 4-5 p.m.).
Friday, Nov. 1, from 3-4:30 p.m., in SN-2025: The Comparative Politics and Geographies of Waster Governance: Informal Waster Picking in Madrid, Spain and Aguascalientes, Mexico. Joint seminar with the departments of Geography and Political Science.
The late Dr. George Story (1927-94) was one of Newfoundland’s most distinguished scholars and teachers, whose scholarship ranged from Erasmus through Christmas mummering in Newfoundland to the lexicography that resulted in the Dictionary of Newfoundland English. To commemorate and honour Dr. Story’s contribution to research and scholarship, Memorial University endowed the annual George H. Story Lecture in Humanities, which reflects the range and variety of Dr. Story’s intellectual interests.
