Biography

A native of British Columbia, I completed a B.A. (1976) and M.A. (1978) at the University of British Columbia, and a PhD (1983) at UCLA. I taught in Geography and East Asian Studies at McGill University from 1983 to 1994, when I came to Queen's, initially as Director of the Institute of Women's Studies (1994 to 1999) and thereafter as Professor of Geography. I have spent time as a visiting professor at the University of British Columbia, University College London and, most recently, Canterbury University, Christchurch, New Zealand. In 1994, I was a Fulbright Fellow at the Migration Policy Insitute in Washington, DC. Other positions include President of the Canadian Association of Geographers (1999-2001), and Editor, People Place and Region, Annals of the Association of American Geographers.

Teaching Interests

I view teaching, research, and community participation as part of a single process of learning and contributing to society. I believe that the classroom should be an open and safe place, where students can participate, think, challenge, make decisions, and be creative. I also believe that all university courses should provide an opportunity to improve reading and listening abilities, analytical skills, written and oral communication, and time management. In the classroom, I take every advantage of electronic technology both to present material in a manner that is well organized and accessible, and to make use of a variety of media of communication, including music, film and the internet. I place strong emphasis on the individual needs of students, especially in an interdisciplinary classroom where learning objectives vary. I keep an open door, and attempt to respond quickly and appropriately to students’ requests.

My courses in cultural and social geography emphasize the ways in which societies create the landscapes in which signficant interactions among people take place. This approach always entails a historical perspective, to understand how things came to be. I place strong emphasis on the concept of landscape, as the world that people create and re-create in defining a place for themselves. And I focus on the ways in which various things and acts within a landscape intersect, such as the ways in which commodities reflect both economic and cultural systems, and become symbolic of individual and group identities.

My course on “’Race’ and Racism” has provided the most significant challenges and rewards of my teaching career. The classroom is diverse in every way. Nearly all of the students are there because they are committed to overcoming racism, but they have very different ideas of what that objective entails. From the first day of class, it is apparent that the class is divided into students of colour, who have experienced racism, and white students, who have a variety of perspectives on what racism means and a range of degrees of comfort with the subject. This is a difficult divide to overcome, but by the end of the course, nearly everyone, no matter what their background, has developed a sense of openness and a willingness to learn and to take stock of their own positions within society. Although there is much to be learned of historical ‘fact’, and of the workings of legislation and policy documents, this is not a subject matter that can be consigned to memory. It is often emotionally challenging for a diverse group of students to work together in a large classroom and to direct their responses to the subject matter in constructive ways.

PUBLICATIONS

Baldwin, Andrew, Laura Cameron and Audrey Kobayashi eds. Rethinking the Great White North. Under contract to UBC Press.

Kobayashi, Audrey and Sarah de Leeuw 2010. “Tensioned landscapes and contested identities: social geographies of difference and relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.” In Susan J. Smith, Rachel Pain, Sallie A. Marston and John Paul Jones III eds. Handbook of Social Geographies, pp. 118-138. Los Angeles: Sage.

Kobayashi, Audrey 2009. “’Here we go again’: Christchurch’s Anti-Racism Rally as a Discursive Crisis.” The New Zealand Geographer 65:59-72.

Kobayashi, Audrey 2009. “Now you see them, how you see them: Women of colour in Canadian academia.” In Frances Henry and Carol Tator eds. Racism in the Canadian University: Demanding Social Justice, Inclusion and Equity, pp. 60-75. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Kobayashi, Audrey ed. 2009. Geographies of Peace and Armed conflict. Special issue, Annals of the Association of American Geographers 99(5), 250 pp.

Kobayashi, Audrey 2009. “Geographies of Peace and Armed conflict.” Annals of the Association of American Geographers 99(5):119-126

Krull, Catherine and Audrey Kobayashi 2009. “Shared Memories, Common Vision: Generations, Sociopolitical Consciousness and Resistance among Cuban Women,” Sociological Inquiry 72(2):163-189

Kobayashi, Audrey 2009. “Richard Peet” International Encyclopedia of Human Geography, ed N Thrift and R. Kitchin. Blackwell

Kobayashi, Audrey 2009. “Situated Knowledge,” International Encyclopedia of Human Geography, ed N Thrift and R. Kitchin. Blackwell.

Kobayashi, Audrey 2009. “Identity Politics,” International Encyclopedia of Human Geography, ed N Thrift and R. Kitchin y. Blackwell.

Kobayashi, Audrey 2009. “Existentialism,” Encyclopedia of Geography, ed B. Warf. Sage Reference.

Wiles, Janine and Audrey Kobayashi 2009. “Equity,” International Encyclopedia of Human Geography. Blackwell.

Kobayashi, Audrey 2008. “Place.” In Peter Cane and Joanne Conaghan eds. Oxford Companion to Law, pp. 895-896.Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Kobayashi, Audrey 2008. “’Race’ and racism in the classroom: Looking back on anger” Progress in Human Geography 32(1):17-25.

Kobayashi, Audrey and Linda Peake. “Racism in place: Another look at shock, horror, and racialization.” In Pamela Moss and Karen Falconer el Hindis eds. Feminisms in Geography: Rethinking Space, Place and Knowledges, pp. 171-178. Lanham: Roman and Littlefield.

Kobayashi, Audrey 2008. “Ethnocultural political mobilization, multiculturalism, and human rights in Canada.” In Miriam Smith ed. Group Politics and Social Movements, pp. 131-158. Toronto: Broadview Press.

Preston, Valerie, Myer Siemiatycki and Audrey Kobayashi 2007. “The dual citizenship of Hong Kong-Canadians: Convenience or commitment?” In Thomas Faist ed. Dual Citizenship: Democracy, Rights and Identities Beyond Borders, pp. 203-226. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan.

Kobayashi, Audrey and Valerie Preston 2007. “Transnationalism through the Life Course: Hong Kong Immigrants in Canada.” Asia Pacific Viewpoints Vol. 48, No. 2, pp. 151-167.

Kobayashi, Audrey 2007. “The Limits of the Limits of Community.” Political Geography Vol. 26, No. 2, pp. 214-217.

Preston, Valerie, Myer Siemiatycki and Audrey Kobayashi. 2007. “The Dual Citizenship of Hong Kong-Canadians: Convenience or Commitment?” In Thomas Faist, ed. Dual Citizenship: Democracy, Rights and Identities Beyond Borders. Palgrave Press.

Kobayashi, Audrey and Linda Peake 2007. “Racism in place: Another Look at Shock, Horror, and Racialization.” In Karen Falconer el Hindi and Pamela Moss, eds. Feminist Geographies: An Anti-Anthology. Roman and Littlefield.

Kobayashi, Audrey 2007. “Ethnocultural Political Mobilization, Multiculturalism, and Human Rights in Canada.” In Miriam Smith, ed. Group Politics and Social Movements. Toronto: Broadview Press.

Kobayashi, Audrey and Genevieve Johnson 2007. “Scholarship and activism on the edge: introduction,” In Randy Enomoto and Genevieve Fuji Johnson, ed. Race, Racialization, and Anti-Racism in Canada and Beyond, pp. 3-16. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Bakan, Abigail and Audrey Kobayashi 2007. “The Sky Didn’t Fall:” Organizing to Combat Racism in the Workplace: The Case of the Alliance for Employment Equity.” In Randy Enomoto and Genevieve Fuji Johnson, ed. Race, Racialization, and Anti-Racism in Canada and Beyond, pp. 51-78. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Kobayashi, Audrey 2006. “Multiculturalism, Transnationalism and Immigrant Integration:  What Can We Learn from Hong Kong Immigration Diversity in the City?” In Leen d’Haenens, Marc Hoogh, Dirk Vanheule and Hasibe Gezduci (eds.) New Citizens, New Policies?  Developments in Diversity Policy in Canada and Flanders, pp. 25-34. Gent:  Academia Press.

Preston, Valerie, Myer Siemiatycki and Audrey Kobayashi 2006. “Transnational urbanism: Toronto at a crossroads,” in Lloyd Wong and Vic Satsewich, eds. Negotiating Borders and Belonging: Transnational Identities and Practices in Canada pp. 91-110. Vancouver: UBC Press.

Preston, Valerie, Audrey Kobayashi and Guida Man 2006. “Transnationalism, gender, and civic participation: Canadian case Studies of Hong Kong immigrants.” Environment and Planning A Vol. 38, No. 9, pp. 1633 – 1651.

Kobayashi, Audrey 2006. “Why women of colour in geography?” Gender, Place and Culture Vol. 12, No. 1, pp. 28-33.

R Essed, Philomena, David Goldberg and Audrey Kobayashi, eds. 2005. A Companion to Gender Studies. Oxford and Malden, MA: Blackwell, 561 pp.

Ley, David and Audrey Kobayashi 2005. “Back to Hong Kong: return migration or transnational sojourn?” Global Networks Vol. 5, No. 2, pp.111-128.

Kobayashi, Audrey 2005. “Employment equity in Canada: The paradox of tolerance and denial,” in Carl James ed. Possibilities and Limitations: Multicultural Policies and Programmes in Canada, Chapter 8, pp. 154-162. Halifax: Fernwood.

Kobayashi, Audrey 2005. “Seeing beyond South Africa: Anti-racist struggle post-September 11,” Antipode, Vol. 37 No. 1 pp. 173-177.

Essed, Philomena, David Goldberg and Audrey Kobayashi 2005. “A curriculum vitae for gender studies” In Philomena Essed, David Goldberg and Audrey Kobayashi eds. A Companion to Gender Studies, pp. 1-28. Malden, MA and Oxford: Blackwell.

Ray, Brian and Audrey Kobayashi 2005. “Etablir le lien entre l’immigation, la sexualité et la citoyenneté: Comparaison entre le Canada et les Etats-Unis. Canadian Issues/Themes Canadiens.  Spring, pp. 62-65.

Ray, Brian and Audrey Kobayashi 2005. “Negotiating the nexus of immigration, sexuality and citizenship: Canadian and American comparisons.” Canadian Issues/Thèmes Canadiens, Spring, pp. 13-17.

Kobayashi, Audrey and Brian Ray 2005. “Placing American Emigration to Canada in Context,” Feature Article, The Migration Source, January.

Kobayashi, Audrey and Abigail Bakan 2004. “Temporary migration and international trade agreements: a gendered analysis,” Report submitted to Status of Women Canada.

Kobayashi, Audrey 2004. “Anti-racist feminism in geography: an agenda for social action.” In Lise Nelson and Joni Seager eds. A Companion to Feminist Geography, pp. 32-40. Malden, MA and Oxford: Blackwell.

Bakan, Abigail and Audrey Kobayashi 2004. “Backlash against employment equity: The British Columbia experience.” Atlantis Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 61-70.

Kobayashi, Audrey and Abigail Bakan 2004. “Employment equity in Nunavut: Lessons, and contradictions, of success.” Directions Vol. 1, No. 2. On-line publication.

Bakan, Abigail and Audrey Kobayashi 2004. “Backlash: The rise and fall of employment equity legislation in Ontario.” Directions Vol. 1, No. 2. On-line publication.

Kobayashi, Audrey 2004. “Critical ‘race’ approaches to cultural geography,” in R. Schein ed.                Companion to Cultural Geography, pp. 238-249. Malden, MA and Oxford: Blackwell.

Kobayashi, Audrey 2004. “Geography, spatiality, and racialization: The contribution of Edward Said,” The Arab World Geographer/Le Géographe du monde arabe, Vol. 7 No. 1-2 pp. 79-90.

Kobayashi, Audrey 2004. “GPC ten years on: Is self-reflexivity enough? Gender, Place and Culture Vol. 10 No.3 pp. 345-349.

Kobayashi, Audrey (in press). “Existentialism.” Encyclopedia of Geography, ed. B. Warf. Sage Reference.

Essed, Philomena, David Goldberg and Audrey Kobayashi, eds 2004. A Companion to Gender Studies. Oxford and Malden, M.A. : Blackwell, 561 pp.

Kobayashi, Audrey 2004. “Anti-racist feminism in geography: an agenda for social action.” In Lise Nelson and Joni Seager eds The Companion to Feminist Geography, pp. 32-40. London and New York: Routledge.

Essed, Philomena, David Goldberg and Audrey Kobayashi 2004. “A curriculum vitae for gender studies.” In Philomena Essed, David Goldberg and Audrey Kobayashi eds The Companion to Gender Studies, pp. 1-25. Oxford and Malden, M.A. : Blackwell.

Kobayashi, Audrey 2004. “Critical ‘race’ approaches to cultural geography.” In James Duncan, Nuala Johnson and Richard Schein eds The Companion to Cultural Geography, pp. 238-249. Oxford and Malden, M.A. : Blackwell.

Kobayashi, Audrey and James Proctor 2003. “Values, rights and justice.” In G. Gaile and C. Willmott, eds Geography in America at the Dawn of the 21st Century, pp. 721-729. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Kobayashi, Audrey 2003. “GPC ten years on: Is self-reflexivity enough? Gender, Place and Culture Vol. 10, No.3, pp. 345-349.

Krull, Catherine, Audrey Kobayashi, and Sonia Enjamio 2003. “La Vida de las mujeres en San Isidro: Los Patrones temporales y spatiales en una cultura de resistencia” [Women’s Daily Life in San Isidro: Time-Space Patterns in a Culture of Resistance]. Publicacion de la Catedra de la Mujer, Havana, Universidad de Habana, pp. 1-16

Kobayashi, Audrey 2003. “Jenda Mondai (Kirinuke) Toshito no imin: Mihonjin Josei no Kanada Shinijuu (A gendered perspective on migration: Recent Japanese Women Immigrants in Canada),” in Iwasaki, Nobuhiko, Ceri Peach, Takashi Miyajima, Roger Goodman and Kiyomitsu Yui, eds Kaigai ni okeru Nikkei-jin, Nihon no naka no gaikokujin: Gurobara na imin ryudo to esunoscapu (The Japanese Overseas, Immigrants in Japan: Global Migration and Ethnoscapes,) pp. 224-238. Tokyo: Showado.

Kobayashi, Audrey and Abigail Bakan 2003. “Employment equity in Nunavut: Lessons, and contradictions, of success.” Toronto: The Canadian Race Relations Foundation.

Bakan, Abigail and Audrey Kobayashi 2003. “Backlash: The rise and fall of employment equity legislation in Ontario.” Toronto: The Canadian Race Relations Foundation. Reprinted in Randy Enomoto and Genevieve Johnson, eds. Conversations on the Edge: Race, Racialization and Anti-Racism. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. (forthcoming)

Kobayashi, Audrey 2003. “The construction of heographical knowledge: Racialization, spatialization,” in Kay Anderson, Mona domosh, Steve Pile and Nigel Thrift, eds The Handbook of Cultural Geographyy, pp. 544-556. London: Sage.

Kobayashi, Audrey 2002. “20 years later and still two percent: Women of colour in Canadian geography.” The Canadian Geographer / Le géographe canadien, Vol. 46, No. 3, pp. 245-248 (with references at pp. 262-65).

Kobayashi, Audrey 2002. “Migration as a negotiation of gender: Recent Japanese immigrant women in Canada,” in Hirabayashi, Lane, James Hirabayashi and Akemi Kikumura Yano, eds New Worldew Lives: Globalization and People of Japanese Ancestry in the Americas and from Latin America in Japan, pp. 205-220. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

Peake, Linda and Audrey Kobayashi 2002. "Policies and practices for anti-racist Geography at the millennium.” The Professional Geographer Vol. 54, No. 1, pp. 50-61.

Bakan, Abigail and Audrey Kobayashi 2002. “Employment equity policy in Ontario: A case study in the politics of backlash,” in Carol Agocs, ed. Workplace Equality: An International Perspective on Legislation, Policy and Practice, pp. 91-108. Dordrecht, New York, Norwell and London: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Kobayashi, Audrey 2001. “People like us can’t go into a place like that: the need for multicultural diversity in Canadian history,” Canadian Issues/Thèmes Canadiens October, pp. 15-18.

Kobayashi, Audrey 2001. “Negotiating the personal and the political in critical qualitative research” In M. Limb and C. Dwyer eds Qualitative Methodologies for Geographers: Issues and Debates, pp. 55-72. London and New York: Arnold and Oxford University Press.

United Nations and Queen’s University 2002. Youth in Malaysia: A Review of the Youth Situation and National Policies and Programmes. New York: United Nations. (note: co-authored with Jayant Lele, Lorna Wright and staff of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific).

Kobayashi, Audrey ed. 2001. 50 Years After: Geographical Interpretations of Canada. The Canadian Geographer Vol. 45 No. 1, Anniversary Issue.

Kobayashi, Audrey 2001. “Truly our own: Canadian geography 50 years after.” In Audrey Kobayashi ed. 50 Years After: Geographical Interpretations of Canada. The Canadian Geographer Vol. 45 No.1 pp. 3-13.

Kobayashi, Audrey and Linda Peake 2000. “Racism out of place: Thoughts on whiteness and an anti-racist heography in the new millennium.” Annals of the Association of American Geographers Vol. 90 No. 2 pp. 392-403.

Kobayashi, Audrey and Brian Ray 2000. "Civil risk and landscapes of marginality in Canada: a pluralist approach to social justice." The Canadian Geographer Vol. 44 No. 4 pp. 401-417

Kobayashi, Audrey 2000. “Public policy on the margins: the role of minority ethnocultural associations in affecting public policy in Canada,” in Keith Banting ed. The Non-profit Sector in Canada, pp. 229-261. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen's Press.