Teaching

Course Instructor

JPG1558: The History and Geography of Cycles and Cycling

P.A.R.T. (Program for Accessing Research Training) Instructor

Spring & Fall 2020

Course Description
The presence of cycling in cities has, for some, become a hallmark for the sustainable city and progressive city planning. But how did we get to this point in the history of urban transportation and city life? Has it always been like this? Is more cycling a desirable outcome for everyone? Who cycles and who doesn’t, and for what reasons? In one sense, this course addresses these very questions, while exploring several points of complex intersection between cycles and cycling and a range of social, economic, and political constructs/forces/processes that often operate at a range of scales. Adopting an historical and
geographical lens, we will also consider the uneven way in which cycling seems to have fallen into and out of favour, locally, nationally, and globally over time.
We explore cycling’s past and present using a range of resources and experiences (including some actual cycling in the city!). A mixture of lectures, student run seminars and presentations, and fieldwork are used. The course explores three main themes across multiple geographic and historical contexts: (1) places of vélomobility, (2) vélomobility, identity and the body, and (3) the politics of vélomobility. Special attention is given to the City of Toronto throughout where we engage with cycle planning documents and reports from the city, region, and federal government, read academic articles focused on Toronto, and use fieldwork to identify and trouble infrastructure implementation and use.

2017-2019

The Program for Accessing Research Training (PART) consists of Core, Quantitative and Qualitative training modules. Each module features four hours of classroom instruction and a homework exercise or assessment.

PART is designed to prepare UTM students for possible participation in the Research Opportunity Program (ROP) or other research opportunities available on campus. Participants can also acquire foundational skills needed to succeed in graduate studies.