Patrick Christie, a professor in the Jackson School and School Marine and Environmental Affairs, was appointed faculty director of the Canadian Studies Center effective July 1, 2022.
Christie has a strong interest in and commitment to justice and sustainability. He works at the interface of oceans and coastal communities, but also works in other environments. In his teaching, research, and activism he works to support Indigenous leaders and communities who are at the forefront of fossil fuel protest movements, anti-racist policies, and inter-cultural understanding. Christie has led various comparative, socio-ecological research projects in the United States, Philippines, Indonesia and Latin America to inform the practice of marine resource management. Most recently, his attention has turned to understanding Indigenous-led environmental recovery in the cross-border Salish Sea and the Upper Great Lakes regions, petroleum infrastructure-resistance movements, and climate change social movements. He has a strong interest in the human dimensions of marine conservation.
Recently, Christie has been involved in research, organizing, and digital storytelling to raise critical questions about how society engages in marine sustainability and restoration efforts and whether these efforts are inclusive of diverse perspectives. He is currently leading a project that uses participatory research and digital storytelling methods to engage UW students and students in the Puyallup Chief Leschi Schools. These projects work to explain tribal rights and leadership in Salish Sea recovery in Washington State and British Columbia.
Christie teachers SMEA 572: Environmental Justice and Political Ecology Field Course, Indigenous Perspectives, Coalitions, and Activism; JSIS 498D: Environmental Justice, Social Movements, and Collaboration in the Time of Climate Change; and, SMEA/JSIS/ENVIR 103: Society and the Oceans.
Recent publications include:
- Dalton, K., Skrobe, M., Bell, H, Kantner, B., Berndtson, D., Gerhardinger, L.C. and Christie, P. 2020. Marine-Related Learning Networks: Shifting the Paradigm Toward Collaborative Ocean Governance. Front. Mar. Sci. 7:595054.
- Bennett, N.J., E.M. Finkbeiner, N. C. Ban, D. Belhabib, S. D. Jupiter, J.N. Kittinger, S. Mangubhai, J. Scholtens, D. Gill and P. Christie. 2020. The COVID-19 Pandemic, Small-Scale Fisheries and Coastal Fishing Communities, Coastal Management 48:4, 336-347.
Christie received his Ph.D. in Natural Resources and Environment from the University of Michigan.