Curriculum Vitae
About me
I am Graduate Student Coordinator for the Centre for Teaching and Learning at the University of Toronto - Scarborough. I have a PhD in Political Science from York University in Toronto and study the political economy of culture and space, with a focus on the economic and mental geography of neoliberalism. I am the author of No Local: Why Small-Scale Alternatives Won't Change the World (Zero Books, 2012) and numerous academic and popular articles.
Education
2006 – 2012
PhD, Political Science York University, Toronto, Canada
· Dissertation title: The Political Economy of Localism.
Supervisor: Professor David McNally – Committee members: Profs. Greg Albo, Steven Tufts, Raju Das, Laam Hae, Gavin Fridell
· Research themes included political economy and development studies
2005 – 2006
PhD, Joint Graduate Program in Communications and Culture Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada
· Research themes included political theory and ideology studies (incomplete)
· Rogers Doctoral Fellowship 2005 – $20,000/annum
1999
Masters of Arts, Political Science York University, Toronto, Canada
· MRP title: Lean Production and Resistance in the Auto Industry.
1992 – 1997
Bachelors of Arts, Political Science and Creative Writing, York University, Toronto, Canada
Teaching Appointments
September 2018 - July 2019
Writing Instructor
Robert Gillespie Academic Skills Centre, University of Toronto Mississauga, Toronto, Canada.
March 2015 – August 2018
Assistant Professor
Kyung Hee University, Department of Global Communication, Seoul, South Korea
2013
Lecturer
Gyeongsang National University, Institute for Social Sciences, South Korea
I created the graduate seminar "Democracy and Social Movements in the Twentieth Century", in which students learned how social movements interact with economic and political crises. I presented regular lectures, graded and facilitated discussions.
Result: I created a unique curriculum that explained complex social science concepts using low-intermediate level English vocabulary.
2008 – 2012
Writing Instructor
The Writing Department, York University, Toronto, Canada
I provided student instruction and supervision for research projects and academic writing.
Result: Many students raised their grades significantly after working with me.
2005
Teaching Assistant
Department of Sociology, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada
I conducted weekly tutorial sessions of "Introduction to Sociology" for 100 students. My duties included leading discussions, advising students, holding office hours and grading papers.
Result: I mastered the duties required of a teaching assistant and course director.
Research Appointments
August 2019 - Present
Graduate Student Coordinator
Centre for Teaching and Learning, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Canada.
June 2013 – May 2014
Researcher and Writer
Language Education Institute, Seoul, South Korea.
August 2012 – December 2014
Researcher
Gyeongsang National University, Institute for Social Sciences, Jinju, South Korea
September 2006 – April 2012
Research Assistant
Department of Political Science, York University, Toronto, Canada
Publications
Single-authored peer-reviewed articles:
“Acceleration and the Limits of Technological Transcendence.” (2018). Filozofski Vestnik. 39(2), pp. 163-177.
"Frank Grimes' Enemy: Precarious Labour and Realism in The Simpsons.” (2017). animation: an interdisciplinary journal. 12(2), pp. 138-155.
“Co-operatives as Transitional Economics.” (2016). Review of Radical Political Economics. Advance online publication. Doi: 10.1177/0486613415627154. 21 pages.
“A Critique of Localist Political Economy and Urban Agriculture.” (2012). Historical Materialism. 20(4), pp. 75-114.
“The Limits of Localist Reforms.” (2011). Human Geography. 4(2), pp. 16-30.
Single-authored books:
No Local: Why Small-Scale Alternatives Won’t Change The World. (2012). Wiltshire: Zero Books. 178 pages.
Reviews:
Cox, Jan. (September-October 2013). “A focus of anti-capitalist struggle?” Against The Current. 166.
Cox, Stan. (April 7, 2014). “Localism? I don't buy it.” Al Jazeera.
Lancaster, Guy. Review. (December 31, 2014). Marx and Philosophy Review of Books.
Ware, Michael. Review. (April 2, 2013). Climate and Capitalism.
Manuscript in preparation:
Escapism in Contemporary Capitalism. (2019). Oxfordshire: Routledge Books. 250 pages.
Invited Guest Lectures:
“Towards an Older Style of Accelerationism: Development and the Limits of Technological Determinism.” (September 12, 2016). Paper presented for the School of Environment, Education and Development, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK. Eight pages.
“Brown Bag Lecture Series.” (February 2, 9, 14 & 23, 2015). Lectures on contemporary political issues presented to the Journalists' Association of Korea. Seoul, South Korea. 56 pages.
“Cooperatives as Transitional Politics?” (August 22, 2014). Paper presented for the Institute for Social Sciences, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, South Korea. Eight pages.
“How Capitalism Shapes Local Space and What To Do About It.” (April 24, 2013). Keynote address presented at International Design Seminar, Faculty of Architecture, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands. 18 pages.
“Canadian Political Economy.” (November 3, 2012). Paper presented for the Institute for Social Sciences, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, South Korea. 24 pages.
Selected Conference Presentations:
"Flights From the Unbearable in Late Capitalism." (May 13, 2017). Paper presented at Historical Materialism, Sungkonghoe University, Seoul, South Korea. Eight pages.
“Grounding Accelerationism in Contemporary Capitalism.” (May 15, 2015). Paper presented at Historical Materialism, Sogang University, Seoul, South Korea. Eight pages.
“The Viability of the Co-operative Model in a Recession.” (October 17, 2014). Paper presented at the Korean Social Policy Association, Korea National Institute of Health, Osong, South Korea. Nine pages.
“Co-operatives as Transitional Politics.” (August 22, 2014). Paper presented at Alternative Socioeconomic Models, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, South Korea. Nine pages.
“The Contradictions of Localist Economic Development.” (May 9, 2014). Paper presented at the Korean Association of Political Economy, Busan National University, Busan, South Korea. Eight pages.
“Re-locating East Asian Developmental States in their Transnational and Local Contexts.” (August 23, 2013). Discussant. Paper presented at Geo-Political Economies of East Asia Working Group, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea. Four pages.
“The Locavore as Utopian.” (November 10, 2011). Paper presented at Historical Materialism, School of Oriental and African Studies, London, UK. Eight pages.
“Ngo Van and the Vietnamese Revolution.” (May 7, 2011). Paper presented at Historical Materialism, New School for Social Research, New York, NY. Eight pages.
“Why local activism needs heterodox political economy.” (November 12, 2010). Paper presented at Historical Materialism, School of Oriental and African Studies, London, UK. Eight pages.
“Localism and Rent Theory.” (May 13, 2010). Paper presented at Historical Materialism, York University, Toronto, ON. Eight pages.
“The Political Economy of Localism.” (November 28, 2009). Paper presented at Historical Materialism, School of Oriental and African Studies, London, UK. Eight pages.
“The Limits of Localism: Why We Need Political Economy to Understand Neoliberalism.” (April 18, 2008). Paper presented at Great Lakes Political Economy Conference 2008. York University, Toronto, ON. Seven pages.
“Taking Capitalism for Granted: A Critique of Fair Trade.” (March 24, 2007). Paper presented at Re-considering Social and Political Thought for the Contemporary Moment. Department of Sociology and Equity Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON. Eight pages.
“Canada’s Role in the Global Order.” (May 31, 2006). 2006 Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences. Society for Socialist Studies, York University, Toronto, ON. Eight pages.
“AIM at the centre: Anti-Imperialist Movements and why they matter.” (March 20, 2005). R/Évolutions 4: Teckno-Praxi. Interdisciplinary Humanities Program, Concordia University, Montreal, QC. Six pages.
Conference Organizer and Convener
Historical Materialism. (May 15-16, 2015). Sogang University, Seoul, South Korea. Organised speakers and produced publicity materials for the inaugural sessions of this interdisciplinary conference series in East Asia.
Marx Communnale (May 11, 2013). Sogang University, Seoul, South Korea. Convened the panel Freedom for capital, freedom for labor, the first English-language session at this biannual Korean-language political science conference.
Historical Materialism. (November 28, 2009). School of Oriental and African Studies, London, UK. Convened the panel Local economic development and socialist strategy.
Selected Media Coverage of Research
Williams, Joel. “Interview: No Local”. The Lamp Post. Grand Rapids, MA. 2018 09 28.
Cummings, Jordy. “The Contradictions of Localism: An Interview with Greg Sharzer.” Alternate Routes. 2014, 25(1), pp. 237-251.
Varn, C. Derick. “No Local: An Interview with Greg Sharzer.” The North Star. 2013 02 25.
Selected Articles
"After Choi-gate." (December 6, 2016) Jacobin.
“The Ideology of Localism.” (May 15, 2016) Los Angeles Review of Books.
“The Local Is Not Enough.” (June-July 2013) Red Pepper, 150.
“Making Sense of the London Riots: 'Emotional but Never Mindless' Acts of Alienation.” (November 12, 2011). New Socialist.
“Memoirs of a Vietnamese Revolutionary.” (January 4, 2011). Review of In The Crossfire: Adventures of a Vietnamese Revolutionary, by Ngo Van. New Socialist.
“What Good is Charity?” (February 13, 2010). New Socialist.
"Middle Class Activists and Public Space [pdf]" (September/October 2006). Relay. 13.
Mehta, Heidi & Sharzer, Greg. (1997). "The Politics of Student Debt". When Campus Resists, Hudson, Helen et al. (Eds). Occupation Press, Guelph, ON.
Professional Activities
Associate Editor, Historical Materialism, 2010 – Present
Member, East Asian Urban Research Group, Seoul National University Asian Centre, 2013 – Present
Copyeditor, The Routledge Handbook of Global Public Policy and Administration. (2017).
2013
Copyeditor, Global Green Growth Institute. I collaborated on policy about sustainable building practices in Rwanda for a Seoul-based NGO.
2012 - Present
Copyeditor and proofreader for academic papers and publications for researchers, students, and NGOs, 2012 Present
I am Graduate Student Coordinator for the Centre for Teaching and Learning at the University of Toronto - Scarborough. I have a PhD in Political Science from York University in Toronto and study the political economy of culture and space, with a focus on the economic and mental geography of neoliberalism. I am the author of No Local: Why Small-Scale Alternatives Won't Change the World (Zero Books, 2012) and numerous academic and popular articles.
Education
2006 – 2012
PhD, Political Science York University, Toronto, Canada
· Dissertation title: The Political Economy of Localism.
Supervisor: Professor David McNally – Committee members: Profs. Greg Albo, Steven Tufts, Raju Das, Laam Hae, Gavin Fridell
· Research themes included political economy and development studies
2005 – 2006
PhD, Joint Graduate Program in Communications and Culture Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada
· Research themes included political theory and ideology studies (incomplete)
· Rogers Doctoral Fellowship 2005 – $20,000/annum
1999
Masters of Arts, Political Science York University, Toronto, Canada
· MRP title: Lean Production and Resistance in the Auto Industry.
1992 – 1997
Bachelors of Arts, Political Science and Creative Writing, York University, Toronto, Canada
Teaching Appointments
September 2018 - July 2019
Writing Instructor
Robert Gillespie Academic Skills Centre, University of Toronto Mississauga, Toronto, Canada.
- Provided research, writing and editing guidance for students from different disciplines.
- Quickly assessed student writing needs, help them understand professor expectations and brainstorm solutions
- Provided one-on-one and group instruction and guidance on all aspects of writing, from creating research projects to editing
- Created ELL instructional materials
March 2015 – August 2018
Assistant Professor
Kyung Hee University, Department of Global Communication, Seoul, South Korea
- Delivered multiple sections of courses entitled "Critical Reading and Writing and Speech and Discussion".
- Created innovative curricula in which students learned critical thinking through English writing and discussion about contemporary social issues.
- Organized extra-curricular activities for students, including guest lectures and an annual joint field trip with Canadian students in Seoul.
- Designed and taught unique upper-year courses like "Asia and Its Other", which introduced key social science concepts like ideology, hegemony and orientalism, and "Self and Society", which familiarized students with social psychology.
- Adapted academic texts to make them accessible to English learners.
2013
Lecturer
Gyeongsang National University, Institute for Social Sciences, South Korea
I created the graduate seminar "Democracy and Social Movements in the Twentieth Century", in which students learned how social movements interact with economic and political crises. I presented regular lectures, graded and facilitated discussions.
Result: I created a unique curriculum that explained complex social science concepts using low-intermediate level English vocabulary.
2008 – 2012
Writing Instructor
The Writing Department, York University, Toronto, Canada
I provided student instruction and supervision for research projects and academic writing.
Result: Many students raised their grades significantly after working with me.
2005
Teaching Assistant
Department of Sociology, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada
I conducted weekly tutorial sessions of "Introduction to Sociology" for 100 students. My duties included leading discussions, advising students, holding office hours and grading papers.
Result: I mastered the duties required of a teaching assistant and course director.
Research Appointments
August 2019 - Present
Graduate Student Coordinator
Centre for Teaching and Learning, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Canada.
- Plan and deliver professional development seminars for graduate students
- Identify relevant speakers to instruct students on career-specific skills
- Disseminate information on graduate student resources to hundreds of grads and post-doctoral fellows, in the classroom and online
- Liaise with Deans, faculty and support staff to deliver student services
June 2013 – May 2014
Researcher and Writer
Language Education Institute, Seoul, South Korea.
- Researched, wrote and graded English proficiency tests.
August 2012 – December 2014
Researcher
Gyeongsang National University, Institute for Social Sciences, Jinju, South Korea
- Co-researcher in the "Alternative Socio-Economic Models" group research project, funded by the National Research Foundation of Korea.
September 2006 – April 2012
Research Assistant
Department of Political Science, York University, Toronto, Canada
- Assisted with research projects for professors, organized conferences by liaising with speakers, co-organizers and volunteers.
Publications
Single-authored peer-reviewed articles:
“Acceleration and the Limits of Technological Transcendence.” (2018). Filozofski Vestnik. 39(2), pp. 163-177.
"Frank Grimes' Enemy: Precarious Labour and Realism in The Simpsons.” (2017). animation: an interdisciplinary journal. 12(2), pp. 138-155.
“Co-operatives as Transitional Economics.” (2016). Review of Radical Political Economics. Advance online publication. Doi: 10.1177/0486613415627154. 21 pages.
“A Critique of Localist Political Economy and Urban Agriculture.” (2012). Historical Materialism. 20(4), pp. 75-114.
“The Limits of Localist Reforms.” (2011). Human Geography. 4(2), pp. 16-30.
Single-authored books:
No Local: Why Small-Scale Alternatives Won’t Change The World. (2012). Wiltshire: Zero Books. 178 pages.
Reviews:
Cox, Jan. (September-October 2013). “A focus of anti-capitalist struggle?” Against The Current. 166.
Cox, Stan. (April 7, 2014). “Localism? I don't buy it.” Al Jazeera.
Lancaster, Guy. Review. (December 31, 2014). Marx and Philosophy Review of Books.
Ware, Michael. Review. (April 2, 2013). Climate and Capitalism.
Manuscript in preparation:
Escapism in Contemporary Capitalism. (2019). Oxfordshire: Routledge Books. 250 pages.
Invited Guest Lectures:
“Towards an Older Style of Accelerationism: Development and the Limits of Technological Determinism.” (September 12, 2016). Paper presented for the School of Environment, Education and Development, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK. Eight pages.
“Brown Bag Lecture Series.” (February 2, 9, 14 & 23, 2015). Lectures on contemporary political issues presented to the Journalists' Association of Korea. Seoul, South Korea. 56 pages.
“Cooperatives as Transitional Politics?” (August 22, 2014). Paper presented for the Institute for Social Sciences, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, South Korea. Eight pages.
“How Capitalism Shapes Local Space and What To Do About It.” (April 24, 2013). Keynote address presented at International Design Seminar, Faculty of Architecture, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands. 18 pages.
“Canadian Political Economy.” (November 3, 2012). Paper presented for the Institute for Social Sciences, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, South Korea. 24 pages.
Selected Conference Presentations:
"Flights From the Unbearable in Late Capitalism." (May 13, 2017). Paper presented at Historical Materialism, Sungkonghoe University, Seoul, South Korea. Eight pages.
“Grounding Accelerationism in Contemporary Capitalism.” (May 15, 2015). Paper presented at Historical Materialism, Sogang University, Seoul, South Korea. Eight pages.
“The Viability of the Co-operative Model in a Recession.” (October 17, 2014). Paper presented at the Korean Social Policy Association, Korea National Institute of Health, Osong, South Korea. Nine pages.
“Co-operatives as Transitional Politics.” (August 22, 2014). Paper presented at Alternative Socioeconomic Models, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, South Korea. Nine pages.
“The Contradictions of Localist Economic Development.” (May 9, 2014). Paper presented at the Korean Association of Political Economy, Busan National University, Busan, South Korea. Eight pages.
“Re-locating East Asian Developmental States in their Transnational and Local Contexts.” (August 23, 2013). Discussant. Paper presented at Geo-Political Economies of East Asia Working Group, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea. Four pages.
“The Locavore as Utopian.” (November 10, 2011). Paper presented at Historical Materialism, School of Oriental and African Studies, London, UK. Eight pages.
“Ngo Van and the Vietnamese Revolution.” (May 7, 2011). Paper presented at Historical Materialism, New School for Social Research, New York, NY. Eight pages.
“Why local activism needs heterodox political economy.” (November 12, 2010). Paper presented at Historical Materialism, School of Oriental and African Studies, London, UK. Eight pages.
“Localism and Rent Theory.” (May 13, 2010). Paper presented at Historical Materialism, York University, Toronto, ON. Eight pages.
“The Political Economy of Localism.” (November 28, 2009). Paper presented at Historical Materialism, School of Oriental and African Studies, London, UK. Eight pages.
“The Limits of Localism: Why We Need Political Economy to Understand Neoliberalism.” (April 18, 2008). Paper presented at Great Lakes Political Economy Conference 2008. York University, Toronto, ON. Seven pages.
“Taking Capitalism for Granted: A Critique of Fair Trade.” (March 24, 2007). Paper presented at Re-considering Social and Political Thought for the Contemporary Moment. Department of Sociology and Equity Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON. Eight pages.
“Canada’s Role in the Global Order.” (May 31, 2006). 2006 Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences. Society for Socialist Studies, York University, Toronto, ON. Eight pages.
“AIM at the centre: Anti-Imperialist Movements and why they matter.” (March 20, 2005). R/Évolutions 4: Teckno-Praxi. Interdisciplinary Humanities Program, Concordia University, Montreal, QC. Six pages.
Conference Organizer and Convener
Historical Materialism. (May 15-16, 2015). Sogang University, Seoul, South Korea. Organised speakers and produced publicity materials for the inaugural sessions of this interdisciplinary conference series in East Asia.
Marx Communnale (May 11, 2013). Sogang University, Seoul, South Korea. Convened the panel Freedom for capital, freedom for labor, the first English-language session at this biannual Korean-language political science conference.
Historical Materialism. (November 28, 2009). School of Oriental and African Studies, London, UK. Convened the panel Local economic development and socialist strategy.
Selected Media Coverage of Research
Williams, Joel. “Interview: No Local”. The Lamp Post. Grand Rapids, MA. 2018 09 28.
Cummings, Jordy. “The Contradictions of Localism: An Interview with Greg Sharzer.” Alternate Routes. 2014, 25(1), pp. 237-251.
Varn, C. Derick. “No Local: An Interview with Greg Sharzer.” The North Star. 2013 02 25.
Selected Articles
"After Choi-gate." (December 6, 2016) Jacobin.
“The Ideology of Localism.” (May 15, 2016) Los Angeles Review of Books.
“The Local Is Not Enough.” (June-July 2013) Red Pepper, 150.
“Making Sense of the London Riots: 'Emotional but Never Mindless' Acts of Alienation.” (November 12, 2011). New Socialist.
“Memoirs of a Vietnamese Revolutionary.” (January 4, 2011). Review of In The Crossfire: Adventures of a Vietnamese Revolutionary, by Ngo Van. New Socialist.
“What Good is Charity?” (February 13, 2010). New Socialist.
"Middle Class Activists and Public Space [pdf]" (September/October 2006). Relay. 13.
Mehta, Heidi & Sharzer, Greg. (1997). "The Politics of Student Debt". When Campus Resists, Hudson, Helen et al. (Eds). Occupation Press, Guelph, ON.
Professional Activities
Associate Editor, Historical Materialism, 2010 – Present
Member, East Asian Urban Research Group, Seoul National University Asian Centre, 2013 – Present
Copyeditor, The Routledge Handbook of Global Public Policy and Administration. (2017).
2013
Copyeditor, Global Green Growth Institute. I collaborated on policy about sustainable building practices in Rwanda for a Seoul-based NGO.
2012 - Present
Copyeditor and proofreader for academic papers and publications for researchers, students, and NGOs, 2012 Present
