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PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
EDUCATION
BOOKS AND ARTICLES
FELLOWSHIPS / SCHOLARSHIPS /AWARDS
SERVICE / MEMBERSHIPS
EMPLOYMENT
LANGUAGES
REFERENCES (back to top)
Lecturer on Social Studies, 2006 - onwards, Harvard University
Courses:
Social Studies 10 . This course covers modern social theory (Smith, Marx, Weber, Durkheim, Beauvoir, Foucault, Habermas)
Senior Thesis Writers Tutorial. (Ponniah designed this course in 2005 for the program. Over half of the Seniors take the course) Theories of Globalization and Development (Freshman Seminar)Globalization and Global Justice (Freshman Seminar)
Theories of Development (Junior Tutorial)
Past and Present Senior Thesis Advisees:
Jennifer Chang, The Poor People's Orchestra in Venezuela (2007)
Betsy McCormack: Culture and Community in Argentina (2007)
Erik Garrison: Alienation, Community and the Re-Emergence of Pre-Industrial Life in the Information Age (2006)
Margo Hoppin: The Iraq War and World War II (2005)
Lola Kassim: The Millennium Development Goals (2004)
Teaching Fellow , 2003-2006, Harvard University. Program in Social Studies.
Teaching Assistant , Autumn 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999. Graduate School of Geography, Clark University. Global Society .
Teaching Assistant , Spring 2001, 2000. Graduate School of Geography, Clark University. Political Economy of Third World Development .
Professor (Full-time) 1994-1997 (and Summer Sessions 1998-2004). Community Worker Program, Division of Community Services and Development, George Brown, the City College, Toronto, Canada.
Courses:
Poli Sci I: Introduction to Political Science.
Poli Sci II: Survey of the Twentieth Century.
Human Rights.
Introduction to Sociology.
Interpersonal Communication.
Group Dynamics.
Introduction to Field Work.
Basic Writing.
Advanced Writing Skills.
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Ph.D. , Graduate School of Geography, Clark University, 2006. Dissertation focused on globalization, development, social movements and social theory. Doctoral Committee: Richard Peet, William Fisher, Robert J.S. Ross, Yuko Aoyama and Jody Emel.
M.A. in Comparative Literature , Program in Comparative Literature, Rutgers University, Graduate School, 1999. Advisor: Bruce Robbins.
Bachelors of Arts , Western Society and Culture, Liberal Arts College, Concordia University, Canada 1988.
DOCTORAL DISSERTATION RESEARCH
Dissertation: The World Social Forum Theory of Development: civil society proposals for an alternative globalization
Areas of Concentration and Proficiency
Theories of Globalization, Social Theory, Development Theory, Civil Society, Social Movements, Post-Colonial Theory and Cultural Studies.
BOOKS AND ARTICLES
(back to top)Ponniah, Thomas. 2006. World Social Forum Visions in Inside Outside: Past and Future of the Anti-Globalization Movement . Edited by Francine Mestrum and Donald Weber.
(------.) 2005. Autonomy and Political Strategy: building the other superpower. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research. 29 (2):441-443.
(------.) 2004. Democracy vs. Empire: Alternatives to Globalization Presented at the World Social Forum. Antipode: A Radical Journal of Geography . 36 (1):130-133.
Ponniah, Thomas and William F. Fisher. The World Social Forum, or, the Reinvention of Democracy. In Another World is Possible: popular alternatives to globalization at the World Social Forum . 2003 London: Zed Books.
Fisher, William F. and Thomas Ponniah. Editors, Another World is Possible: popular alternatives to globalization at the World Social Forum . 2003 London: Zed Books.
Peet, Richard with Thomas Ponniah et al. 2003. Unholy Trinity: The International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the World Trade Organization. London: Zed Books.
WRITING IN PROGRESS
The World Social Forum: Re-imagining Global Justice.
Research Reports
Professional Development: excellence and community. Staff Development Centre. George Brown College. 2003.
Building Excellence: a report on academic learning centers. Office of Academic Excellence and Innovation, George Brown, the City College, Toronto. 2001.
SELECTED RECENT LECTURES
April 2007: Theories of Global Justice. Guest lecture presented at the Mellon Workshop on Global Networks in World Historical Perspective, University of California, Riverside.
August 2006: Globalization and its Critics. Presented at the American Sociological Association annual conference. Montreal, Canada.
January 2006: New Theories of Development. Presented at World Social Forum VI. Caracas, Venezuela.
December 2005: Public Control Over External Debt. Presented at the Debt and Reparations Conference at Worcester State College. Worcester, MA, USA.
Sept. 2005: Alternative Globalization. Presented at the Globalism conference held by AMSAB-IALHI in Ghent, Belgium.
Oct 2004: New Democracies. Presented at the Rosa Luxembourg Foundation, Berlin, Germany.
Oct 2004: Global Civil Society. Presented at the University of Oslo in Norway.
FELLOWSHIPS / SCHOLARSHIPS /AWARDS
(back to top)Harvard University, David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, Conference Grant for Assessing Venezuela: 1998-2006($10,000)
Harvard University Certificate of Distinction in Teaching: 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007.
Social Studies, Harvard University, Barrington Moore Prize for Excellence in Teaching/Advising
GeoForum Graduate Student Award 2004
Davis-Putter Scholarship 2003-2004
Antipode Graduate Student Scholarship 2003-2004
Henry J. Leir Fellowship Spring 2001, Spring 2002, Spring 2003
Clark University Best Teaching Assistant Award 1999-2000
Dean's Grant for Conference on Globalization and Culture ($10,000)
Excellence Fellowship at Rutgers University 1997-98, 1998-1999
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Association of American Geographers
Association of American Sociologists
Committee Membership
Political Geography Speciality Group, Association of American Geographers
Latin America Speciality Group, Association of American Geographers
Political Economy of the World System Speciality Group, American Sociological Association.
Member, Curriculum Committee, Committee on Degree in Social Studies, Harvard University.
Member, Board of Advisors of Left Forum. 2005 onwards.
Member, Network Institute for Global Democratization (NIGD) . This organization is one of the founding members of the International Council of the World Social Forum.
Member, Carold Institute project on Participatory Democracy 2002-2005. This Canadian Institute established a three year research project on participatory democracy in Canada. I was one of 12 Canadians chosen to participate.
(back to top)Researcher for Office of Academic Excellence and Innovation , Summer Sessions, George Brown, the City College. 2001-2002
Conference Co-coordinator, 1998-1999, New World (dis) Orders: globalization, culture and identity. Rutgers University, NJ, USA.
Part-Time Workshop Facilitator , Toronto Board of Education Equity Office, Canada, 1994. Facilitated workshops on gender, race and sexuality
Field Manager , Greenpeace Canada, 1993 Coordinated public education campaigns and fundraising.
Teaching Assistant Media, Culture, and Society , Department of Cultural Studies, University of Birmingham, England, 1992
Conference Coordinator Multiculturalism and Youth Conference. Sponsored by the Ministry of Multiculturalism and Citizenship, Canada. 1990.(back to top)
• English: Fluency in reading, writing and speaking
• French: Fluency in reading and speaking
• Spanish: Fluency in reading and and intermediate capacity in speaking
• Portuguese: Fluency in reading
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William F. Fisher, Professor and Director
International Development, Community and Environment
950 Main St., Worcester, MA, 01610
email: WFisher@clarku.edu
Richard Peet, Professor
Graduate School of Geography, Clark University
950 Main St., Worcester, MA, 01610
email: RPeet@clarku.edu
Robert Ross, Professor
Department of Sociology, Clark University
950 Main St., Worcester, MA, 01610
email: rjsross@clarku.edu
Anya Bernstein, PhD.
Director of Undergraduate Studies
Committee on Degree in Social Studies
Hilles Library, 59 Shepard St.
Cambridge, MA, 02138
email: abernst@fas.harvard.edu
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