|
Mailing Address: |
Physical Location: |
Fields of Interest:
Cultural Geography, Visual Narratives and Storytelling
Biography
Dr. Bryan Wee is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado Denver. As an immigrant in the U.S. and a child of the Chinese diaspora in Singapore, his scholarship is driven by personal questions of belonging and how we meaningfully represent emotions, nostalgia, and "felt" connections to places. An interdisciplinary scholar, Dr. Wee holds a PhD in Science Education and an MS in Conservation Biology from Purdue University, and he has been recognized with a Digital Humanities Fellowship from the National Library Board of Singapore and a post-doctoral fellowship at Stockholm University. These fellowships were aligned with Dr. Wee’s academic sabbaticals and the immersive nature of his experiences abroad were transformative. They continue to inform his worldviews and scholarship today.
As a cultural geographer, Dr. Wee uses visual narratives and storytelling, including photo essays, story maps, and emotional cartography, to understand and represent place attachments, sensitizing us to people’s sense of belonging and their identity formation. Elevating the importance of place attachments in areas such as urban planning and heritage preservation deepens our appreciation of different (even opposing) worldviews and nurtures empathy in the research process. Dr. Wee’s recent research examines how societies respond to change, ranging from young people’s relationships with cities and nature to the study of intangible cultural heritage within Singapore’s hawker food culture. In the classroom, he embraces a humanistic pedagogy, always striving to be wholly present in mind, body, and spirit. For Dr. Wee, teaching is informed by learning theories, but its practice involves a passion and perspective that is deeply personal.
Education
Digital Humanities Fellowship | National Library Board, Singapore | 2022-23
Post-doctoral Fellowship | Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden | 2014-15
PhD Science Education | Purdue University, West Lafayette, USA | 2007
MS Conservation Biology | Purdue University, West Lafayette, USA | 2001
BA Economics | University of Washington, Seattle, USA | 1996