Dr. Kyle R. Mitchell
BA (SFU), MA (SFU), PhD (University of Strathclyde)
Dr. Mitchell is an Instructor of Sociology at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. His teaching and research reflect a deep interest in social justice issues including the intersecting inequalities that define peoples’ daily realities. Dr. Mitchell received his PhD in Sociology from the University of Strathclyde (2018), MA in Sociology from Simon Fraser University (2007), and BA in Sociology from Simon Fraser University (2004).
Dr. Mitchell’s Ph.D. dissertation, entitled, The Political Economy of Water: Competing Conceptions of the Water Commons, pays critical attention to the property relations that define the struggle over the water commons. More broadly, his work builds on and contributes to a radical political economy critique of the capitalist relations of production. Using the increasing enclosure of water and wastewater services Dr. Mitchell illustrates the antagonistic relationship between the idea of the commons in general (i.e. all manner of things known as social or public goods and services and/or the shared inheritance of humankind) and the capitalist relations of production.
Courses taught
- SOCI 1125: Introduction to Society: Processes and Structures
- SOCI 2225: Canadian Society: Conflict and Consensus
- SOCI 2235: The Development of Sociological Thought
- SOCI 2311: Social Justice in the Global and Local Contexts
- SOCI 3235: Classic Sociological Theories
- SOCI 3270: Education, Nation Building and Globalization
- SOCI 4320: Advanced Topics in Global Studies
Areas of Interest
Neoliberal environments; economic globalization; political economy; the Anthropocene; the ideas of the commons and human rights.
Scholarly Work
- Mitchell, K.R. and Kane, T. (forthcoming, 2019). The political economy of water: The struggle over water in Scotland. In Miller, D., Brown, L., Dinan, W. and Stavinoha, L. (Eds) Researching the Powerful: Public sociology in action. London: Taylor and Francis.
- Mitchell, K.R. (2018). “Political economy of water: competing conceptions of the water commons” Ph.D. Thesis, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland.
- Schmidt, J.J. and Mitchell, K.R. (2014) Property and the human right to water: Toward a non-liberal commons. Review of Radical Political Economics, 46, 54-69.
- Mitchell, K.R. (2012). The political economy of freshwater: reinvigorating the question of property. In F. Sultana and A. Loftus (Eds) The right to water: politics, governance and social struggles (pp.78-93). London: Taylor and Francis.
- Kane, T. and Mitchell, K.R. (2010). A steady flow of venality. Scottish Left Review, 60, 25-27.
- Kane T., & Mitchell, K.R. (2009). Review: blue gold world water wars. Scottish Left Review, 52, 24-25.
- Kane T., & Mitchell, K.R. (2008). Money in water. Scottish Left Review, 48, 22-23.
- Kane T., & Mitchell, K.R. (2008). The governance of water. [online]. Local People Leading.
- Mitchell, K.R. (2007). “Political economy of freshwater: from the commons to corporate enclosure” M.A. Thesis, Department of Anthropology and Sociology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada. Copyrighted.