Gerard Toal

Professor in Government and International Affairs

Gerard Toal is interested in the intersecting field of geography and international relations called "Critical Geopolitics." The "critical" in Critical Geopolitics comes from the use of contemporary critical social theory (poststructuralism, deconstruction, Foucaultian genealogy, feminist theory, critical sociology, anthropology, media studies and geography, etc) to study broadly defined "geopolitical" issues and questions. It is sometimes helpful to think of critical geopolitics as divided into three different areas, each gradually broadening in focus.

Originally from Ireland, Toal received his B.A. from St Patrick's College, Maynooth (now The National University of Ireland at Maynooth), a Masters in Geography from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, and his Ph.D. from Syracuse University.