Matthew W. Wilson (he/him)
Education:
Ph.D. University of Washington, 2009
M.A. University of Washington, 2005
B.S. Northwest Missouri State University, 2002
M.A. University of Washington, 2005
B.S. Northwest Missouri State University, 2002
Biography:
Matthew W. Wilson, PhD, is Chair and Professor of Geography at the University of Kentucky and Associate at the Center for Geographic Analysis at Harvard University. He directs Mapshop. He is an editor at cultural geographies, an international, peer-reviewed quarterly journal. He co-edited Understanding Spatial Media (SAGE, 2017) and his most recent book is New Lines: Critical GIS and the Trouble of the Map (University of Minnesota Press, 2017). He has previously taught at Ball State University and the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and his current research examines mid-20th century, digital mapping practices. He earned his PhD and MA from the University of Washington and his BS from Northwest Missouri State University. His childhood was spent in Pumpkin Center, Missouri, a small farming community in Nodaway County, where his family has farmed for over 170 years.
Research Interests:
Critical cartography & GIS
cultural geography
urban political geography
Science and Technology Studies
Disciplinary History of Geography
Selected Publications:
[ Please click here for a full listing of publications. ]
Parraguez, Ana, Inga Gryl, Ricardo Truffelo, Matthew W. Wilson, eds. Forthcoming. SIG Critico en Chile: Traducciones, Situaciones, e Intervenciones. Santiago: Instituto de Estudios Urbanos y Territoriales. [80]
Wilson, Matthew W. 2022. Technical Lands and Technical Lines. In Technical Lands: A Critical Primer. Jovis. Jeffrey Nesbit and Charles Waldheim, editors. pp. 64-69. [75]
Wilson, Matthew W. 2022. GIScience III: questions of time. Progress in Human Geography. 46:6. pp. 1431-1438. [74]
Wilson, Matthew W. 2022. GIScience II: newness and imminence. Progress in Human Geography. 46:1. pp. 224-233. [70]
Wilson, Matthew W. 2021. GIScience I: social histories and disciplinary crucibles. Progress in Human Geography. 45:1. pp. 166-177. [66]
Wilson, Matthew W. 2020. Criticality as interpretation, deception, distortion? LA+ Interdisciplinary Journal of Landscape Architecture. No. 12. pp. 20-25. [65]
Guan, Wendy, Matthew W. Wilson, and Anne Knowles. 2019. Evaluating the geographic in GIS. The Geographical Review. 109:3. pp. 297-307 [61]
Barrett, Emily, and Matthew W. Wilson. 2019. Mapshop: Learning to Map, Mapping to Learn. Living Maps Review. No. 6. [60]
Wilson, Matthew W. 2018. On being technopositional in digital geographies. cultural geographies. 25:1. pp. 7-21. [54]
Wilson, Matthew W. 2017. New Lines: Critical GIS and the Trouble of the Map. University of Minnesota Press. [53]
| Name | Degree(s) | Thesis/Dissertation | Currently |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debra Hollon | MS, Geography (Ball State University), 2011 | GIS and the Prehistoric Landscape: An Examination of Applicability | Data Engineer, The Polis Center, Indiana University Indianapolis |
| Bryan Preston | MS, Geography (Ball State University), 2012 | Urban Gardening South of the Tracks in Middletown USA: An embedded qualitative GIS approach | Geospatial Scientist, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign |
| Ryan Cooper | MA, Geography (University of Kentucky), 2013 | Re-Placing Sprawl: Mapping Place in an American Suburb | GIS Administrator, Wake County Public School System, North Carolina |
| Andrea Craft | MA, Geography (University of Kentucky), 2014 | Planning and Protest in Memphis: The Limits and Possibilities of Participatory Discourse | Teaching Assistant Professor, Urban Planning and Policy, University of Illinois Chicago |
| Zulaikha Ayub | MDes, Graduate School of Design (Harvard University), 2014 | Desert Sun: The Manhattan Project and Los Alamos, New Mexico | PhD Candidate, Architecture, Princeton University |
| Daniel Koff | MDes, Graduate School of Design (Harvard University), 2015 | Spatialized Archives: An Analysis of Methodologies for Working through Collections | Instructor, Olin College of Engineering, Massachusetts |
| Eric M. Robsky Huntley | PhD, Geography (University of Kentucky), 2020 | Reserved for the Whole Earth: Forms of Evidence, Ought Anxiety, and the Futures of Geographic Inquiry | Lecturer, Urban Studies and Planning, MIT |
| Emily Barrett | MA, Geography (University of Kentucky), 2020 | Shiny objects, hiding places: Examining community-engaged data practices in Lexington, KY | Assistant Professor, School of City and Regional Planning, Georgia Tech |
| Amber Bosse | PhD, Geography (University of Kentucky), 2020 | Cartographic Efficacy: Histories of the Present, Participatory Futures | Map Therapist and Coach, MapBosse |
| Jessi Breen | PhD, Geography (University of Kentucky), 2023 | Picturing the Future City: Digital Mediation and Creative Placemaking | Program Director, Geospatial Research Support, American University |
| Ian Spangler | PhD, Geography, 2023; MA Geography, 2020 (University of Kentucky) |
Property Protocols and the Social Relations of Real Estate Technologies "One More Way to Sell New Orleans”: Airbnb and the Commodification of Authenticity through Local Emotional Labor |
Associate Curator of Digital and Participatory Geography, Leventhal Map and Education Center at the Boston Public Library |
| Kenny Stancil | MA, Geography (University of Kentucky), 2023 | Hoarding Lifesaving Knowledge While Millions Die: The Political Economy of Global COVID-19 Vaccine Apartheid | Senior Research, Revolving Door Project |
| John "Jack" Swab | PhD, Geography, 2024; MA Geography, 2020 (University of Kentucky) |
Transgressed | Constructed | Solidified: Examining Boundaries in Public Health, Population, and Higher Education Risky business: Visualizing and historicizing the role of geographic representation and thinking in American business |
Assistant Professor, Geography and Sustainability, University of Tennessee |
| Jacob Saindon | PhD, Geography, 2025; MA Geography, 2021 (University of Kentucky) |
Commercial Attention Spaces: A Century of Discourses, Measurements, and Models of Attention in the Construction of U.S. Advertising Markets The Use of Distraction: Doomscrolling, Losing Time, and Digital Well-Being in Pandemic Space-Times |
Visiting Assistant Professor, Geography, Miami University |
| Sable Augustyn | MA, Geography (University of Kentucky), 2025 | Lust, Labor, and Legitimacy: Visibility and Precarity in Platformed Sex Work | Pending Update |
| Conley Kinkead | In progress, PhD, Geography (University of Kentucky) | ||
| Laurel Sparks | In progress, MA, Geography (University of Kentucky) | ||
| Tiana Thé | In progress, MA, Geography (University of Kentucky) | ||
| Kavit Sumud | In progress, MA, Geography (University of Kentucky) |
