In an era of intensified globalization and cultural diversity, academic and public policy seeks to address the importance of spatial processes, human dynamics in local places, and international development issues. The Geography Progam’s Human Geography track provides an excellent curriculum and research experiences to students in a variety of geographic regions such as southern Africa, Appalachia, West Africa, and East Asia. Options for students interested in this area of study include urban and rural livelihoods, landuse/land cover change, feminist geography, labor geography, political economy of uneven development, community participation, and urban social planning. Both applied and theoretical issues are raised within these areas of study.

Faculty research projects include changing livelihoods and land use change in South Africa, gender and local economic development in Limpopo Province, South Africa, urban social networks in Ghana, women’s cooperatives in rural Appalachia, ….

Our goal is to introduce students to the exciting work that is taking place in contemporary human geography that challenge conventional notions of society and space. In doing so, we hope to encourage an appreciation of the rigors and uncertainties of graduate level studies in geography.