Graduate Studies in Aerial Ovis (i.e., Floating Sheep) Related Research

Have you enjoyed the maps and research we’ve generated at the FloatingSheep blog? Interested in the how the Internet and Geoweb is helping to shape our use of space and places? Would you like to explore your own specific questions related to these topics?

If so, the Department of Geography at the University of Kentucky is currently accepting applications for graduate study at the Masters and Ph.D. level. While the department has a number of existing strengths within human geography (economic, cultural landscapes, political ecology, social theory) we are expanding into the new and exciting arenas of online/mobile mapping and critical cartography/GIS. This includes the kind of work we've been posting here but also takes on questions such as:

• How do we understand the impact of new data sources, new actors and changing authority behind maps?
• How do online social networks blend with material space?
• What does near ubiquitous geodata means for privacy/surveillance, power and democracy and the spatial organization of our economies?
• Is spatial thinking becoming a basic educational requirement and how is it incorporated into humanities, social sciences and natural science?
• What is the role of code/software on visibility in the Geoweb?

You can check out some of the academic publications related to floating sheep and a broader range of my own research. In addition to myself, the department is hiring two additional faculty members (names to be revealed shortly) who are both doing cutting edge work in this area. In short, it is going be a really exciting place to do this kind of research.

Students admitted to the graduate program receive full tuition waivers and stipends in exchange for working as teaching assistants. Fellowships and other funding is also possible.

More information on the application process is available here. Applicants should submit their materials by January 15 (I should have posted posted this earlier!) to ensure a complete review. If you are interested it would be best to submit by then BUT applications are possible after this date. Just be sure to let me know that it is in progress so I can keep an eye out for it.

If you are interested (or want more information) please email me.

Matthew Zook