Discussion will include presenter’s work as a queer theorist who studies the space and place of digital, feminist, and queer societies

Jen Jack Gieseking, assistant professor of geography at the University of Kentucky, will appear on Zoom and before MU students, faculty, staff and alumni on March 8 from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. to discuss his new book “A Queer New York” and his work as an urban cultural geographer.

Trained as a queer theorist, environmental psychologist and feminist, he is here in part due to masters student Sarah Kammeyer’s thesis work on queer geography. She is studying his findings, and is in the preliminary stages of her research.

“I am so deeply looking forward to speaking at Mizzou,” Geiseking said in a note to Geography Department Chair, Soren Larsen. His presentation is called “Constellations: Mapping Queer Cities of Survival & Desire.”

He provided this abstract of his talk, italicized below:

Gieseking, who identifies himself as a woman, prefers to use the he/him/his or they/them/their pronouns. He discovered geography while in undergrad school while studying cartography. He wanted to pursue geography, but wasn’t sure it was a good fit until he attended seminary and learned about psychoanalysis and critical social psychology, which he says has a connection to geography through research in environmental psychology — in other words, how people relate to and are defined by space and place.

“A Queer New York,” published last year, is his second book. He’s also published in numerous magazines and book chapters, as well as written many book reviews. He’s won numerous awards, attended a long list of fellowships, and received nearly 20 grants. He is a known lecturer.

“A Queer New York” focuses on neighborhoods that are prominent throughout New York, such as Greenwich Village, Crown Heights, Bedford-Stuyvesant and Park Slope. His research demonstrates how “lesbian and queer neighborhoods have folded under the capitalist influence of white, wealthy gentrifiers, who have ultimately failed to make room for them,” he says on his website, jgieseking.org.

He wanted to pursue geography, but wasn’t sure it was a good fit until he attended seminary and learned about psychoanalysis and critical social psychology, which he says has a connection to geography through research in environmental psychology — in other words, how people relate to and are defined by space and place.

He adds that despite this, the lesbian and queer communities have found life and place in New York, which has shoved out the most vulnerable citizens.

Most recently, he is studying the use of Tumblr by trans people, particularly regarding “sharing medical knowledge” and “self-determination,” he says.

“I am collaborating with scholars in different fields to think through both the ethics and presentation of this work, and I am presently planning a long-term participatory action research study with trans-youth,” he states on the faculty page of the University of Kentucky’s geography website.

“I am also invested in using data visualizations to visualize those deemed invisible due to dominant histories, cultures, and economies, ranging from maps and graphs to social networks and text analyses to space. We spend much of our time in geography looking at public space and privacy, but what is private space in the world today, and in the past?”

For more information on the Zoominar/Happy Hour, contact the Department of Geography main office at 573-882-8370 or email geog@missouri.edu. The zoom link will be posted on the website and Facebook closer to the event.