Jacob Shell
Assistant Professor
Office: 319 Gladfelter Hall
Tel: 215 204 1374
Email: jacob.shell@temple.edu
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Areas of Expertise:
Urban transportation and infrastructure; transport animals; cartography and geovisualization; mapping of texts and literature; geography of social movements and rebellions; geographic dimensions of political economy.
Education:
2012 - Ph.D. in Geography, Syracuse University
2005 - B.A. in Urban Studies, Columbia University
Courses:
GUS 3061/5061 Fundamentals of Cartography
Research:
My research employs critical theories of power and resistance to look at the evolving geographies of transportation and mobility infrastructure. Looking at the US and UK in the 19th and early 20th centuries, my dissertation explored the geographic relationship between patterns of divestment from water transportation infrastructure and incidents of politically subversive smuggling. My interest in transportation geography also extends to contemporary debates regarding social justice and urban mass transit, as well as to critical perspectives on animal transportation and human-animal relations.
My research frequently makes use of qualitative mapping techniques and thematic geovisualization. I am currently engaged in a comparative literary mapping project to portray the geographic relationships discussed in writings by Immanuel Kant, Charles Darwin, and Karl Marx.
Publications (selected):
Shell, J. (2010), "Innovation, Labor and Gridlock: The Unbuilt Freight Plan for Manhattan's Geography of Production." Journal of Planning History 9(1), 3-20.
Conferences:
2012. Chair and Co-Organizer (with Kafui Attoh) of "Placing Justice and Struggle in Transportation Studies" Paper Session. Annual Association of American Geographers Conference, New York City.
http://meridian.aag.org/callforpapers/program/SessionDetail.cfm?SessionID=13839