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Jay Bowen
PhD Candidate
Korea Foundation Graduate Studies Felllow

Jay Bowen is a PhD candidate in the Department of Geography at the University of Kentucky, where he maintains interests in critical human geography and political ecology. As a master’s student, he examined issues of urban homelessness and direct action responses to homelessness in Athens, Georgia. Primarily, his research focused on the political ideologies and spatial practices of an Atlanta-based non-profit organization, known as the Mad Housers, which built shelters for people on vacant urban property.

After completing his master's degree, he spent two years in Seoul as an English teacher in a public elementary school. There he became interested in the many forms of urban agriculture existing throughout the region, and maintained his own garden at a site on the slopes of Yongma Mountain in Seoul's Jungnang District.

As a PhD candidate, Jay studies urban agriculture in Seoul within the context of the region's rapid socioeconomic transformation. He hopes to examine how recent sustainability initiatives and economic restructuring interweave with the many different types of agriculture across one of the world's most populated metropolises. In paying particular attention to the individuals who perform this work, whether for pleasure, politics, tradition, to supplement their diet, or to earn a living, he also desires to unravel some of the complexities of the massive political economic changes underway in the region.     

Contact Information
jebowe3
Education
M.A. Geography, University of Georgia
B.A. Interdisciplinary Studies, Hamilton College
Affiliations
  • Geography