Jack Swab (he/him)

Research Interests:
Critical cartography & GIS
History of Cartography
urban geography
Map Libraries
Science and Technology Studies
Geographic thought and methodology
mixed methods
Boundaries
Health Geographies
Queer Geography
Education

University of Kentucky, MS Library Science (2022)

University of Kentucky, MA Geography (2020)

Penn State, BS Geography & BA History (2017)

About Me

I am a geographer broadly interested in the nexus of human geography and GIS/cartography. Specifically, I examine the effectiveness and utility of COVID-19 maps and the limits of these visualizations in public health communication as they relate to local administrative boundaries. More broadly, I am interested in technological evolution in cartography, map libraries, the intellectual history of geography, map studies, and queer spatial histories.

I am also serving as the Vice-Chair/Chair/Past-Chair for the American Association of Geographers Cartography Specialty Group from 2022-2024. Feel free to reach out to me with any questions or concerns you may have about the Cartography Specialty Group!

Selected Publications:
Swab, Jack and Gieseking, Jack. Toward Queering the Map 2.0: a Conversation with Michael Brown, Lawrence K. Knopp, and Bo Zhao. ACME: An International Journal for Critical Geographies, 24(4), 416-435.
 
Swab, John and Wilson, Matthew. Gwendolyn S. Curtis, curator of Kentucky’s Largest Map Collection. Journal of Maps and Geography Libraries, 14:2-3, 105-108.
 
Swab, John. “Mapping a Nation: Daniel Carter Beard’s Time as a Surveyor for the Sanborn Map Company.” Abstracts of the ICA, 1.
 
Swab, John. Review of “The Feminist Bookstore Movement: Lesbian Antiracism and Feminist Accountability” by Kristen Hogan. Antipode, p. 1-6. [https://radicalantipode.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/14.-john-swab_ak.pdf]
 
Swab, J.J. and Babcock, T., 2018. Surveying Northeastern Pennsylvania: Contextualizing the Flower-Walker Collection at the Tioga Point Museum. Journal of Map & Geography Libraries, 14(1), pp.9-20.
 
Swab, J.J., 2018. Review of Patents and Cartographic Inventions: A New Perspective for Map History. Cartographic Perspectives, (90).