KU: Department of Geography

I got a dual B.A. at KU in geography and German. Pete Shortridge was my mentor for an honors thesis on the historical geography of a German town in north-central Kansas. After graduation, I took a year to do a graduate direct exchange at the University of Erlangen, Germany, where I dabbled in geography, history and politics. If KU still offers these scholarships, they are an excellent way for students to get some international experience in that period of uncertainty that inevitably comes after graduating. That year abroad also led directly to my first job as a media analyst at the German Embassy in Washington, DC. In that role, I called upon my general geography skills on a daily basis.

After three years in Washington, I decided to return to school. While considering a variety of grad school options, I came to the conclusion that geography offers really powerful tools for understanding our complex and dynamic world, despite its so-so reputation among the non-converted. Pete Shortridge called my attention to the department at Oregon, where I have now completed my M.A. and am working on my dissertation under the supervision of Prof. Alec Murphy.

My hope is to become a professor. I am also trying to keep some doors open in the government and consulting worlds. In talking with friends in history, political science, and some of the hard sciences, I am convinced that the intimacy and collegiality of our relatively small discipline is one of its great advantages. I am heartened to see that the number of majors is increasing, and not just at KU (though it's great to read about recent successes at the alma mater--rock chalk!). One hears far fewer job search horror stories among geographers as is the case in many other disciplines, thanks to a still-favorable supply and demand curve.

I knew at an early age that I wanted to be a geographer (like many of us, I too showed an early interest in maps), then I strayed from the flock, but have returned. We get battered about by those asking us what you can do with a geography degree, and it takes a certain self-confidence to take the ribbing from friends and family who wish we'd do something more applied or prestigious. Looking at the world around us, though, I'm pretty confident geographers will seem like prophets before our time in the not-too-distant future in terms of the ways we approach problems such as climate change and its impacts, ethno-territorial conflict, and uneven globalization. And even if we don't turn out to be prophets, learning about places, theorizing about spatial relationships, and sharing those insights with others is a pretty rewarding way to spend the working days.

I'm happy to chat with KU folk interested in geography careers.

Corey Johnson
University of Oregon
cjohns11@uoregon.edu