Urban social geography, children's geographies, gender, race/ethnicity, North American cities, social theory, qualitative research, critical GIS.
Office Hours: by appointment
Dr. Cope is an urban social geographer. She is mainly interested in the
ways that social, economic, political, and environmental processes
influence cities and communities, as well as the ways that people's
everyday lives create meaningful spaces and places within, or even
against, the larger-scale processes operating on them. Her focus has
always been on social/spatial processes of marginalization and
disempowerment, for example, through gender, race/ethnicity, class,
youth, etc. She is especially motivated by issues such as employment,
households and neighborhoods, welfare, public space, poverty,
discrimination, and identity. She is also a qualitative researcher who
uses ethnography and other methods to learn about the geographic
meanings and processes that matter to marginalized groups. Over the
past 5 years she has developed an associated interest in critical
perspectives on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and have explored
methods of combining qualitative research with GIS (Knigge & Cope,
2006). Dr. Cope recently received a Dean’s ‘Faculty Research
Award’ to explore
young people’s independent mobility in several Vermont towns. This will
serve as a pilot project for a larger grant proposal in 2010. With
colleague, Sarah Elwood (University of Washington), Dr. Cope co-edited
a book on mixed-methods in Geography focused on blending Qualitative
Research and GIS. This came out of her interest in Geographic
Information and Society Issues, and work that she and her graduate
students at SUNY-Buffalo did toward integrating ethnography and GIS.
The manuscript, Qualitative GIS: A Mixed-Methods Approach (London:
Sage), was published in June 2009.
Courses that Dr. Cope teaches at the introductory level include Race and
Ethnicity in the U.S. and an introduction to human geography titled
"Space Place and Society". At the intermediate and advanced levels, her
courses have included Urban Geography, Geography of Global Economy,
Children’s Geographies, Qualitative Research in Geography, and Global
Childhoods and the Construction of Places. Dr. Cope holds a B.A. in Sociology from Vassar College (1989), an M.A.
in Geography from the University of Colorado (1992), and a Ph.D. in
Geography from the University of Colorado (1995).
Quote:"If I could tell an incoming freshman one thing it would be to talk individually with your professors after class or during office hours -- even if it's just a few minutes chatting about a news clip you saw or an issue you're interested in and would like their perspective. Establishing a relationship with your professors enriches the academic experience, makes you feel more connected to the processes of your education, and helps in practical ways too."
