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Kevin Van Meter

Photo of Kevin Van Meter

Contact Me

vanme016@umn.edu


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Kevin Van Meter -- following an illustrious career in the precariat and as long time activist -- joined the Geography department in the Fall of 2012. Van Meter's research explores the emergence and movement of political theory; neighboring interests include anarchism and Autonomist Marxism, co-research methods, political repression and militancy in contemporary social movements, and the writings of George Orwell.

Additionally, Van Meter is a member of the research collective Team Colors; with the collective he co-edited the collection Uses of a Whirlwind: Movement, Movements, and Contemporary Radical Currents in the United States (AK Press, 2010) and the collectives work has appeared in various book collections and journals. Van Meter's collaborative and single-authored work has appeared in the Earth First! Journal, Synthesis / Regeneration, Organizing Upgrade, Radical Society, Groundswell Journal, Indypendent Reader, The Journal of Aesthetics and Protest, Arranca!, The Hampton Institute, Toward Freedom, The Commoner: A Web Journal for Other Values, Perspectives on Anarchist Theory and other radical publications. His first monograph, titled Guerrillas of Desire: Notes on Everyday Resistance and Organizing to Make a Revolution Possible, will be released by AK Press in June 2017.

As of May 2015 Van Meter is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Geography, Environment and Society and has completed a Minor in Comparative Studies in Discourse and Society. He is Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Geography at Portland State University, an organizer with the Portland Solidarity Network, and is finishing his dissertation remotely from the Pacific Northwest.

Educational Background & Specialties

Educational Background

  • PhD Minor: Comparative Studies in Discourse and Society, Department of Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 2015.
  • MA : Political Science, The Graduate Center, The City University of New York, New York, NY, 2014.
  • BA: Individualized Degree Program (Political Theory & Social Movements), Burlington College / Institute for Social Ecology, Burlington, VT, 2003.

Curriculum Vitae

Specialties

  • Political and Economic Geography
  • Co-Research Methods
  • Social Movement Studies
  • American Labor and Radicalism
Courses Taught
  • TA for GEOG 3381W / GLOS 3701W: Population in an Interacting World (Spring 2015)
  • Instructor for PA 1961W / OLPD 1301W: Personal Leadership in the University (Fall 2014)
  • TA for GEOG 3381W / GLOS 3701W: Population in an Interacting World (Fall 2014)
  • TA for GEOG 1403: Biogeography of the Global Garden (Spring 2014)
  • TA for GEOG 1403: Biogeography of the Global Garden (Fall 2013)
  • TA for GEOG 1301: Our Globalizing World (Spring 2013)
  • TA for GEOG 1301: Our Globalizing World (Fall 2012)
Research & Professional Activities

Research

  • Theory Moves: Autonomism, Social Movement Publications, and the Production of Space: Proposed Dissertation Research, 05/01/2015 - 05/01/2017
  • Class Formation in Portland, Oregon: Fieldwork and Co-Reseach Project, 05/15/2014 - 09/01/2014
  • Ecology of Repression: Insurgency, Counterinsurgency, and the Green Scare in the United States: Literature Review & Research Project, 01/01/2013 - 05/01/2014
Publications
  • Guerrillas of Desire: Notes on Everyday Resistance and Organizing to Make a Revolution Possible. Van Meter, Kevin, AK Press, Author, 2017. Link
  • Uses of a Whirlwind: Movement, Movements, and Contemporary Radical Currents in the United States. Van Meter, Kevin, Team Colors Collective, AK Press, Editor, 2010. Link
Awards
  • Summer Research Fellowship, Department of Geography, Environment and Society, University of Minnesota, Summer 2017
  • Summer Research Fellowship, Department of Geography, Environment and Society, University of Minnesota, Summer 2016
  • Graduate Research Internship Program, The Graduate School, University of Minnesota, Summer 2015
  • Council of Graduate Students Conference Travel Grant, University of Minnesota, Spring 2015
  • Summer Research Fellowship, Department of Geography, Environment and Society, University of Minnesota, Summer 2015
  • Graduate Research Partnership Program, University of Minnesota, Summer 2014
  • Summer Research Fellowship, Department of Geography, Environment and Society, University of Minnesota, Summer 2013