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Kevin Van Meter

Photo of Kevin Van Meter

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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. Van Meter's first monograph, titled Guerrillas of Desire: Notes on Everyday Resistance and Organizing to Make a Revolution Possible, was released by AK Press in June 2017 and forthcoming title Reading Struggles: Autonomist Marxism from Detroit to Turin and Back Again will be released by AK Press in Winter 2021-2022.

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. After serving as Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Geography at Portland State University between 2015 and 2019, Van Meter is now a union organizer in the Mid-Willamette Valley while 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.

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