The Lamar Dodd Professional Chair, Trevor Paglen is currently teaching an interdisciplinary seminar with Associate Professor Marni Shindelman titled Human Geography (for Art).

Human geographers study the inter-relationship between the physical environment and socio-cultural environment created by human beings. This unique course looks at how humans interact, shape and affect the landscape and world around them, and considers topics as diverse as immigration crisis, environmental pollution, food production, and the impact of war and disasters.

Shindelman states, “Trevor has been very involved in the planning and development of the course.  He will be leading 3 seminars on the methodologies behind his research and how it relates to current ideas in his work.  The students are very excited about it.”

Paglen’s work has been described by the New Yorker as having “long focused on… ‘the geography and aesthetics’ of the American surveillance state. His book Blank Spots on the Map, from 2009, catalogues crucial sites in the country’s global spying network, and his video footage of some of them was included in “Citizenfour,” the Oscar-winning documentary on Snowden.” His practice spans image-making, sculpture, investigative journalism, writing, engineering, and numerous other disciplines. Among his chief concerns are learning how to see the historical moment we live in and developing the means to imagine alternative futures.

While in residence, Paglen is working closely with faculty and students at the University of Georgia and developing a new body of work that will be exhibited in Athens, Georgia in the Fall of 2020. He will give a public lecture on the subject of his work in March of 2020.