MEDIA RELEASE

CSUN Professor Co-Edits Latin American Text

(NORTHRIDGE, Calif., April 29, 2008) — Cal State Northridge geography professor Edward Jackiewicz, along with San Diego State University professor Fernando J. Bosco, co-edited an innovative text on the human geographies of Latin America.

"Placing Latin America: Contemporary Themes in Human Geography" was published this Spring by Rowman and Littlefield Publishers and is designed for upper division undergraduate courses, specifically CSUN’s geography 322 class.

"The inspiration for this book came about from there not being adequate texts to address the key issues that would excite students," said Jackiewicz.

"Placing Latin America" takes a thematic approach to the study of the diverse human geographies of Latin America. Avoiding pre-defined ideas about this rapidly globalizing region, the volume focuses on the dynamic connections between people and places.

Within the field of geography, the book is somewhat non-traditional in that it highlights issues such as tourism, migration, drugs and cinema, rather than taking a regional approach, said Jackiewicz.

Jackiewicz earned his master’s degree in geography from Temple University in Pennsylvania. After completing his Ph.D. at Indiana University, his research interests focused on Latin America and Caribbean development, specifically in migration, transnationalism, tourism and urban geography. One of Jackiewicz’s current projects focuses on the use of public space and parks within the San Fernando Valley.

After two years spent researching in Latin America and the Caribbean, Jackiewicz is glad to have completed the work.

"It’s my first book and it is nice to have it done as there were many times when we felt it might never happen," he said.