Michael Longan

Education

Ph.D. in Geography – University of Colorado at Boulder
M.A. in Geography – University of Arizona

Biography

Professor Longan earned a Ph.D. in geography from the University at Colorado at Boulder and an M.A. in geography from the University of Arizona. He teaches GEO 301: Regional Geographies of the World: Asia. His research and teaching expertise is in urban, cultural, and communication geography. Having grown up in Colorado and studied in Arizona, Professor Longan is especially interested in the arid regions of western China and the mountainous region of Tibet.

As an urban geographer, he is fascinated by the rapidly changing cities of Japan and China, including Tokyo, Kyoto, Beijing, Hangzhou, Shanghai, and Urumqi. As a communication geographer, Professor Longan is interested in the ways that the Internet and virtual reality may or may not be transforming society and urban landscapes in China and Japan. He would be excited to work with students who want to do independent research or honors projects related to any of these topics. Professor Longan co-wrote a book chapter with Tim Oakes titled “Geography’s conquest of history in The Diamond Age” on the representation of China in Neal Stephenson’s novel The Diamond Age.