MATTHEW COOK

Research Fellow, he/him

Matthew Cook, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Historic Preservation and Cultural Geography at Eastern Michigan University. He studied cultural and historical geography at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville culminating in his dissertation, "A Critical Historical Geography of Slavery in the US South." Dr. Cook's continuing academic interests build on his dissertation, focusing on geographies of memory, historical interpretation, and race relations in the U.S. His ongoing research project addresses how museums around the country respond to expanding geographies of racism and racial violence. Focusing specifically on African American historical and cultural narratives, the project is part of long-term study that asks, “What is the role of the museum in the 21st century?” and “How do American museums change and adapt their narrative emphases in response to contemporary events?”

Expertise: Racism & Inequality, Plantations, Enslavement & Heritage Tourism, Cultural/historical geography, Black geographies, Geographies of memory, Historic preservation

Contact: mcook40@emich.edu

Selected Publications

Cook, M.R. 2016. Counter-narratives of slavery in the Deep South: the politics of empathy along and beyond River Road. Journal of Heritage Tourism 11 (3): 290–308. DOI: 10.1080/1743873X.2015.1100624.

Cook, M.R., and M. van Riemsdijk. 2014. Agents of memorialization: Gunter Demnig's Stolpersteine and the individual (re-)creation of a Holocaust landscape in Berlin. Journal of Historical Geography 43 (1): 138-147. DOI: 10.1016/j.jhg.2013.09.001.

Selected Book Chapters

Cook, M.R. 2020. Dark tourism and pilgrimage in the museum? Considering the case of Emmett Till’s Casket. In Dark Tourism and Pilgrimage, D. Olsen and M. Korstanje, eds., 176–184. Wallingford, UK: CABI.

Cook, M.R. and A.E. Potter. 2018. Unfinished geographies: Women’s roles in shaping Black historical counter narratives. In After Heritage: Critical Perspective on Heritage from Below, H. Muzaini and C. Minca, eds., 107–129. London: Edward Elgar Publishing.

Current Grant Funded Projects

National Science Foundation: NSF Award #2026316 ($536,000)

The Role of Museums in the Landscape of Minority Representation.