Robert Yarbrough

Robert Yarbrough at the Strait of Gibraltar with the Atlas mountains of Morocco in the background.

Dr. Robert Yarbrough grew up in Marietta, GA (suburban Atlanta) and received his B.A. in History from Roanoke College (VA) in 1998.  Dr. Yarbrough is currently an Assistant Professor in Geography in the Department of Geology and Geography at Georgia Southern University.  He received both of his graduate degrees in Geography from the University of Georgia (M.A. 2001 and Ph.D. 2006). 

Dr. Yarbrough currently teaches World Regional Geography (GEOG 1130), Human Geography (GEOG 1101), Cultural Geography (GEOG 3530), and Introduction to Research (GEOG 4120) at Georgia Southern.  In addition, Dr. Yarbrough has taught Population Geography as a selected topics course in spring 2009.      

Research

Dr. Yarbrough’s research interests lie at the intersection of immigration studies, place and identity, and critical social geographies.  His research to date has focused on immigrant residential settlement geographies in the U.S. South (including their spatial and social relations with native-born residents), processes of racialization among these newcomers, and the impact of place on immigrant identity formation and negotiation. His dissertation focused on these issues of identity construction and everyday urban geographies among Central American immigrants in Atlanta, GA.  In addition to his primary research interests, Dr. Yarbrough co-founded the Community Geography Initiative (CGI) at Georgia Southern with Dr. Thomas Chapman.  The mission of the Community Geography Initiative utilizes Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to provide a value-added service to improve life in rural southeast Georgia.  CGI is committed to addressing community challenges that relate broadly to themes such as health inequalities and disparities, social and environmental justice, and neighborhood planning and economic development. 

Service

Dr. Yarbrough is an active member of both the Association of American Geographers (AAG) and the Southeastern Division of the AAG (SEDAAG).  Within the department, Dr. Yarbrough serves as co-Editor of the Departmental Newsletter along with Dr. Jonathan Geisler and co-Coordinator of the Departmental Seminar Series with Dr. Pranoti Asher   

Publications:

Yarbrough, R. (in press) “Becoming ‘Hispanic’ in the ‘New South’: Central American Immigrants' Racialization Experiences in Atlanta, GA, USA.” GeoJournal. 

Inwood, J. and Yarbrough, R. (in press) “Racialized Places, Racialized Bodies: The Impact of Racialization on Place and Individual Identities.” Guest Editors’ Introduction to a special issue on Racialization in GeoJournal. 

Yarbrough, R. (accepted) "Racial Segregation", The Encyclopedia of Geography, Sage Publications. 

Hankins, K. and Yarbrough, R. (2008) “Positionality and Active Learning: Confronting Privilege in Field-Exercise Design.”  Journal of Geography. 107(4): 186-93.

Yarbrough, R. (2003) “Latino/White and Latino/Black Segregation in the Southeastern United States: Findings from Census 2000.”  Southeastern Geographer. 43(2): 207-220.

Publications Under Review/In Preparation:

“Georgia’s Changing Demographic Landscape: A Geography of Immigration since 1990.”  (with Mike Bess) for submission to Geographical Review, April  2009.

“Identities in Place: Everyday Urban Geographies and the Negotiation of Central American Immigrant Subjectivities in Atlanta, GA, USA.”

“Community Mapping and GIS for Social and Economic Justice in Rural Southeast Georgia.” (with Thomas Chapman)