Boris MichelView profile
Professor
Boris Michel is Professor of Digital Geography at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg since 2021. His academic journey includes an Acting Professorship at the University of Bremen (2019), a Visiting Assistant Professor position at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver (2014), and research assistant roles at FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg. He completed his doctorate at the University of Münster in 2010 and achieved his Habilitation in Geography at FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg in 2017. Michel also serves as liaison lecturer of the Hans Böckler Foundation since 2013. Michel's educational background includes: Habilitation in Geography, FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg (2017) Doctorate, University of Münster (2010) His research spans three interconnected domains that reflect both historical depth and contemporary relevance in geographical scholarship. Focusing on urban geography, Michel critically examines neoliberal and post-political governance of cities, with particular attention to cities in the Global South. His work on critical cartography investigates participatory mapping practices and the theoretical challenges posed by digital transformation to cartographic knowledge production. In the history of geography, Michel explores how geography negotiated issues of visibility, representation, and visuality throughout the 20th century, with special interest in the Quantitative Revolution in German-speaking geography and its connections to current digital geography debates. Michel's scholarly contributions reveal a consistent focus on the politics of representation, whether examining contemporary digital geographies or historical developments in geographical thought. His recent publications demonstrate how historical perspectives on the Quantitative Revolution inform current discussions about AI, geodata commons, and digital infrastructures. This historical approach enables innovative connections between past geographical practices and emerging digital methodologies. Michel serves as editor for "sub\urban. zeitschrift für kritische stadtforschung" and leads several research projects including "narcotic.city," which investigates urban governance of drug cultures, and "Inclusion and Exclusion in Volunteered Geographic Information after Digital Humanitarianism," which examines geodata in crisis and conflict mapping contexts. His work consistently bridges theoretical inquiry with practical engagement, as evidenced by his contributions to critical cartography handbooks and counter-cartography initiatives like "This Is Not an Atlas." His academic leadership extends to collaborative research networks focused on the history of geography, particularly through the platform "historische-geographien.de." Michel's approach emphasizes the importance of historical context in understanding contemporary geographical challenges, creating productive dialogues between past and present geographical practices.
