Jennifer Speights-Binet

Jennifer Speights-Binet is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Geography and Sociology at Samford University's Howard College of Arts and Sciences. She joined the faculty in 2008 after teaching at the University of Houston. Her courses include Global Geography, North American Landscapes, and Suburban Nation, and she contributes to the university's core Cultural Perspectives curriculum. Her interdisciplinary teaching approach stems from her undergraduate experience in Samford's Honors program.

Education:

• BA in History and Geography, Samford University (1994)
• MS, University of Edinburgh
• PhD, Louisiana State University

Her research examines cultural landscapes through lenses of urbanism, public memory, and spatial memorialization. She investigates how power dynamics shape physical spaces, with emphasis on contested heritage sites like Confederate monuments. Her work bridges geography, sociology, and education to analyze societal narratives embedded in built environments.

Recent publications focus on cultural conflicts in urban spaces, particularly monument controversies in New Orleans and critical geography's role in educational leadership. Articles trend toward empirical analysis of memory politics, racial equity in public spaces, and pedagogical applications of place-based theory.