Soren Larsen

Soren Larsen is a Professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Missouri with continuous service since 2005, including significant contributions to the Honors College through curriculum development and innovative place-based teaching. His work bridges academic geography with Indigenous activism and community engagement across North America.

His educational credentials include:

• Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Kansas
• M.A. in Anthropology from the University of Kansas
• B.A. in Anthropology & English from Illinois State University

Dr. Larsen's research centers on cultural and Indigenous geography, specifically investigating how place shapes identity, power dynamics, and resistance. He employs ethnographic and Indigenous methodologies through long-term collaboration with communities like the Cheslatta Carrier Nation, focusing on rural resource-dependent regions in Canada and the U.S. West. His scholarship challenges Western geographic paradigms by centering Indigenous philosophies and more-than-human relationalities.

Analysis of his 15 most recent publications reveals three dominant trajectories: (1) Decolonial methodologies using art and collaborative practices with Indigenous communities, (2) Theoretical advances in place agency and more-than-human geographies, and (3) Pedagogical innovations applying games and spatial tools in geography education. These threads converge in his examination of how place-based knowledge sustains cultural resilience.

Dr. Larsen actively mentors geography students through courses like 'Regions and Nations of the World', 'Introduction to the Humanized Landscape', and the Honors seminar 'Learning from Place', which emphasizes direct field engagement. His advising philosophy integrates classroom learning with community-based research opportunities.

His primary research team operates through sustained partnerships with Indigenous nations, particularly the Cheslatta Carrier Nation in British Columbia, where collaborative fieldwork examines land stewardship and cultural continuity beyond academic institutional frameworks.