Faculty Spotlight
Degrees and Experience
- Ph.D. in Historical Geography (University of Glasgow)
- Ed.D. in Adult Education (University of Arkansas)
- M.S. in Geosciences (Western Kentucky University)
- B.S. in Social Sciences (Tennessee Tech University)
Biography and Professional Achievements
A prolific writer, Dr. Barry Vann has published on a wide range of geographic topics. He is most noted for his work in environmental perceptions and religious geography, in particular themes in which religious beliefs are associated with forming environmental perceptions and politicized regions such as Northern Ireland and the American Bible Belt.
His book Puritan Islam: The Geoexpansion of the Muslim World was chosen as a Top 25 Outstanding Academic Title for 2012 by Choice, a division of the American Library Association (ALA).[3] A review in the April 2012 issue of Choice referred to Puritan Islam as “perhaps the best geographical text produced on this subject since 2000” and of “utmost significance in finally taking the topic away from the emotional to where it needs to be — rational and explanatory discussion.” On her show Spirited Debate, Lauren Green of Fox News called Puritan Islam a “fascinating book.”
Publications:
Professor Vann’s other important academic works include Rediscovering the South's Celtic Heritage; In Search of Ulster-Scots Land: The Birth and Geotheological Imaginings of a Transatlantic People; Geography Toward History: Studies in the Mediterranean Basin and Mesopotamia (with Ellsworth Huntington); The Forces of Nature: Our Quest to Conquer the Planet and Presbyterian Social Ties and Mobility in the Irish Sea Culture Area, 1610–1690. View Dr. Vann's Wikipedia page.