Text graphic reading 'critical theories of place studies' with colorful geometric design at the bottom.
Cover of a book titled 'Critical Theories of Place Studies' by Matthew Wilson, PhD, with colorful geometric patterns and a QR code at the bottom.
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Text that reads 'critical theories of place studies is ... an interdisciplinary form of inquiry' with a colorful underline beneath 'place studies'.
A quote about recognizing historical figures and their cultural significance, with words like 'that seeks', 'recentre', 'recognize', 'interpret', and 'define' highlighted in blue.
Quote about employing methodologies rooted in appreciation of people, land, and culture, with a white background and stylized black text.
Quote about place-based reparatory history, theories of place studies, and dominant narratives of colonial and modern gender systems with colorful decorative element under the word 'place.'
A quotation in stylized text that reads: It is a way of co-creating (counter)stories framed by critical theories & practices.
A colorful infographic with the title 'areas of inquiry', listing research topics such as 'people [ideas], land [milieu], culture [media]' and various study areas including Africana studies, contemplative inquiry, decennial studies, people's stories,
Diagram showing the intersectional stories of people, land, and culture, connecting ideas such as Africana race & ethnic relations studies, built environment & design studies, contemplative inquiry, critical theory, decolonial studies, people's stori

critical theories of place studies

This website is home to a public history and digital humanities project that employs the method of counter-storytelling called critical theories of place studies.

As a collection of reparatory histories, it connects personal spaces of activism to heritage conservation focused on human liberation. It draws on the intersections of virtue ethics, decolonial studies, and women’s, gender, Africana, race and ethic relations, and indigenous studies.

Our current work includes the digital humanities project:

World map with colored portraits of women from diverse countries on the right, titled "womanism, positivism, and the origins of decolonial feminism: critical theories of place studies."

Womanism, positivism, and the origins of decolonial feminism 

is an exploration of the place-based philosophies of women and non-binary individuals of the long nineteenth century. It situates them within the storied places where they courageously challenged the colonial/ modern gender system, or the oppressive structures of Eurocentric global capitalism that for five-hundred years destroyed communities, their cosmologies, and the planet.



Each counterstory relays how protagonists created anti-positivist spaces across various knowledge-areas in ways that may inform place-based virtue ethics. 

This project examines the ways in which counterstories prompt us to contemplate virtue ethics in teaching design history, theory, and heritage conservation, and how they may inform the creation of safe settlement patterns rooted in design justice.

The evolving design-research project includes a travelling installation, a zine collection, teaching materials, a collection of storymaps, a full-length monograph, and more. 

A digital map of Africa showing historical figures' locations, including Siti binti Saad in Unguja, Tanzania, and other figures across the continent, with labels and brief descriptions.

google Earth Database

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Let’s work together

A woman's face in black and white in the foreground with a yellow-tinted background showing a building with barred windows and graffiti, and electrical wires.
Black and white photo of a woman with a large, curly hairstyle, standing in front of a building under construction with scaffolding.
Black and white portrait of a woman wearing a head wrap, jewelry, and traditional clothing, set against a pink background with illustrated trees and figures.
Black and white portrait of a smiling African man with short hair, wearing traditional jewelry, in front of a green-tinted background with trees and a staircase.