Judith Keller
Judith Keller studied Geography and English at the Heidelberg University, Germany, and Heidelberg University, Tiffin, Ohio, graduating with a double major in 2019. She has been a research associate in the Geographies of North America working group and at the Heidelberg Center for American Studies ever since. In 2019, Judith Keller participate at the Abigail Adams Summer Seminar at Harvard University and in the winter term 2021/22 she was a visiting research scholar at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. In 2022, she joined the Radical Housing Journal editorial collective.
Research Areas
Judith Keller applies a socio-geographic perspective to urban space, focusing on questions of social justice such as access to housing, education, health services, supermarkets, and urban infrastructure. She is interested in right to the city movements and their effect on urban politics. Her research focuses on US-American cities, broadening this perspective with a migration and mobilities approach to the Americas. Further, Judith Keller enjoys thinking about the representation of (urban) space in literature and film, a discipline called Geo-Humanities.
PhD Project
Judith Keller is a PhD student in the graduate program Authority and Trust in American Culture, Society, History, and Politics at the Heidelberg Center for American Studies (HCA), funded by the German Research Association (DFG). In her PhD project Judith Keller focuses on the importance of trust for urban development, especially with regards to home and housing in the city. In a rapidly changing urban environment, many cities are facing a housing crisis. Fearing for one’s home or losing it is thus part of the everyday reality of many urban residents who live on the flip side of urban redevelopment projects. It is argued that these processes cause trust relations to shift, affecting the home of individuals, entire neighborhoods, and urban society at large. In her dissertation, Judith Keller analyses various case studies situated in US-American cities.
Publications
- Keller, J. & Morlock, A. (2022): You Promised Me a City – - A conversation about assuming responsibilities. Radical Housing Journal 4 (2), pp. 193-202.
- Keller, J. (2022): Der Wiederaufbau von New Orleans. Wie nicht nur der Hurrikan Vertrauen zerstörte. Praxis Geographie 09/2022, pp. 56-57.
- Keller, J. (2022): How Brad Pitt’s green housing dream for Hurricane Katrina survivors turned into a nightmare. The Conversation (31.01.2022).
- Gerhard, U. & Keller, J. (2022): No place for trust - the significance of trust in housing development. Urban Geography.
- Schulz, P. & Keller, J. (2021): Jeder ist sich selbst der Nächste? Geographische Reflexionen zur Veränderung von Nachbarschaft und Zuhause in Zeiten der Corona-Krise. Berichte. Geographie und Landeskunde, 94 (4), pp. 300-316.
- Keller, J. & Abud Russell, H. (2021): “Many producers, many protectors!” — Geographical Reflections on Resilient Intercultural Economies in North-West Campeche, Mexico. In S. Garcia Ferrari, H. E. Offerdal, & M. A. Kania (Eds.): Why Latin America Matters. A Collection of Essays, pp. 100-117. Edinburgh: Center for Contemporary Latin American Studies.
- Keller, J. & Gerhard, U. (2021): Die ungleichen Staaten von Amerika. Reflexionen aus humangeographischer Perspektive. Praxis Geographie 10/2021, pp. 4-9.
- Keller, J. & Rever, L. (2021): Falling into the Crevice – COVID-19 Pandemic Puts Spotlight on Housing Disparities in the U.S. Capital. HCA Graduate Blog.
- Gerhard, U., Keller, J. & Werner, C. (2021): Trust and the City. Analyzing Trust from a Socio-Spatial Perspective. In G. Leypoldt & M. Berg (Eds.): Authority and Trust in US Culture and Society. Interdisciplinary Approaches and Perspectives, pp. 111-134. Bielefeld: transcript.
- Keller, J. (2021): Unsichtbare Frauen? - Annäherungen an einen Geographieunterricht aus feministischer Perspektive. In F. Durczok (Ed.): Feministische Pädagogik und Unterricht, pp. 111-124. Baltmannsweiler: Schneider Verlag.
- Keller, J. (2021): Das Andere verstehen lernen. Ästhetische Bildung im fremdsprachlichen Literaturunterricht. In F. Durczok (Ed.): Feministische Pädagogik und Unterricht, pp. 73-86. Baltmannsweiler: Schneider Verlag.
- Keller, J. (2021): Forschungsprojekt zur amerikanischen Wohnraumkrise – ein Fallbeispiel aus der Hauptstadt Washington, D.C.. In: A. Zipf, A. Growe, S. Schmidt & C. Klonner (Eds.): HGG-Journal, Vol. 34, pp. 105-107. Heidelberg: Heidelberger Geographische Gesellschaft.
- Gerhard, U. & Keller, J. (28.05.2020): The Land of (In) Equality– Wie Corona die Ungleichheiten in US-amerikanischen Städten verstärkt. Podcast Corona in den USA.
- Gerhard, U. & Keller, J. (2019): "My Home Is My Castle" - über die Rolle von Vertrauen im Wohnungsbau. Ein Blick auf US-amerikanische Städte. Forum Wohnen und Stadtentwicklung, 6, pp. 300-304.
- Keller, J. (2019): The Spatiality of Trust – Redeveloping New Orleans’s Lower 9th Ward after Hurricane Katrina. In: A. Zipf, A. Growe, S. Schmidt & C. Klonner (Eds.): HGG-Journal, Vol. 33, pp. 206-212. Heidelberg: Heidelberger Geographische Gesellschaft.
Talks
- Keller, J. (2023): What would a just city look like? – Notes on critical urban studies. Stockholm University, 06.02.2023.
- Keller, J. (2022): "Living this struggle and fighting this fight” – Using testimonies in geographical research on the US housing crisis. Conference ‘Here, There, and Somewhere in Between: Placing, Practicing, Configuring.’ Eichstätt, 10.11.2022.
- Keller, J. (2022): Non-Profit Housing Development in New Orleans: The Case of Make It Right. Mississippi State University, Starkville, 10.10.2022.
- Keller, J. (2021): A Comparative Perspective on the Global Housing Crisis. American University, Washington, D.C., 17.11.2021.
- Munoz, S., Gerhard, U., Keller, J., Rever, L., & Werner, C. (2021): Panel Discussion: Race, Ethnicity, and Place as an International Vision: Researching Trust and Authority in U.S. Cities. Race, Ethnicity, and Place Conference, Baltimore, 22.10.2021.
- Keller, J. (2021): Housing Challenges and Some Ways Forward. The Case of Germany. World Regions Seminar, University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, 07.10.2021.
- Keller, J. (2021): We Not Moving! Urban Social Movements and the Fight for a Place to Call Home. 14th International Graduate Conference, JFK Institute Berlin, 02.07.2021.
- Keller, J. (2021): No Right to Stay Put? Forced Mobility and the Fight for a Home in Washington, DC. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Amerikastudien, Heidelberg, 19.06.2021.
- Keller, J. (2021): Urbane Räume des Vertrauens. Ein Blick auf aktuelle Entwicklungen in Washington, DC. Auftaktkonferenz des Forschungsinstituts Gesellschaftlicher Zusammenhalt, Hannover, 09.03.2021.
- Gerhard, U. & Keller, J. (2020): Renaissance oder Krise? Überlegungen zur aktuellen Situation und Zukunft der US-amerikanischen Stadt. Ruperto Carola Ringvorlesung, Heidelberg, 14.12.2020.
- Gerhard, U. & Keller, J. (2020): No Place for Trust: Housing as the New Urban Frontier in Global City Washington, D.C. Global City Seminar, York University, Toronto, 20.11.2020.
- Keller, J. (2019): The Urban Dimension of Trust: A Conceptual and Empirical Perspective. Deutscher Kongress für Geographie, Kiel, 27.09.2019.
Teaching
Winter semester 2022/2023:- Literature class: Critical Geographies
- Bachelor American Studies: Introduction to Geography, Tutorial
- Advanced Seminar: Geographies of Home
- Bachelor American Studies: Introduction to Geography, Tutorial
- Proseminar Regional Geography: The American South
- Bachelor American Studies: Introduction to Geography, Tutorial
- Exkursion and Seminar: From DC to NO - Tracing Urban Geographies in Post-Racial America (in Englischer Sprache; in Kooperation mit Ulrike Gerhard und Wilfried Mausbach, HCA)
- Bachelor American Studies: Introduction to Geography, Tutorial
- Seminar: Die soziale Stadt - Eine Utopie?
- Proseminar Regional Geography: The American South
- Research seminar: "My Home Is My Castle" - Über die Rolle von Autorität und Vertrauen in aktuellen Prozessen der Stadtentwicklung (in Kooperation mit Ulrike Gerhard)
- Bachelor American Studies: Introduction to Geography, Tutorial
