Jed DeBruin

Assistant Professor of Geography
Office: 211 Martin Hall
256-782-8403
jdebruin@jsu.edu  

Originally from Athens County in southeastern Appalachian Ohio, Dr. Jed DeBruin (he/him) is an Assistant Professor of Geography in the Department of Chemistry and Geosciences at Jacksonville State University in northeastern Appalachian Alabama.

Dr. DeBruin has experience teaching many courses, including Introduction to Appalachian Studies, Global Inequalities, and Global Dynamics of Health & Disease. He has also instructed in-person, online, and hybrid courses. Dr. DeBruin aims to have an active classroom where regular writing and discussions occur throughout the course.

Regarding his research, Dr. DeBruin works thematically within Black geographies, food and agricultural geographies, and Appalachian Studies. His work focuses on archiving practices with Black agricultural history and oral histories with present-day Black farmers in Appalachia. He has worked closely with the University of Kentucky’s Committee on Social Theory, as well as UK’s Appalachian Center and Appalachian Studies Program, and these experiences also influence his research practices and community engagement.

Jed DeBruin

Courses Taught

  • GY 120 – World Regional Geography
  • GY 220 – Human Geography
  • GY 250 – Physical Geography I: Atmospheric Patterns & Processes

Education

  • Ph.D., Geography (University of Kentucky, 2024)
  • Graduate Certificate, Social Theory (University of Kentucky, 2021)
  • M.A., Geography (West Virginia University, 2019)
  • B.A., Geography (Ohio State University, 2017)

Other Responsibilities

  • Archivist, Historian, and Special Collections Chair, Appalachian Studies Association

Academic & Research Interests

Dr. DeBruin's research interests include food justice, Black geographies, political economy (especially Marxian economics), Appalachia, critical social theory, and political ecologies. More specifically, Dr. DeBruin's research focuses on integrating archival methods on Black farming history with oral histories with present-day Black farmers in Appalachian Kentucky and Appalachia broadly. His archival work focuses on the development of the Black cooperative agricultural extension service in Kentucky and the Appalachian Regional Commission as a decades-long State-led rural redevelopment project. His oral history work with present-day Black farmers details how Black farming has changed over time in this region, as well as the struggles and successes that Black farmers operating today experience in Appalachian Kentucky.

Publications and Presentations

  • DeBruin, J. (2024). “In Their Own Words: Black Farmers in Appalachian Kentucky in the 21st Century.” Callaloo, 42(2), 63-84. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/cal.2024.a939151.
  • DeBruin, J. (under revision). “Examining the Dual Purpose of Black Agricultural Extension through Appalachian Kentucky Archives.” Environment and Planning D: Society and Space.
  • DeBruin, J. (under revision). 'A Better Way to Live, A Better Way to Cultivate': Henry Allen Laine and the Development of the Black Agricultural Extension Service in Kentucky. The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society.
  • DeBruin, J. (2024). Review of 'Disturbing Development in the Jim Crow South' by Mona Domosh. The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, 122(1), 138-141. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/khs.2024.a929836
  • Craig, B., Swab, J., & DeBruin, J. (2024). Bowling for Better: Reforming World Geography Bowl to Create a More Inclusive Geography. The Professional Geographer, 76(3), 367–374. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00330124.2023.2291377.