I am a passionate cultural geographer, using my expertise in ethnography and semiotics to explore cultures. How brands live in cultures, how people consume them, and how their consumption alters cultures fascinates me. I’m also interested in the people who create branded messages and why so few of them are women, when women make the lion’s share of consumption decisions across the globe.
Through Grow Cultural Geography I consult, specializing in ethnographic and semiotic explorations contextualizing brands within a sense of place. In 2010 I co-authored Advertising Creative: Strategy, Copy and Design and have numerous academic publications. In rare quiet moments I relish spinning what I’ve learned into short fiction.
I make my home, during spring and fall, at Marquette University in Milwaukee Wisconsin. In the summer, I travel the globe. At Marquette, I am an Associate Professor of Advertising and Director of the University Fine Arts Minor. The best part of my work at Marquette is teaching. In summer 2010 I launched a global brand tracking class in London and Prague, and in 2007 I received the Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence.
I earned my Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and my M.F.A. from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Prior to joining the academy and pursing a life as a cultural geographer, I was an advertising artists’ representative. My clients included: Coca Cola, DDB, Draftfcb, Kellogg’s, and Leo Burnett.
If you’d like to know more about me or my work just shoot me an email at grow.cultural.geo@gmail.com.
Jean
