Contact info:

235 Shideler Hall
Tel: (513) 529-4049
Fax: (513) 529-1948
Email: klakt@muohio.edu

Dr. Thomas Klak

I have had the good fortune to engage in first-hand study of the geography of many world regions and countries since the 1970s. I have done empirical research and traveled throughout Latin America and the Caribbean for more than two decades. I completed a two-year residency in Europe at Miami's Luxembourg campus 1998-2000. I have traveled through Asia on three separate occasions. I currently focus on understanding the constraints on and possibilities for local and regional sustainability. I work to help build more sustainable communities both in Ohio and in the Eastern Caribbean (see web page). I teach a 12 day course on sustainable development in the Eastern Caribbean over Spring break. These experiences have provided me with a direct encounter with many cultures, landscapes, and human conditions. For me, geography is a scholarly activity but more importantly a life changing personal experience. If any of this resonates with you, let’s talk!

Education:
B.A. 1979, Augustana College
M.S. 1982, Ph.D. 1987, University of Wisconsin

Teaching Responsibilities
- Global Forces, Local Diversity - Sustainable Regions - Latin American Development - The Caribbean in Global Context - Development & Underdevelopment - Sustainable Development and Ecotourism in the Eastern Caribbean

Selected Publications

• 2009. Thomas Klak, "Development Policy Drift in Central America and the Caribbean" in "Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography" Vol. 30, pp. 12-17
• 2008. Thomas Klak and Ross Flynn, "Ecotourism-based Sustainable Development: General Principles and Eastern Caribbean Case Study" in Placing Latin America, Ed Jackiewicz and Fernando Bosco (editors). Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield.
• 2008. Thomas Klak, "Neoliberal Exports and Regional Vulnerability: Overview and Critical Assessment" in Placing Latin America, Ed Jackiewicz and Fernando Bosco (editors). Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield.
• 2008. Thomas Klak, "World Systems Theory: Cores, Peripheries and Semi-Peripheries" chapter in: The Arnold Companion to Development Studies (2nd edition). Edited by Vandana Desai and Robert Potter. London: Edward Arnold Publishers.
• 2007. Thomas Klak "Sustainable ecotourism development in Central America and the Caribbean: Review of debates and conceptual reformulation" Geography Compass, 1/5 September, pp. 1037-1057.
• 2005. Paul Kingsbury & Thomas Klak, "Riddims of the Street, Beach, and Bureaucracy: Situating Geographical Research in Jamaica" Southeastern Geographer, 45(2):pp. 87-109.
• 2005. Thomas Klak and Paul Kingsbury, "Reply: Dialogue on Methodologies for Caribbean Geographic Research" Southeastern Geographer, 45(2):pp. 124-129.
• 2004. Emilio Pantojas-Garcia & Thomas Klak, "Globalization and Economic Vulnerability: The Caribbean and the Post-"9/11 Shift"" in Ivelaw Griffith (ed) Caribbean Security in the Age of Terror: Challenge and Change. Kingston, Jamaica: Ian Randle Publishers, pp. 176-198.
• 2004. Robert Potter, David Barker, Dennis Conway and Thomas Klak, The Contemporary Caribbean. Essex, UK: Prentice Hall & Pearson.
• 2004. Thomas Klak, "Globalization, Neoliberalism and Economic Change in Central America and the Caribbean," updated and revised chapter 4 in: Latin America Transformed: Globalization and Modernity (2nd Edition). London: Edward Arnold Publishers and NY: Oxford University Press, pp. 67-92.
• 2004. Thomas Klak, "Geographies of Power in the Post-Cold War World-System" in D. Janelle, B. Warf, and K. Hansen (eds), WorldMinds: Geographical Perspectives on 100 Problems. Kluwer Academic PUblishers: Dordrecht, The Netherlands, pp. 9-14.
• 2004. Thomas Klak, "Report on Recent Research Themes in Latin American Development Geography" in the Journal of Latin American Geography, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 103-107.
• 2004. Thomas Klak, "Geography: Middle America: Non-Hispanic Caribbean" in Lawrence Boudon (ed) Handbook of Latin American Studies (HLAS), Vol. 61. Washington, DC: the Library of Congress.
• 2003. "The Historical Landscapes of the Miami" article in "aatotankiki myaamiaki" the quarterly newspaper of the Miami Nation, Vol. 6, No. 3, pp. 2-3. Also published in The Myaamia Project Messenger, Vol. 2 (Fall), pp. 4-5.
• 2003. Robert Gwynne, Thomas Klak and Denis Shaw, Alternative Capitalisms: Geographies of "Emerging Regions." London: Edward Arnold Publishers, and New York: Oxford University Press.
• 2003. Thomas Klak and Patricia Martin, "Do University-Sponsored International Cultural Events Help Students to Appreciate "Difference"? International Journal of Intercultural Relations, Vol. 27, No. 4, pp. 445-465.
• 2002. Thomas Klak, "World Systems Theory: Centres, Peripheries and Semi-Peripheries," chapter in: The Arnold Companion to Development Studies. Edited by Robert Potter and Vandana Desai. London: Edward Arnold PUblishers, pp. 107-112.
• 2002. Thomas Klak and Edward Jackiewicz, "What has happned to Social Development Policy in the ERa of Neoliberal Globalization and Emerging Markets?: A Look at Latin America in Global Context" Revista de Ciencia Politica Vol 22, No. 1, pp. 112-129.
• 2002. Thomas Klak, "How Much Does the Caribbean Gain From Offshore Services?" in Mark Blacklock (ed) The Association of Caribbean States (ACS) Yearbook (5th edition). ACS and International Systems and Communications Limited: Port of Spain and London.