Northland College Faculty
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Brian Tochterman
Title: Assistant Professor of Sustainable Community Development
Office Location: Wheeler 317
Phone: 715-682-1233
Email: btochterman@northland.edu
Education
- Ph.D. Modern U.S. History, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
- M.S. Urban Planning, Columbia University
- B.S. Sociology and Film Studies, University of Wisconsin - Madison
Profile
One thing that contemporary theorists of community and economic
development agree on: place matters. That's why it is exciting to be
instructing courses in sustainable community development in a place as
unique as the Northland region. With a host of distinct assets and a
stock of common long-term challenges, Ashland, Washburn, Bayfield and
the Lake Superior watershed provide an exceptional laboratory for
students interested in community engagement, sustainable planning, and
ethical economic development. Organizing courses around the overarching
themes of "how places work" and "how could places work better," I
encourage students to think both boldly and pragmatically, balancing the
unfettered theoretical aspects of the classroom with applied experience
within the community.
As a first-year Assistant Professor of
Sustainable Community Development, I teach courses in sustainable
community development and planning, social responsibility and social
marketing, and a Superior Connections course on sustainable development
in the Lake Superior watershed. (I'm looking forward to my first Lake
Superior circumnavigation in May 2013). In the future I hope to offer
courses on planning and redevelopment theory, world and U.S. urban
history, utopian/dystopian representations of place, as well as more
applied sustainable community development studios.
Research
My main research interest lies in the history of American metropolitan
growth and decline since 1945. I am currently working on the manuscript
for my cultural/intellectual history of post-war New York City,
tentatively titled Welcome to Fear City: The Cultural Assault on New
York and How it Shaped Neoliberal Urbanism. As this project suggests,
I'm particularly fascinated by the relationship between cultural
narratives and the political economy of cities and metropolitan areas. I
also seek to highlight the utility of history in both understanding the
present conditions of cities and planning for the future. In that vein,
I recently published an article in the Radical History Review that
historicizes and critiques the popular redevelopment theory and practice
of Richard Florida.
I am a native Wisconsinite - born and raised in
Green Bay - and I have spent my adult life in large cities both near and
far. I'm happy to be back in my home state, and am excited to partake
in the indoor and outdoor delights of the Northland region with my
spouse Ana and dog Ursa.
Publications
- "Theorizing Neoliberal Urban Redevelopment: A Genealogy from Richard Florida to Jane Jacobs," Radical History Review, Winter 2012
- Co-Author, "Engaging with Public Engagement: Public History and Graduate Pedagogy," Radical History Review, Fall 2008
