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Stefano E Bloch

bloch@umn.edu

612-625-6080

Curriculum Vitae

Department Affiliations

Narrative

I focus my research on murals and graffiti, spatial theory, neighborhood change, and visual culture in addition to having broader interests in cultural geography and cultural theory. While ethnographic research and writing are my primary reasons for entering a Ph.D program at Minnesota, I am equally dedicated to teaching and all aspects of classroom pedagogy.

Dissertation: "Writing on the Walls: the social and aesthetic history of the Sunset Boulevard retainer walls in Los Angeles, 1940-2010"

Dissertation committee members: Prof. Roger Miller, Prof. Karen Till (Virginia Tech, Urban Affairs and Planning), Prof. George Henderson, Prof. Brenda Kayzar, and Prof. Edward W. Soja (UCLA, Urban Planning).

See Curriculum Vitae link above for additional information. Feel free to contact me via e-mail with any questions, for outreach opportunities, with research inquiries, etc. (Office Location: Social Sciences Tower 478)

Specialties

Graffiti, Murals, Urban Aesthetics, and Visual Culture
Film Industry (props/set dressing/set decorating)
Urban Restructuring
Cultural Theory
Spatial Theory
Los Angeles

Educational Background

Ph.D.: Geography, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, current.
M.A.: Urban Planning, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), 2005.
B.A.: Literature (honors), University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC), 2001.
Foreign Study: Literature, Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest, Hungary, 2000.
A.A.: Liberal Arts and Sciences, Los Angeles Valley College, 1998.

Publications

Bloch, Stefano Emanuel (2009). Book Review: "The Los Angeles Plaza: Sacred and Contested Space." by William David Estrada.. The Journal of Cultural Geography, 26/3
Bloch, Stefano Emanuel, Edited by Barney Warf. (forthcoming). Spaces of Representation / Representational Space. The Encyclopedia of Geography.
Bloch, Stefano Emanuel (2008). The Police and Protests. Star Tribune, XXVII, A13. Link
(2008). The History of Los Angeles Graffiti Art (volume II, 1989-1994). Alva & Reiling Publications. Link
Bloch, Stefano Emanuel (2007). Appropriate Action and Appropriate Time. The Minnesota Daily, Link
Bloch, Stefano Emanuel (2005). Civic Spots: graffiti and the production of space. Adbusters, 4, 25-26.

Research Activities

Graffiti, murals, and neighborhood change: current
Props, set dressing, and the division of labor in the film industry. Funding - CLA and departmental research grant - $5000): Summer 2007 - present
Public Arts and Culture Programs - research in 16 U.S. cities: Research Assistant - Professor Brenda Kayzar, September 2008 - January 2009

Creative Activities

Documentary Film Advisor: "Vigilante Vigilante" (Dir. Max Good, Prod. Nate Wollman), forthcoming
Bomb It (Documentary, Dir. by Jon Reiss): Interviewed about Los Angeles graffiti and global graffiti art movement, 2007

Professional Activities

Association of American Geographers conference, Washington D.C.: Paper Presentation: "Writing on the Walls: key moments in the social and aesthetic history of the Sunset retainer walls, 1940-2010." Session: "Re-painting Urban Space" , March 2010
Association of American Geographers conference, Las Vegas, NV: "'Fight Club' and the Poltiical Economy of Props." Session: Geographies of Media , March 2009
APCG conference paper presentation (w/ George Henderson), Fairbanks, Alaska: “‘Fight Club’ and the Political Economy of Property” , 10 October 2008
AAG conference paper presentation, Boston, MA: “Strange Bedfellows in the Aestheticization of Space: graffiti writers, business owners, and public policy makers." Session: Experiencing Aesthetics I 15 April 2008
Coffee Hour - speaker series presented by the UM Dept. of Geog. Minneapolis, MN.: "Setting the Scene: negotiating, improvising, and performing the division-of-labor within the motion picture industry's set dressers union" , September 2007
AAG conference paper presentation, San Francisco , CA.: "The "prop" industry: locations and collections of a film industry service provider" Session: New Economic Geographies , April 2007
Interdisciplinarity and Social Justice conference paper presentation and talk, Pitzer College, CA.: "Marking Space: graffiti writers and the production of place" , February 2005
Member: American Planning Association
Member: Association of American Geographers
Member: Association of Pacific Coast Geographers

Outreach Activities

Walker Art Center: Presenter of "Bomb IT!" and host of global graffiti documentary series, 16 October - 11 December 2008
College recruitment and outreach: College and high school advising, current.
Graduate School Academic Grievance Committee: committee member, April 2008 - December 2009
Graduate Student Representative: Geography Department, Dec. 2006 - May 2007
Experimental College (EXCO) Course: Facilitator - Global Graffiti Documentary Series, 2008 - 2009

Awards

Outstanding Service as a Teaching Assistant Award, University of Minnesota, 2009
Graduate Research Partnership Program (GRPP) with Professor George Henderson: 2007

Courses Taught

Population in an Interacting World - GEOG 3381W / GLOS 3701W (Instructor, Fall 2009)
The Geography of Global Cities - GEOG 1372 (Instructor, Sm. 2009)
Biogeography - GEOG 1403 (TA, Spring 2009)
The City in Film - GEOG 3374W (TA, Spring 2008)
Geographical Perspectives on Urban Planning - GEOG 3605 (TA, Fall 2007)
Our Globalizing World - GEOG 1301 (TA, Spring 2007)
Intro. to Human Geography - GEOG 1301 (TA, Fall 2006)
Cultural Elements of Geography - GEOG 2 (LAVC, Instructor, 2005)
Self & Society - Stevenson Core (UC Santa Cruz, Junior Fellow, 2001)