Assistant Professor of Geography
Assistant Chair, School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Education
- Ph.D. Geography; University of Tennessee – Knoxville
- M.S. Geography; Ohio University
- B.A. Geography/Biology; University of Mary Washington
Courses Taught
- 32-102 People and Culture of the World
- 32-212 Global Sustainability
- 32-340 American Landscapes
- 32-412 Environmental Justice
- 32-522 Cities & Urban Design
Academic Interest
I am a broadly trained geographer with interests in a wide range of fields, though most of my research is focused on the intersection of critical studies, tourism, and sustainability. A major line of my research explores landscapes and mobility networks of the Green Book, a Jim Crow-era travel guide developed and used by black travelers. I am particularly interested in “tourist homes,” private homes and apartments rented to travelers, that were listed within the Green Book, as these spaces represented a very personal form of resistant hospitality to the pervasive injustices of institutional white supremacy.
Outside of the Green Book, I am interested in other aspects of critical tourism and memory, with recent research investigating spaces of dark tourism associated with the RMS Titanic. I also conduct research on topics that I personally find fascinating, such as minor league baseball mascots and interstate visitor centers (because geography is everywhere!).
Scholarly Activity
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
- Alderman, D. H., Bottone, E., Butefish, K. Kenna, J.L and Stack, K. (2024). "NEH Institute on Black Geographies of Mobility: Toward New Frameworks for Teaching Movement." The Geography Teacher 21 (1: Black Geographies of Mobility): 21-24.
- Alderman, D.H. and Bottone, E. (2024). “On Doing Justice to Black Mobility and Movement in the Classroom.” The Geography Teacher 21 (1: Black Geographies of Mobility): 25-32.
- Bottone, E. (2023). “’Your Home – Away From Home’: Tourist Homes and Hospitality as Resistance.” Tourism Geographies 25 (4): 1004-1025.
- Bottone, E. (2022). “’Your Home – Away From Home’: Tourist Homes and Hospitality as Resistance.” Tourism Geographies: 1-22.
- Alderman, D.H., K. Williams, and E. Bottone. (2022). “Jim Crow Journey Stories: African American Driving as Emotional Labor.” Tourism Geographies 24 (2-3: Attuning to Affect and Emotion in Tourism Studies): 198-222.
- Alderman, D.H., J.F.J. Inwood, and E. Bottone. (2021). “The Mapping Behind the Movement: On Recovering the Critical Cartographies of the African American Freedom Struggle.” Geoforum 120: 67-78.
- Benjamin, S., E. Bottone, and M. Lee. (2021). “Beyond Accessibility: Exploring the Representation of People with Disabilities in Tourism Promotional Materials.” Journal of Sustainable Tourism 29 (2-3: Special Issue on Justice and Tourism): 295-313.
- Bottone, E. and T. Anderson. (2017). “National Discourses Materialized: Early Settlement and Land Tenure in Perry County, Ohio, 1801-1842.” Historical Geography 45: 152-171.
Book Chapters
- Bottone, E., Alderman, D.H., Benjamin, S., and Frankel, S. (2025). “Atmospheric Instability in Dark Tourism: Spatial Construction of Conflicting Affective Atmospheres at the Titanic Museum & Attraction, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee (USA).” Critical Theories in Dark Tourism: Issues, Complexities and Future Directions, edited by N. Sharma, A. Martini, and D.J. Timothy. De Gruyter: 33-51.
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Bottone, E. (2020). “’Please Mention the Green Book:’ The Negro Motorist Green Book as Critical GIS.” In Historical Geography, GIScience, and Textual Analysis: Landscapes of Time and Place, eds. C. Travis, F. Ludlow, and F. Gyuris. Springer, 51-64.
- Bottone, E., D.H. Alderman, and J. Inwood. (2018). “The ‘Unmarked and Unremarked’ Memories of the National Mall: Resurrection City and the Unreconciled History of the Civil Rights Movement as Radical Place-Making.” In Rhetorics Haunting the National Mall: Displaced and Ephemeral Public Memories, ed. R. Aden. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 71-92.
Book Reviews
- Bottone, E. (2021). “Moving Violations: Automobiles, Experts, and Regulations in the United States, by Lee Vinsel.” Material Culture 53 (1): 111-113.
- Bottone, E. (2019). “Constructing the Dynamo of Dixie: Race, Urban Planning, and Cosmopolitanism in Chattanooga, Tennessee, by Courtney Elizabeth Knapp.” Southeastern Geographer 59 (4): 424-427.
- Bottone, E. (2019). “Hawai’i’s Scenic Roads: Paving the Way for Tourism in the Islands, by Dawn E. Duensing.” Material Culture 51 (1): 57-59.
- Bottone, E. (2019). “Pasadena Before the Roses: Race, Identity, and Land Use in Southern California, 1771-1890, by Yvette J. Saavedra.” Historical Geography 47: 257-259.
Recent Conference Presentations
- Bottone, E. “Chicken Tenders, Sauerkraut Balls, & Whoopie Pies: Regional Food Identities in Minor League Baseball.” Paper. International Society for Landscape, Place, and Material Culture Annual Meeting, Manchester, NH, October 2024.
- Bottone, E., Alderman, D., Benjamin, S., and Frankel, S. “Atmospheric Instability in Dark Tourism: Spatial Construction of Conflicting Affective Atmospheres at the Titanic Museum Attraction.” Paper. Southeastern Division of the American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting, Norfolk, VA, November 2023.
- Bottone, E. and Ford, E. “’Welcome to [Blank]:’ State Welcome Centers and the Promotion of Place.” Paper. International Society for Landscape, Place, and Material Culture Annual Meeting, Columbia, MO, October 2023.
- Bottone, E. “The ‘Unmarked and Unremarked’ Memories of the National Mall: Resurrection City and the Unreconciled History of the Civil Rights Movement as Radical Place-Making.” Paper. National Council on Public History Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA, April 2023.
- Bottone, E. “(De)Constructing Ivy Green: Geographies of Disability & Tourism at Helen Keller’s Birthplace.” Paper. Southeastern Division of the American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA, November 2022.
- Bottone, E., Alderman, D.H., & Benjamin, S. “’An Unstable Atmosphere:’ The Spatial Construction of Conflicting Atmospheres at the Titanic Museum & Attraction.” Paper. International Society for Landscape, Place, and Material Culture Annual Meeting, Atlantic City, NJ, October 2022.
- Bottone, E. “Settler Colonialism and Counter-Memory along Missouri’s Potawatomi Trail of Death.” Paper. Southeastern Division of the American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting, Florence, AL, November 2021.
- Bottone, E. “’Your Home – Away From Home:’ Tourist Homes and Examples of Hospitality as Resistance from the Green Book.” Paper. Vernacular Architecture Forum Annual Meeting, Virtual, May 2021.
- Bottone, E. “Reading the Green Book: The Intersection of Black Geographies and Critical GIS.” Paper. Southeastern Division of the American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting, Wilmington, NC, November 2019.
- Bottone, E. “The Green Book and Black Chattanooga: Reconstructing Urban Communities of Color through Repeat Photography.” Paper. International Society for Landscape, Place, and Material Culture Annual Meeting, Detroit, MI, October 2019.
Other Professional Experiences
- Editor, Material Culture (publication of the International Society for Landscape, Place, and Material Culture)
- Research Fellow, Tourism RESET (Race, Ethnicity, and Social Equity in Tourism)
- Member, Board of Directors, International Society for Landscape, Place, and Material Culture (2019-2022 term)
- Co-Director, NEH Summer Teacher Institute: The Role of Geographic Mobility in the African American Freedom Struggle, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, July 3rd – 22nd 2022