DisplayBio.aspx

Dr. Wolfel is a cultural and political geographer with regional interests in Central Asia and Germany. His specific research interests focus on nationalism and the urban built environment, post-Soviet political development and the influence of nationalism on tourism. Dr. Wolfel has traveled to Korea in support of the Second Infantry Division’s REAL warrior program. He also serves as a consultant/advisor with the CJ-5 (Future Plans) and CJ-9(Civilian-Military Operations) of CJTF-1, First Cavalry Division, Regional Command East, Bagram, Afghanistan in support of Operation UNIFIED ENDEAVOR. In 2010, Dr. Wolfel traveled to Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo to conduct human terrain mapping for AFRICOM and Special Operations Command, Africa, in support of Operation OLYMPIC CHASE. He is the author of several books, journal articles, reviews and book chapters. Dr. Wolfel is course director for EV 371: Geography of Russia, EV 390B: Urban Geography and directs the Cross Cultural Competence Initiative for USMA as part of the Center for Languages, Cultures and Regional Studies (CLCRS).

Ph.D, Indiana University, Bloomington, 2001
M.A., University of Cincinnati, 1997
BSED, West Chester University of Pennsylvania, 1995, magna cum laude

Migration; specifically irrational migration decision-making, migration in transitional societies and GIS applications

Geography of the Former Soviet Union; specifically Uzbekistan, Russia, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan

Political Geography; specifically Problems and Theories of Nationalism and the Influence of Nationalism on the Urban Built Environment

Social Geography; specifically urban and rural poverty and alienation

European Geography; specifically Germany and issues of European integration.

Globalization; specifically political globalization, influences on identity and issues of resistance.

Intercultural Competence; specifically the use and assessment of cultural knowledge and capabilities in military operations.

Geographic Education; Specifically the assessment of study abroad programs to measure student learning and the assessment of intercultural competence across the curriculum.

Monographs:

Wolfel, Richard. (2001). Mobility in Transition: Migration in the Former Soviet Union during an Era of Political and Economic Transformations. Ann Arbor, MI: UMI.

Hummel, Laurel and Richard Wolfel eds. (2011). Understanding Pakistan Through Human and Environmental Systems. Carlisle, PA: Center for Strategic Leadership, US Army War College.

Refereed Articles:

Wolfel, Richard. (2012). “What’s Old is New Again: The Reintegration of Dresden’s Landscape into the Modern German State.” Forthcoming in Geographical Bulletin

.

Wolfel, Richard L. (2006). “Berlin as a Relic Border: The Role of the “Two” Berlins in German National Development” Western Humanities Review. Fall, 2006: 68-78.

Wolfel, Richard L. (2005) “Migration in the New World Order: Structuration Theory and its Contribution to Explanations of Migration.” Geography Online. 5:2.

Wolfel, Richard. (2004). “ Apples and Oranges? Rural and Urban Poverty in Southwestern Ohio.” Papers of the Applied Geography Conference. 27: 400-409.

Wolfel, Richard. (2002). “North to Astana: Nationalistic Motives for the Movement of the Kazakh(stani) Capital.” Nationalities Papers. 30(3).

Wolfel, Richard. (2001). “The Diffusion of Evangelical Abolitionism.” Pennsylvania Geographer. 39(1).

Wolfel, Richard. “Transition and the Beached Diaspora: Proximate and Structural Determinants of Migration Between Uzbekistan and Russia During the Early Transitional Era.” Forthcoming in Journal of Central Asian Studies

Research Publications:

Wolfel, Richard. L. (1999). “The Forced Migration of Exiles in Stalin’s Soviet Union.” Newsletter of the Russian, East European and Central Eurasian Specialty Group. 27(3).

Keimach, Alex, Charles Nadd and Richard Wolfel (2010). Project Ramani Report: Democratic Republic of Congo. US African Command Research Report.

Instructional Publications:

Wolfel, Richard. (2003) “Carpathian Mountains.” For Inclusion in The Modern Encyclopedia of Russian and Soviet History.

Reisinger, Mark E. and Richard L. Wolfel (2000). World Regional Geography: A Learning Guide. Bloomington, IN: School of Continuing Studies, Independent Study Program.

Monograph Chapters:

Conway, Dennis and Richard Wolfel (2006). “Geopolitical Globalization: From World Systems to Global City Systems.” in: Conway, Dennis and Nik Heynen eds. Globalization’s Many Dimensions: Destructive, Disciplinary and Contradictory. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield.

Wolfel, Richard. (2008). “Slicing into the Dobish Torte: The Many Layers of Tourism in Munich.” in: Knudsen, Daniel, ed. Landscape, Tourism, and Meaning. Ashgate Publishing Co.

Wolfel, Richard. (2009). “The Tyranny of the Map and Modern Instability: The Ramifications of Incongruent Political and Ethnic Boundaries on Modern Africa.” in: Hummel, Laurel and Amy Krakowka eds. Understanding Africa: A Geographical Approach. Carlisle, PA: Center for Strategic Leadership, US Army War College.

Wolfel, Richard. L. (2011). “Forging the New Pakistan: The Nationalistic and Geopolitical Movement of the Pakistani Capital to Islamabad.” in: Hummel, Laurel and Richard Wolfel eds. Understanding Pakistan Through Human and Environmental Systems. Carlisle, PA: Center for Strategic Leadership, US Army War College.

Wolfel, Richard. L. (2011). “Fast Facts.” in: Hummel, Laurel and Richard Wolfel eds. Understanding Pakistan Through Human and Environmental Systems. Carlisle, PA: Center for Strategic Leadership, US Army War College.

Book Review:

Wolfel, Richard. (2007). “Driving Germany: Book Review.” Geography Online. 7(1).

Wolfel, Richard. (2002). “Geography and Social Movements: Comparing Antinuclear Activism in the Boston Area: Book Review.” The Journal of Regional Science. 42(3).

Wolfel, Richard. “The Crimean Tatars: The Diaspora Experience and Forging of a Nation: A Book Review.” Journal of Central Asian Studies. Forthcoming.

Department of Geography & Environmental Engineering Display Biographical Details

Dr. Richard Wolfel