Maxim Samson

Dr. Samson's research operates at the nexus between geography, religious studies and education. In particular, he is interested in the construction and contestation of religious identities across a range of spaces—from religious schools to city streets—and the implications of these dynamics for citizenship and belonging. Dr. Samson also acts as the Chair of the Geography of Religion and Belief Systems (GORABS) international specialty research group, linked to the American Association of Geographers (AAG).

Education

• PhD, University of Leeds
• MSc, King’s College London
• BA, Durham University

*Courses Offered: *

• GEO 103 Urbanization
• GEO 204 Religious Geography
• HON 110 Discover Chicago: Industrial Metropolis to Global City
• LSP 112 Globalization

Selected Publications:

Samson, M.G.M. (2022). Accommodating King Saul: Jewish pupils and mental health. In Mahmud, A., & Satchell, L. (Eds.), Mental wellbeing in schools: What teachers need to know to support pupils from diverse backgrounds (pp. 151–164). Routledge.

Samson, M.G.M., & Leichty, J.G. (2021). Images of the urban religious landscape: Gen Z seek out the sacred in the city. Journal of Cultural Geography, 39(2), 225–250. doi:10.1080/08873631.2021.1968623

Samson, M.G.M., & Warganegara, A. (2021). A post-tsunami sea change? Towards post-secular disaster response in Indonesia. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 61, 102371. doi:10.1016/j.ijdrr.2021.102371

Samson, M.G.M. (2021). White noise and unnecessary evil: Balancing security and community in synagogues. Contemporary Jewry, 41, 437–459. doi:10.1007/s12397-021-09371-5

Samson, M.G.M. (2020). Protecting religious liberties? Security concerns at places of worship in Chicago. Geoforum, 117, 144–153. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2020.09.015

Warganegara, A., & Samson, M.G.M. (2020). Collaboration and disaster: Critical responses after tsunami events in Indonesia. Environmental Hazards, 20(4), 345–362. doi:10.1080/17477891.2020.1813680

Samson, M.G.M. (2020). Jewish schools rather than Jewish education? School choice and community dynamics in multicultural society. Social & Cultural Geography, 21(2), 222–244. doi:10.1080/14649365.2018.1480057

Samson, M.G.M. (2019). Spectacles against the swastika: Informal education through Meyer Weisgal's 1930s theatrical productions. GeoHumanities, 6(1), 89–105. doi:10.1080/2373566X.2019.1689151

Samson, M.G.M. (2019). 'Marching at the speed of the slowest man': The facilitation and regulation of student autonomy in a pluralist Jewish day school. Journal of Jewish Education, 85(3), 268–292. doi:10.1080/15244113.2019.1639116

Samson, M.G.M. (2019). Off-white, on-stage: Jewish self-representation at Chicago's 1933–1934 world's fair. Journal of Historical Geography, 65, 9–18. doi:10.1016/j.jhg.2019.04.001

Samson, M.G.M. (2019). Krav maga and chicken soup: Symbolic Jewish identities within and beyond the Jewish school. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 40(6), 742–758. doi:10.1080/01425692.2019.1583550

Samson, M.G.M. (2019). Jewish schools and the challenges of denominationalism in England. Contemporary Jewry, 39(2), 245–271. doi:10.1007/s12397-019-09279-1

Samson, M.G.M. (2018). Competition or cooperation? Jewish day schools, synagogues, and the (re)construction of young people's Jewish identities in England. Children's Geographies, 16(3), 225–238. doi:10.1080/14733285.2018.1425373

Samson, M.G.M., Vanderbeck, R.M., & Wood, N. (2018). Fixity and flux: A critique of competing approaches to researching contemporary Jewish identities. Social Compass, 65(1), 97–113. doi:10.1177/0037768617747505