Dr. Margaret M. “Peggy” Gripshover
See also: Personal Website
Dr. Margaret “Peggy” Gripshover’s primary research areas are in cultural, economic and historical geography. These areas of interest are interconnected by three themes: first, how culture is influenced by economic factors, secondly, how individual decision-makers shape the meaning and creation of landscapes and material culture, and finally, how newspaper influences perception of places and identities.
Her research has covered a wide range of topics, but her recent work has centered in two areas, the American Midwest (in particular, Chicago) and the American South. Dr. Gripshover has a chapter in a newly published book on the Chicago Cubs in which she examines the evolution of the cultural landscape of “Wrigleyville,” (the neighborhood surrounding Wrigley Field). Wrigleyville illustrates how historical inertia works to reformulate space in response to changing economic and cultural conditions. As an outgrowth of her research on Wrigleyville, Dr. Gripshover is currently preparing a book-length manuscript on the life and times of Charles H. Weeghman, the man who built the baseball stadium that we now know as Wrigley Field. Weeghman is an excellent example of how an individual decision-maker can radically alter the cultural landscape. In this case, Weeghman’s decision in 1914 to locate his ball park in the Lake View neighborhood forever changed the North Side of Chicago. Dr. Gripshover’s research in the American South also focuses on the interrelationships between economic and cultural geography. Her major areas of interest include animal geographies and cultural landscapes. Dr. Gripshover’s research on animals includes geographic studies of the development, diffusion, and marketing of the Tennessee Walking Horse, and the role of folk belief systems in the concentration of mule breeding in Middle Tennessee. She has also recently published an article on the participation of professional baseball players in dog fighting during spring training the, “Deadball Era,” of baseball (late 19th century to 1919), much of which took place in the South.
Dr. Gripshover is the author or co-author of numerous publications and is a member of the Association of American Geographers, the Southeastern Division of the Association of American Geographers, the National Council for Geographic Education, the Society for American Baseball Research, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Geographic Alliance. She is also the recipient of the 2007 University of Tennessee’s Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching and the 2008 University of Tennessee National Alumni Award for Outstanding Teaching
Topical Specialties: Cultural, Economic, Urban-Rural Linkages, Historical
Areal Specialties: The American South and the Midwest
Contact Information
Dr. Margaret M. “Peggy” Gripshover
307 Burchfiel Geography Bldg.
Knoxville, TN 37996-0925
Phone: (865) 974-6035
Fax: 865-974-6025
Email: mgripsho@utk.edu