Robert Batchelor Email & Phone Number

Passionate about education, research, design, and curriculum development, I thrive in a realm where creativity meets academia. At present, I am chair of the Department of HIstory and oversee a large lab and gallery space dedicated to incubating digital humanities projects at Georgia Southern University. Having worked on digital patents in the past, I work closely with the university's Intellectual Property committee.My research focuses on the convergence of the digital realm and the natural environment. I am interested in deciphering how urban landscapes and environmental borderlands have historically shaped human perspectives. Noteworthy achievements include the discovery of the Selden Map of China housed at the Bodleian Library (ca. 1619)—an artifact believed to be the earliest map crafted by Chinese overseas merchants. Additionally, I unveiled first color-printed map in history, created in eighteenth century Guangdong Province, understood at the time as the southern maritime border of China. These maps reveal East Asian maritime borderlands as hubs of interaction, vitality, and fluidity.Currently, my comparative work extends to Pacific locations like the Marshalls and Aleutians, as well as the Irish Sea and the Georgia Low Country in the Atlantic. Beyond my published works, I've collaborated on diverse projects, from films and board games to summer camps and digital initiatives.

Listed skills include Higher Education, Student Affairs, Curriculum Design, History, and 18 others.