Dr. Tashanna J. Walker is a human geographer and urban studies scholar whose research examines the intersections of urban militarization, redevelopment, and state power in the Caribbean and beyond. She earned her Ph.D. in Geography from Rutgers University, where her dissertation Sensory Fatigue: Militarization, Redevelopment and State Exceptionalism in Kingston, Jamaica developed the concept of “sensorial fugitivity” to explain how residents respond to overlapping regimes of surveillance, violence, and poverty.

Her work, which informs her forthcoming book Under Siege: Decolonial Explorations of Space, Power, and Black Resistance, has been supported by the Social Science Research Council, the American Association of University Women, and research fellowships at various institutions across the United States and Europe.

In addition to her academic appointments at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Oxford, and the University of Amsterdam, Dr. Walker has collaborated extensively with international NGOs, community-based organizations, and policy groups including the World Bank, USAID, UNESCO, the Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CAPRI), the Joy Town Development Foundation, and the Agency for Inner City Renewal. She has led and co-founded several initiatives such as the Emerging Scholars Scholarship and Bursary Program in Jamaica, the Philadelphia High School STEM Diversity Initiative, and the Trench Town Youth Empowerment Group, all of which advance education, mentorship, and social equity.

Rutgers University, New Brunswick New Jersey
Ph.D., Geography '24
M.A., Geography '21

University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Jamaica
B.S., Geography '14

City College of New York – CUNY (Lecturer, Fall 2025)
-Plagues Past and Present
-The Right to the City

State University of New York, Old Westbury (Adjunct Instructor, Spring 2025–26)
-Intro to Urban Issues

Rutgers University, Department of Geography (Teaching Assistant, 2018–2024)
-College Writing
-World Cultural Regions
-Cities
-Introduction to Environmental Studies
-Earth Systems

University of the West Indies, Department of Geography (Teaching Assistant, 2014–2016)
-Urban Studies
-Geomorphology
-Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
-Research Methods

Publications

Walker, T. J. (2025). Urban Futures Across Borders: Reflections from a Visiting Research Associate. Global Centre on Healthcare and Urbanisation, Kellogg College, University of Oxford.

Walker, T. J. (2024). Sensory Fatigue: Militarization, Redevelopment and State Exceptionalism in Kingston Jamaica (Doctoral dissertation, Rutgers University).

Rhiney, K., Walker, T., & Tomlinson, J. (2015). The Potential for Agrotourism Development in the Caribbean. Technical report for the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (128 pp).
 

Fellowships

GCHU Visiting Global Research Associate, Kellogg College, University of Oxford, UK

Visiting Research Fellowship, University of Amsterdam, NL

American Association of University Women International Doctoral Degree Fellowship

Social Science Research Council International Dissertation Research Fellowship (IDRF)

Rutgers University Excellence Fellowship – 2017, 2018, 2022

Rutgers University Pre-Doctoral Leadership Development Academy Fellowship

University of California, Santa Cruz Climate Engagement Fellowship
 

Grants

American Association of Geographers, Caribbean Geography Specialty Group Travel Grant

MaGrann Foundation Summer Field Research Award

Digicel Foundation Community Improvement Grant

NASA Geospatial Technology for Educators

MaGrann Foundation Field Research Award

Rutgers School of Graduate Studies Research Grant

York University Caribbean In/securities and Resilience Conference Travel Grant