University of Iowa professor & author visiting Luther College Thursday to discuss the issues raised by Ferguson, Missouri

University of Iowa history professor Colin Gordon will visit Luther College on Thursday and Friday to discuss the issues raised by the shooting of an unarmed black man in Ferguson, Missouri.

At 4:00 p.m. Thursday Gordon will visit with members of a book club that has been reading his book, "Mapping the Decline: St Louis and the Decline of the American City."  The discussion will take place in the Nansen Room of the Luther student untion.

At 7:00 p.m. Thursday Gordon will deliver a guest lecture, "The Fire this Time: St. Louis, Ferguson and the American City."  The lecture will take place in room 206 of Valdres Hall.  The lecture, based on Gordon's work, focuses on how the intersection of politics, public policy, economics and race results in social and economic inequalities in troubled cities.  The lecture is free and open to the public.

At 7:30 a.m. Friday at the Decorah Congregational United Church of Christ there will be breakfast and a discussion with Gordon.  The breakfast is free and open to the public.

Gordon has written four books, but he may be best known for his digital projects including "Mapping Decline," an interactive mapping project based on his St. Louis research; "Digital Johnson County," a mapping collaboration with the UI Libraries, the Office of State Archeologist, the DNR and the State Historical Society of Iowa; and "The Telltale Chart," a data visualization project focusing on historical and recent economic data.