About me
I work at the intersections of urban, political and cultural geographies, and my research speaks to conversations about the politics of migration, queer spaces and communities, and the affective politics of encounter and critique in academic work and everyday life.
I completed my Ph.D. in geography at the University of Kentucky in 2016, and I have been working as a researcher at Tampere University since 2017. In 2026, I earned the Title of Docent in Human Geography from the University of Helsinki.
Main positions of trust
Editor-in-chief, Space and Polity
Chair, Tampere University Association of Researchers and Teachers (Tatte) ry
Research unit
Latest publications
International Academics as Agents of Transformation: Lived and Managed Internationalization in a Finnish University
Holubek, V., Ruez, D., Bujic, M., Honkanen, M. & Millei, Z., 2026, In: Social Inclusion. 14, 11672.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
(Dis)placing Pride in Copenhagen, or the socio-spatial lives of queer/trans migrant critique
Ruez, D., 2025, Queer Geographies: Key Debates and Contending Perspectives. Bain, A., Podmore, J. A. & Arun-Pina, C. (eds.). Edward Elgar, p. 203-219Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › Scientific › peer-review
City branding, discourse and politics: a case study on Compassionate Louisville
Islam, E., Ruez, D., Rahman, S. M. & Altaf, S., 2024, In: Place Branding and Public Diplomacy. 20, p. 556-567Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
Love and Work: Affect and Ideology Beyond ‘The Great Resignation’
Secor, A., Ruez, D. & Cockayne, D., 2024, In: New Formations. 2024, 112, p. 94-112 19 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
Encountering Berlant part two: Cruel and other optimisms
Anderson, B., Awal, A., Cockayne, D., Greenhough, B., Linz, J., Mazumdar, A., Nassar, A., Pettit, H., Roe, E. J., Ruez, D., Salas Landa, M., Secor, A. & Williams, A., Mar 2023, In: Geographical Journal. 189, 1, p. 143-160Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific
Inconvenience, ambivalence, and abolition: A politics of attachment and detachment in geography
Cockayne, D. & Ruez, D., 2023, In: Dialogues in Human Geography. 13, 3, p. 423-427Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate › Scientific
Intervention: Engaging post-foundational political theory requires an ‘enmeshed’ approach
Blakey, J., Machen, R., Ruez, D. & Medina García, P., Nov 2022, In: Political Geography. 99, 102689.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
Ambivalent methods, geographical difference, and the politics of feeling-knowing
Ruez, D. & Cockayne, D., 8 Mar 2021, In: Dialogues in Human Geography. 11, 1, p. 126-129Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate › Scientific
Feeling otherwise: Ambivalent affects and the politics of critique in geography
Ruez, D. & Cockayne, D., 8 Mar 2021, In: Dialogues in Human Geography. 11, 1, p. 88-107Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
Speeding up to allow time: launching the topical special issue concept in Space and Polity
Kallio, K. P. & Ruez, D., 2021, In: Space and Polity. 25, 3, p. 257-260 4 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Editorial › Scientific