Tom Paradis

Website:

https://www.architecturestyles.org/

Profile:

Tom is Professor of Geography and Urban Planning at Butler University in Indianapolis, IN, having moved to the Midwest after 18 years at Northern Arizona University. At NAU he was recognized as a President's Distinguished Teaching Fellow. His teaching and research interests include urban planning and development, architectural history, cultural landscapes, urban design, and tourism development. He also teaches a course called Weather, Climate & Society, and an innovative first-year seminar called Unpacking the Hunger Games. His recent books on the Hunger Games saga include "A Place Called District 12: Appalachian Geography and Music in the Hunger Games" (McFarland, 2022), and "Behind the Ballads: A Tribute to the People, Places, and Music of Songbirds and Snakes" (2024). His research and writing have also featured places as diverse as Siena, Italy, and Singapore. He published Living the Palio: A Story of Community and Public Life in Siena, Italy (2020 3rd Edition), and its follow-up, "Unbridled Spirit: The Untold Story of the 2018 Extraordinary Palio in Siena, Italy (2020). Most recently in 2025 a five-year project culminated in the new book, "A Daughter of Singapore: Life Lessons of a Homegrown Tour Guide."

Posts by Tom Paradis:

• Announcing a New Book on the Hunger Games Saga (Including the Prequel)
• The Case for Maude Ivory as a Future Grandmother
• The Butter Enigma: Why Future Books May Be Coming
• The Valley Song as Country Music Exemplar
• Tam Amber’s “Teardrop” Mandolin
• The Covey’s Mountain Music and the “High, Lonesome Sound”
• What Happened to Lucy Gray?
• Keep on the Sunny Side: A Brief History and Very Brief Appearance in “Ballad”
• Clementine, Gold Mining and District 12