Faculty Profile - Max Counter

Max Counter

Dr. Max Counter
he/him

Assistant Professor, School of Interdisciplinary Studies

Email: [email protected]

Office: Niemeyer 113 W

Phone: 616-331-8194

Bio

I research how societies grapple with the legacies and consequences of widespread human rights violations. Focusing primarily on armed conflict in Colombia, my scholarly work critically analyzes how governmental agencies, conflict victims and human rights defenders define what it means to heal the wounds of war. At Grand Valley State University, I teach classes across the Human Rights, Integrative Studies and Latin American Studies programs, guiding students through complex discussions about how people experience and respond to oppression and conflict.

Areas of Interest

Critical Geographies of Human Rights; Legal Geography; Transitional Justice and Reparations; Latin American Studies; Genocide Studies

Education

Ph.D., Geography, University of Colorado-Boulder, 2019
M.A., Geography, University of Colorado-Boulder, 2015
B.A., Religion and Spanish, Colgate University, 2010

Publications

Counter, M. (2023). Genocide in "Common Parlance": Grief and the Political Persecution of Colombia's Patriotic Union Party. Journal of Genocide Research, 27(1), 71-90. https://doi.org/10.1080/14623528.2023.2286685



Page last modified November 3, 2025