Graduate Studies brochure - School of Geography - Queen Mary ...
Graduate Studies brochure - School of Geography - Queen Mary ...
Graduate Studies brochure - School of Geography - Queen Mary ...
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Department <strong>of</strong> <strong>Geography</strong><br />
<strong>Graduate</strong> <strong>Studies</strong>
Introduction<br />
<strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, University <strong>of</strong> London is an internationally<br />
renowned, exciting and innovative centre for<br />
postgraduate study in geography. As a member <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Department <strong>of</strong> <strong>Geography</strong>’s <strong>Graduate</strong> <strong>School</strong> you will<br />
join a well-resourced, intellectually stimulating, and<br />
supportive department that can help you realise your full<br />
potential. Whether joining one <strong>of</strong> the Department’s MA or<br />
MSc programmes, or working for a PhD, you will work<br />
closely with academic staff at the forefront <strong>of</strong> the<br />
discipline.<br />
<strong>Geography</strong> has been taught at <strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> since 1894,<br />
and the College has been a school <strong>of</strong> the University <strong>of</strong><br />
London since 1907. Your membership <strong>of</strong> the University<br />
<strong>of</strong> London will give you access to its specialised libraries<br />
and seminars, as well as links to an active community <strong>of</strong><br />
academic geographers. On successful completion <strong>of</strong> the<br />
programme you will be awarded a University <strong>of</strong> London<br />
PhD or MA/MSc degree.
Contents<br />
The <strong>Graduate</strong> <strong>School</strong> 02<br />
• Support and resources<br />
• Seminars and discussion groups<br />
• The wider research environment<br />
• Timing<br />
• Bursaries and Studentships<br />
• Accommodation<br />
MA/MSc programmes 04<br />
• Core course<br />
• Prerequisite course<br />
• Dissertations<br />
• Supervision<br />
MA/MSc <strong>Geography</strong> 06<br />
• Programme structure<br />
• Specialist courses<br />
• Teaching staff<br />
• Student experiences<br />
MA Cities and Cultures 08<br />
• Programme structure<br />
• Specialist courses<br />
• Teaching staff<br />
• Student experiences<br />
MSc Globalisation and Development 10<br />
• Programme structure<br />
• Specialist courses<br />
• Teaching staff<br />
• Student experiences<br />
MA London <strong>Studies</strong> 12<br />
• Programme structure<br />
• Specialist courses<br />
• Teaching staff<br />
MSc in Physical <strong>Geography</strong> by Research14<br />
PhD programmes 16<br />
• Training<br />
• Research training in Human <strong>Geography</strong><br />
• Research training in Physical <strong>Geography</strong><br />
and Environmental Science<br />
• Supervision and upgrading<br />
• Research interests<br />
• A record <strong>of</strong> success<br />
• Student experiences<br />
Staff research interests 19<br />
• Culture, Space and Power Research<br />
Theme<br />
Staff research interests (cont) 22<br />
• Health Place and Society<br />
Staff research interests (cont) 25<br />
• Economy, Development and<br />
Social Justice Research Theme<br />
Staff research interests (cont) 27<br />
• Hydrological, Hydrochemical<br />
and Fluvial Processes Theme<br />
Staff research interests (cont) 27<br />
• Environmental Change Theme<br />
<strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, University <strong>of</strong> London 30<br />
London and the East End 31<br />
Further information and applications 32<br />
• Programme structure<br />
• Teaching staff<br />
The information given in this <strong>brochure</strong> is correct at the time <strong>of</strong><br />
going to press.<br />
The College reserves the right to modify or cancel any statement in<br />
it and accepts no responsibility for the consequences <strong>of</strong> any such<br />
changes.<br />
<strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, University <strong>of</strong> London 01
The <strong>Graduate</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
The Department <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>Geography</strong> at <strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong><br />
is internationally renowned<br />
for the excellence <strong>of</strong> both<br />
its teaching and research.<br />
The most recent Research<br />
Assessment Exercise<br />
(RAE) (2001) – the way the<br />
government grades and<br />
funds research excellence<br />
in universities – confirmed<br />
<strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>’s excellence,<br />
awarding the department<br />
Grade 5 (out <strong>of</strong> a possible<br />
5*).<br />
The College made extensive preparations<br />
to achieve the best possible pr<strong>of</strong>ile in RAE<br />
2008. When the results <strong>of</strong> the latest RAE are<br />
available (December 2008), they will be<br />
available online at www.qmul.ac.uk/RAE<br />
Our <strong>Graduate</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>of</strong>fers four MA/MSc<br />
programmes in human geography, and an<br />
MSc programme in physical geography. We<br />
have 32 full-time research active staff, and<br />
46 full and part-time students studying for<br />
PhDs in human and physical geography.<br />
Research in the Department is organised<br />
around five research themes:<br />
• Culture, Space and Power<br />
• Health, Place and Society<br />
• Economy, Development and Social Justice<br />
Research<br />
• Hydrological, Hydrochemical and Fluvial<br />
Processes<br />
• Environmental Change.<br />
These <strong>of</strong>fer a broad range <strong>of</strong> research<br />
expertise from which our graduate students<br />
greatly benefit. Strong inter-connections<br />
between each <strong>of</strong> the groups also benefit<br />
research students.<br />
Support and resources<br />
The <strong>Graduate</strong> <strong>School</strong> is housed within the<br />
Department <strong>of</strong> <strong>Geography</strong>. The <strong>School</strong> is wellresourced<br />
and <strong>of</strong>fers dedicated work space in<br />
study rooms fitted with networked PCs. There<br />
is also a graduate computing room containing<br />
GIS s<strong>of</strong>tware, scanner, plotter and digitiser,<br />
and a Mac equipped for desktop publishing.<br />
Study and work space (with networked PCs)<br />
is also available in the Lock-Keeper’s cottage<br />
which is for all graduate students from<br />
Humanities and Social Science.<br />
Those undertaking physical geography and<br />
environmental science research have access<br />
to a suite <strong>of</strong> recently upgraded and extended<br />
laboratories. The laboratories have benefited<br />
from substantial investment by The Science<br />
Research Infrastructure Fund (SRIF) which<br />
has provided new specialist research<br />
laboratories including:<br />
• the world-leading Centre for<br />
Micromorphology for the optical and digital<br />
microscopic analysis <strong>of</strong> soils, sediments<br />
and micr<strong>of</strong>ossils.<br />
• the Centre for Aquatic and Terrestrial<br />
Environments, an exciting new<br />
interdisciplinary collaboration between the<br />
Department <strong>of</strong> <strong>Geography</strong> and the <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>of</strong> Biological and Chemical Sciences.<br />
Specialist research facilities housed with the<br />
department include:<br />
• the Wetlands Research Laboratory which<br />
includes equipment for analysis <strong>of</strong> the<br />
physical properties <strong>of</strong> peat soils and an<br />
environmental plant growth chamber<br />
which allows samples <strong>of</strong> the wetland soil,<br />
including the growing surface, to be<br />
incubated and analysed under realistic<br />
weather/climate conditions.<br />
• a dark room with hydr<strong>of</strong>luoric acid digestion<br />
facilities for the preparation <strong>of</strong> samples for<br />
luminescence dating.<br />
• housing for a rainfall simulator for research<br />
into soil erosion and contaminant transport<br />
pathways.<br />
Recent investment has provided a range <strong>of</strong><br />
new analytical instrumentation including:<br />
• Inductively-coupled plasma optical<br />
emission spectrometer (Varian Vista-PRO)<br />
• Ion Chromatography System 2500 (Dionex)<br />
• Elemental Analyser (Flash EA 1112)<br />
• TOC and TON analyser (HiPerTOC/TNb)<br />
• Laser Particle Size Analyser (Beckman<br />
Coulter LS 13320)<br />
• Computed X-ray Microtomograph system<br />
(Skyscan 1072)<br />
• Automated Material Birefringence Analyser<br />
(Metripol)<br />
<strong>Graduate</strong> students also have access to<br />
instruments housed in the <strong>School</strong> <strong>of</strong><br />
Biological and Chemical Sciences including<br />
a Gamma Spectrometer (Canberra BEGe<br />
2825), Liquid Chromatography-Diode Array<br />
Detector (Agilent) and On-line Solid Phase<br />
02 <strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, University <strong>of</strong> London
Extraction-LC-Ion trap Mass Spectrometer<br />
(Prospekt/Agilent).<br />
We have an extensive pool <strong>of</strong> equipment<br />
for field research in geographical and<br />
environmental sciences. In addition to<br />
general field equipment to support<br />
geomorphological and environmental<br />
analysis, we have invested in specialist<br />
resources such as:<br />
• Equipment for surveying including a<br />
Ground Penetrating Radar (PulseEkko Pro<br />
1000 with Smart Cart) for geological and<br />
hydrological surveying, a survey grade GPS<br />
(Topcon HiPer Pro RTK-DGPS) and several<br />
Nikon surveying levels.<br />
• Coring and drilling equipment including a<br />
K-S gravity corer for sampling from deep<br />
lakes, a percussion corer for collecting soil<br />
and rock cores and equipment for drilling<br />
and recovering shallow snow and ice cores<br />
for glacial-climatological studies.<br />
• Automatic Weather Stations (Davies, Delta-<br />
T, Campbell Scientific and Skye<br />
Instruments) for boundary layer<br />
meteorological studies, including two semipermanent<br />
Campbell Scientific weather<br />
stations installed in central Iceland in<br />
collaboration with Loughborough<br />
University.<br />
• Equipment for hydrological monitoring<br />
and soil analysis including flow meters,<br />
data loggers, tensiometers and pressure<br />
transducers.<br />
Finally, we maintain specialist computer<br />
s<strong>of</strong>tware to support our field and laboratory<br />
analytical facilities, including:<br />
• GIS s<strong>of</strong>tware (ArcGIS)<br />
• Remote sensing and visualisation<br />
(ERDAS Imagine)<br />
• Visualisation and presentation <strong>of</strong> geological<br />
data (RockWorks)<br />
The Department is located immediately<br />
adjacent to the main College library on the<br />
Mile End campus. In addition to the <strong>Queen</strong><br />
<strong>Mary</strong> library, all graduate students have full<br />
access to the University <strong>of</strong> London Library<br />
(Senate House) and a number <strong>of</strong> other,<br />
specialist, University libraries. Members <strong>of</strong><br />
the <strong>Graduate</strong> <strong>School</strong> may also take advantage<br />
<strong>of</strong> the College Language Learning Unit<br />
(<strong>of</strong>fering beginner, intermediate and<br />
advanced level courses in English, French,<br />
German, Italian and Spanish), as well as<br />
many specialist language centres provided<br />
by the University <strong>of</strong> London.<br />
The <strong>Graduate</strong> <strong>School</strong> provides a<br />
Postgraduate Research Fund for PhD<br />
students to support further training,<br />
conference attendance and fieldwork costs.<br />
Seminars and discussion<br />
groups<br />
All MA/MSc and PhD students are<br />
encouraged to participate fully in the lively<br />
research culture <strong>of</strong> the Department. This<br />
includes attending weekly Department<br />
seminars, which provide an opportunity to<br />
hear about leading research undertaken by<br />
invited visitors. PhD students present their<br />
own research in the Annual Postgraduate<br />
Symposium Day, and MA/MSc students<br />
present their draft course papers at<br />
conference days each semester. MA/MSc<br />
and PhD students are encouraged to attend<br />
Research Frameworks in Human <strong>Geography</strong>,<br />
which consist <strong>of</strong> an informal reading and<br />
discussion group convened around the work<br />
<strong>of</strong> a visiting speaker.<br />
Recent visitors in the series have included:<br />
• Derek Gregory<br />
• David Harvey<br />
• Cindi Katz<br />
• Doreen Massey<br />
• Linda McDowell<br />
• Don Mitchell and Ed Soja<br />
• Michael Storper<br />
• Eric Swyngedouw<br />
• Julie Graham<br />
• Ron Martin<br />
• Richard Walker<br />
• Peter Dicken<br />
• Catherine Rankin<br />
• Wendy Larner<br />
Students studying for the MSc in Physical<br />
<strong>Geography</strong> by Research or a PhD in physical<br />
geography are encouraged to attend<br />
meetings <strong>of</strong> the Physical <strong>Geography</strong> Group.<br />
This is a forum for the (generally informal)<br />
presentation <strong>of</strong> new research ideas and<br />
preliminary research findings, and for<br />
debates on high-pr<strong>of</strong>ile issues in<br />
environmental science.<br />
The Group’s meetings complement the more<br />
formal Departmental research seminars (<strong>of</strong><br />
which eight a year are in physical geography).<br />
Both MSc and PhD students are required to<br />
give a short research presentation in one <strong>of</strong><br />
the Physical <strong>Geography</strong> Group meetings.<br />
The Group meets every two-three weeks<br />
throughout the year.<br />
The wider research<br />
environment<br />
As members <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Graduate</strong> <strong>School</strong>, our<br />
MA/MSc and PhD students make a vital<br />
contribution to a department renowned for<br />
its intellectually stimulating and supportive<br />
atmosphere. Close links between<br />
postgraduates and staff, and a sense <strong>of</strong><br />
involvement in the life <strong>of</strong> the Department, is<br />
encouraged through small group teaching<br />
and a range <strong>of</strong> research activities in which<br />
postgraduate students play a full part.<br />
<strong>Graduate</strong> students are fully represented as<br />
decision-making members on all <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Department’s key committees.<br />
In human geography, research training for<br />
MA/MSc and first-year PhD students is<br />
provided through the <strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>/University<br />
College London (UCL) Postgraduate Training<br />
Consortium, with members <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Graduate</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> taking a compulsory module<br />
alongside colleagues from the Departments<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>Geography</strong> and at UCL. This is a highly<br />
innovative and well-regarded research<br />
training programme which introduces<br />
<strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, University <strong>of</strong> London 03
The <strong>Graduate</strong> <strong>School</strong> (cont)<br />
postgraduates to a wide range <strong>of</strong> research<br />
expertise. It also helps you to establish an<br />
extensive research network consisting <strong>of</strong><br />
other postgraduate students and staff.<br />
In physical geography, research training for<br />
MSc and first-year PhD students is provided<br />
by members <strong>of</strong> the Department. The training<br />
is flexible enough to be tailored to the needs<br />
<strong>of</strong> individual students, while ensuring that key<br />
skills are covered.<br />
The <strong>Graduate</strong> <strong>School</strong> also plays an active<br />
role in the London Postgraduate Training<br />
Consortium (consisting <strong>of</strong> the departments<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>Geography</strong> at <strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, UCL, Kings<br />
College London, Royal Holloway, University<br />
<strong>of</strong> London and the London <strong>School</strong> <strong>of</strong><br />
Economics) providing all our students with<br />
the opportunity to develop important<br />
research contacts with both postgraduates<br />
and staff in a number <strong>of</strong> other institutions.<br />
Timing<br />
The Department’s MA/MSc courses begin<br />
in September <strong>of</strong> each year. As a full-time<br />
student you will complete your dissertation<br />
after 12 months, for graduation just before<br />
Christmas <strong>of</strong> that year. For part-time students<br />
the programme is 24 months, with the<br />
submission <strong>of</strong> the dissertation 24 months<br />
after initial enrolment and graduation just<br />
before Christmas <strong>of</strong> the final year. Those<br />
wishing to join the Department’s PhD<br />
programme usually do so in September,<br />
although other start dates are possible in<br />
consultation with supervisors and the<br />
Director <strong>of</strong> <strong>Graduate</strong> <strong>Studies</strong>.<br />
Bursaries and<br />
Studentships<br />
The <strong>Graduate</strong> <strong>School</strong> has a number <strong>of</strong><br />
bursaries available on a competitive basis.<br />
The MA/MSc bursaries cover course fees at<br />
the Home/EU fees rate and are allocated after<br />
the 1 July deadline <strong>of</strong> each year. Those<br />
applying for PhD research may also apply for<br />
a College Studentship, covering both fees<br />
and maintenance for home and overseas<br />
students. The Department is normally able<br />
to <strong>of</strong>fer a limited number <strong>of</strong> studentships<br />
funded by the UK Research Councils, for<br />
topics in both human and physical<br />
geography. All MPhil/PhD studentships are<br />
allocated by the Department in April each<br />
year following interview. Candidates do not<br />
need to make a separate application for<br />
bursaries and studentships, which are<br />
allocated as part <strong>of</strong> the usual application<br />
procedure.<br />
The Department is recognised by the<br />
Economic and Social Research Council<br />
(ESRC) for full-time, part-time and CASE PhD<br />
studentships. MA/MSc <strong>Geography</strong>, MA Cities<br />
and Cultures and MSc Globalisation and<br />
Development have been recognised under<br />
the ESRC’s 1+3 funding regime. The<br />
Department has a successful completion<br />
record for ESRC funded doctoral research.<br />
The <strong>Graduate</strong> <strong>School</strong> also has an excellent<br />
record <strong>of</strong> attracting both Natural Environment<br />
Research Council (NERC) and College<br />
Studentships. These studentships <strong>of</strong>fer<br />
those working in physical geography and<br />
environmental science the opportunity to<br />
develop their own research topics, rather<br />
than being constrained by pre-existing<br />
programmes.<br />
You can find out more about bursaries and<br />
studentships at:<br />
http://www.geog.qmul.ac.uk/postgraduate/<br />
graduateschool/support.html<br />
Accommodation<br />
All single international students are <strong>of</strong>fered<br />
the chance to live in award-winning College<br />
accommodation (subject to availability). We<br />
have many attractive new developments<br />
situated on-campus or nearby, overlooking<br />
the Regent’s Canal and Mile End Park areas.<br />
If you are a first year postgraduate, there is<br />
no specific deadline for the submission <strong>of</strong><br />
housing applications, but as the allocation <strong>of</strong><br />
places starts at the beginning <strong>of</strong> June, the<br />
earlier you apply the better your chances will<br />
be <strong>of</strong> securing a place.<br />
Students with families are able to apply<br />
for intercollegiate halls <strong>of</strong> residence<br />
(International Hall). If you wish to apply for a<br />
one or more bed roomed flat, you must apply<br />
using the application form on the website at<br />
www.lon.ac.uk/halls<br />
The deadline to apply for family<br />
accommodation is March. Flats are <strong>of</strong>fered<br />
and allocated by International Hall and not<br />
by the <strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> Residences Office.<br />
Alternatively students with families are able<br />
to apply for International Student House or<br />
Goodenough College accommodation or take<br />
up private accommodation.<br />
For further information on accommodation:<br />
www.ccrs.qmul.ac.uk/residences<br />
04 <strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, University <strong>of</strong> London
MA/MSc programmes<br />
The Department’s<br />
<strong>Graduate</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>of</strong>fers the<br />
following programmes:<br />
• (L8S7) MA <strong>Geography</strong> full time 1 year<br />
• (L8S8) MA <strong>Geography</strong> part time 2 years<br />
• (L8S1) MSc <strong>Geography</strong> full time 1 year<br />
• (L8S2) MSc <strong>Geography</strong> part time 2 years<br />
• (L8S9) MA Cities and Cultures full time<br />
1 year<br />
• (L8S0) MA Cities and Cultures part time<br />
2 years<br />
• (L8S5) MSc Globalisation and<br />
Development full time 1 year<br />
• (L8S6) MSc Globalisation and<br />
Development part time 2 years<br />
• (L8Q1) London <strong>Studies</strong> full time 1 year<br />
• (L8Q2) London <strong>Studies</strong> part time 2 years<br />
• (F8S1) MSc in Physical <strong>Geography</strong> by<br />
Research full time 1 year<br />
• (F8S2) MSc in Physical <strong>Geography</strong> by<br />
Research part time 2 years<br />
Human <strong>Geography</strong><br />
Programmes<br />
Each human geography programme is closely<br />
tied to the interests <strong>of</strong> one or more <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Department’s research groups in human<br />
geography, ensuring that you are exposed to<br />
the latest thinking in your chosen specialist<br />
field.<br />
You may study on a full-time (12 months) or<br />
part-time (24 months) basis. Students on each<br />
programme study modules equivalent to the<br />
value <strong>of</strong> 180 credits made up according to the<br />
structure <strong>of</strong> each programme.<br />
All MA and MSc students (except for those<br />
taking MA London <strong>Studies</strong>, see page 11) –<br />
and all first-year PhD students who have not<br />
previously completed postgraduate research<br />
training – take a compulsory module Social,<br />
Science Research: Methods and<br />
Methodologies, and a prerequisite module,<br />
Thinking Geographically.<br />
Compulsory module<br />
Social Science Research: Methods and<br />
Methodologies<br />
All MA and MSc students take this<br />
interdepartmental and interdisciplinary<br />
compulsory module, which is ESRCrecognised<br />
and jointly taught with the<br />
Department <strong>of</strong> <strong>Geography</strong> at University<br />
College London. The module runs over<br />
two semesters and is divided into two parts:<br />
Qualitative Methods and Quantitative<br />
Methods/Spatial Representation. The module<br />
commences with an overview <strong>of</strong> the<br />
philosophical and theoretical underpinnings<br />
<strong>of</strong> social science methodologies (covering, for<br />
example, participatory action research, the art<br />
<strong>of</strong> interviewing and visual methodologies).<br />
You will then be presented with a variety <strong>of</strong><br />
methodologies, via lectures and practical<br />
applications, <strong>of</strong> a range <strong>of</strong> techniques for<br />
gathering and processing data. Alongside<br />
at least four meetings with an individual<br />
supervisor each semester, you will be<br />
introduced to dissertation research design,<br />
implementation and analysis.<br />
Prerequisite module<br />
Thinking Geographically<br />
This module provides an advanced-level<br />
introduction to competing theoretical<br />
traditions and epistemologies within human<br />
geography. It is based around fortnightly<br />
seminars that focus on influential<br />
approaches, perspectives and debates in<br />
geography, each involving the close reading<br />
<strong>of</strong> particular texts. Across the two semesters,<br />
seminars introduce aspects <strong>of</strong> thinking<br />
geographically and focus on particular<br />
traditions and ways <strong>of</strong> approaching<br />
geography. The subjects include: critical<br />
thinking about place and space; contested<br />
histories <strong>of</strong> geography; and the development<br />
<strong>of</strong> radical traditions within geography<br />
informed by Marxism, feminism and<br />
postcolonial perspectives. The seminars also<br />
focus on key debates and controversies in<br />
contemporary human geography such as<br />
culture and political economy; and activism,<br />
the academy and the nature <strong>of</strong> geographical<br />
research.<br />
Dissertations<br />
Each <strong>of</strong> the MA and MSc programmes<br />
includes a dissertation. For MA/MSc<br />
<strong>Geography</strong>, you may choose from three<br />
lengths <strong>of</strong> dissertation: 15,000 words (60<br />
credits), 22,500 words (90 credits), or<br />
30,000 words (120 credits). For MA Cities<br />
and Cultures, MSc Globalisation and<br />
Development, and MA London <strong>Studies</strong> you<br />
will complete a 15,000 word dissertation (60<br />
credits).<br />
Supervision<br />
Supervision for the dissertation is by a<br />
member <strong>of</strong> staff most expert in your chosen<br />
specialist field. You will be <strong>of</strong>fered a<br />
minimum <strong>of</strong> four supervisions per semester<br />
including the summer term and vacation.<br />
The research skills necessary for the<br />
completion <strong>of</strong> a satisfactory dissertation are<br />
provided through Social Science Research:<br />
Methods and Methodologies.<br />
You can expect to develop a close working<br />
relationship with your supervisor, who is<br />
responsible for overseeing your general<br />
personal and pr<strong>of</strong>essional development as<br />
well as the MA/MSc dissertation and, where<br />
appropriate, the preparation <strong>of</strong> any PhD or<br />
funding applications.<br />
<strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, University <strong>of</strong> London 05
MA/MSc <strong>Geography</strong><br />
The Department <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>Geography</strong> <strong>of</strong>fers four<br />
MA/MSc programmes in<br />
Human <strong>Geography</strong>. Three<br />
<strong>of</strong> these are specialised<br />
with set programmes <strong>of</strong><br />
study. They are:<br />
• MA Cities and Cultures<br />
• MSc Globalisation and Development<br />
• MA London <strong>Studies</strong><br />
All students take the compulsory module<br />
Social Science Research: Methods and<br />
Methodologies. They also complete a 15,000<br />
word dissertation and three specialist<br />
modules. It is possible for students to<br />
substitute one <strong>of</strong> these specialist modules<br />
with an approved module <strong>of</strong>fered on another<br />
<strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> programme. However, this must<br />
be discussed with the MA/MSc Programme<br />
Director. Individual <strong>brochure</strong>s on these<br />
modules are available from the Department<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>Geography</strong>.<br />
The department also <strong>of</strong>fers an MA/MSc in<br />
<strong>Geography</strong>. One distinctive feature <strong>of</strong> this<br />
programme is its flexibility. Students may<br />
choose the weighting and length <strong>of</strong> the<br />
dissertation and the number <strong>of</strong> specialist<br />
module options they complete. Three modes<br />
<strong>of</strong> study are available, however only Mode C is<br />
ESRC recognised.<br />
MA/MSc in <strong>Geography</strong><br />
Modes <strong>of</strong> Study<br />
Mode A MA/MSc <strong>Geography</strong> (Research)<br />
• Students complete the compulsory module<br />
Social Science Research: Methods and<br />
Methodologies<br />
• A dissertation <strong>of</strong> 30,000 words<br />
• One specialist module from the list <strong>of</strong><br />
options <strong>of</strong>fered<br />
Mode B MA/MSc (Named Specialism eg<br />
Cultural <strong>Geography</strong>)<br />
• Students complete the compulsory<br />
module Social Science Research:<br />
Methods and Methodologies<br />
• A dissertation <strong>of</strong> 22,000 words<br />
• Two specialist modules from the list <strong>of</strong><br />
options <strong>of</strong>fered<br />
Mode C MA/MSc <strong>Geography</strong> (ESRC<br />
recognised)<br />
• Students complete the compulsory<br />
module Social Science Research:<br />
Methods and Methodologies<br />
• A dissertation <strong>of</strong> 15,000 words<br />
• Three specialist modules from the list<br />
<strong>of</strong> options <strong>of</strong>fered<br />
List <strong>of</strong> optional specialist<br />
modules <strong>of</strong>fered<br />
• Culture, Space and Power<br />
• Art, Performance and the City<br />
• Cities, Empire and Modernity<br />
• Empire, Race and Immigration<br />
• Understanding Globalisation and<br />
Development I<br />
• Understanding Globalisation and<br />
Development II<br />
• Globalisation and Development in Practice<br />
All MA and MSc students are encouraged to<br />
participate fully in the lively research culture<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Department. Weekly seminars provide<br />
an opportunity to hear about leading research<br />
undertaken by invited visitors. You are also<br />
encouraged to attend meetings <strong>of</strong> Research<br />
Frameworks in Human <strong>Geography</strong>, an<br />
informal reading and discussion group<br />
convened around the work <strong>of</strong> a visiting<br />
speaker.<br />
Teaching staff<br />
Core teaching staff for the programme<br />
includes:<br />
• Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Alison Blunt<br />
• Dr Kavita Datta<br />
• Dr Shompa Lahiri<br />
• Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Roger Lee<br />
• Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Jon May<br />
• Dr Cathy McIlwaine<br />
• Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Catherine Nash<br />
• Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Miles Ogborn<br />
• Dr Alastair Owens<br />
• Dr David Pinder<br />
• Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Adrian Smith<br />
• Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Jane Wills<br />
06 <strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, University <strong>of</strong> London
MA Cities and Cultures<br />
The MA Cities and Cultures<br />
is an innovative<br />
programme that combines<br />
the study <strong>of</strong> cultural<br />
geography with a specific<br />
concern for cities.<br />
Focusing on urban<br />
cultures in the past and<br />
present, it is taught by<br />
some <strong>of</strong> the leading<br />
scholars in the field drawn<br />
primarily from the<br />
Department’s Culture,<br />
Space and Power research<br />
group.<br />
The programme uses the latest thinking<br />
in cultural geography and urban theory to<br />
provide an advanced and critical<br />
understanding <strong>of</strong> how cities are socially<br />
produced, imagined, represented and<br />
contested. It engages with original texts that<br />
have informed thinking about urban spaces<br />
and cultures as well as with a range <strong>of</strong> other<br />
source materials – including the built<br />
environment, art practices, literature, music<br />
and film – through which the meanings and<br />
politics <strong>of</strong> spaces in diverse cities can be<br />
analysed. MA Cities and Cultures is<br />
recognised under the ESRC’s 1+3 funding<br />
scheme.<br />
Programme structure<br />
All students take a compulsory module,<br />
Social Science Research: Methods and<br />
Methodologies, and a prerequisite module,<br />
Thinking Geographically. Students then take<br />
the following specialised modules:<br />
• Culture, Space and Power<br />
• Art, Performance and the City<br />
• Cities, Empire and Modernity<br />
You will also complete a 15,000 word<br />
dissertation to be submitted in September,<br />
which is based on original research on a topic<br />
<strong>of</strong> your choice relating to the themes <strong>of</strong> the<br />
course. Recent dissertations completed by<br />
students taking Cites and Cultures include:<br />
• The Global Production <strong>of</strong> Urban Space in<br />
Shanghai<br />
• The Purification <strong>of</strong> Public Space: examining<br />
the clearance politics <strong>of</strong> London<br />
• Guerrilla Gardening: Geographers and<br />
Gardeners, Actors and Networks:<br />
Reconsidering Urban Public Space<br />
Compulsory module<br />
Social Science Research: Methods<br />
and Methodologies<br />
All MA and MSc students take this<br />
interdepartmental and interdisciplinary<br />
compulsory module, which is ESRCrecognised<br />
and jointly taught with the<br />
Departments <strong>of</strong> <strong>Geography</strong> and Anthropology<br />
at University College London. The module<br />
runs over two semesters and is divided into<br />
two parts: Qualitative Methods and<br />
Quantitative Methods/Spatial Representation.<br />
The module commences with an overview<br />
<strong>of</strong> the philosophical and theoretical<br />
underpinnings <strong>of</strong> social science<br />
methodologies (covering, for example,<br />
participatory action research, the art <strong>of</strong><br />
interviewing and visual methodologies).<br />
You will then be presented with a variety <strong>of</strong><br />
methodologies, via lectures and practical<br />
applications, <strong>of</strong> a range <strong>of</strong> techniques for<br />
gathering and processing data. Alongside<br />
at least four meetings with an individual<br />
supervisor each semester, you will be<br />
introduced to dissertation research design,<br />
implementation and analysis.<br />
Prerequisite module<br />
Thinking Geographically<br />
This module provides an advanced-level<br />
introduction to competing theoretical<br />
traditions and epistemologies within human<br />
geography. It is based around fortnightly<br />
seminars that focus on influential<br />
approaches, perspectives and debates in<br />
geography, each involving the close reading<br />
<strong>of</strong> particular texts. Across the two semesters,<br />
seminars introduce aspects <strong>of</strong> thinking<br />
geographically and focus on particular<br />
traditions and ways <strong>of</strong> approaching<br />
geography. The subjects include: critical<br />
thinking about place and space; contested<br />
histories <strong>of</strong> geography; and the development<br />
<strong>of</strong> radical traditions within geography<br />
informed by Marxism, feminism and<br />
postcolonial perspectives. The seminars also<br />
focus on key debates and controversies in<br />
contemporary human geography such as<br />
culture and political economy; and activism,<br />
the academy and the nature <strong>of</strong> geographical<br />
research.<br />
Specialist modules<br />
Culture, Space and Power<br />
This module presents an advanced-level<br />
introduction to the most recent thinking in<br />
cultural geography. The first half <strong>of</strong> the<br />
module addresses how cultural geographers<br />
have worked with concepts that are at the<br />
heart <strong>of</strong> the discipline <strong>of</strong> geography: space,<br />
place, landscape and nature. The following<br />
sessions develop these themes by<br />
considering geographies <strong>of</strong> the body, the<br />
psyche and emotions; the politics <strong>of</strong> identity;<br />
postcolonial geographies; and diasporic<br />
spaces. Throughout the module there is a<br />
concern with the distinctiveness and<br />
significance <strong>of</strong> cultural geographical<br />
perspectives, and with addressing the<br />
interconnections between culture, space<br />
and power.<br />
<strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, University <strong>of</strong> London 07
MA Cities and Cultures (cont)<br />
Art, Performance and the City<br />
This module explores ways <strong>of</strong> imagining,<br />
representing and performing the city through<br />
recent projects by cultural practitioners and<br />
artists in the East End <strong>of</strong> London. It involves<br />
critical reading, background research, and<br />
engaging with practices and sites through<br />
documentation and excursions. Projects<br />
examined include the ‘psychogeographical’<br />
explorations <strong>of</strong> the writer Iain Sinclair and<br />
film-maker Patrick Keiller and the<br />
controversies about place and politics<br />
involved in Rachel Whiteread’s “House”.<br />
Cities, Empire and Modernity<br />
This module focuses on two important sets <strong>of</strong><br />
processes that have shaped cities and city life<br />
in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries:<br />
empire and modernity. It seeks to understand<br />
how urban forms and urban experience are<br />
shaped at the nexus <strong>of</strong> these processes. The<br />
module aims to develop theoretical<br />
understandings <strong>of</strong> empire and modernity,<br />
and to interrogate them through an empirical<br />
engagement with a variety <strong>of</strong> different (and<br />
<strong>of</strong>ten paradigmatic) cities from a range <strong>of</strong><br />
periods and places. These include London,<br />
Paris, Calcutta, Chicago and Los Angeles, but<br />
the ‘spaces’ <strong>of</strong> empire and modernity in each<br />
<strong>of</strong> these cities are given a wide-ranging<br />
treatment, from home spaces to the media to<br />
museums.<br />
Teaching staff<br />
The core teaching staff for the programme<br />
includes:<br />
Student experience<br />
“My year studying Cities and Cultures at<br />
<strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> provided me the opportunity<br />
to delve deeper into concepts which had<br />
most interested me at undergraduate<br />
level. The culture <strong>of</strong> urban spaces was<br />
explored through a variety <strong>of</strong> fascinating<br />
academic lenses, from the postcolonial<br />
to the postmodern city, via the utopian<br />
visions <strong>of</strong> the surrealists and beyond.<br />
Exploring such a diversity <strong>of</strong> ideas before<br />
focusing on specific areas <strong>of</strong> choice in<br />
extended essays was a great opportunity.<br />
“Friendly, approachable and supportive<br />
academic staff, and a wide variety <strong>of</strong><br />
departmental seminars and invited<br />
lectures made the department an<br />
enjoyable and stimulating place to be.<br />
Writing a dissertation, while <strong>of</strong>ten very<br />
hard work, was extremely satisfying and<br />
the final product is something with which I<br />
am extremely proud. I am currently taking<br />
time out to travel before embarking on a<br />
PhD.<br />
Oliver Zanetti, MA Cities and Cultures,<br />
2006-7, Winner <strong>of</strong> Landscape Research<br />
Group Masters Dissertation Prize 2007<br />
• Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Alison Blunt<br />
• Dr Beth Greenhough<br />
• Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Jon May<br />
• Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Catherine Nash<br />
• Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Miles Ogborn<br />
• Dr Alastair Owens<br />
• Dr David Pinder<br />
• Dr Simon Reid-Henry<br />
08 <strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, University <strong>of</strong> London
MSc Globalisation and Development<br />
MSc Globalisation and<br />
Development examines the<br />
economic, political, social<br />
and institutional bases and<br />
consequences <strong>of</strong> uneven<br />
power relations within<br />
contemporary processes<br />
<strong>of</strong> global development.<br />
Not restricted merely to economic<br />
dimensions <strong>of</strong> globalisation, the programme<br />
also examines the moral, ideological, gender<br />
and race relations that shape processes <strong>of</strong>,<br />
and institutional responses to, globalisation<br />
and development. It does so at a range <strong>of</strong><br />
scales and in different spaces within an<br />
increasingly transnational world.<br />
MSc Globalisation and Development is an<br />
innovative programme that combines the<br />
theoretical and empirical study <strong>of</strong><br />
globalisation with a detailed examination <strong>of</strong><br />
the activities <strong>of</strong> a range <strong>of</strong> organisations<br />
concerned with the practice <strong>of</strong> development.<br />
Whilst the programme aims to develop an<br />
advanced and critical understanding <strong>of</strong> the<br />
geographies <strong>of</strong> globalisation and<br />
development and to engage with questions<br />
<strong>of</strong> power and resistance, it also <strong>of</strong>fers the<br />
skills necessary to engage directly with<br />
practitioners working in the field <strong>of</strong><br />
development.<br />
Taught through an innovative range <strong>of</strong><br />
seminars, workshops, presentations and<br />
site visits, and delivered by members <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Department’s internationally renowned<br />
Economy, Development and Social Justice<br />
Research Group, the programme engages<br />
with the latest thinking and practice around<br />
globalisation and development.<br />
MSc Globalisation and Development is<br />
recognised under the ESRC's 1+3 funding<br />
scheme.<br />
Programme structure<br />
All students take a compulsory module,<br />
Social Science Research: Methods and<br />
Methodologies and a prerequisite module,<br />
Thinking Geographically. Students then take<br />
the following specialised modules:<br />
• Understanding Globalisation and<br />
Development I and II<br />
• Globalisation and Development in Practice.<br />
You will also complete a 15,000 word<br />
dissertation to be submitted in September,<br />
which is based on original research on a topic<br />
<strong>of</strong> your choice relating to the themes <strong>of</strong> the<br />
course. Recent dissertations completed by<br />
students taking Globalisation and<br />
Development include:<br />
• The participation <strong>of</strong> civil society in the<br />
drafting and implementation process <strong>of</strong><br />
the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper in<br />
Senegal<br />
• The Way East to Mile End<br />
• The Rise <strong>of</strong> Corporate Responsibility:<br />
a geographical exploration <strong>of</strong> contested<br />
terrain<br />
• Trade and Development: (In)coherences<br />
<strong>of</strong> EU policy.<br />
Specialist modules<br />
Understanding Globalisation and Development I<br />
This module aims to develop advanced and<br />
critical understandings <strong>of</strong> geographies <strong>of</strong><br />
globalisation and development and to engage<br />
with questions <strong>of</strong> power and resistance. It<br />
also aims to provide an advanced theoretical<br />
grounding in the core aspects <strong>of</strong> globalisation<br />
as a process. It does so by exploring the<br />
economic, political and social dimensions <strong>of</strong><br />
processes <strong>of</strong> globalisation. This includes a<br />
consideration <strong>of</strong> the history <strong>of</strong> globalisation<br />
and capitalism from a range <strong>of</strong> perspectives<br />
including analyses <strong>of</strong> neo-liberalism, gender<br />
and globalisation, global cities and urban<br />
fragmentation, globalisation and the semiperiphery,<br />
as well as global conflict and global<br />
justice. The geographical scope <strong>of</strong> the<br />
module is global, engaging with ‘First’ world<br />
perspectives, as well as post-socialism and<br />
development discourses. The focus is<br />
primarily theoretical, and there is scope for<br />
students to explore specific avenues <strong>of</strong><br />
interest within these broad themes.<br />
Understanding Globalisation and Development II<br />
As a complement to Understanding<br />
Globalisation and Development I, this module<br />
focuses on the geographies <strong>of</strong> development<br />
and post-socialism. The module considers<br />
development and environmental ethics, as<br />
well as theories <strong>of</strong> post-socialism. At a<br />
different scale, it also explores global and<br />
local civil society, social capital and local<br />
networks. The focus is primarily theoretical,<br />
and there is scope for students to explore<br />
specific avenues <strong>of</strong> interest within these<br />
broad themes.<br />
Globalisation and Development in Practice<br />
This module provides a detailed examination<br />
<strong>of</strong> a series <strong>of</strong> interventions working to<br />
transform processes <strong>of</strong> globalisation at a<br />
variety <strong>of</strong> scales. It aims to introduce<br />
students, via site and web visits as well as<br />
external guest speakers, to the practical<br />
workings <strong>of</strong> a range <strong>of</strong> organisations both<br />
governmental and non-governmental, which<br />
are involved in attempts to shape processes<br />
<strong>of</strong> development in the context <strong>of</strong><br />
globalisation.<br />
<strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, University <strong>of</strong> London 09
MSc Globalisation and Development (cont)<br />
<strong>Graduate</strong> pr<strong>of</strong>ile – Lina<br />
Jamoul<br />
Studied: Masters in Globalisation and<br />
Development in the <strong>Geography</strong> department<br />
and PhD in <strong>Geography</strong> Department –<br />
graduated 2006.<br />
Currently: Community Organiser<br />
Why did you choose <strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong><br />
The Masters course looked very interesting<br />
and interdisciplinary. I stayed on to do my<br />
PhD there because the teaching quality was<br />
so high, the Department was full <strong>of</strong><br />
interesting people doing interesting<br />
research, and it seemed very collegial.<br />
What did you gain from your time at<br />
<strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong><br />
An exposure to a diverse set <strong>of</strong> research<br />
interests. I got to meet and discuss my work<br />
with internationally-renowned, visiting<br />
academics I had a huge admiration for Stuart<br />
Hall, David Harvey, Doreen Massey, Julie<br />
Graham. I also got an opportunity to put<br />
radical research into practice that had a real<br />
impact on the community and on the<br />
university campus itself.<br />
What are your career plans in the next<br />
five years<br />
When I finished my PhD, I moved to Chicago<br />
to take up a job as a community organiser<br />
with the Industrial Areas Foundation. I plan<br />
to return to the UK and work with the<br />
Citizens’ Organising Foundation – an<br />
invaluable relationship that was forged<br />
through the <strong>Geography</strong> Department at<br />
<strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>.<br />
This module revolves around two projects.<br />
The first project explores globalisation,<br />
economic justice and worker empowerment,<br />
focusing on Business Process Outsourcing<br />
and attempts to empower e-service workers<br />
in the Global South vis-à-vis their colleagues<br />
in the Global North. The second project<br />
explores the roles and actions <strong>of</strong> Nongovernmental<br />
Organisations (NGOs) and how<br />
they are involved in global-local networks.<br />
Students may also take one <strong>of</strong> the following<br />
module options from MA Democracy and<br />
Democratisation taught in the Department<br />
<strong>of</strong> Politics:<br />
• Liberal Democratic Practice<br />
• Democracy, Disagreement and the Political<br />
• Media and Democracy<br />
• Democracy in Plural Societies.<br />
For more information, see<br />
www.politics.qmul.ac.uk<br />
Teaching staff<br />
The core teaching staff for MSc Globalisation<br />
and Development includes:<br />
• Dr Kavita Datta<br />
• Dr Joanna Herbert<br />
• Dr Al James<br />
• Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Roger Lee<br />
• Dr Cathy McIlwaine<br />
• Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Adrian Smith<br />
• Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Jane Wills<br />
Student experiences<br />
The MSc Globalisation and Development<br />
course is perfect for those who, like me,<br />
want to gain a firm theoretical base and a<br />
broad knowledge <strong>of</strong> the issues while also<br />
being introduced to important practical<br />
skills. The opportunity to work with leading<br />
scholars in an excellently resourced and<br />
supportive department has fuelled my<br />
ambitions and allowed me to really expand<br />
my own interests. The class discussions<br />
are always extremely informative, and<br />
sometimes heated! Teaching is very<br />
personal with excellent support from all<br />
the staff.<br />
Ianto Jones, MA G&D 2007-8<br />
The importance <strong>of</strong> the MSc in<br />
Globalisation and Development is its<br />
nexus between theory and practice.<br />
During the year I was introduced to a<br />
myriad <strong>of</strong> contemporary development<br />
issues. These include: resistance to<br />
globalisation and neo-liberalism, social<br />
capital, civil society, theories <strong>of</strong><br />
development, non-governmental<br />
organisations, and gender. Projects<br />
included call centres in India and the<br />
operation <strong>of</strong> NGOs. If your undergraduate<br />
degree is not geography, development, or<br />
economics, there is no need for concern.<br />
This degree is accessible to students from<br />
other disciplines complemented by the<br />
pr<strong>of</strong>essionalism and devotion <strong>of</strong> staff who<br />
were always available to assist my<br />
multifarious questions.<br />
This Master's degree is ideal as a prelude<br />
to PhD study or to enhance one's<br />
employment prospects. Classes are small<br />
and there is always an opportunity to<br />
engage in spirited debate within a<br />
convivial milieu.<br />
Matthew Rippon, MA G&D 2007-8<br />
10 <strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, University <strong>of</strong> London
MA London <strong>Studies</strong><br />
One year full-time, two<br />
years part-time (Taught<br />
in conjunction with the<br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>of</strong> English and<br />
Drama and the<br />
Department <strong>of</strong> Politics)<br />
Programme description<br />
London has long been an international centre<br />
<strong>of</strong> cultural production and political power.<br />
This interdisciplinary masters programme<br />
takes the city as its focus, using London as a<br />
central example, resource and inspiration.<br />
The MA is collaboratively taught, drawing<br />
upon expertise across the Departments <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>Geography</strong>, Politics and the <strong>School</strong> <strong>of</strong> English<br />
and Drama. The programme brings together<br />
historical and contemporary perspectives on<br />
metropolitan culture, through approaches<br />
that span the humanities and social sciences.<br />
It also makes the most <strong>of</strong> <strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>’s<br />
position, being close to key cultural resources<br />
and institutions in London, while located in<br />
the city’s East End where many <strong>of</strong> the<br />
programme’s intellectual concerns find most<br />
vivid expression. Dramatic historical changes<br />
along with contemporary and future<br />
transformations <strong>of</strong> this area provide ample<br />
opportunities for scholarly reflection and<br />
debate as well as for engaging with practices<br />
and institutions within and beyond the<br />
academy.<br />
Programme outline<br />
A compulsory module considers influential<br />
perspectives on metropolitan life by using<br />
London as an example, but setting it in the<br />
context <strong>of</strong> other cities across the world. In<br />
addition, you will take three optional modules<br />
and complete a dissertation, following<br />
training in qualitative research methodologies<br />
and in the use <strong>of</strong> the unsurpassed resources<br />
for the study <strong>of</strong> London available in the city:<br />
libraries, archives, museums, galleries as well<br />
as sites and events.<br />
Compulsory modules<br />
• Cities, Empire and Modernity<br />
• Dissertation (15,000 words)<br />
• Resources for Research<br />
Optional modules<br />
may include:<br />
• Art, Performance and the City<br />
• Empire, Race and Immigration<br />
• Health, Housing and Education <strong>of</strong><br />
Immigrants in a Metropolitan Environment<br />
• Metro-intellectuals, 1770-1820 British<br />
Women Writers in London and Paris<br />
• Sociability: Literature and the City<br />
1660-1780<br />
• Urban Culture and the Book: London,<br />
Publishing and Readers in the Sixteenth<br />
Century<br />
• Writing the East End<br />
Assessment<br />
Assessment is through a variety <strong>of</strong><br />
assignments, ranging from extended essays<br />
to book reviews and oral presentations. You<br />
will also complete a 15,000 word dissertation,<br />
worth a third <strong>of</strong> total marks, on a topic <strong>of</strong> your<br />
choice relating to the programme.<br />
Entry requirements<br />
You will normally be expected to have a<br />
first degree with first or upper-second class<br />
honours in a humanities or social science<br />
subject (or equivalent international<br />
qualification). We actively encourage<br />
applications from students who have<br />
developed an interest in any aspect <strong>of</strong><br />
metropolitan culture at undergraduate<br />
level and/or who have practical experience<br />
<strong>of</strong> working in related areas.<br />
<strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, University <strong>of</strong> London 11
MSc in Physical <strong>Geography</strong> by Research<br />
The MSc in Physical<br />
<strong>Geography</strong> by Research<br />
provides students with an<br />
opportunity to investigate,<br />
in detail and to research<br />
standards, a topic <strong>of</strong><br />
interest to them within<br />
physical geography. It<br />
provides training in the<br />
key research methods and<br />
techniques used within<br />
physical geography and<br />
environmental science.<br />
You will also have the<br />
opportunity to explore the<br />
main research approaches<br />
used within physical<br />
geography and the debates<br />
on these approaches.<br />
Programme structure<br />
The programme is dominated by the<br />
Independent Research Project (IRP) which is<br />
worth 120 credits. Students propose, design,<br />
and implement a programme <strong>of</strong> original<br />
research under the guidance <strong>of</strong> one or more<br />
supervisors drawn from the physical<br />
geography staff in the Department. The IRP<br />
is assessed via a dissertation <strong>of</strong> up to 30 000<br />
words (or equivalent). In addition to the IRP<br />
there are three taught modules on the MSc:<br />
Environmental Modelling<br />
(15 credits)<br />
Through lectures, practicals and one-one<br />
supervision, this module (i) considers how<br />
models represent a fundamental means <strong>of</strong><br />
understanding the operation <strong>of</strong><br />
environmental systems, (ii) introduces key<br />
concepts (mass and energy balance and<br />
transfer equations) in environmental<br />
modelling, and (iii) explains how models<br />
can be constructed and tested in both a<br />
spreadsheet (MS Excel) and high-level<br />
programming language (Fortran 95)<br />
environment. The art and science <strong>of</strong> the<br />
formulation, construction, and testing <strong>of</strong><br />
environmental models is covered. The<br />
module is assessed via a programming<br />
exercise and a written report that reviews<br />
the use <strong>of</strong> models in a given area <strong>of</strong> physical<br />
geography.<br />
Project-specific Research Training<br />
(15 credits)<br />
This module introduces and provides training<br />
in the research issues, methodologies and<br />
field and laboratory procedures that are<br />
appropriate to the IRP, including theoretical<br />
background and context, research design<br />
and project management. The focus <strong>of</strong> the<br />
IRP, therefore, significantly determines the<br />
module content. The module is delivered<br />
through formal supervisory sessions, together<br />
with appropriate field and/or laboratory<br />
training and is assessed via submission <strong>of</strong><br />
two written reports.<br />
Physical <strong>Geography</strong> Research and Practice<br />
(30 credits)<br />
This module introduces students to current<br />
issues in physical geographical research. It<br />
focuses on the advantages and limitations <strong>of</strong><br />
differing approaches to physical geographical<br />
research (ie observational (mainly field),<br />
manipulative experimental (field and<br />
laboratory), and modelling-based (computer<br />
simulation)).<br />
It also provides training in research skills<br />
including presentation and writing skills. The<br />
course involves attendance at meetings <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Physical <strong>Geography</strong> Group (approximately<br />
every three weeks during the teaching year).<br />
Assessment is via an oral presentation to the<br />
Physical <strong>Geography</strong> Group and a written<br />
critique <strong>of</strong> research approaches in an area <strong>of</strong><br />
physical geography related to the IRP.<br />
Teaching staff<br />
All members <strong>of</strong> physical geography staff are<br />
available for IRP supervision. The IRP<br />
supervisor oversees the delivery <strong>of</strong> Projectspecific<br />
Research Training. The<br />
Environmental Modelling and Physical<br />
<strong>Geography</strong> Research and Practice courses<br />
are taught by Andrew Baird and a mixture <strong>of</strong><br />
physical geography staff. Andrew Baird is the<br />
overall convenor <strong>of</strong> the MSc.<br />
12 <strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, University <strong>of</strong> London
PhD programmes<br />
The breadth <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Department’s research<br />
expertise <strong>of</strong>fers a wide<br />
range <strong>of</strong> opportunities for<br />
those wishing to embark<br />
on a programme <strong>of</strong><br />
doctoral research.<br />
Close collaboration between individual<br />
research staff and a number <strong>of</strong> governmental<br />
and non-governmental agencies provides<br />
further opportunities for those wishing to<br />
undertake collaborative research.<br />
The Department welcomes applications from<br />
those wishing to study full or part-time, holds<br />
ESRC recognition for full-time, part-time and<br />
CASE Studentships and is recognised under<br />
the ESRC’s 1+3 funding regime. The<br />
Department also receives NERC studentships<br />
via the NERC algorithm.<br />
Training<br />
Through its PhD training programmes,<br />
the <strong>Graduate</strong> <strong>School</strong> provides you with the<br />
training in research and research-related<br />
skills necessary for the satisfactory<br />
completion <strong>of</strong> your PhD and for a research<br />
career in the natural or social sciences.<br />
Through participation in a range <strong>of</strong> broader<br />
consortia, and taking up the opportunities<br />
for training provided by these and more<br />
specialist agencies (for example, the <strong>Queen</strong><br />
<strong>Mary</strong>/UCL, and London Postgraduate<br />
Training consortia, <strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> Community<br />
Health Sciences Institute, London Group <strong>of</strong><br />
Historical Geographers, London Human<br />
<strong>Geography</strong> Reading Group, British<br />
Hydrological Society, Geological Society <strong>of</strong><br />
London, the NERC/Geomorphological<br />
Research Group’s and Geophysical Fluid<br />
Dynamics Group’s Postgraduate Training<br />
courses, and the Quaternary Research<br />
Association) you will be integrated into a<br />
range <strong>of</strong> research communities and networks<br />
operating at college, university, metropolitan,<br />
national and international scales.<br />
Research training in<br />
Human <strong>Geography</strong><br />
Core training<br />
For those undertaking research in human<br />
geography, core training is provided through<br />
the Department’s ESRC-recognised training<br />
programme, <strong>of</strong>fering exemption for those<br />
holding the Department’s MA/MSc<br />
<strong>Geography</strong>, MA Cities and Cultures or MSc<br />
Globalisation and Development degrees.<br />
Those not holding an ESRC-recognised<br />
Master’s degree take two modules through<br />
the Autumn and Spring terms <strong>of</strong> their first<br />
year: Social Science Research: Methods and<br />
Methodologies (see page 5) and Thinking<br />
Geographically (see page 5).<br />
Exemptions from parts <strong>of</strong> this programme<br />
may be granted where evidence <strong>of</strong><br />
satisfactory training completed elsewhere is<br />
provided. The training requirements <strong>of</strong> CASE<br />
students are agreed in advance on an<br />
individual basis to enable pr<strong>of</strong>essional<br />
qualifications and experience to be taken<br />
into account.<br />
Research training in<br />
Physical <strong>Geography</strong> and<br />
Environmental Science<br />
Core training<br />
For those undertaking research in physical<br />
geography or environmental science, core<br />
training is provided through a variety <strong>of</strong><br />
mechanisms. You will carry out personal<br />
development planning throughout your PhD.<br />
In addition, you are required to undertake<br />
compulsory skills training each year.<br />
In the first year, this requirement is met by<br />
completion <strong>of</strong> two compulsory modules:<br />
Physical <strong>Geography</strong> Research (see page 12)<br />
and Practice and Project-specific Research<br />
Training (see page 12). In second and third<br />
years, the training requirement can be met by<br />
a combination <strong>of</strong> internal courses (eg <strong>Queen</strong><br />
<strong>Mary</strong> Education and Staff Development<br />
courses), external short courses/workshops<br />
(eg UK GRAD workshops), demonstrating on<br />
undergraduate courses, external activities (eg<br />
POST placements) and self-directed<br />
learning.<br />
Supervision and upgrading<br />
The <strong>Graduate</strong> <strong>School</strong> provides you with a<br />
primary and secondary supervisor. While<br />
facilitating continuity in the case <strong>of</strong> staff<br />
leave, working closely with two supervisors<br />
provides you with a greater range <strong>of</strong> research<br />
expertise than would be possible through sole<br />
supervision.<br />
You can expect to form a close working<br />
relationship with your supervisors, meeting<br />
regularly (not less than fortnightly through the<br />
opening stages <strong>of</strong> the research) throughout<br />
your time in the Department. Supervisors are<br />
responsible for overseeing both your research<br />
and your broader career development.<br />
In both human and physical geography<br />
upgrading from MPhil to PhD status is usually<br />
completed towards the end <strong>of</strong> the first year.<br />
In human geography, the first-year training<br />
programme is assessed via the six-month<br />
review at which you present an extended<br />
literature review, methodology and timetable<br />
<strong>of</strong> research to your supervisors and one<br />
further member <strong>of</strong> staff. Supplemented by<br />
end <strong>of</strong> term reports, the six-month review<br />
provides both you and your supervisors with<br />
a clear indication <strong>of</strong> your progress in<br />
preparation for upgrading from MPhil to PhD<br />
status.<br />
Upgrading involves the submission <strong>of</strong> three<br />
pieces <strong>of</strong> work (a literature review,<br />
methodology and preliminary empirical<br />
examination) to the upgrading panel, which<br />
normally consists <strong>of</strong> your supervisors and an<br />
external expert <strong>of</strong> your choice. In physical<br />
geography, the first-year training programme<br />
is assessed through coursework completed<br />
for the Physical <strong>Geography</strong> Research and<br />
Practice and Project-specific Research<br />
Training modules. Upgrading involves the<br />
submission <strong>of</strong> a concise (c. 5000 word)<br />
report and oral examination by a panel <strong>of</strong><br />
three staff who are not involved in the<br />
supervision.<br />
<strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, University <strong>of</strong> London 13
PhD programmes (cont)<br />
The Department is<br />
experienced in working<br />
with both part-time<br />
students and those<br />
undertaking collaborative<br />
research, and its training<br />
programmes and<br />
upgrading procedures<br />
have been designed with<br />
the particular needs <strong>of</strong><br />
such students in mind.<br />
Research interests<br />
The breadth and depth <strong>of</strong> the Department’s<br />
research interests are reflected in the range<br />
<strong>of</strong> doctoral work completed over the years.<br />
Current PhD projects and recently defended<br />
PhD theses include:<br />
Physical <strong>Geography</strong> PhD Projects<br />
• Northwest European river systems over the<br />
last 200 ka<br />
• Sediment strain at the boundaries <strong>of</strong> former<br />
ice streams: multiscale analysis <strong>of</strong> the role<br />
and significance <strong>of</strong> subglacial sediment<br />
deformation<br />
• Modelling peatlands as complex adaptive<br />
systems<br />
• CH 4 ebullition from northern peatlands<br />
and temperate estuarine sediments<br />
• An investigation <strong>of</strong> the spatial distribution<br />
and partitioning <strong>of</strong> metals in estuarine<br />
sediments<br />
• Transport <strong>of</strong> fine sediments in vegetated<br />
chalk streams<br />
Human <strong>Geography</strong> PhD projects<br />
• Post-socialist transformations and the<br />
global city thesis, the case <strong>of</strong> Prague<br />
• Rickets: socio-economic and cultural<br />
factors and the role <strong>of</strong> primary care<br />
• Deconstructing the ghetto: a study <strong>of</strong><br />
former Soviet Union Jewish emigration<br />
to eastern Germany<br />
• Commodifying Multicultures: urban<br />
regeneration and the politics <strong>of</strong> space<br />
in Spitalfields<br />
• Daily Bread: Evangelical beliefs and<br />
identities through place<br />
• Youth, urban violence and citizenship<br />
in east London<br />
• Casualised workers in South Korea:<br />
transformation <strong>of</strong> work places<br />
• Teaching the art <strong>of</strong> politics: broad based<br />
organising in Britain<br />
• Construction <strong>of</strong> masculinity, sexuality and<br />
condom use among long-haul truck drivers<br />
in southern Africa: implications for STI/HIV<br />
prevention<br />
• The role <strong>of</strong> public involvement for<br />
sustainable inner city urban regeneration:<br />
the experience <strong>of</strong> two east London<br />
boroughs<br />
• European alternatives: radical political<br />
movements and intervention in the<br />
production <strong>of</strong> space<br />
• Cultural geographies <strong>of</strong> gay liberation<br />
• Spatial aspects <strong>of</strong> gender inequality in<br />
pension policy in Greece<br />
• Student identities <strong>of</strong> mixed descent in<br />
the UK and USA<br />
• Trade union federations in liberal market<br />
economies: Leading from the centre<br />
• Political transnationalism, gender and<br />
peace building among Colombian migrants<br />
in the UK and Spain<br />
• The Gilt on the Golden City: Expatriates,<br />
Social Exclusion and the Production <strong>of</strong><br />
Space in Post Socialist Prague<br />
• Geographies <strong>of</strong> theory and practice in<br />
contemporary British Anarchism.<br />
• Strengthening civil society in natural<br />
resource management in Vietnam.<br />
A record <strong>of</strong> success<br />
Our postgraduates have followed careers in<br />
different employment sectors and in a<br />
number <strong>of</strong> countries. Several former PhD<br />
students, from both the Human <strong>Geography</strong><br />
and Physical <strong>Geography</strong> programmes, are<br />
following academic careers as lecturers or<br />
research fellows in the UK, Europe, the US,<br />
Mexico and New Zealand. Other former<br />
students have utilised their research skills<br />
outside academia in the UK, Europe and<br />
Africa. Positions have included freelance<br />
work, and employment with business<br />
corporations, the UN, the Royal Geographical<br />
Society and Dutch Geological Society.<br />
Students from our Masters courses have<br />
continued on to pursue PhD studies, while<br />
others have been able to transfer their skills<br />
to private and public sector employment.<br />
<strong>Graduate</strong><br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>ile – Akile<br />
Ahmet<br />
Studied: <strong>Geography</strong> BA,<br />
<strong>Geography</strong> MSc and<br />
PhD in the <strong>Geography</strong><br />
Department, graduated<br />
BA 2003, Masters 2004.<br />
Currently: Working for Goldsmiths, University <strong>of</strong><br />
London in the department <strong>of</strong> Pr<strong>of</strong>essional and<br />
Community Education as a researcher.<br />
Why did you choose <strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong><br />
The <strong>Geography</strong> department as well as the<br />
university as a whole is extremely friendly. The<br />
lecturers are always accessible. Having one-toone<br />
contact and the opportunity for regular<br />
feedback and support is essential.<br />
What did you gain from your time at <strong>Queen</strong><br />
<strong>Mary</strong><br />
I have learnt so much from my time at <strong>Queen</strong><br />
<strong>Mary</strong>. Firstly, how to manage my work and<br />
really enjoy the learning process to its fullest.<br />
Secondly, to be who I am at present. And finally,<br />
the unique location <strong>of</strong> <strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> being a<br />
student in East London has taught<br />
me so much.<br />
What are your career plans in the next five<br />
years<br />
I hope to continue my career as an academic.<br />
14 <strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, University <strong>of</strong> London
PhD Student<br />
experiences<br />
“My research is a mix <strong>of</strong> different social<br />
sciences, and I was attracted to the <strong>Queen</strong><br />
<strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Geography</strong> Department partly<br />
because <strong>of</strong> its exciting interdisciplinary<br />
work. The broad scope <strong>of</strong> research taking<br />
place in the department makes it a really<br />
interesting melting pot.<br />
“I actually turned down a place at another,<br />
perhaps more famous college in favour <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>. I was immediately made to<br />
feel included and valued, and there was<br />
very little evidence <strong>of</strong> snobbery unlike<br />
some other departments <strong>of</strong> its calibre. All<br />
levels <strong>of</strong> staff are incredibly friendly, and<br />
go over and above the call <strong>of</strong> duty to help<br />
their students.<br />
“PhD students are also encouraged to<br />
participate more in extracurricular<br />
research projects and initiatives, which<br />
reflects the challenging yet supportive<br />
atmosphere in the department. Although<br />
the department is friendly and relaxed, it<br />
is still academically world class, and this<br />
really encourages an<br />
atmosphere <strong>of</strong><br />
pushing the<br />
boundaries <strong>of</strong> the<br />
discipline.”<br />
Ant Ince, PhD Student<br />
in Political and<br />
Cultural <strong>Geography</strong>.<br />
“I am working on a PhD, focusing on<br />
global financial markets and the<br />
emergence <strong>of</strong> the Turkish financial market<br />
in particular. I am very happy to have a<br />
place at <strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> because I think it is<br />
the best place for my kind <strong>of</strong> research.<br />
Knowing the place from my ERASMUS<br />
year gave me the certain knowledge that I<br />
needed to come back and continue my<br />
studies here. My passion and enthusiasm<br />
in the field <strong>of</strong> cultural economic<br />
geographies and global restructuring was<br />
encouraged during my ERASMUS year as<br />
my lecturers’ economic geography meant<br />
more than pure economics, it was infused<br />
with cultural and social aspects.<br />
“And today, the regular meeting with my<br />
supervisors very much continues on an<br />
even higher level. They, as much as<br />
everybody else in the department are<br />
highly supportive and encouraging. I am<br />
very glad to be part <strong>of</strong> that atmosphere<br />
and am able to enhance my skills and<br />
abilities and share them with my<br />
colleagues and friends. Also continuing<br />
my academic career in London was <strong>of</strong><br />
importance to me. The unique location<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> in<br />
London’s urban<br />
landscape will have a<br />
positive impact to my<br />
PhD, life and career.”<br />
Tim Heinemann, PhD<br />
Student in Economic<br />
and Cultural<br />
<strong>Geography</strong><br />
“My PhD is investigating the physical and<br />
chemical factors which control the<br />
behaviour <strong>of</strong> organic and inorganic<br />
contaminants in soil and sediments<br />
through practical experience from detailed<br />
laboratory work. I chose to study at <strong>Queen</strong><br />
<strong>Mary</strong> because <strong>of</strong> its good reputation and<br />
the conducive environment it provides for<br />
serious academic work.<br />
“In addition to this, the quality <strong>of</strong> research<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Hydrological, Hydrochemical and<br />
Fluvial Processes research group in the<br />
<strong>Geography</strong> Department is highly rated and<br />
matches the best in the world because<br />
members <strong>of</strong> the group are world class<br />
academics. The Department also provides<br />
state <strong>of</strong> the art laboratories. Regular<br />
supervision from my<br />
supervisors enables<br />
me to get regular<br />
feedback on my<br />
research.”<br />
Margaret Kadiri, PhD<br />
Student in Physical<br />
<strong>Geography</strong><br />
“Initially, I came to <strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> to work<br />
alongside leading pr<strong>of</strong>essionals in my area<br />
<strong>of</strong> research (deformation structures<br />
beneath iceberg scour marks) and<br />
because <strong>of</strong> the recently opened Centre for<br />
Micromorphology, which houses an array<br />
<strong>of</strong> impressive microscopic facilities<br />
including the latest microscopic X-ray<br />
technology. That aside, I feel fortunate I<br />
chose a department<br />
that I have found to<br />
be extremely friendly<br />
with a thriving and<br />
sociable postgraduate<br />
community.”<br />
Lorna Linch, PhD<br />
Student in Physical<br />
<strong>Geography</strong><br />
Winner <strong>of</strong> the Best Presentation Award<br />
at the Quaternary Research Association<br />
Postgraduate Symposium, Copenhagen<br />
2007.<br />
<strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, University <strong>of</strong> London 15
Staff research interests<br />
Culture, Space and Power<br />
Research Theme<br />
Research in the group critically engages with<br />
the interplay <strong>of</strong> culture, space and power in<br />
both historical and contemporary contexts.<br />
Members <strong>of</strong> the group conduct theoretically<br />
informed and empirically grounded research<br />
in the following areas:<br />
• Feminist and postcolonial geographies<br />
<strong>of</strong> home, travel and diaspora<br />
• Art, politics and the city<br />
• Property, power and urbanism<br />
• Comparative histories and geographies<br />
<strong>of</strong> the modern city<br />
• Historical geographies <strong>of</strong> globalisation<br />
• Globalisation and identity formation<br />
• Geographies <strong>of</strong> identity and relatedness<br />
• Technology, the body and socialenvironmental<br />
relations.<br />
Members <strong>of</strong> the group convene and teach<br />
MA Cities and Cultures and supervise a<br />
number <strong>of</strong> PhD students. Three members<br />
<strong>of</strong> the group (Alison Blunt, Miles Ogborn and<br />
David Pinder) are editors (with Jon May,<br />
<strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, and Pyrs Gruffudd, University<br />
<strong>of</strong> Wales) <strong>of</strong> Cultural <strong>Geography</strong> in Practice.<br />
(London: Arnold, 2003).<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Alison Blunt<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor <strong>of</strong> <strong>Geography</strong><br />
BA Hons(Cantab) MA PhD(UBC)<br />
a.blunt@qmul.ac.uk<br />
Alison Blunt’s research interests span<br />
cultural, feminist and postcolonial<br />
geographies, with a particular focus on<br />
imperial travel and domesticity and on<br />
geographies <strong>of</strong> home, identity, migration and<br />
diaspora. Her early research focused on the<br />
gendered spatiality <strong>of</strong> imperial travel and<br />
travel writing by women, and on imperial<br />
domesticity in British India. More recently,<br />
she has completed research funded by the<br />
ESRC and AHRC on Anglo-Indian women<br />
and the spatial politics <strong>of</strong> home in India,<br />
Britain and Australia in the context <strong>of</strong><br />
imperialism, nationalism, decolonisation and<br />
multiculturalism. Rather than focus on the<br />
diversity <strong>of</strong> individual homes and identities,<br />
this research examines their collective and<br />
political implications for a community <strong>of</strong><br />
mixed descent, both domiciled in India and<br />
resident across a wider diaspora. Her current<br />
research projects include ‘Diaspora Cities:<br />
Imagining Calcutta in London, Toronto and<br />
Jerusalem’ (funded by The Leverhulme<br />
Trust), which explores the city as a site <strong>of</strong><br />
diasporic memory, attachment and<br />
belonging; and ‘Gender and the Built<br />
Environment’ (in partnership with Women’s<br />
Design Service, funded by Urban Buzz),<br />
which is setting up a new database <strong>of</strong><br />
English-language publications for<br />
academics, practitioners and policy makers.<br />
She was awarded the Gill Memorial Award by<br />
the RGS-IBG in 2002 and a Philip<br />
Leverhulme Prize in 2003. She is editor <strong>of</strong><br />
Transactions from 2008-13, is Adjunct<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor in the Department <strong>of</strong> <strong>Geography</strong>,<br />
NTNU, Trondheim, and chairs the London<br />
Women and Planning Forum.<br />
Publications include:<br />
• Blunt, A., Dowling, R., (2006).<br />
Home. Routledge, London.<br />
• Blunt, A., (2005). Domicile and diaspora:<br />
Anglo-Indian Women and the Spatial<br />
Politics <strong>of</strong> Home. Blackwell, Oxford.<br />
• Blunt, A., Gruffudd, P., May, J., Ogborn, M.,<br />
Pinder, D., (2003). Cultural <strong>Geography</strong> in<br />
Practice. Arnold, London.<br />
• Blunt, A., McEwan, C., (2002). Postcolonial<br />
Geographies. Continuum, London.<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Catherine Nash<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor <strong>of</strong> <strong>Geography</strong><br />
BA Hons PhD(Nott)<br />
c.nash@qmul.ac.uk<br />
Catherine Nash’s research interests are in<br />
feminist cultural geography. Her research has<br />
explored the politics <strong>of</strong> collective identity and<br />
belonging, focused on changing<br />
constructions <strong>of</strong> Irish national identity, and<br />
engaged with recent debates in geography<br />
about postcolonialism, landscape, the body,<br />
visual representation, gender and<br />
nationhood. Over the past five years she has<br />
been building on this work through new<br />
research that engages with recent theoretical<br />
concerns in geography and related<br />
disciplines, contemporary cultural practices<br />
and new configurations <strong>of</strong> identity and<br />
16 <strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, University <strong>of</strong> London
elonging. Two recent projects addressed<br />
diasporic and local negotiations <strong>of</strong> belonging:<br />
one exploring ‘Irish roots’ genealogy and<br />
ethnicity amongst descendants <strong>of</strong> Irish<br />
emigrants to New Zealand, Canada, Australia<br />
and the United States, and local and<br />
community history projects and activities in<br />
relation to cultural policy, cultural politics and<br />
community relations in Northern Ireland. Her<br />
current research funded by an ESRC<br />
Research Fellowship (2004-07), entitled<br />
‘Genealogy and genetics: cultural<br />
geographies <strong>of</strong> relatedness’, examines<br />
scientific and popular understandings <strong>of</strong><br />
origins, ancestry, inheritance and descent<br />
in relation to ideas <strong>of</strong> ethnicity, nationhood,<br />
‘race’ and gender.<br />
It draws on new perspectives on kinship in<br />
cultural and social anthropology to explore<br />
cultural geographies <strong>of</strong> relatedness within<br />
popular genealogy and new genetics.<br />
Publications include:<br />
Nash, C. (forthcoming) Genetic Kinship:<br />
New Geographies <strong>of</strong> Relatedness, Cornell<br />
University Press, Ithaca.<br />
Nash, C., (2008). Of Irish Descent: Origin<br />
Stories, Genealogy and the Politics <strong>of</strong><br />
Belonging. Syracuse University Press,<br />
Syracuse.<br />
Nash, C., (2003). “They’re family!”: cultural<br />
geographies <strong>of</strong> relatedness in popular<br />
genealogy.’ In Ahmed, S., Fortier, A-M.,<br />
Seller, M. (Eds.). Uprootings, Regroundings:<br />
Questions <strong>of</strong> Home and Migration, Berg,<br />
Oxford.<br />
Nash, C., (2002). Genealogical identities.<br />
Environment and Planning D: Society and<br />
Space. 20, 27 – 52.<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Miles Ogborn<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor <strong>of</strong> <strong>Geography</strong><br />
BA Hons PhD (Cantab)<br />
m.j.ogborn@qmul.ac.uk<br />
Miles Ogborn’s research is concerned with<br />
the analysis <strong>of</strong> the geographical organisation<br />
<strong>of</strong> power. Early research focused on the<br />
historical geography <strong>of</strong> state formation in<br />
nineteenth-century Britain, with an<br />
investigation <strong>of</strong> how significant new forms <strong>of</strong><br />
state intervention and social policy (from the<br />
police, poor law, and prisons to the regulation<br />
<strong>of</strong> prostitution) required new ways <strong>of</strong><br />
organising space within disciplinary<br />
institutions and state formations. More<br />
recently he has examined the spaces <strong>of</strong><br />
modernity in eighteenth century London in<br />
order to understand how the making <strong>of</strong> “the<br />
modern world” involved important changes in<br />
relationships <strong>of</strong> power through the creation <strong>of</strong><br />
new forms <strong>of</strong> spatial arrangement within<br />
innovative organisations and institutions.<br />
His most recent research, funded by the<br />
Leverhulme Trust, the British Academy, and<br />
the Clark Memorial Library (UCLA), is<br />
concerned with the historical geographies <strong>of</strong><br />
globalisation between 1550 and 1800. One<br />
strand involves examining writing as a<br />
powerful technology <strong>of</strong> globalisation through<br />
the example <strong>of</strong> the uses <strong>of</strong> script and print by<br />
the English East India Company. The second<br />
project uses biography to introduce Britain’s<br />
role in global history between the sixteenth<br />
and eighteenth centuries. By retelling the life<br />
stories <strong>of</strong> over forty individuals from a huge<br />
range <strong>of</strong> backgrounds – including merchants,<br />
monarchs, slaves, sailors and pirates –<br />
Britain’s rise as a global imperial power is<br />
described and explained.<br />
Publications include:<br />
• Ogborn, M., (2008) (in press). Global Lives:<br />
Britain and the World, 1550-1800.<br />
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.<br />
In press.<br />
• Ogborn, M., (2007). Indian Ink: Script and<br />
Print in the Making <strong>of</strong> the English East India<br />
Company. Chicago University Press,<br />
Chicago.<br />
• Baldwin, E., Longhurst, B., McCracken, S.,<br />
Ogborn, M., Smith, G., (2003). Introducing<br />
Cultural <strong>Studies</strong>. Prentice Hall, London.<br />
(second edition forthcoming 2008)<br />
Dr Alastair Owens<br />
Senior Lecturer in <strong>Geography</strong><br />
BA Hons PhD (London)<br />
a.j.owens@qmul.ac.uk<br />
Alastair Owens is an historical geographer<br />
with interests in nineteenth and twentieth<br />
century Britain. A key focus <strong>of</strong> recent work<br />
has been on investigating the relationships<br />
between gender, class and wealth in order to<br />
explore how individuals used markets and<br />
legal structures to ensure their own material<br />
<strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, University <strong>of</strong> London 17
Staff research interests (cont)<br />
well-being and that <strong>of</strong> others. This is part <strong>of</strong> a<br />
wider project which aims to fundamentally<br />
revise our historical and geographical<br />
understanding <strong>of</strong> the provision <strong>of</strong> welfare in<br />
nineteenth and twentieth-century Britain. A<br />
recent, collaborative ESRC-funded project<br />
has extended this work through a study <strong>of</strong><br />
gender and investment in England and<br />
Wales, 1870-1930.<br />
Alastair has further research interests in<br />
material culture and everyday life in Victorian<br />
cities. Working with pr<strong>of</strong>essional<br />
archaeologists, he has recently completed an<br />
AHRC-funded project pioneering new<br />
approaches to studying the material histories<br />
or urban place in mid-Victorian London. As<br />
well as pursuing interdisciplinary research,<br />
Alastair also successfully collaborates with a<br />
number <strong>of</strong> organisations outside <strong>of</strong><br />
academia, including the Geffrye Museum<br />
and the Museum <strong>of</strong> London.<br />
Publications include:<br />
• Beachy, R., Craig, B., Owens, A., (2006).<br />
Women, Business and Finance in<br />
Nineteenth-Century Europe: Rethinking<br />
Separate Spheres. Oxford: Berg.<br />
• Green, D.R., Owens, A., (2004). Family<br />
Welfare: Gender, Property and Inheritance<br />
since the Seventeenth Century. Praeger,<br />
Westport CT.<br />
Dr David Pinder<br />
Reader in <strong>Geography</strong><br />
BA Hons PhD(Cantab)<br />
d.pinder@qmul.ac.uk<br />
David Pinder is interested in cultural and<br />
urban geography, and in social theories <strong>of</strong><br />
modernity, space and the city. His recent<br />
research addresses ways in which modern<br />
cities have been imagined, represented and<br />
contested through a focus on utopian visions<br />
<strong>of</strong> cities in twentieth century western Europe.<br />
This work critically engages with modernist<br />
planning and architectural discourses as well<br />
as the ideas and practices <strong>of</strong> avant-garde<br />
groups that sought to transform the<br />
geographies <strong>of</strong> cities and everyday life. It has<br />
especially centred on the activists, artists and<br />
writers associated with the Situationist<br />
International during the 1950s and 1960s,<br />
and it considers their critiques <strong>of</strong> post-war<br />
urbanisation, their development <strong>of</strong> critical<br />
geographical practices, and their utopian<br />
visions <strong>of</strong> urban space.<br />
The aim <strong>of</strong> this research is not only to<br />
reconfigure standard histories <strong>of</strong> the<br />
modernist city and to draw out contested<br />
ideals within twentieth-century urbanism;<br />
it is also to rethink the place <strong>of</strong> utopianism in<br />
approaches to cities, and indeed to rekindle<br />
elements <strong>of</strong> utopianism itself. He is currently<br />
developing these interests through writings<br />
on contemporary artistic practices,<br />
psychogeography and the politics <strong>of</strong> urban<br />
space; and on the potential value <strong>of</strong><br />
utopianism for radical geographical<br />
perspectives today. He is also studying<br />
contested spaces <strong>of</strong> modernist urbanism in<br />
London and New York between the 1950s<br />
and 1970s. The latter research includes a<br />
focus on the ways in which artists and<br />
cultural practitioners sought to explore<br />
and intervene in urban space.<br />
Publications include:<br />
• Pinder, D. (2005) Visions <strong>of</strong> the City:<br />
Utopianism, Power and Politics in<br />
Twentieth-Century Urbanism. Edinburgh,<br />
Edinburgh University Press.<br />
• Blunt, A., Gruffudd, P., May, J., Ogborn, M.,<br />
Pinder, D., (2003). Cultural <strong>Geography</strong> in<br />
Practice. Arnold, London.<br />
Health Place and Society<br />
Research Theme<br />
The Health, Place and Society theme<br />
incorporates streams <strong>of</strong> work, taking critical<br />
and innovative perspectives on health and<br />
healthcare, population change, the body and<br />
societies. Research under this theme<br />
includes work on:<br />
• Migration, gender and health<br />
• The impact <strong>of</strong> new technologies, regulatory<br />
paradigms and global economic<br />
imperatives on the way that human and<br />
non-human biological materials are treated<br />
as commodities and hi-tech biomedical<br />
science in non-Western locales<br />
• Spatial variation and inequality in health<br />
and healthcare<br />
• New methods to explore spatial health<br />
variations through statistical modelling<br />
18 <strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, University <strong>of</strong> London
• The individual experiences and<br />
interpretations <strong>of</strong> the body in different<br />
geographical settings.<br />
• Policy relevant research concerning the<br />
ways that urban change impacts on health,<br />
health related behaviour and health care<br />
provision.<br />
Dr Steven Cummins<br />
Senior Lecturer & NIHR Fellow<br />
BSc (CGCHE) MSc (London) PhD(Glas)<br />
Steven Cummins has a wide range <strong>of</strong><br />
interests in public health policy and health<br />
inequality. His particular interests are in the<br />
contextual and socio-environmental<br />
determinants <strong>of</strong> health; the design and<br />
evaluation <strong>of</strong> community social and policy<br />
interventions to improve population health;<br />
the consumer consequences <strong>of</strong> food retail<br />
restructuring; and the public policy<br />
implications <strong>of</strong> geographical research and<br />
books. He has authored over thirty-five<br />
papers. He has received a Philip Leverhulme<br />
Prize (2007) and his current research is<br />
supported by a NIHR Fellowship.<br />
Publications include:<br />
• Cummins, S. (2007). ‘Understanding a<br />
representing place in health research: a<br />
relational approach', Social Science and<br />
Medicine<br />
• Cummins, S; Ellaway; MacIntyre; (2002).<br />
‘Place effects on health: how can we<br />
conceptualise, operationalise and measure<br />
them’ Social Science and Medicine<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Peter Congdon<br />
Research Pr<strong>of</strong>essor<br />
BSc (Econ) MSc PhD(Lond)<br />
p.congdon@qmul.ac.uk<br />
Peter Congdon specialises in quantitative<br />
and modelling applications and has wide<br />
experience <strong>of</strong> research in spatial<br />
epidemiology, health service research, and<br />
regional demography. He has been a<br />
member <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Geography</strong> Department since<br />
1992, and a Research Pr<strong>of</strong>essor from 2001.<br />
He has participated in a range <strong>of</strong> funded<br />
research projects including ESRC funded<br />
projects on Contextual Health Variations and<br />
Trends in Locality Mortality, a SAMHSA<br />
funded project on Psychiatric Health Needs<br />
Mapping in New York State, and joint projects<br />
with the Department <strong>of</strong> General Practice,<br />
including a Department <strong>of</strong> Health funded<br />
study <strong>of</strong> psychiatric referrals in east London<br />
and a Kings Fund project on health and social<br />
care indicators for the elderly. He is an<br />
elected member <strong>of</strong> the International<br />
Statistical Institute since 2007. His research<br />
output includes methodological work (eg in<br />
statistical journals) and substantive studies<br />
considering links between health outcomes<br />
and social structure.<br />
Publications include:<br />
• Congdon, P., (2006). Bayesian Statistical<br />
Modelling, 2nd edition. John Wiley, London.<br />
• Congdon, P., (2008). (forthcoming)<br />
Bayesian Hierarchical Models.<br />
Chapman&Hall/CRC.<br />
• Congdon, P., Stillwell, J., (1992). Migration<br />
Modelling: Macro and Micro Perspectives.<br />
Belhaven Press and John Wiley, London.<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Isabel Dyck<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor <strong>of</strong> <strong>Geography</strong><br />
BA MA (Manc) PhD (Simon Fraser<br />
University)<br />
i.dyck@qmul.ac.uk<br />
Isabel Dyck joined the Department <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>Geography</strong> from the University <strong>of</strong> British<br />
Columbia. She is internationally recognised<br />
for her research on: Feminist analyses <strong>of</strong> the<br />
home and work experiences <strong>of</strong> women with<br />
chronic illness; healthcare access for<br />
immigrant minority women, and integration<br />
issues for immigrant families; the home as a<br />
site for long-term home care. She has<br />
produced a range <strong>of</strong> papers concerned<br />
with embodiment, identity, home and<br />
health/disability experience.<br />
Publications include:<br />
• Davis-Lewis, N., Dyck, I., McLafferty, S.,<br />
Lewis, N., (2004). Geographies<br />
<strong>of</strong> Women’s Health.<br />
• Moss, P., Dyck, I., (2003). Women, Body,<br />
Illness: Space and Identify in the Everyday<br />
Lives <strong>of</strong> Women with Chronic Illness.<br />
<strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, University <strong>of</strong> London 19
Staff research interests (cont)<br />
Dr Beth Greenhough<br />
Lecturer in <strong>Geography</strong><br />
BSc (Reading) MSc (Bristol) PhD<br />
(Open University)<br />
b.j.greenhough@qmul.ac.uk<br />
Beth Greenhough’s research draws on a<br />
combination <strong>of</strong> political-economic geography,<br />
cultural geography and science studies to<br />
explore the social implications <strong>of</strong> scientific<br />
innovations in the areas <strong>of</strong> health,<br />
biomedicine and the environment. Her work<br />
to date has explored the way in which<br />
emerging technologies in the biosciences<br />
and bio-medicine are placing new demands<br />
on existing medical and biological data<br />
collections. Her ESRC funded doctoral<br />
research analysed the debates and<br />
controversy surrounding a proposal made<br />
by an Icelandic biotechnology firm to use<br />
Iceland’s national medical records to<br />
construct a commercial research database.<br />
The research argued that the commercial use<br />
<strong>of</strong> bio-medical information resources,<br />
such as medical records, reflects how<br />
the biosciences are transforming the<br />
relationships between nature and society,<br />
science and medicine, and human and nonhuman<br />
subjects.<br />
Beth’s most recent interest is in bioethics<br />
and the issue <strong>of</strong> consent for participation<br />
in medical and scientific studies. She is<br />
currently developing a project that will<br />
compare the ethical procedures adopted for<br />
human clinical trials with those developed for<br />
use with animal subjects in biomedical<br />
research. She also has a strong commitment<br />
to promoting an interdisciplinary approach to<br />
the study <strong>of</strong> environmental issues and has a<br />
project with a colleague in Physical<br />
<strong>Geography</strong> at Keele University at student’s<br />
perceptions <strong>of</strong> environmental citizenship and<br />
how these vary according to students’ degree<br />
programmes.<br />
Publications include:<br />
• Greenhough, B., (2007). Situated<br />
knowledges and the spaces <strong>of</strong> consent.<br />
Ge<strong>of</strong>orum. 38, 1140-1151.<br />
• Greenhough, B., (2006). Imagining an<br />
Island laboratory: Representing the field<br />
in <strong>Geography</strong> and Science <strong>Studies</strong>.<br />
Transactions <strong>of</strong> the Institute <strong>of</strong> British<br />
Geographers. 31, 224-237.<br />
• Greenhough, B., (2006). Decontextualised<br />
Dissociated Detached Mapping the<br />
networks <strong>of</strong> Bio-Informatic exchange.<br />
Environment and Planning A. 38, 445-463.<br />
• Greenhough, B., Jazeel, T., Massey, D.,<br />
(2005). Introduction: geographical<br />
encounters with the Indian Ocean tsunami.<br />
Geographical Journal. 171, 369-371.<br />
Dr Ray Hall<br />
Senior Lecturer in <strong>Geography</strong><br />
BA Hons PhD(Liv)<br />
r.hall@qmul.ac.uk<br />
Ray Hall’s research interests lie in the field<br />
<strong>of</strong> historical and contemporary population<br />
geography. A particular interest is changing<br />
European household structures and the<br />
interrelationships between these and wider<br />
social changes and how these are played out<br />
in cities. Her research has focused upon a<br />
number <strong>of</strong> scales, including work in both<br />
London and other European cities. Current<br />
research is concerned with urban change in<br />
central Europe.<br />
Publications include:<br />
• Buzar S, Hall R and Ogden P E. Beyond<br />
gentrification: the demographic<br />
reurbanisation <strong>of</strong> Bologna. Environment<br />
and Planning A 39, 64-85<br />
• Buzar S. Ogden P E and Hall R. Households<br />
matter: the quiet demography <strong>of</strong> urban<br />
transformation. Progress in Human<br />
<strong>Geography</strong>, 29, 413-436<br />
• Hall R and Ogden PE (2003). The rise <strong>of</strong><br />
living alone in inner London: trends among<br />
the population <strong>of</strong> working age. Environment<br />
and Planning A 35: 871-888<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Philip Ogden<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor <strong>of</strong> <strong>Geography</strong><br />
BA Hons(Durham) DPhil(Oxon)<br />
p.e.ogden@qmul.ac.uk<br />
Phillip Ogden is a population geographer with<br />
particular interests in migration and recent<br />
demographic change in Western Europe and<br />
the Caribbean. He is currently engaged in<br />
research projects in France and the UK<br />
funded by the ESRC, the Nuffield Foundation<br />
and the British Academy on household<br />
structures and migration in the major cities.<br />
He has published widely in these areas and<br />
contributed to wider methodological debates<br />
in population geography. He chairs the<br />
Centre for Migration <strong>Studies</strong> at <strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>.<br />
He has published in over 15 books and<br />
numerous journals.<br />
Publications include:<br />
• Ogden, P.E., (1992). London Docklands:<br />
the challenge <strong>of</strong> development. Cambridge<br />
University Press, Cambridge.<br />
• Ogden, P.E., White, P., (1989). Migrants in<br />
Modern France. Allen and Unwin, London.<br />
• Ogden, P.E., (1982). Migration and<br />
Geographical Change. Cambridge<br />
University Press, Cambridge.<br />
Dr Bronwyn Parry<br />
Reader in <strong>Geography</strong><br />
BA Hons(Macquarie) PhD(Cantab)<br />
b.parry@qmul.ac.uk<br />
Bronwyn Parry is an economic and cultural<br />
geographer whose primary interests lie in<br />
investigating the way human-environment<br />
relations are being re-cast by technological,<br />
economic and regulatory changes. Her<br />
special interests include the rise and<br />
operation <strong>of</strong> the life sciences industry,<br />
informationalism, the commodification <strong>of</strong> life<br />
forms, posthumanism, bioethics and systems<br />
for knowing, disciplining and governing<br />
nature.<br />
Examining historical and contemporary<br />
contestations over ‘ownership’ <strong>of</strong> bodily<br />
materials and artefacts has led her to<br />
investigate the role that different knowledge<br />
systems (from the Linnaean system <strong>of</strong><br />
biological classification to the WTO TRIPS<br />
system <strong>of</strong> Trade Related Intellectual Property<br />
Rights) have played in regulating access to,<br />
and use <strong>of</strong> biological and ‘natural’ materials<br />
over time.<br />
Bronwyn is currently developing several new<br />
strands <strong>of</strong> research. The first explores the role<br />
that corporeality plays in shaping our<br />
everyday engagements with the world. This<br />
work combines her long standing interests in<br />
20 <strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, University <strong>of</strong> London
the body with more recent engagements with<br />
phenomenology, materialist and affective<br />
geographies. The second analyses the<br />
phenomena <strong>of</strong> ‘reproductive tourism’ and<br />
assesses how it is altering concepts <strong>of</strong><br />
kinship, nationality and biological<br />
relatedness, the third (for which she has<br />
recently received a project grant <strong>of</strong> £30,000)<br />
considers how the visual arts may be<br />
rehabilitated as a medium for communicating<br />
complex ethical issues in science to a wider<br />
public.<br />
Publications include:<br />
• Parry, B.C., (2008) (forthcoming).<br />
Entangled exchange: Reconceptualising<br />
the characterisation and practice <strong>of</strong> bodily<br />
commodification. Ge<strong>of</strong>orum.<br />
• Parry, B.C., (2008). Geographical<br />
Indications: Not all ‘Champagne and<br />
Roses’” In Bently, L., Davis, J., Ginsberg, J.<br />
(Eds.). Trademarks and Brands. Cambridge<br />
University Press.<br />
• Parry, B.C., (2007). Cornering the Futures<br />
Market in ‘Bio-epistemology.’ Biosocieties.<br />
2, 386-389.<br />
• Parry, B.C., (2006). The private life <strong>of</strong><br />
genetic samples. Women’s <strong>Studies</strong><br />
Quarterly Special Issue: The Global and<br />
the Intimate. 52-53.<br />
• Parry, B.C., Gere, C. M., (2006).<br />
Contested Bodies: Property Models and<br />
the Commodification <strong>of</strong> Human Biological<br />
Artefacts. Science as Culture. 15, 139-158.<br />
• Gere, C.M., Parry, B.C., (2006). The Flesh<br />
Made Word: Banking the Body in the Age <strong>of</strong><br />
Information. Biosocieties. 1, 83-98.<br />
• Parry, B.C., (2004). Trading the Genome:<br />
Investigating the commodification <strong>of</strong> bioinformation.<br />
Columbia University Press,<br />
New York, New York.<br />
Economy, Development<br />
and Social Justice<br />
Research Theme<br />
Members <strong>of</strong> the Economy, Development and<br />
Social Justice theme conduct theoreticallyinformed,<br />
politically-engaged research on<br />
the production, nature and consequences<br />
<strong>of</strong> inequality and uneven development.<br />
Members <strong>of</strong> this group <strong>of</strong>fer an innovative<br />
combination <strong>of</strong> development, economic and<br />
social geographical specialisms. There are<br />
three important areas <strong>of</strong> focus within this<br />
research group:<br />
1. Social Relations and Economic<br />
Geographies: including the proliferative<br />
and diverse nature <strong>of</strong> economic practices;<br />
the cultural construction <strong>of</strong> economic<br />
geographies; historical geographies <strong>of</strong><br />
property, investment and welfare; and<br />
changing forms <strong>of</strong> work and trade unions<br />
2. Geographies <strong>of</strong> Uneven Development:<br />
including work on global production and<br />
value networks, sunk costs and regional<br />
development in economic transformations;<br />
the political economy <strong>of</strong> post-socialist<br />
transformations; and the role <strong>of</strong> changing<br />
labour markets, welfare regimes and<br />
immigration in shaping poverty and<br />
livelihood strategies in cities in the U.K.,<br />
East-Central Europe, southern Africa and<br />
Latin America<br />
3. Politics, Identity and Social Justice:<br />
including work on violence, insecurity and<br />
development; gender and generational<br />
inequalities shaping everyday experiences<br />
<strong>of</strong> HIV/AIDS; changing geographies <strong>of</strong><br />
welfare provision and homelessness;<br />
geographies <strong>of</strong> neo-liberalism and<br />
resistance.<br />
4. International and transnational migration<br />
with a focus on migration to London<br />
Members <strong>of</strong> the EDSJ group are involved in a<br />
variety <strong>of</strong> collaborations with research users,<br />
including international trade unions (eg<br />
International Transport Workers’ Federation),<br />
community organisations (eg London<br />
Citizens), and regional and international<br />
governmental agencies (eg OECD, Thames<br />
Gateway).<br />
<strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, University <strong>of</strong> London 21
Staff research interests (cont)<br />
Dr Kavita Datta<br />
Senior Lecturer in <strong>Geography</strong><br />
BA Hons (University <strong>of</strong> Botswana), PhD<br />
(Cantab)<br />
k.datta@qmul.ac.uk<br />
Kavita Datta’s research interests span a<br />
number <strong>of</strong> areas <strong>of</strong> development, gender and<br />
migration, and she has conducted research<br />
in both the global South (Botswana and<br />
South Africa) and North (London). Her most<br />
recent research has focused upon exploring<br />
the role and experiences <strong>of</strong> low paid migrant<br />
workers in London. This research has<br />
highlighted the changing nature, politics and<br />
sensibility <strong>of</strong> work, how and why ‘new’<br />
migrants have come to dominate low-paid<br />
work in global cities like London, and the<br />
household strategies that they employ in<br />
order to survive. She is also interested in<br />
geographies <strong>of</strong> finance, and specifically<br />
financial exclusion and has undertaken<br />
research on financial exclusion among low<br />
paid migrant communities in London. This<br />
research builds upon broader research on<br />
housing finance, micro-finance and gender<br />
in the context <strong>of</strong> housing markets in Southern<br />
Africa, and she is co-editor <strong>of</strong> Housing<br />
Finance in Developing Countries. Gender is<br />
a critical focus <strong>of</strong> Kavita’s research and her<br />
work has focused specifically on gendered<br />
access to housing markets and migration<br />
processes as well as men and masculinities.<br />
She has also explored the interconnections<br />
between generation and gender in the<br />
context <strong>of</strong> the HIV/AIDS crisis in Southern<br />
Africa.<br />
Kavita’s research has been funded by<br />
the ESRC, Department for International<br />
Development (DfID), Nuffield Foundation<br />
and Central London Research Fund. She has<br />
worked as a consultant for the United Nations<br />
Centre for Human Settlement (UNHCS).<br />
Publications include:<br />
• Datta, K., (2007). Sons and fathers:<br />
Changing constructions <strong>of</strong> fatherhood<br />
in urban Botswana. Women’s <strong>Studies</strong><br />
International Forum. 30, 97-113.<br />
• Datta, K., (2007). In search <strong>of</strong> justice<br />
Gender and generation in a globalizing<br />
world. In: Mapetla, M., Schlyter, A., Bless,<br />
B. (Eds). Urban Experiences <strong>of</strong> Gender,<br />
Generation and Social Justice. Institute <strong>of</strong><br />
Southern African <strong>Studies</strong>, National<br />
University <strong>of</strong> Lesotho. pp.19-44.<br />
• Datta, K., (2007). Gender and micr<strong>of</strong>inance,<br />
Habitat Debate. Special issue<br />
on Financing for the Urban Poor. 13, 8.<br />
• Datta, K., (2007). Housing, Finance and<br />
Development. Report for the UNHCS.<br />
• Datta, K., (2007). Money matters: exploring<br />
financial exclusion among low paid migrant<br />
workers in London. Working Paper,<br />
Department <strong>of</strong> <strong>Geography</strong>, <strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>,<br />
University <strong>of</strong> London.<br />
• Datta, K., McIlwaine, C.J., Wills, J., Evans,<br />
Y., Herbert, J., May, J., (2007). The new<br />
development finance or exploiting migrant<br />
labour Remittance sending among lowpaid<br />
migrant workers in London.<br />
International Development Planning<br />
Review. 29, 43-67.<br />
Dr Joanna Herbert<br />
Leverhulme Early Career Fellow<br />
BA Hons PhD (Leic)<br />
j.herbert@qmul.ac.uk<br />
Joanna Herbert has research interests in the<br />
qualitative dimensions <strong>of</strong> migration and the<br />
South Asian diaspora. She has worked on<br />
several research projects on the experiences<br />
<strong>of</strong> minority ethnic groups including recent<br />
research for an ESRC project on migrants<br />
employed in low paid sectors in London. Her<br />
Leverhulme Trust funded research entitled<br />
‘Oral Histories <strong>of</strong> Ugandan Asians in Britain’<br />
seeks to go beyond the simplistic narrative <strong>of</strong><br />
the Ugandan Asian rise to economic and<br />
social success and glean other stories that<br />
constitute their experience in Britain. The<br />
project focuses on first and second<br />
generation Ugandan Asians and explores<br />
the role <strong>of</strong> memories, gender, class, place<br />
and generation in shaping identities and<br />
experiences. It also aims to contribute to<br />
wider debates about belonging, social<br />
cohesion and integration in Britain.<br />
Publications include:<br />
• Herbert, J., (2008). Negotiating Boundaries<br />
in the City: Migration, Ethnicity and Gender<br />
in Britain. Aldershot: Ashgate.<br />
• Rodger, R., Herbert, J., (2007). Testimonies<br />
<strong>of</strong> the City: Identity, Community and Change<br />
in a Contemporary Urban World. Aldershot:<br />
Ashgate.<br />
Dr Al James<br />
Lecturer in <strong>Geography</strong><br />
BA Hons (Cambridge) PhD (Cambridge)<br />
a.james@qmul.ac.uk<br />
Al James is an economic geographer with<br />
teaching and research interests within the<br />
Global North (US, UK, Ireland) and Global<br />
South (India) focused around: (i) the cultural<br />
economy <strong>of</strong> innovation and learning in<br />
dynamic regional economies; (ii) gendered<br />
experiences <strong>of</strong> work and employment; and<br />
(iii) new forms <strong>of</strong> labour organising and<br />
worker empowerment in the New Economy.<br />
Within this framework, Al is currently working<br />
on an ESRC–funded research project that<br />
explores the connections between IT workers’<br />
everyday experiences <strong>of</strong> work-life conflict<br />
(particularly those <strong>of</strong> working parents);<br />
employer provision <strong>of</strong> different work-life<br />
‘balance’ policies and practices; and the<br />
kinds <strong>of</strong> intra- and inter-firm innovation and<br />
learning processes widely recognised as<br />
underpinning high tech firm competitiveness.<br />
This work is based on comparative fieldwork<br />
in two well known IT ‘clusters’: Dublin and<br />
Cambridge.<br />
Al is also working on a second project (with<br />
Bhaskar Vira at the University <strong>of</strong> Cambridge)<br />
which explores the mobility <strong>of</strong> e-service<br />
workers in India’s Business Process<br />
Outsourcing / Information Technology<br />
Enabled Services Sector. Additionally, this<br />
project (funded by the Nuffield Foundation)<br />
compares the role <strong>of</strong> different labour market<br />
intermediaries (voice accent trainers,<br />
placement agencies, recruiters, labour<br />
‘unions’) in mediating work and training<br />
practices, brokering employment<br />
relationships, and improving labour market<br />
outcomes for call centre workers in India<br />
and the UK. In so doing, the project seeks<br />
22 <strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, University <strong>of</strong> London
to contribute to a decentred Economic<br />
<strong>Geography</strong> which rejects the ongoing<br />
academic division <strong>of</strong> labour between<br />
‘economic’ and ‘development’ geographers.<br />
Publications include:<br />
• James, A., (2007). Everyday effects,<br />
practices and causal mechanisms <strong>of</strong><br />
‘cultural embeddedness’: learning from<br />
Utah's high tech regional economy.<br />
Ge<strong>of</strong>orum 38, 393-413.<br />
• Gray, M., James, A., (2007). Connecting<br />
gender and economic competitiveness:<br />
lessons from Cambridge's high tech<br />
regional economy. Environment and<br />
Planning A. 39, 417-436.<br />
• James, A., (2006). Critical moments in<br />
the production <strong>of</strong> ‘rigorous’ and ‘relevant’<br />
cultural economic geographies. Progress<br />
in Human <strong>Geography</strong>. 30, 1-20.<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Roger Lee<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor <strong>of</strong> <strong>Geography</strong><br />
BSc(Nott)<br />
r.lee@qmul.ac.uk<br />
Roger Lee’s research interests lie in the field<br />
<strong>of</strong> economic geography. They are centred<br />
primarily on the social and cultural<br />
construction and functioning <strong>of</strong> economic<br />
geographies. At the global scale, this work<br />
concerns the ways in which the norms and<br />
evaluations <strong>of</strong> capitalism are reproduced by<br />
and through ‘spaces <strong>of</strong> regulation’ dominated<br />
increasingly by financial markets with global<br />
reach. The ability <strong>of</strong> financial markets not<br />
merely to regulate but to form new<br />
geographies <strong>of</strong> accumulation is exemplified<br />
by work on ‘emerging markets’ as a category<br />
<strong>of</strong> investment which enhances the overall<br />
level <strong>of</strong> marginalisation and uneven<br />
development within the global economic<br />
geography.<br />
More recently, Roger has begin to think<br />
through the (limited) treatment <strong>of</strong> markets<br />
in economic geography and to examine the<br />
way in which they may both reinforce and<br />
intensify capitalist norms and categories<br />
(eg that <strong>of</strong> labour) through structured<br />
finance, for example, and may be put to<br />
work to challenge those norms.<br />
Although ‘alternative’ and challenging, these<br />
economic geographies are embedded in local<br />
social and political practices and institutions<br />
which are also constantly disrupted and<br />
shaped by globalising tendencies <strong>of</strong> circuits<br />
<strong>of</strong> value shaped by capitalist social relations.<br />
It is the contested relationships between the<br />
material imperatives <strong>of</strong> economies, their<br />
social manifestation and contestation in<br />
distinctive social forms <strong>of</strong> economic<br />
geography and the pr<strong>of</strong>ound ontological<br />
significance <strong>of</strong> conceptions <strong>of</strong> space in<br />
economic geography that provide the focal<br />
points for Roger’s interests.<br />
Publications include:<br />
• Lee, R., Smith, D.M., (2004). Geographies<br />
and Moralities. Blackwell, Oxford.<br />
• Leyshon, A., Lee, R., Williams, C., (2003).<br />
Alternative economic spaces. Sage,<br />
London.<br />
• Lee, R., Wills, J., (1997). Geographies <strong>of</strong><br />
Economies. Arnold, London.<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Jon May<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor <strong>of</strong> <strong>Geography</strong><br />
BA Hons (Cantab) PhD (Lond)<br />
j.may@qmul.ac.uk<br />
Jon May is a social and cultural geographer<br />
with a particular interest in (global) cities.<br />
His work uses an ethnographic approach to<br />
explore questions <strong>of</strong> inequality and social<br />
justice in an era <strong>of</strong> rapid urban chance, social<br />
and economic restructuring and welfare<br />
reform. For the past decade or so his work<br />
has focused around two main themes:<br />
exploring the geographies <strong>of</strong> homelessness,<br />
and migrant labour in the global city.<br />
In the first <strong>of</strong> these areas, early work explored<br />
the life histories <strong>of</strong> homeless people; media<br />
and legislative constructions <strong>of</strong> homelessness<br />
(especially those concerned with the<br />
construction <strong>of</strong> ‘homeless places’ and<br />
questions <strong>of</strong> geographical mobility); and<br />
homeless people’s own experiences <strong>of</strong><br />
movement and <strong>of</strong> place. More recently, his<br />
work on the Homeless Places Project has<br />
extended the rather narrow accounts <strong>of</strong><br />
homelessness and <strong>of</strong> the ‘revanchist city’<br />
found in the geographical literature, exploring<br />
<strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, University <strong>of</strong> London 23
Staff research interests (cont)<br />
instead the various and complex experiences<br />
<strong>of</strong> and responses to street homelessness in<br />
the UK – examining the changing face <strong>of</strong><br />
homeless services in an era <strong>of</strong> neo-liberal<br />
welfare ‘reform’; the geographies <strong>of</strong><br />
voluntarism; and homeless people’s own<br />
understandings and experiences <strong>of</strong> voluntary<br />
service spaces and <strong>of</strong> the streets. Under the<br />
second <strong>of</strong> these themes, work with<br />
colleagues in the Global Cities at Work team<br />
at <strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> has explored the practices<br />
and politics <strong>of</strong> ‘travelling neoliberalism’ –<br />
charting the processes behind and formation<br />
<strong>of</strong> a distinctive ‘migrant division <strong>of</strong> labour’ in<br />
the London low-wage economy, the diverse<br />
experiences <strong>of</strong> low-paid migrant workers<br />
themselves, and the politics attendant to<br />
such divisions.<br />
Publications include:<br />
• Blunt, A., Gruffudd, P., May, J., Ogborn, M.,<br />
Pinder, D., (2003). Cultural <strong>Geography</strong> in<br />
Practice. Arnold, London.<br />
• May, J., Thrift, N., (2001). TimeSpace:<br />
geographies <strong>of</strong> temporality. Routledge,<br />
London.<br />
• Crang, M., Crang, P., May, J., (1999).<br />
Virtual Geographies: bodies, space,<br />
relations. Routledge, London.<br />
Dr Cathy McIlwaine<br />
Reader in Human <strong>Geography</strong><br />
BA Hons MA(Liv) PhD(Lond)<br />
c.j.mcilwaine@qmul.ac.uk<br />
Cathy McIlwaine is a development<br />
geographer with regional interests in Latin<br />
America (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Colombia<br />
and Guatemala), although she has also<br />
worked in South East Asia (the Philippines)<br />
and Southern Africa (Botswana and South<br />
Africa). Her research has focused on a<br />
number <strong>of</strong> key areas: gender and ethnic<br />
inequalities within households and labour<br />
markets; the reconfiguration <strong>of</strong> gender<br />
relations through export orientated<br />
development strategies; urban poverty; the<br />
relationships between violence and the<br />
development process; civil society, social<br />
capital, and social exclusion in the South.<br />
More recently, she has been working on<br />
issues <strong>of</strong> international migration especially<br />
among Latin Americans to Europe as well as<br />
migrant labour in London. In her work on<br />
urban violence in particular, Cathy has drawn<br />
heavily upon and further developed<br />
techniques <strong>of</strong> Participatory Urban Appraisal<br />
(PUA). Her research has a strong policy focus<br />
and she has worked as a consultant with the<br />
World Bank, the Inter-American<br />
Development Bank and the Commonwealth<br />
Secretariat. She also chairs the Carila Latin<br />
American Welfare Group which works with<br />
Latin American migrants in London.<br />
Publications include:<br />
• McIlwaine, C., (2009). Latin London: the<br />
Lives <strong>of</strong> Latin American Migrants in the<br />
Capital. Institute for the Study <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Americas. London.<br />
• Chant, S., McIlwaine, C., (2009).<br />
Geographies <strong>of</strong> Development in the 21st<br />
Century: An Introduction to the Global<br />
South. Edward Elgar, London.<br />
• McIlwaine, C., Moser, C., (2004).<br />
Encounters with Violence in Latin America.<br />
Routledge, London.<br />
• McIlwaine, C., Willis, K., (2002).<br />
Challenges and Change in Middle America:<br />
Perspectives on Development in Mexico,<br />
Central America, and the Caribbean.<br />
Prentice Hall, Harlow.<br />
Dr Konstantinos Melachroinos<br />
Lecturer in <strong>Geography</strong><br />
Diploma in Town Planning (University <strong>of</strong><br />
Thessaly, Greece) PhD(Lond)<br />
k.melachroinos@qmul.ac.uk<br />
Konstantinos Melachroinos is an economic<br />
geographer with a strong interest in issues<br />
related to regional development and change<br />
in a wide range <strong>of</strong> countries. Theoretical<br />
considerations about the nature <strong>of</strong> the<br />
economic indicators applied in spatial<br />
analysis form an important aspect <strong>of</strong> his<br />
work. Furthermore, another part <strong>of</strong> his<br />
research focuses on the measurement and<br />
mapping <strong>of</strong> territorial trends and the<br />
evaluation <strong>of</strong> regional development policies.<br />
During the period 2003-2005 he contributed<br />
to the development <strong>of</strong> the OECD Territorial<br />
Database and the preparation <strong>of</strong> several<br />
OECD publications. His current research<br />
24 <strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, University <strong>of</strong> London
projects involve the examination <strong>of</strong> the effects<br />
<strong>of</strong> globalisation on regional inequalities and<br />
the impact <strong>of</strong> Taiwanese FDI on local<br />
economic development in China.<br />
Publications include:<br />
• Melachroinos, K.A., (2002). European<br />
integration and the spatial dynamics <strong>of</strong><br />
manufacturing – employment change.<br />
Environment and Planning A. 34, 2017-<br />
2036.<br />
• Melachroinos, K.A., Spence, N., (2001).<br />
Manufacturing productivity growth across<br />
European Union states: 1978-1994.<br />
Environment and Planning A. 33, 1681-<br />
1703.<br />
• Melachroinos, K.A., Spence, N., (2001).<br />
Conceptualising sunk costs in economic<br />
geography: cost recovery and the<br />
fluctuating value <strong>of</strong> fixed capital. Progress<br />
in Human <strong>Geography</strong>. 25, 347-364.<br />
Dr Simon Reid-Henry<br />
Lecturer in <strong>Geography</strong><br />
BA Hons (Cantab) MA PhD(Cantab)<br />
s.reid-henry@qmul.ac.uk<br />
Simon Reid-Henry’s research interests<br />
cover a range <strong>of</strong> interests across the Human<br />
<strong>Geography</strong> spectrum. His earlier research<br />
work on the politics <strong>of</strong> knowledge production<br />
centred upon the history <strong>of</strong> the attempt to<br />
develop an alternative biotechnology industry<br />
in Cuba. This work brought together his<br />
interests in the history <strong>of</strong> science,<br />
development agendas, socialism (and its<br />
nationalist variants) as well as a broader set<br />
<strong>of</strong> issues concerning pharmaceutical<br />
dependencies and health-based inequalities.<br />
His work today branches out from this in two<br />
linked research agendas. The first is about<br />
the contemporary pharmaceutical industry<br />
and in particular the issue <strong>of</strong> access to antiretroviral<br />
drugs, linking a series <strong>of</strong> arguments<br />
about social justice and moral economy to<br />
the technological mediation <strong>of</strong> political<br />
economy.<br />
The second concerns the cultural<br />
construction <strong>of</strong> sovereignty and is based<br />
upon an historical-geography <strong>of</strong> Guantánamo<br />
Bay. Both lines <strong>of</strong> research are ultimately<br />
concerned with the way that particular sorts<br />
<strong>of</strong> lives are valued in the twenty-first century,<br />
Publications include:<br />
• Reid-Henry, S.M., (2008) (forthcoming).<br />
The Cuban Cure: Reason and Resistance in<br />
Global Science. Chicago University Press,<br />
Chicago.<br />
• Reid-Henry, S.M., (2007). Scientific<br />
Innovation and Non-Western Regional<br />
Economies. Environment and Planning A<br />
(doi:10.1068/a39157)<br />
• Reid-Henry, S.M., (2007). Activism and the<br />
Academy: an interview with Daniel Defert.<br />
Antipode. 39, 240-246.<br />
• Reid-Henry, S.M., (2007). Exceptional<br />
Sovereignty Guantanamo Bay and the Recolonial<br />
present. Antipode. 39, 627-648.<br />
• Reid-Henry, S.M., (2007). The Contested<br />
Spaces <strong>of</strong> Cuban Development:<br />
postsocialism, postcolonialism and<br />
development. Ge<strong>of</strong>orum. 38, 445-455.<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Adrian Smith<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor <strong>of</strong> Human <strong>Geography</strong><br />
BA Hons MA DPhil(Sus)<br />
a.m.smith@qmul.ac.uk<br />
Adrian Smith’s main interests are in<br />
economic geographies, the political economy<br />
<strong>of</strong> cities and regions, and post-socialist<br />
transformations. For the past seventeen years<br />
or so he has been working on a variety <strong>of</strong><br />
projects looking at the economic and social<br />
geographies <strong>of</strong> transformation in Central<br />
Europe. This work has engaged with debates<br />
over political-economic transformation, nonessentialist<br />
Marxism and development theory<br />
to try to understand the contemporary<br />
geographies <strong>of</strong> social power.<br />
His current research involves work in three<br />
main areas. Firstly, he is examining the<br />
economic geographies <strong>of</strong> post-socialist<br />
transformations and the ‘new’ Europe.<br />
Currently, this involves an examination <strong>of</strong><br />
the east European garment industry and<br />
the growth <strong>of</strong> outward processing, global<br />
contracting and new trade regimes.<br />
Secondly, he works on cultures <strong>of</strong> economies<br />
and household economic practices. This<br />
research involves understanding household<br />
<strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, University <strong>of</strong> London 25
Staff research interests (cont)<br />
economic practices and survival strategies in<br />
central Europe as historically situated and<br />
culturally inflected economic relations.<br />
Thirdly, his work has also focused on the<br />
globalisation and restructuring <strong>of</strong><br />
metropolitan manufacturing in London’s<br />
garment sector. Investigating the scope and<br />
scale <strong>of</strong> restructuring, the kinds <strong>of</strong><br />
restructuring strategies established and the<br />
role <strong>of</strong> institutional structures and practices,<br />
this project builds upon his other interests in<br />
the global garment industry.<br />
Publications include:<br />
• Smith, A., Stenning, A., Willis, K., (2008).<br />
Social Justice and Neo-Liberalism. Zed<br />
Books, London.<br />
• Rainnie, A., Smith, A., Swain, A., (2002).<br />
Work, Employment and Transition:<br />
Restructuring Livelihoods in ‘post-<br />
Communist’ Eastern Europe. Routledge,<br />
London.<br />
• Smith, A., (1998). Reconstructing the<br />
Regional Economy: Industrial<br />
Transformation and Regional Development<br />
in Slovakia. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham.<br />
• Pickles, J., Smith, A., (1998).Theorising<br />
Transition: The Political Economy <strong>of</strong> Post-<br />
Communist Transformations.<br />
Routledge, London.<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Nigel Spence<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor <strong>of</strong> <strong>Geography</strong><br />
BSc(University <strong>of</strong> Wales) PhD(London)<br />
N.Spence@qmul.ac.uk<br />
Nigel Spence is an economic geographer<br />
currently working in several areas <strong>of</strong> the<br />
discipline. He is the author <strong>of</strong> several books<br />
and a considerable number <strong>of</strong> research<br />
papers in the field. He has also acted as a<br />
consultant on many urban and regional<br />
planning projects in the UK (including<br />
recently for the Department <strong>of</strong> Trade and<br />
Industry and the Thames Gateway London<br />
Partnership) and the European Union<br />
(including recently for the Commission and<br />
the Court <strong>of</strong> Auditors). He has a number <strong>of</strong><br />
current research themes.<br />
The first concerns regional output,<br />
employment and productivity linked to issues<br />
<strong>of</strong> deindustrialisation and tertiarisation in the<br />
UK and Europe. Some <strong>of</strong> this work is linked to<br />
a government advisory role on regional<br />
accounts.<br />
The second examines regional dimensions <strong>of</strong><br />
new firm formation especially in the context<br />
<strong>of</strong> government policy generally and Greece<br />
and the UK in particular. Some <strong>of</strong> this work<br />
has been supported by the European<br />
Commission.<br />
The third explores the links between public<br />
infrastructure provision and regional<br />
economic development. In the UK the<br />
specific research context has been to<br />
examine the effects on industrial costs via<br />
survey, whereas in Greece the focus has been<br />
on the relationships between the<br />
development and infrastructure explored via<br />
panel data and econometric methods. This<br />
research has had the support <strong>of</strong> both the UK<br />
and the Greek governments.<br />
The last involves issues <strong>of</strong> energy<br />
consumption and sustainability in UK<br />
cities, notably involving worktravel.<br />
Publications include:<br />
• Frost, M., Spence, N., (2008). Energy<br />
consumption and worktravel trips: London,<br />
Birmingham and Manchester, 1981-2001.<br />
Environment and Planning A.<br />
• Rovolis, A., Spence, N., (2003). Promoting<br />
regional economic growth in Greece by<br />
investing in the public infrastructure.<br />
Environment and Planning C Government<br />
and Policy 20. 393-419.<br />
• Rovolis, A., Spence, N., (2002). Duality<br />
theory and cost function analysis in a<br />
regional context: the impact <strong>of</strong> public<br />
infrastructure capital in the Greek regions.<br />
Annals <strong>of</strong> Regional Science. 36, 55-78.<br />
• Melachroinos, K.A., Spence, N., (2001).<br />
Cost recovery and the fluctuating value<br />
<strong>of</strong> fixed capital: an alternative way <strong>of</strong><br />
conceptualising sunk costs. Progress<br />
in Human <strong>Geography</strong>. 25, 347-364.<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Jane Wills<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor <strong>of</strong> <strong>Geography</strong><br />
BA Hons(Cantab) PhD(Open)<br />
j.wills@qmul.ac.uk<br />
Jane Wills has research interests in the<br />
political-economy <strong>of</strong> work and employment<br />
with a particular focus on labour organisation.<br />
Recent research has been focused on (1)<br />
migrant workers in low paid employment in<br />
London (with Datta, May and McIlwaine); (2)<br />
the London living wage campaign; (3)<br />
London Citizens’ model <strong>of</strong> broad-based<br />
organisation; and (4) efforts to enforce labour<br />
standards in global production chains.<br />
Previous research has explored the<br />
development <strong>of</strong> European Works Councils,<br />
labour internationalism and community<br />
unionism in the UK. More information and<br />
a list <strong>of</strong> journal articles are available on the<br />
<strong>Geography</strong> department website.<br />
Publications include:<br />
• Wills, J., Datta, K., Evans, Y., Herbert, J.,<br />
May, J., McIlwaine, C., (2009). Global Cities<br />
at Work: migrant workers in an uneven<br />
world. Pluto Press, London.<br />
• Hale, A., Wills, J., (2005). Threads <strong>of</strong><br />
Labour: Garment industry supply chains<br />
from the workers’ perspective. Blackwell,<br />
Oxford.<br />
• Waterman, P., Wills, J., (2001).<br />
Place, Space and the New Labour<br />
Internationalisms. Blackwell, Oxford.<br />
Hydrological,<br />
Hydrochemical and Fluvial<br />
Processes Research<br />
Theme<br />
The Hydrological, Hydrochemical and Fluvial<br />
Processes theme conducts research on<br />
hydrological, geomorphological and chemical<br />
processes in freshwater (incl. wetland) and<br />
estuarine environments through field<br />
observation, laboratory and field<br />
experiments, and model development and<br />
testing, using grants from NERC, EPSRC, the<br />
Environment Agency, HR Wallingford Ltd,<br />
and Natural England among others. The<br />
26 <strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, University <strong>of</strong> London
theme has made significant advances in<br />
understanding <strong>of</strong>: (i) the influence <strong>of</strong><br />
hydrological processes on the transport <strong>of</strong><br />
agrochemicals in river catchments (Heppell,<br />
Wharton); (ii) hydro-geomorphological and<br />
hydro-ecological interactions in rivers with<br />
applications in flood estimation and river<br />
restoration (Wharton, Heppell); (iii) the<br />
sources, transport and behaviour <strong>of</strong> metals in<br />
estuarine environments (Spencer); (iv) water<br />
flows, heat transfers, and methane dynamics<br />
in wetland soils (Baird); and (v)<br />
ecohydrological processes and their role in<br />
peatland development over timescales <strong>of</strong><br />
101-103 years (Baird). The theme has links<br />
with the Environmental Change research<br />
theme, particularly in the ecohydrology <strong>of</strong><br />
Holocene peatland development (Belyea,<br />
Baird), and with colleagues in Biological<br />
and Chemical Sciences at <strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong><br />
(contaminant transport and biogeochemical<br />
cycling).<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Andy Baird<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor in Physical <strong>Geography</strong><br />
BSc Hons(Hull), PhD(Bris)<br />
a.j.baird@qmul.ac.uk<br />
Much <strong>of</strong> Andy’s research considers the<br />
physical processes <strong>of</strong> water, heat and gas<br />
transfer in peat soils. Peatlands are globallyimportant<br />
carbon stores (they contain at least<br />
a third <strong>of</strong> the global soil carbon store) and are<br />
both sinks and sources <strong>of</strong> atmospheric<br />
carbon dioxide and sources <strong>of</strong> atmospheric<br />
methane. Because <strong>of</strong> this, they are thought to<br />
exert an important control on global climate.<br />
Carbon balance processes in peatlands are<br />
strongly influenced by hydrological and<br />
thermal processes. For example:<br />
(i) When the peatland water table is near<br />
the peatland surface, more methane<br />
(produced during the anaerobic decay <strong>of</strong><br />
peat) is lost to the atmosphere than when<br />
the water table is further below the surface.<br />
Andy has recently become interested in<br />
modelling peat formation / peatland<br />
development over timescales <strong>of</strong> 10 – 10<br />
years. A suite <strong>of</strong> models under the name<br />
DigiBog is being developed for this purpose.<br />
The models simulate peat accumulation<br />
(carbon sequestration) and allow for<br />
interactions between hydrological and<br />
ecological processes across a variety <strong>of</strong><br />
spatial and temporal scales. The models<br />
are examples <strong>of</strong> a complex adaptive system<br />
(CAS) and show emergent behaviour. It is<br />
planned to link the CAS models to wetland<br />
methane emission models to improve<br />
predictions <strong>of</strong> wetland methane emissions.<br />
This work is being done in collaboration with<br />
one <strong>of</strong> Andy’s PhD students and Dr Lisa<br />
Belyea.<br />
Publications include:<br />
• Kettridge, N., Baird, A.J., (2008)<br />
(forthcoming). Modelling soil temperatures<br />
in northern peatlands. European Journal <strong>of</strong><br />
Soil Science.<br />
• Surridge, B.W.J., Heathwaite, A.L., Baird,<br />
A.J., (2007). The release <strong>of</strong> phosphorus to<br />
porewater and surface water from river<br />
riparian sediments. Journal <strong>of</strong><br />
Environmental Quality. 36, 1534-1544<br />
• Kettridge, N., Baird, A.J., (2007). In situ<br />
measurements <strong>of</strong> the thermal properties<br />
<strong>of</strong> a northern peatland: Implications for<br />
peatland temperature models. Journal <strong>of</strong><br />
Geophysical Research. 112, F2, F02019.<br />
• Kellner, E., Baird, A.J., Oosterwoud, M.,<br />
Harrison, K., Waddington, J.M., (2006).<br />
The effect <strong>of</strong> atmospheric pressure and<br />
temperature on methane (CH4) ebullition<br />
from near-surface peats. Geophysical<br />
Research Letters. 33, L18405.<br />
(ii) Methane is produced by micro-organisms<br />
from the Archaea and the rate <strong>of</strong><br />
production is strongly temperaturedependent<br />
(it increases with<br />
temperature).<br />
<strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, University <strong>of</strong> London 27
Staff research interests (cont)<br />
Dr Lisa Belyea<br />
Senior Lecturer in Physical <strong>Geography</strong><br />
BSc Hons (Carleton), MSc (Waterloo),<br />
PhD (London)<br />
L.Belyea@qmul.ac.uk<br />
Lisa Belyea’s research interests focus on the<br />
spatial and temporal dynamics <strong>of</strong> ecological<br />
systems, with particular interests in peatlands<br />
and other moss-dominated lands. These<br />
systems are globally important stores <strong>of</strong><br />
organic carbon, but their current role in<br />
transferring carbon to and from the<br />
atmosphere and hydrosphere is highly<br />
uncertain. Understanding how peatlands<br />
and other carbon-rich ecosystems respond<br />
to environmental forcing is vital to predicting<br />
possible feedbacks on the global carbon<br />
cycle and climate system. These responses<br />
can be abrupt and highly non-linear, owing<br />
to ecological-hydrological feedback<br />
mechanisms operating on a range <strong>of</strong> spatial<br />
scales (1 – 1000 m). Current research<br />
focuses on three major areas:<br />
Spatiotemporal dynamics <strong>of</strong> ecosystem<br />
development – ongoing work focusing on the<br />
formation <strong>of</strong> spatial patterns at the landscape<br />
scale; Geochemical controls on peat<br />
decomposition – a three-year NERC-funded<br />
project (with partners at Edinburgh,<br />
Newcastle and Uppsala Universities) uses<br />
a gradient from fen to bog to investigate the<br />
linkages among physicochemical<br />
environment, litter chemistry and<br />
decomposition rate; Short- and long-term<br />
effects <strong>of</strong> fire on peatland carbon cycling –<br />
an ‘Urgent’ NERC-funded project (with<br />
collaborators at MLURI and CEH Edinburgh)<br />
is investigating the impact <strong>of</strong> a fire on the<br />
Silver Flowe (a blanket peatland in southwest<br />
Scotland).<br />
Publications include:<br />
• Cutler, N.A., Belyea, L.R., Dugmore, A.J.<br />
(2008) Spatial patterns <strong>of</strong> microsite<br />
colonisation on two young lava flows, Mt<br />
Hekla, Iceland. Journal <strong>of</strong> Vegetation<br />
Science.<br />
• Belyea, L.R., (2007). Revealing the<br />
Emperor’s new clothes: niche-based<br />
palaeoenvironmental reconstruction in<br />
the light <strong>of</strong> recent ecological theory. The<br />
Holocene. 17, 683-688.<br />
• Belyea, L.R., (2007). Climatic and<br />
topographic constraints on the abundance<br />
<strong>of</strong> bog pools. Hydrological Processes. 21,<br />
675-687.<br />
• Belyea, L.R., Baird, A.J., (2006). Beyond<br />
“the limits to peat bog growth”: cross-scale<br />
feedback in peatland development.<br />
Ecological Monographs. 76, 299-322.<br />
Dr Kate Heppell<br />
Senior Lecturer in Physical <strong>Geography</strong><br />
BSc Hons(Bris) MSc(Lond) Dphil(Oxon)<br />
c.m.heppell@qmul.ac.uk<br />
Kate Heppell is a hydrologist with 14 years<br />
research experience in the fields <strong>of</strong> hillslope<br />
hydrology and hydrochemistry, specialising in<br />
the influence <strong>of</strong> hydrological processes on<br />
the fate and transport <strong>of</strong> agrochemicals<br />
(nutrients and pesticides) in river<br />
catchments. There are two foci to her current<br />
research: Studying the hydrological and<br />
hydrochemical processes by which<br />
agrochemicals are transported to surface<br />
waters and understanding the in-stream fate<br />
and transport <strong>of</strong> agrochemicals in rivers and<br />
lakes <strong>of</strong> lowland catchments.<br />
Recent research at <strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, funded as<br />
part <strong>of</strong> the NERC LOCAR thematic<br />
programme, has focused on understanding<br />
the different processes responsible for the instream<br />
trapping, and subsequent release, <strong>of</strong><br />
particulate material by aquatic vegetation in<br />
chalk rivers. Kate’s role in this research has<br />
been to determine the fate <strong>of</strong> agrochemicals<br />
transported through the rivers <strong>of</strong> such<br />
permeable catchments. For example, the<br />
deposition <strong>of</strong> sediment beneath vegetation<br />
within chalk streams has unexpected<br />
implications for nitrogen and carbon cycling<br />
in the form <strong>of</strong> methane production and<br />
denitrification in the shallow hyporheic. Her<br />
research has also demonstrated that<br />
variations in organic matter composition <strong>of</strong><br />
sediments in chalk streams (due primarily to<br />
algal remains) can account for differences in<br />
pesticide sorption to the sediment within a<br />
single river reach. As a result <strong>of</strong> this research<br />
Kate has developed an interest in the<br />
28 <strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, University <strong>of</strong> London
changing balance <strong>of</strong> the allochthonous and<br />
autothonous organic matter input to rivers,<br />
which plays a vital role in biogeochemical<br />
cycling and sorption <strong>of</strong> organic contaminants.<br />
Publications include:<br />
• Sanders, I., Heppell, C.M., Cotton, J.A.,<br />
Wharton, G., Hildrew, A., Flowers, E.J.,<br />
Trimmer, M., (2007). Emission <strong>of</strong> methane<br />
from chalk streams has potential<br />
implications for agricultural practices.<br />
Freshwater Biology. 52, 1365-2427.<br />
• Cotton, J.A., Wharton, G., Bass, J.A.B.,<br />
Heppell, C.M., Wotton, R.S., (2006). Plantwater-sediment<br />
interactions in lowland<br />
permeable streams: investigating the effect<br />
<strong>of</strong> seasonal changes in vegetation cover on<br />
flow patterns and sediment accumulation.<br />
Geomorphology. 77, 320-334.<br />
• Heppell, C.M., Chapman, A.S., (2006).<br />
Analysis <strong>of</strong> a two-component hydrograph<br />
separation model to predict herbicide<br />
run<strong>of</strong>f in drained soils. Agricultural Water<br />
Management. 79, 177-207.<br />
Dr Laura Shotbolt<br />
Postdoctoral Researcher<br />
BSc Hons (Lancaster) MSc (Aberdeen)<br />
PhD (Salford)<br />
l.shotbolt@qmul.ac.uk<br />
Laura Shotbolt’s research interests are in the<br />
transport, fate and impact <strong>of</strong> environmental<br />
contaminants. Her research is currently<br />
focused on reconstructing records <strong>of</strong> past<br />
pollution from environmental archives and<br />
investigating toxic effects <strong>of</strong> trace metals.<br />
She is also interested in improving analytical<br />
methods in environmental sciences and is<br />
developing new techniques for extracting<br />
porewater from anaerobic sediments. Most<br />
recent research projects include an<br />
investigation into the impacts <strong>of</strong> atmospheric<br />
pollution on microbial communities in<br />
blanket bogs funded by Moors for the Future<br />
and an investigation into temporal records <strong>of</strong><br />
anthropogenic Pb deposition using<br />
herbarium mosses funded by a NERC<br />
instrumentation grant. She is also involved in<br />
a DEFRA funded project developing critical<br />
load methodologies for heavy metals.<br />
Publications include:<br />
• Shotbolt, L., Büker, P., Ashmore, A.R.,<br />
Tipping, E., (2007). Reconstructing past<br />
trace metal deposition in the UK using moss<br />
samples from herbaria collections.<br />
Environmental Pollution. 147, 120–130.<br />
• Shotbolt, L., Hutchinson, S.M., Thomas,<br />
A.D., (2006). Determining past heavy metal<br />
deposition onto the southern Pennines<br />
using reservoir sedimentary records.<br />
Journal <strong>of</strong> Paleolimnology. 35, 305–322.<br />
• Shotbolt, L., Thomas, A.D., Hutchinson,<br />
S.M., (2005). Reservoir sediments as<br />
records <strong>of</strong> recent environmental change:<br />
A review. Progress in Physical <strong>Geography</strong>.<br />
29, 337–361<br />
Dr Kate Spencer<br />
Senior Lecturer in Physical <strong>Geography</strong><br />
BSc(Thames Polytechnic) MSc/DIC(Lond)<br />
PhD(Greenwich)<br />
k.spencer@qmul.ac.uk<br />
Kate Spencer is an estuarine geochemist with<br />
particular interest in the management <strong>of</strong> fine<br />
sediment including issues <strong>of</strong> sediment<br />
quality, contaminant behaviour and<br />
pathways, and sediment tracing. Recent<br />
projects include an Environment Agency<br />
funded project to examine the impacts <strong>of</strong><br />
water injection dredging on water quality<br />
and ecotoxicity and a NERC funded project<br />
to develop field methodologies for measuring<br />
fine sediment transport in estuarine<br />
environments. Recently, she convened an<br />
ESRC NERC transdisciplinary seminar<br />
‘Channel RestOration in Contaminated Urban<br />
Settings’ or CROCUS and has been involved<br />
in RIMEW, an EU funded international project<br />
examining sediment contamination and long<br />
term sediment management in UK and<br />
French estuaries.<br />
Publications include:<br />
• Spencer, K.L., Suzuki, K., Benson, T.,<br />
Taylor, J.A., Manning, A., Dearnaley, M.,<br />
(2007). The potential use <strong>of</strong> geochemically<br />
labelled minerals as tracers for cohesive<br />
sediments. In: Westrich, B. and Förstner, U.<br />
(Eds) Sediment Dynamics and Pollutant<br />
Mobility in Rivers—Interdisciplinary<br />
Approach. Springer-Verlag Berlin,<br />
Heidelberg, New York.<br />
• Spencer, K.L., MacLeod, C.L., Tuckett, A.,<br />
Johnson, S.M., (2006). Heavy Metals in the<br />
Medway and Swale Estuaries: Source,<br />
Distribution and Ecotoxic Potential. Marine<br />
Pollution Bulletin. 52, 226-230.<br />
• Spencer, K.L., Dewhurst, R.E., Penna, P.,<br />
(2006). Potential impacts <strong>of</strong> water injection<br />
dredging on water quality and ecotoxicity in<br />
Limehouse Basin, River Thames, SE<br />
England, UK. Chemosphere. 63, 509-521.<br />
Dr Geraldene Wharton<br />
Reader in Physical <strong>Geography</strong><br />
BSc Hons (Sheff) PhD (Soton)<br />
Geraldene Wharton’s current research<br />
focuses on the interactions <strong>of</strong> plants, water<br />
and fine sediments in rivers. She has a<br />
particular interest in the role that plants play<br />
as river ecosystem engineers in trapping and<br />
retaining fine sediments, and how the<br />
aggregated nature <strong>of</strong> these fine sediments<br />
affects their entrainment and transport<br />
characteristics. This research has been<br />
funded by the Environment Agency and the<br />
Natural Environment Research Council<br />
through the Lowland Catchment Research<br />
Thematic Programme. The research<br />
conducted through LOCAR has been<br />
important in demonstrating the significance<br />
<strong>of</strong> biotic processes in the sediment dynamics<br />
<strong>of</strong> chalk river systems in several ways. Ongoing<br />
work in this area is being conducted in<br />
collaboration with Roger Wotton (University<br />
College London), Ian Droppo (Environment<br />
Canada) and Natural England.<br />
Geraldene’s second main area <strong>of</strong> research is<br />
river restoration with current investigations<br />
centred on nitrogen dynamics in reconnected<br />
floodplains and the challenges and appraisal<br />
<strong>of</strong> urban river restoration schemes, funded by<br />
the Environment Agency and an ESRC-NERC<br />
Transdisciplinary seminar series, CROCUS<br />
(Channel RestOration in Contaminated<br />
Urban Settings). Geraldene also has a<br />
practical involvement in river restoration as a<br />
Director <strong>of</strong> the UK River Restoration Centre, a<br />
not-for-pr<strong>of</strong>it company promoting the science<br />
and practice <strong>of</strong> river restoration.<br />
<strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, University <strong>of</strong> London 29
Staff research interests (cont)<br />
Publications include:<br />
• Wharton, G., Gilvear, D., (2007). River<br />
restoration in the UK: meeting the needs <strong>of</strong><br />
both the EU Water Framework Directive and<br />
flood defence International Journal <strong>of</strong><br />
River Basin Management. 5, 143-154.<br />
• Sanders, I. A., Trimmer, M., Heppell, C. M.,<br />
Cotton, J. A., Wharton, G., Hildrew, A. G.,<br />
Flowers, E. J., (2007). Emission <strong>of</strong> methane<br />
from chalk streams has potential<br />
implications for agricultural practices.<br />
Freshwater Biology. 52, 1176-1186.<br />
• Clarke, S. J., Wharton, G., Cotton, J. A.,<br />
(2006). Spatial and temporal variations in<br />
the sediment habitat <strong>of</strong> Ranunculus spp. in<br />
lowland chalk streams – implications for<br />
using macrophytes as environmental<br />
monitors <strong>of</strong> sediment and water health<br />
Water, Air & Soil Pollution. Focus 6, 393-<br />
401.<br />
• Cotton, J. A., Wharton, G., Bass, J. A. B.,<br />
Heppell, C. M., Wotton, R. S., (2006). The<br />
effects <strong>of</strong> seasonal changes to in-stream<br />
vegetation cover on patterns <strong>of</strong> flow and<br />
accumulation <strong>of</strong> sediment. Geomorphology.<br />
77, 320-334.<br />
Environmental Change<br />
theme<br />
The Environmental Change theme focuses on<br />
processes and patterns <strong>of</strong> regional to global<br />
environmental change. Research combines<br />
process modelling and palaeo-environmental<br />
reconstruction with laboratory- and fieldbased<br />
studies. There are three main strands<br />
<strong>of</strong> enquiry: (a) rapid environmental change<br />
and positive feedbacks between biological<br />
and physical systems, (b) quantitative and<br />
integrative analysis <strong>of</strong> environmental change<br />
across different scales <strong>of</strong> time and space,<br />
and (c) interaction <strong>of</strong> liquid and solid phases<br />
<strong>of</strong> water with sediments and landscapes.<br />
Current research projects include: subglacial<br />
processes and their influence on glacier<br />
dynamics; new approaches to the<br />
sedimentological and geomorphological<br />
archive <strong>of</strong> glacial and fluvial systems, in the<br />
latter allowing documentation <strong>of</strong> previously<br />
unrecognised complexity in river behaviour<br />
and response to climatic forcing and<br />
contributing significantly to linkage <strong>of</strong> the<br />
timing and patterns <strong>of</strong> Palaeolithic<br />
occupation <strong>of</strong> the British Isles to climate and<br />
sea level change; development <strong>of</strong> a new<br />
Mutual Temperature Range method for<br />
palaeoclimate reconstruction; how fine-scale<br />
heterogeneity and cross-scale feedbacks<br />
between vegetation and hydrology influence<br />
peatland dynamics on time scales <strong>of</strong> 10s to<br />
100s <strong>of</strong> years, with implications for predicting<br />
carbon cycle responses to climate change.<br />
Dr Simon Carr<br />
Senior Lecturer in Physical <strong>Geography</strong><br />
BSc Hons (London) PhD (London)<br />
s.j.carr@qmul.ac.uk<br />
Simon Carr undertakes research that<br />
examines the interactions between climate,<br />
glaciers and landscape on short to long<br />
timescales. This work is directed towards<br />
reconciling the climatic and glaciological<br />
modelling <strong>of</strong> ice-mass behaviour with the<br />
geomorphological and sedimentary evidence<br />
<strong>of</strong> recent and Quaternary glaciation. Simon’s<br />
work also examines the ways in which the<br />
Internet and global mass-media are used to<br />
communicate the science and implications <strong>of</strong><br />
climate change. Simon is currently working<br />
on several projects:<br />
Deformation, Micromorphology & Micr<strong>of</strong>abric<br />
<strong>of</strong> Subglacial Sediments; This work examines<br />
the potential <strong>of</strong> micr<strong>of</strong>abric analysis <strong>of</strong><br />
subglacial sediments for providing a detailed<br />
reconstruction <strong>of</strong> the strain history <strong>of</strong> tills to<br />
give a direct mechanism for the validation <strong>of</strong><br />
models <strong>of</strong> predicted glacial dynamics. This<br />
approach may be used to validate models <strong>of</strong><br />
ice sheet stability, including for example the<br />
presence and significance <strong>of</strong> palaeo icestreams.<br />
Topoclimatic Controls Over Marginal<br />
Glaciation; Small glaciers and ice-caps are<br />
considered by the IPCC to be the most<br />
sensitive indicators <strong>of</strong> climate change. It is<br />
therefore critical to understand the<br />
topoclimatic controls over small-scale<br />
mountain glaciation when using<br />
contemporary or former glaciers as climate<br />
proxy evidence. This research focuses on the<br />
examination <strong>of</strong> climatic and topographic<br />
controls over modern glacier mass-balance<br />
on small ice-cap (Iceland) and cirque/valley<br />
glaciers (Norway), and also examines the role<br />
and significance <strong>of</strong> glacier micro-climates.<br />
This research is being used to develop<br />
methods <strong>of</strong> glacier reconstruction that may<br />
be used to understand palaeoclimatic<br />
conditions, notably for the Younger Dryas<br />
period in the British Isles, and other events <strong>of</strong><br />
marginal glaciation in Southern Africa.<br />
30 <strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, University <strong>of</strong> London
Publications include:<br />
• Carr, S.J., Coleman, C.G., Humpage, A.J.,<br />
Shakesby, R.A., (2007). The Quaternary <strong>of</strong><br />
the Brecon Beacons; Field Guide.<br />
Quaternary Research Association, London.<br />
• Carr, S.J., Coleman, C.G., (2007). An<br />
improved approach for the reconstruction<br />
<strong>of</strong> former glacier mass-balance and<br />
dynamics. Geomorphology. 92, 76-90.<br />
• Carr, S.J., Goddard, M., (2007). Role <strong>of</strong><br />
particle-size in the development <strong>of</strong> till<br />
fabric: implications for using eigenvectors<br />
in understanding glacier dynamics. Boreas.<br />
36, 371-385.<br />
• Carr, S.J., Holmes, R., van der Meer, J.J.M.,<br />
Rose, J., (2006). The Last Glaciation in the<br />
North Sea Basin; micromorphological<br />
evidence <strong>of</strong> extensive glaciation. Journal <strong>of</strong><br />
Quaternary Science. 21, 131-153.<br />
Dr David J Horne<br />
Senior Lecturer in Physical <strong>Geography</strong><br />
BSc MSc(Lond) PhD(Bristol)<br />
d.j.horne@qmul.ac.uk<br />
David Horne specialises in the study <strong>of</strong> living<br />
and fossil ostracod crustaceans, both marine<br />
and freshwater, and has broader research<br />
interests in the fields <strong>of</strong> palaeoclimatology,<br />
crustacean phylogeny, and the evolutionary<br />
ecology <strong>of</strong> sex and parthenogenesis. A<br />
current focus <strong>of</strong> his research is the<br />
application <strong>of</strong> ostracods to<br />
palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic<br />
interpretations <strong>of</strong> British Quaternary<br />
archaeological sites. He is also involved in<br />
investigations <strong>of</strong> older ostracod faunas such<br />
as those associated with the Early Cretaceous<br />
‘feathered dinosaurs’ <strong>of</strong> Liaoning in China.<br />
His NODE GIS database (Nonmarine<br />
Ostracod Distribution in Europe) forms the<br />
basis <strong>of</strong> a contribution to the EU-funded<br />
Fauna Europaean Biodiversity Project. He<br />
collaborates with colleagues at the Natural<br />
History Museum (where he is a Scientific<br />
Associate <strong>of</strong> the Zoology Department) and<br />
with scientists in Europe, Japan, China and<br />
the USA.<br />
Publications include:<br />
• Williams, M., Siveter, D.J., Ashworth, A.C.,<br />
Wilby, P.R., Horne, D.J., Lewis, A.R.,<br />
Marchant, D.R., (2008). Exceptionally<br />
preserved lacustrine ostracods fromthe<br />
Middle Miocene <strong>of</strong> Antarctica. Proceedings<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Royal Society <strong>of</strong> London Series B.<br />
Online. doi:10.1098/rspb.2008.0396<br />
• Martens, K., Rossetti, G., Horne, D.J.,<br />
(2003). How ancient are ancient asexuals<br />
Proceedings <strong>of</strong> the Royal Society <strong>of</strong> London<br />
Series B – Biological Sciences. 270, 723-<br />
729<br />
• Brouwers, E.M., Cronin, T.M., Horne, D.J.,<br />
Lord, A.R., (2000). Recent shallow marine<br />
ostracods from high latitudes: implications<br />
for late Pliocene and Quaternary<br />
palaeoclimatology. Boreas. 29, 127-143.<br />
Dr Simon Lewis<br />
Senior Lecturer in Physical <strong>Geography</strong><br />
BSc Hons PhD(Lond)<br />
s.lewis@qmul.ac.uk<br />
Simon Lewis’s research focuses on the record<br />
<strong>of</strong> the ice ages and is concerned in particular<br />
with the stratigraphic evidence for glacial<br />
events, the nature <strong>of</strong> river behaviour during<br />
the repeated glacial episodes that have<br />
occurred over the last two million years and<br />
also the record <strong>of</strong> human presence in Europe<br />
during the ice age period. He is currently<br />
working on a number <strong>of</strong> research projects,<br />
including evidence for the earliest Palaeolithic<br />
occupation <strong>of</strong> Britain; environmental change<br />
and archaeology during the Hoxnian<br />
Interglacial and river dynamics and<br />
catchment development associated with iceage<br />
climate fluctuations. Work on Palaeolithic<br />
human occupation has investigated the<br />
landscapes inhabited by humans during the<br />
Quaternary in south east England and the<br />
<strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, University <strong>of</strong> London 31
Staff research interests (cont)<br />
factors influencing early human behaviour.<br />
Work on the evolution <strong>of</strong> the upper Thames<br />
catchment has examined the response <strong>of</strong> the<br />
river to large-scale climate fluctuations and<br />
long-term sediment stores and fluxes through<br />
the catchment. He is currently a member <strong>of</strong> a<br />
multi-institutional project on the ‘Ancient<br />
Human Occupation <strong>of</strong> Britain’.<br />
Publications include:<br />
• Lewis, S.G., Maddy, D., Buckingham, C.,<br />
Coope, G.R., Field, M.H., Keen, D.H., Pike,<br />
A.W.G., Roe, D.A., Scaife, R.G., Scott, K.,<br />
(2006). Pleistocene fluvial sediments,<br />
palaeontology and archaeology <strong>of</strong> the upper<br />
River Thames at Latton, Wiltshire, England.<br />
Journal <strong>of</strong> Quaternary Science. 21, 181-<br />
205.<br />
• Ashton, N., Lewis, S.G., Parfitt, S., White,<br />
M., (2006). Riparian landscapes and<br />
human habitat preferences during the<br />
Hoxnian (MIS 11) Interglacial. Journal<br />
<strong>of</strong> Quaternary Science. 21, 497-505.<br />
• Ashton, N., Lewis, S.G., (2002). Deserted<br />
Britain: declining populations in the British<br />
late Middle Pleistocene. Antiquity. 76, 388-<br />
396.<br />
Dr Sven Lukas<br />
Lecturer in Physical <strong>Geography</strong><br />
Diplom (MSc) (Bochum, Germany),<br />
PhD (St Andrews)<br />
s.lukas@qmul.ac.uk<br />
Sven Lukas' research aims at understanding<br />
the timing <strong>of</strong> glacier-climate interactions and<br />
their effects on the shaping <strong>of</strong> the landscape.<br />
He uses a combination <strong>of</strong> traditional and<br />
novel methods to provide input data to<br />
numerical models used to predict future<br />
climate change. Sven's research comprises<br />
three themes: (1) reconstructing the effects<br />
<strong>of</strong> rapid climate change on mountain<br />
glaciation using geomorphological mapping<br />
and palaeoglaciological approaches; (2)<br />
constraining the timing <strong>of</strong> these glaciations<br />
by applying optically-stimulated<br />
luminescence (OSL) dating to glacial<br />
sediments; and (3) using sedimentological<br />
methods to reconstruct ice-marginal moraine<br />
formation and glacier dynamics. Much <strong>of</strong><br />
Sven's work focuses on the Younger Dryas<br />
and early Holocene with study sites in<br />
Scotland, Svalbard, Norway and the Alps.<br />
Publications include:<br />
• Lukas, S., (2007). Early-Holocene glacier<br />
fluctuations in Krundalen, south central<br />
Norway: palaeo-glacier dynamics and<br />
palaeoclimate. The Holocene. 17, 585-598.<br />
• Lukas, S., (2005). A test <strong>of</strong> the englacial<br />
thrusting hypothesis <strong>of</strong> 'hummocky'<br />
moraine formation - case studies from the<br />
north-west Highlands, Scotland. Boreas.<br />
34, 287-307.<br />
• Benn, D.I., Lukas, S., (2006). Younger<br />
Dryas glacial landsystems in North West<br />
Scotland: An assessment <strong>of</strong> modern<br />
analogues and palaeoclimatic implications.<br />
Quaternary Science Reviews. 25, 2390-<br />
2408.<br />
• Lukas, S., Spencer, J.Q.G., Robinson,<br />
R.A.J., Benn, D.I., (2007). Problems<br />
associated with luminescence dating <strong>of</strong><br />
Late Quaternary glacial sediments in the<br />
NW Scottish Highlands. Quaternary<br />
Geochronology. 2, 243-248.<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Jaap van der Meer<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor <strong>of</strong> <strong>Geography</strong><br />
MSc PhD(Amsterdam)<br />
j.meer@qmul.ac.uk<br />
Jaap van der Meer’s research interests lie<br />
with glacial processes and resulting<br />
landforms. On a general level he studies<br />
sediment transfer and (temporal) storage in<br />
the glacial system, from the ice divide to the<br />
shelf edge. More specifically, the focus is<br />
upon two elements: the study <strong>of</strong> dynamic<br />
structures, eg push moraines and<br />
streamlined landforms; and the<br />
micromorphological (thin section) study <strong>of</strong><br />
glacial sediments. Underpinning his research<br />
is the need to understand the response <strong>of</strong><br />
Pleistocene ice masses to environmental<br />
change, as a key to future developments.<br />
Jaap is on the editorial board <strong>of</strong> Journal <strong>of</strong><br />
Quaternary Science, Quaternary Science<br />
Reviews, Boreas and Terra Antartica. He is<br />
editor <strong>of</strong> the book series ‘Developments in<br />
Quaternary Science’.<br />
32 <strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, University <strong>of</strong> London
Publications include:<br />
• Kjær, K.H., Larsen, E., van der Meer, J.J.M.,<br />
Ingólfsson, Ó., Krüger, J., Benediktsson,<br />
Í.Ö., Knudsen, C.G., Schomacker, A.,<br />
(2006). Subglacial decoupling at the<br />
sediment-bedrock interface – an essential<br />
mechanism for rapid ice flow. Quaternary<br />
Science Reviews. 25, 2704-2712.<br />
• van der Meer, J.J.M., (2004). Spitsbergen<br />
push moraines. Including translation <strong>of</strong>:<br />
Gripp K, Glaciological and geological results<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Hamburg Spitsbergen-Expedition <strong>of</strong><br />
1927. Developments in Quaternary Science<br />
4, Elsevier, Amsterdam.<br />
• van der Meer, J.J.M., Menzies, J., Rose, J.,<br />
(2003). Subglacial till: the deforming glacier<br />
bed. Quaternary Science Reviews.<br />
22,1659-1685.<br />
• Naish, T., Woolfe, K. J., Barrett, P. J., van<br />
der Meer, J. J. M., (2001). Orbitally induced<br />
oscillations in the East Antarctic ice sheet at<br />
the Oligocene/Miocene boundary. Nature.<br />
413, 719-723.<br />
Other staff in the Department include:<br />
• Dr Kathryn Allton, Research Associate;<br />
hydrological, hydrochemical and fluvial<br />
processes<br />
• Dr.Meic Goodyear, Research Associate;<br />
health<br />
• Dr. Noah Hysler-Rubin, Research<br />
Associate; culture, space and power<br />
• Dr. Shompa Lahiri, Research Associate;<br />
culture, space and power<br />
• Dr. Dianna Smith, Research Associate;<br />
health<br />
• Dr Frank Verheijen, Research Associate;<br />
hydrological, hydrochemical and fluvial<br />
processes<br />
<strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, University <strong>of</strong> London 33
<strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, University <strong>of</strong> London<br />
One <strong>of</strong> the UK’s leading<br />
research-focused<br />
universities, <strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>,<br />
University <strong>of</strong> London is an<br />
inspiring place to work and<br />
study<br />
Among the three largest <strong>of</strong> the colleges <strong>of</strong> the<br />
University <strong>of</strong> London, <strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>'s 3,000<br />
staff deliver world class degree programmes<br />
and research across a wide range <strong>of</strong> subjects<br />
in Humanities, Social Sciences and Laws, in<br />
Medicine and Dentistry and in Science and<br />
Engineering.<br />
With a budget <strong>of</strong> over £220 million per<br />
annum and a yearly economic impact on the<br />
UK economy <strong>of</strong> over £600 million, <strong>Queen</strong><br />
<strong>Mary</strong> <strong>of</strong>fers a vibrant and intellectually<br />
stimulating environment to its 15,000<br />
students.<br />
A focus on world-leading<br />
research coupled with firstclass<br />
teaching<br />
All <strong>of</strong> our academic staff are engaged in<br />
valuable research – bringing benefits to their<br />
chosen field <strong>of</strong> expertise, as well as the<br />
students with whom they share the fruit <strong>of</strong><br />
their knowledge.<br />
A university is, by its very essence, a place<br />
dedicated to learning, and everything we do<br />
reflects that reality. This focus enables staff<br />
and students alike to realise their full<br />
potential. For each generation <strong>of</strong> students,<br />
this means being well-prepared for future<br />
success; and for staff, being supported in<br />
their valuable and ongoing research activity.<br />
As a member <strong>of</strong> the 1994 Group <strong>of</strong> researchfocused<br />
universities, <strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> has made a<br />
strategic commitment to the highest quality <strong>of</strong><br />
research. Indeed, we believe that a vibrant<br />
research environment means that our<br />
students have access to the world's leading<br />
experts in their chosen subjects.<br />
We have invested in this principle through a<br />
systematic programme <strong>of</strong> recruiting to <strong>Queen</strong><br />
<strong>Mary</strong> the best academic staff in their<br />
disciplines from around the world. We are<br />
interested in academics at the peak <strong>of</strong> their<br />
careers who have made a substantial<br />
commitment to their field, as well as those<br />
who show promise. This creates an inspiring<br />
and dynamic atmosphere, particularly<br />
suitable for postgraduate work.<br />
The Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) –<br />
the way the government grades and funds<br />
research excellence in universities -<br />
confirmed <strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>’s excellence in a<br />
broad range <strong>of</strong> fields in 2001. It also<br />
demonstrated that our research performance<br />
is continually improving. The College saw a<br />
100 per cent increase in the number <strong>of</strong><br />
departments achieving the highest 5 and 5*<br />
ratings since the RAE in 1996 – a total <strong>of</strong> 60<br />
per cent <strong>of</strong> all departments in the College<br />
were in these bands. Over 80 per cent <strong>of</strong> staff<br />
were judged to be in departments ranked as<br />
4, 5 or 5* meaning that they were <strong>of</strong> national<br />
or international excellence, compared to a<br />
national average <strong>of</strong> 64 per cent. To add to<br />
<strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>’s achievement, we submitted<br />
one <strong>of</strong> the highest percentages <strong>of</strong> staff <strong>of</strong> any<br />
institution in the country for the RAE – 90 per<br />
cent <strong>of</strong> staff were selected for submission.<br />
Since 2001, <strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> has been ranked<br />
in the top ten in the UK for its resourcing <strong>of</strong><br />
research.<br />
The College made extensive preparations<br />
to achieve the best possible pr<strong>of</strong>ile in RAE<br />
2008. All three sectors <strong>of</strong> the College<br />
(Humanities and Social Sciences, the <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>of</strong> Medicine and Dentistry, Science and<br />
Engineering) have shown significant growth<br />
and development across all areas <strong>of</strong> research<br />
activity. This is based on numbers <strong>of</strong><br />
postgraduate students, research assistants,<br />
post-doctoral research fellows and research<br />
grants. When the results <strong>of</strong> the latest RAE are<br />
available (December 2008), they will be<br />
available online at www.qmul.ac.uk/RAE<br />
Part <strong>of</strong> The University <strong>of</strong><br />
London<br />
Although the size and the range <strong>of</strong> subjects<br />
covered by <strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> gives it all the<br />
characteristics and facilities <strong>of</strong> a university in<br />
its own right, it is also part <strong>of</strong> the federal<br />
University <strong>of</strong> London, a wide-ranging body<br />
comprising over 30 institutes. Together, these<br />
make it the largest and most diverse<br />
34 <strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, University <strong>of</strong> London
London and the East End<br />
university in the country. It also means that,<br />
although <strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> is a self-governing<br />
institution, our graduate students are able to<br />
take advantage <strong>of</strong> the wide and varied<br />
academic research facilities <strong>of</strong> the University<br />
<strong>of</strong> London. The University <strong>of</strong> London provides<br />
the single largest critical mass <strong>of</strong> academic<br />
research in the UK.<br />
The University <strong>of</strong> London is one <strong>of</strong> the leading<br />
universities in the world, with the largest<br />
postgraduate population <strong>of</strong> any university in<br />
the United Kingdom. It contains within it a<br />
large number <strong>of</strong> specialist graduate study<br />
and research centres, several <strong>of</strong> which are<br />
based at <strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, including the Centre<br />
for Commercial Law <strong>Studies</strong>, the IRC in<br />
Biomedical Materials and many others.<br />
Students <strong>of</strong> <strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> are also<br />
automatically members <strong>of</strong> the University <strong>of</strong><br />
London Union (ULU), which is among the<br />
most active and lively in the country.<br />
International outlook<br />
<strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> has many active collaborative<br />
partnerships, these form an integral part <strong>of</strong><br />
our international strategy. The rise in<br />
importance <strong>of</strong> countries such as China, India<br />
and Pakistan in scientific, technical and<br />
medical research, teaching and industrial<br />
development presents some exciting<br />
opportunities.<br />
Furthermore, twenty per cent <strong>of</strong> our students<br />
are from overseas, representing more than<br />
100 countries, so we are a truly multicultural<br />
community. We have links with a variety <strong>of</strong><br />
international institutions, and exchanges are<br />
available to the United States and many<br />
European countries.<br />
An exciting and dynamic<br />
location<br />
<strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> is in the heart<br />
<strong>of</strong> the East End, one <strong>of</strong><br />
London’s most vibrant<br />
areas, with a rich history<br />
and an exciting future.<br />
<strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>'s locations span London's<br />
diverse districts. Two <strong>of</strong> our four campuses<br />
are in east London, in the Borough <strong>of</strong> Tower<br />
Hamlets between The City and Canary Wharf,<br />
a multicultural and socially diverse area that<br />
is one <strong>of</strong> the most rapidly developing parts <strong>of</strong><br />
London.<br />
Our other campuses are in central London: at<br />
Charterhouse Square and Barts Hospital, on<br />
the edge <strong>of</strong> the City <strong>of</strong> London, the key<br />
financial district, one <strong>of</strong> the two campuses <strong>of</strong><br />
Barts and The London Medical <strong>School</strong>; and<br />
at Lincoln's Inn Fields, in London's Legal<br />
District, the home for our <strong>Graduate</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>of</strong><br />
Law and the world-famous Centre for<br />
Commercial Law <strong>Studies</strong>.<br />
“Behind the imposing Victorian<br />
<strong>Queen</strong>s’ Building at the front<br />
entrance, you quickly find<br />
yourself in a perfectly laid out,<br />
and brand new, student village.<br />
It has shops, restaurant, open<br />
green spaces.”<br />
The Guardian<br />
The Mile End Campus provides a completely<br />
integrated and secure student experience.<br />
Situated next to Regent’s canal and the open<br />
green spaces <strong>of</strong> Mile End Park, the campus<br />
<strong>of</strong>fers a peaceful environment in which to<br />
study and live, with a 2,000-bed, awardwinning<br />
Student Village. An extensive<br />
programme <strong>of</strong> refurbishment, and over £200<br />
million invested in the last five years mean<br />
that students enjoy first-class facilities.<br />
As well as comfortable canal-side<br />
accommodation, the Mile End Campus is<br />
home to outstanding academic facilities,<br />
housed in architecturally-diverse buildings.<br />
These include the Victorian <strong>Queen</strong>s’<br />
Building, the modern, award-winning Lockkeeper’s<br />
Cottage <strong>Graduate</strong> Centre for the<br />
Humanities and Social Sciences, the<br />
Informatics Teaching Laboratory, a striking<br />
new Learning Resource Centre and state-<strong>of</strong>the-art<br />
laboratories. The Campus also has a<br />
bank, bookshop, the Student Union, and a<br />
good choice <strong>of</strong> cafés, bars and restaurants.<br />
<strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, University <strong>of</strong> London 35
Further information and applications<br />
Routes into PhD research<br />
Candidates with the appropriate<br />
qualifications (see below) may apply directly<br />
to any <strong>of</strong> the Department’s Masters’ or PhD<br />
programmes. The Department is recognised<br />
by the ESRC for full-time, part-time and CASE<br />
PhD studentships. It holds ESRC 1+3<br />
Research Training recognition on its MA/MSc<br />
<strong>Geography</strong>, MA Cities and Cultures and MSc<br />
Globalisation and Development programmes.<br />
Criteria for admission<br />
MA/MSc Human and Physical<br />
Entry to one <strong>of</strong> the Department’s MA/MSc<br />
programmes is dependent upon a first or<br />
upper-second class honours in <strong>Geography</strong><br />
or a cognate discipline. You will be asked to<br />
include a brief Statement <strong>of</strong> Interest (about<br />
300 to 500 words) outlining the main<br />
academic areas covered in your first degree,<br />
how these might relate to the issues<br />
examined on your chosen MA/MSc<br />
programme, and your main reasons for<br />
choosing the MA/MSc programme at <strong>Queen</strong><br />
<strong>Mary</strong>. You should include a full academic<br />
transcript (a record <strong>of</strong> courses taken and<br />
grades achieved) and two referees’ reports.<br />
PhD<br />
Entry to the Department’s PhD programme<br />
is usually dependent upon a first or an upper<br />
second class degree or equivalent in<br />
<strong>Geography</strong> or a cognate discipline. You are<br />
asked to include a 500 to 1,000-word<br />
Research Proposal outlining the academic<br />
context <strong>of</strong> the proposed research, the<br />
research aims, methodology and proposed<br />
timetable.<br />
You should include a full academic transcript<br />
(a record <strong>of</strong> courses taken and grades<br />
achieved) and two referees’ reports. You are<br />
strongly encouraged to make contact with a<br />
potential supervisor from the department<br />
(www.geog.qmul.ac.uk see staff interests)<br />
before submitting your application. Deadline<br />
dates for applications are posted on the<br />
departmental website www.geog.qmul.ac.uk.<br />
See the following websites for further<br />
information about external funding<br />
opportunities:<br />
Natural Environment Research Council<br />
www.nerc.ac.uk<br />
Economic and Social Research Council<br />
www.esrc.ac.uk<br />
Arts and Humanities Research Council<br />
www.ahrc.ac.uk<br />
The Department welcomes informal<br />
enquiries about any aspect <strong>of</strong> its graduate<br />
programmes.<br />
For further information on the content <strong>of</strong><br />
individual MSc programmes please contact<br />
the relevant programme convenor:<br />
MA/MSc <strong>Geography</strong><br />
email: geography-ma-msc@qmul.ac.uk<br />
MA Cities and Cultures<br />
email: geography-ma-cc@qmul.ac.uk<br />
MSc Globalisation and Development<br />
email: geography-msc-gd@qmul.ac.uk<br />
MA London <strong>Studies</strong><br />
email: london-studies-ma@qmul.ac.uk<br />
MSc in Physical <strong>Geography</strong> by Research<br />
email: a.j.baird@qmul.ac.uk<br />
For further information about the<br />
Department’s PhD programme please<br />
contact:<br />
Director <strong>of</strong> <strong>Graduate</strong> <strong>Studies</strong><br />
Department <strong>of</strong> <strong>Geography</strong><br />
<strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, University <strong>of</strong> London<br />
Mile End Road<br />
London<br />
E1 4NS<br />
email: geog@qmul.ac.uk<br />
Visit the Department’s website:<br />
www.geog.qmul.ac.uk<br />
Completed applications should be sent to<br />
Admissions and Recruitment Office<br />
<strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, University <strong>of</strong> London<br />
Mile End Road,<br />
London E1 4NS<br />
Email: admission@qmul.ac.uk<br />
36 <strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, University <strong>of</strong> London
This guide has been produced by<br />
the Publications and Web Office for<br />
the Department <strong>of</strong> <strong>Geography</strong><br />
For further information contact:<br />
Department <strong>of</strong> <strong>Geography</strong><br />
<strong>Queen</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>, University <strong>of</strong> London<br />
Mile End Road<br />
London<br />
E1 4NS<br />
Tel: +44 (0)20 7882 8200<br />
Fax: +44 (0)00 8981 6276<br />
email: geog@qmul.ac.uk<br />
www.geog.qmul.ac.uk