Graduate Studies brochure - School of Geography - Queen Mary ...

Department of Geography 

Graduate Studies

Introduction 

Queen Mary, University of London is an internationally 

renowned, exciting and innovative centre for 

postgraduate study in geography. As a member of the 

Department of Geography’s Graduate School you will 

join a well-resourced, intellectually stimulating, and 

supportive department that can help you realise your full 

potential. Whether joining one of the Department’s MA or 

MSc programmes, or working for a PhD, you will work 

closely with academic staff at the forefront of the 

discipline. 

Geography has been taught at Queen Mary since 1894, 

and the College has been a school of the University of 

London since 1907. Your membership of the University 

of London will give you access to its specialised libraries 

and seminars, as well as links to an active community of 

academic geographers. On successful completion of the 

programme you will be awarded a University of London 

PhD or MA/MSc degree.

Contents 

The Graduate School 02 

• Support and resources 

• Seminars and discussion groups 

• The wider research environment 

• Timing 

• Bursaries and Studentships 

• Accommodation 

MA/MSc programmes 04 

• Core course 

• Prerequisite course 

• Dissertations 

• Supervision 

MA/MSc Geography 06 

• Programme structure 

• Specialist courses 

• Teaching staff 

• Student experiences 

MA Cities and Cultures 08 





MSc Globalisation and Development 10 





MA London Studies 12 




MSc in Physical Geography by Research14 

PhD programmes 16 

• Training 

• Research training in Human Geography 

• Research training in Physical Geography 

and Environmental Science 

• Supervision and upgrading 

• Research interests 

• A record of success 


Staff research interests 19 

• Culture, Space and Power Research 

Theme 

Staff research interests (cont) 22 

• Health Place and Society 


• Economy, Development and 

Social Justice Research Theme 


• Hydrological, Hydrochemical 

and Fluvial Processes Theme 


• Environmental Change Theme 

Queen Mary, University of London 30 

London and the East End 31 

Further information and applications 32 



The information given in this brochure is correct at the time of 

going to press. 

The College reserves the right to modify or cancel any statement in 

it and accepts no responsibility for the consequences of any such 

changes. 

Queen Mary, University of London 01

The Graduate School 

The Department of 

Geography at Queen Mary 

is internationally renowned 

for the excellence of both 

its teaching and research. 

The most recent Research 

Assessment Exercise 

(RAE) (2001) – the way the 

government grades and 

funds research excellence 

in universities – confirmed 

Queen Mary’s excellence, 

awarding the department 

Grade 5 (out of a possible 

5*). 

The College made extensive preparations 

to achieve the best possible profile in RAE 

2008. When the results of the latest RAE are 

available (December 2008), they will be 

available online at www.qmul.ac.uk/RAE 

Our Graduate School offers four MA/MSc 

programmes in human geography, and an 

MSc programme in physical geography. We 

have 32 full-time research active staff, and 

46 full and part-time students studying for 

PhDs in human and physical geography. 

Research in the Department is organised 

around five research themes: 

• Culture, Space and Power 

• Health, Place and Society 

• Economy, Development and Social Justice 

Research 

• Hydrological, Hydrochemical and Fluvial 

Processes 

• Environmental Change. 

These offer a broad range of research 

expertise from which our graduate students 

greatly benefit. Strong inter-connections 

between each of the groups also benefit 

research students. 

Support and resources 

The Graduate School is housed within the 

Department of Geography. The School is wellresourced 

and offers dedicated work space in 

study rooms fitted with networked PCs. There 

is also a graduate computing room containing 

GIS software, scanner, plotter and digitiser, 

and a Mac equipped for desktop publishing. 

Study and work space (with networked PCs) 

is also available in the Lock-Keeper’s cottage 

which is for all graduate students from 

Humanities and Social Science. 

Those undertaking physical geography and 

environmental science research have access 

to a suite of recently upgraded and extended 

laboratories. The laboratories have benefited 

from substantial investment by The Science 

Research Infrastructure Fund (SRIF) which 

has provided new specialist research 

laboratories including: 

• the world-leading Centre for 

Micromorphology for the optical and digital 

microscopic analysis of soils, sediments 

and microfossils. 

• the Centre for Aquatic and Terrestrial 

Environments, an exciting new 

interdisciplinary collaboration between the 

Department of Geography and the School 

of Biological and Chemical Sciences. 

Specialist research facilities housed with the 

department include: 

• the Wetlands Research Laboratory which 

includes equipment for analysis of the 

physical properties of peat soils and an 

environmental plant growth chamber 

which allows samples of the wetland soil, 

including the growing surface, to be 

incubated and analysed under realistic 

weather/climate conditions. 

• a dark room with hydrofluoric acid digestion 

facilities for the preparation of samples for 

luminescence dating. 

• housing for a rainfall simulator for research 

into soil erosion and contaminant transport 

pathways. 

Recent investment has provided a range of 

new analytical instrumentation including: 

• Inductively-coupled plasma optical 

emission spectrometer (Varian Vista-PRO) 

• Ion Chromatography System 2500 (Dionex) 

• Elemental Analyser (Flash EA 1112) 

• TOC and TON analyser (HiPerTOC/TNb) 

• Laser Particle Size Analyser (Beckman 

Coulter LS 13320) 

• Computed X-ray Microtomograph system 

(Skyscan 1072) 

• Automated Material Birefringence Analyser 

(Metripol) 

Graduate students also have access to 

instruments housed in the School of 

Biological and Chemical Sciences including 

a Gamma Spectrometer (Canberra BEGe 

2825), Liquid Chromatography-Diode Array 

Detector (Agilent) and On-line Solid Phase 

02 Queen Mary, University of London

Extraction-LC-Ion trap Mass Spectrometer 

(Prospekt/Agilent). 

We have an extensive pool of equipment 

for field research in geographical and 

environmental sciences. In addition to 

general field equipment to support 

geomorphological and environmental 

analysis, we have invested in specialist 

resources such as: 

• Equipment for surveying including a 

Ground Penetrating Radar (PulseEkko Pro 

1000 with Smart Cart) for geological and 

hydrological surveying, a survey grade GPS 

(Topcon HiPer Pro RTK-DGPS) and several 

Nikon surveying levels. 

• Coring and drilling equipment including a 

K-S gravity corer for sampling from deep 

lakes, a percussion corer for collecting soil 

and rock cores and equipment for drilling 

and recovering shallow snow and ice cores 

for glacial-climatological studies. 

• Automatic Weather Stations (Davies, Delta- 

T, Campbell Scientific and Skye 

Instruments) for boundary layer 

meteorological studies, including two semipermanent 

Campbell Scientific weather 

stations installed in central Iceland in 

collaboration with Loughborough 

University. 

• Equipment for hydrological monitoring 

and soil analysis including flow meters, 

data loggers, tensiometers and pressure 

transducers. 

Finally, we maintain specialist computer 

software to support our field and laboratory 

analytical facilities, including: 

• GIS software (ArcGIS) 

• Remote sensing and visualisation 

(ERDAS Imagine) 

• Visualisation and presentation of geological 

data (RockWorks) 

The Department is located immediately 

adjacent to the main College library on the 

Mile End campus. In addition to the Queen 

Mary library, all graduate students have full 

access to the University of London Library 

(Senate House) and a number of other, 

specialist, University libraries. Members of 

the Graduate School may also take advantage 

of the College Language Learning Unit 

(offering beginner, intermediate and 

advanced level courses in English, French, 

German, Italian and Spanish), as well as 

many specialist language centres provided 

by the University of London. 

The Graduate School provides a 

Postgraduate Research Fund for PhD 

students to support further training, 

conference attendance and fieldwork costs. 

Seminars and discussion 

groups 

All MA/MSc and PhD students are 

encouraged to participate fully in the lively 

research culture of the Department. This 

includes attending weekly Department 

seminars, which provide an opportunity to 

hear about leading research undertaken by 

invited visitors. PhD students present their 

own research in the Annual Postgraduate 

Symposium Day, and MA/MSc students 

present their draft course papers at 

conference days each semester. MA/MSc 

and PhD students are encouraged to attend 

Research Frameworks in Human Geography, 

which consist of an informal reading and 

discussion group convened around the work 

of a visiting speaker. 

Recent visitors in the series have included: 

• Derek Gregory 

• David Harvey 

• Cindi Katz 

• Doreen Massey 

• Linda McDowell 

• Don Mitchell and Ed Soja 

• Michael Storper 

• Eric Swyngedouw 

• Julie Graham 

• Ron Martin 

• Richard Walker 

• Peter Dicken 

• Catherine Rankin 

• Wendy Larner 

Students studying for the MSc in Physical 

Geography by Research or a PhD in physical 

geography are encouraged to attend 

meetings of the Physical Geography Group. 

This is a forum for the (generally informal) 

presentation of new research ideas and 

preliminary research findings, and for 

debates on high-profile issues in 

environmental science. 

The Group’s meetings complement the more 

formal Departmental research seminars (of 

which eight a year are in physical geography). 

Both MSc and PhD students are required to 

give a short research presentation in one of 

the Physical Geography Group meetings. 

The Group meets every two-three weeks 

throughout the year. 

The wider research 

environment 

As members of the Graduate School, our 

MA/MSc and PhD students make a vital 

contribution to a department renowned for 

its intellectually stimulating and supportive 

atmosphere. Close links between 

postgraduates and staff, and a sense of 

involvement in the life of the Department, is 

encouraged through small group teaching 

and a range of research activities in which 

postgraduate students play a full part. 

Graduate students are fully represented as 

decision-making members on all of the 

Department’s key committees. 

In human geography, research training for 

MA/MSc and first-year PhD students is 

provided through the Queen Mary/University 

College London (UCL) Postgraduate Training 

Consortium, with members of the Graduate 

School taking a compulsory module 

alongside colleagues from the Departments 

of Geography and at UCL. This is a highly 

innovative and well-regarded research 

training programme which introduces 


The Graduate School (cont) 

postgraduates to a wide range of research 

expertise. It also helps you to establish an 

extensive research network consisting of 

other postgraduate students and staff. 

In physical geography, research training for 

MSc and first-year PhD students is provided 

by members of the Department. The training 

is flexible enough to be tailored to the needs 

of individual students, while ensuring that key 

skills are covered. 

The Graduate School also plays an active 

role in the London Postgraduate Training 

Consortium (consisting of the departments 

of Geography at Queen Mary, UCL, Kings 

College London, Royal Holloway, University 

of London and the London School of 

Economics) providing all our students with 

the opportunity to develop important 

research contacts with both postgraduates 

and staff in a number of other institutions. 

Timing 

The Department’s MA/MSc courses begin 

in September of each year. As a full-time 

student you will complete your dissertation 

after 12 months, for graduation just before 

Christmas of that year. For part-time students 

the programme is 24 months, with the 

submission of the dissertation 24 months 

after initial enrolment and graduation just 

before Christmas of the final year. Those 

wishing to join the Department’s PhD 

programme usually do so in September, 

although other start dates are possible in 

consultation with supervisors and the 

Director of Graduate Studies. 

Bursaries and 

Studentships 

The Graduate School has a number of 

bursaries available on a competitive basis. 

The MA/MSc bursaries cover course fees at 

the Home/EU fees rate and are allocated after 

the 1 July deadline of each year. Those 

applying for PhD research may also apply for 

a College Studentship, covering both fees 

and maintenance for home and overseas 

students. The Department is normally able 

to offer a limited number of studentships 

funded by the UK Research Councils, for 

topics in both human and physical 

geography. All MPhil/PhD studentships are 

allocated by the Department in April each 

year following interview. Candidates do not 

need to make a separate application for 

bursaries and studentships, which are 

allocated as part of the usual application 

procedure. 

The Department is recognised by the 

Economic and Social Research Council 

(ESRC) for full-time, part-time and CASE PhD 

studentships. MA/MSc Geography, MA Cities 

and Cultures and MSc Globalisation and 

Development have been recognised under 

the ESRC’s 1+3 funding regime. The 

Department has a successful completion 

record for ESRC funded doctoral research. 

The Graduate School also has an excellent 

record of attracting both Natural Environment 

Research Council (NERC) and College 

Studentships. These studentships offer 

those working in physical geography and 

environmental science the opportunity to 

develop their own research topics, rather 

than being constrained by pre-existing 

programmes. 

You can find out more about bursaries and 

studentships at: 

http://www.geog.qmul.ac.uk/postgraduate/ 

graduateschool/support.html 

Accommodation 

All single international students are offered 

the chance to live in award-winning College 

accommodation (subject to availability). We 

have many attractive new developments 

situated on-campus or nearby, overlooking 

the Regent’s Canal and Mile End Park areas. 

If you are a first year postgraduate, there is 

no specific deadline for the submission of 

housing applications, but as the allocation of 

places starts at the beginning of June, the 

earlier you apply the better your chances will 

be of securing a place. 

Students with families are able to apply 

for intercollegiate halls of residence 

(International Hall). If you wish to apply for a 

one or more bed roomed flat, you must apply 

using the application form on the website at 

www.lon.ac.uk/halls 

The deadline to apply for family 

accommodation is March. Flats are offered 

and allocated by International Hall and not 

by the Queen Mary Residences Office. 

Alternatively students with families are able 

to apply for International Student House or 

Goodenough College accommodation or take 

up private accommodation. 

For further information on accommodation: 

www.ccrs.qmul.ac.uk/residences 


MA/MSc programmes 

The Department’s 

Graduate School offers the 

following programmes: 

• (L8S7) MA Geography full time 1 year 

• (L8S8) MA Geography part time 2 years 

• (L8S1) MSc Geography full time 1 year 

• (L8S2) MSc Geography part time 2 years 

• (L8S9) MA Cities and Cultures full time 

1 year 

• (L8S0) MA Cities and Cultures part time 

2 years 

• (L8S5) MSc Globalisation and 

Development full time 1 year 

• (L8S6) MSc Globalisation and 

Development part time 2 years 

• (L8Q1) London Studies full time 1 year 

• (L8Q2) London Studies part time 2 years 

• (F8S1) MSc in Physical Geography by 

Research full time 1 year 

• (F8S2) MSc in Physical Geography by 

Research part time 2 years 

Human Geography 

Programmes 

Each human geography programme is closely 

tied to the interests of one or more of the 

Department’s research groups in human 

geography, ensuring that you are exposed to 

the latest thinking in your chosen specialist 

field. 

You may study on a full-time (12 months) or 

part-time (24 months) basis. Students on each 

programme study modules equivalent to the 

value of 180 credits made up according to the 

structure of each programme. 

All MA and MSc students (except for those 

taking MA London Studies, see page 11) – 

and all first-year PhD students who have not 

previously completed postgraduate research 

training – take a compulsory module Social, 

Science Research: Methods and 

Methodologies, and a prerequisite module, 

Thinking Geographically. 

Compulsory module 

Social Science Research: Methods and 

Methodologies 

All MA and MSc students take this 

interdepartmental and interdisciplinary 

compulsory module, which is ESRCrecognised 

and jointly taught with the 

Department of Geography at University 

College London. The module runs over 

two semesters and is divided into two parts: 

Qualitative Methods and Quantitative 

Methods/Spatial Representation. The module 

commences with an overview of the 

philosophical and theoretical underpinnings 

of social science methodologies (covering, for 

example, participatory action research, the art 

of interviewing and visual methodologies). 

You will then be presented with a variety of 

methodologies, via lectures and practical 

applications, of a range of techniques for 

gathering and processing data. Alongside 

at least four meetings with an individual 

supervisor each semester, you will be 

introduced to dissertation research design, 

implementation and analysis. 

Prerequisite module 

Thinking Geographically 

This module provides an advanced-level 

introduction to competing theoretical 

traditions and epistemologies within human 

geography. It is based around fortnightly 

seminars that focus on influential 

approaches, perspectives and debates in 

geography, each involving the close reading 

of particular texts. Across the two semesters, 

seminars introduce aspects of thinking 

geographically and focus on particular 

traditions and ways of approaching 

geography. The subjects include: critical 

thinking about place and space; contested 

histories of geography; and the development 

of radical traditions within geography 

informed by Marxism, feminism and 

postcolonial perspectives. The seminars also 

focus on key debates and controversies in 

contemporary human geography such as 

culture and political economy; and activism, 

the academy and the nature of geographical 

research. 

Dissertations 

Each of the MA and MSc programmes 

includes a dissertation. For MA/MSc 

Geography, you may choose from three 

lengths of dissertation: 15,000 words (60 

credits), 22,500 words (90 credits), or 

30,000 words (120 credits). For MA Cities 

and Cultures, MSc Globalisation and 

Development, and MA London Studies you 

will complete a 15,000 word dissertation (60 

credits). 

Supervision 

Supervision for the dissertation is by a 

member of staff most expert in your chosen 

specialist field. You will be offered a 

minimum of four supervisions per semester 

including the summer term and vacation. 

The research skills necessary for the 

completion of a satisfactory dissertation are 

provided through Social Science Research: 

Methods and Methodologies. 

You can expect to develop a close working 

relationship with your supervisor, who is 

responsible for overseeing your general 

personal and professional development as 

well as the MA/MSc dissertation and, where 

appropriate, the preparation of any PhD or 

funding applications. 


MA/MSc Geography 

The Department of 

Geography offers four 

MA/MSc programmes in 

Human Geography. Three 

of these are specialised 

with set programmes of 

study. They are: 

• MA Cities and Cultures 

• MSc Globalisation and Development 

• MA London Studies 

All students take the compulsory module 


Methodologies. They also complete a 15,000 

word dissertation and three specialist 

modules. It is possible for students to 

substitute one of these specialist modules 

with an approved module offered on another 

Queen Mary programme. However, this must 

be discussed with the MA/MSc Programme 

Director. Individual brochures on these 

modules are available from the Department 

of Geography. 

The department also offers an MA/MSc in 

Geography. One distinctive feature of this 

programme is its flexibility. Students may 

choose the weighting and length of the 

dissertation and the number of specialist 

module options they complete. Three modes 

of study are available, however only Mode C is 

ESRC recognised. 

MA/MSc in Geography 

Modes of Study 

Mode A MA/MSc Geography (Research) 

• Students complete the compulsory module 


Methodologies 

• A dissertation of 30,000 words 

• One specialist module from the list of 

options offered 

Mode B MA/MSc (Named Specialism eg 

Cultural Geography) 

• Students complete the compulsory 

module Social Science Research: 

Methods and Methodologies 


• Two specialist modules from the list of 

options offered 

Mode C MA/MSc Geography (ESRC 

recognised) 

• Students complete the compulsory 

module Social Science Research: 

Methods and Methodologies 


• Three specialist modules from the list 

of options offered 

List of optional specialist 

modules offered 


• Art, Performance and the City 

• Cities, Empire and Modernity 

• Empire, Race and Immigration 

• Understanding Globalisation and 

Development I 


Development II 

• Globalisation and Development in Practice 

All MA and MSc students are encouraged to 

participate fully in the lively research culture 

of the Department. Weekly seminars provide 

an opportunity to hear about leading research 

undertaken by invited visitors. You are also 

encouraged to attend meetings of Research 

Frameworks in Human Geography, an 

informal reading and discussion group 

convened around the work of a visiting 

speaker. 

Teaching staff 

Core teaching staff for the programme 

includes: 

• Professor Alison Blunt 

• Dr Kavita Datta 

• Dr Shompa Lahiri 

• Professor Roger Lee 

• Professor Jon May 

• Dr Cathy McIlwaine 

• Professor Catherine Nash 

• Professor Miles Ogborn 

• Dr Alastair Owens 

• Dr David Pinder 

• Professor Adrian Smith 

• Professor Jane Wills 


MA Cities and Cultures 

The MA Cities and Cultures 

is an innovative 

programme that combines 

the study of cultural 

geography with a specific 

concern for cities. 

Focusing on urban 

cultures in the past and 

present, it is taught by 

some of the leading 

scholars in the field drawn 

primarily from the 

Department’s Culture, 

Space and Power research 

group. 

The programme uses the latest thinking 

in cultural geography and urban theory to 

provide an advanced and critical 

understanding of how cities are socially 

produced, imagined, represented and 

contested. It engages with original texts that 

have informed thinking about urban spaces 

and cultures as well as with a range of other 

source materials – including the built 

environment, art practices, literature, music 

and film – through which the meanings and 

politics of spaces in diverse cities can be 

analysed. MA Cities and Cultures is 

recognised under the ESRC’s 1+3 funding 

scheme. 

Programme structure 

All students take a compulsory module, 


Methodologies, and a prerequisite module, 

Thinking Geographically. Students then take 

the following specialised modules: 




You will also complete a 15,000 word 

dissertation to be submitted in September, 

which is based on original research on a topic 

of your choice relating to the themes of the 

course. Recent dissertations completed by 

students taking Cites and Cultures include: 

• The Global Production of Urban Space in 

Shanghai 

• The Purification of Public Space: examining 

the clearance politics of London 

• Guerrilla Gardening: Geographers and 

Gardeners, Actors and Networks: 

Reconsidering Urban Public Space 

Compulsory module 

Social Science Research: Methods 

and Methodologies 

All MA and MSc students take this 

interdepartmental and interdisciplinary 

compulsory module, which is ESRCrecognised 

and jointly taught with the 

Departments of Geography and Anthropology 

at University College London. The module 

runs over two semesters and is divided into 

two parts: Qualitative Methods and 

Quantitative Methods/Spatial Representation. 

The module commences with an overview 

of the philosophical and theoretical 

underpinnings of social science 

methodologies (covering, for example, 

participatory action research, the art of 

interviewing and visual methodologies). 

You will then be presented with a variety of 

methodologies, via lectures and practical 

applications, of a range of techniques for 

gathering and processing data. Alongside 

at least four meetings with an individual 

supervisor each semester, you will be 

introduced to dissertation research design, 

implementation and analysis. 

Prerequisite module 

Thinking Geographically 

This module provides an advanced-level 

introduction to competing theoretical 

traditions and epistemologies within human 

geography. It is based around fortnightly 

seminars that focus on influential 

approaches, perspectives and debates in 

geography, each involving the close reading 

of particular texts. Across the two semesters, 

seminars introduce aspects of thinking 

geographically and focus on particular 

traditions and ways of approaching 

geography. The subjects include: critical 

thinking about place and space; contested 

histories of geography; and the development 

of radical traditions within geography 

informed by Marxism, feminism and 

postcolonial perspectives. The seminars also 

focus on key debates and controversies in 

contemporary human geography such as 

culture and political economy; and activism, 

the academy and the nature of geographical 

research. 

Specialist modules 

Culture, Space and Power 

This module presents an advanced-level 

introduction to the most recent thinking in 

cultural geography. The first half of the 

module addresses how cultural geographers 

have worked with concepts that are at the 

heart of the discipline of geography: space, 

place, landscape and nature. The following 

sessions develop these themes by 

considering geographies of the body, the 

psyche and emotions; the politics of identity; 

postcolonial geographies; and diasporic 

spaces. Throughout the module there is a 

concern with the distinctiveness and 

significance of cultural geographical 

perspectives, and with addressing the 

interconnections between culture, space 

and power. 


MA Cities and Cultures (cont) 

Art, Performance and the City 

This module explores ways of imagining, 

representing and performing the city through 

recent projects by cultural practitioners and 

artists in the East End of London. It involves 

critical reading, background research, and 

engaging with practices and sites through 

documentation and excursions. Projects 

examined include the ‘psychogeographical’ 

explorations of the writer Iain Sinclair and 

film-maker Patrick Keiller and the 

controversies about place and politics 

involved in Rachel Whiteread’s “House”. 

Cities, Empire and Modernity 

This module focuses on two important sets of 

processes that have shaped cities and city life 

in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries: 

empire and modernity. It seeks to understand 

how urban forms and urban experience are 

shaped at the nexus of these processes. The 

module aims to develop theoretical 

understandings of empire and modernity, 

and to interrogate them through an empirical 

engagement with a variety of different (and 

often paradigmatic) cities from a range of 

periods and places. These include London, 

Paris, Calcutta, Chicago and Los Angeles, but 

the ‘spaces’ of empire and modernity in each 

of these cities are given a wide-ranging 

treatment, from home spaces to the media to 

museums. 


The core teaching staff for the programme 

includes: 

Student experience 

“My year studying Cities and Cultures at 

Queen Mary provided me the opportunity 

to delve deeper into concepts which had 

most interested me at undergraduate 

level. The culture of urban spaces was 

explored through a variety of fascinating 

academic lenses, from the postcolonial 

to the postmodern city, via the utopian 

visions of the surrealists and beyond. 

Exploring such a diversity of ideas before 

focusing on specific areas of choice in 

extended essays was a great opportunity. 

“Friendly, approachable and supportive 

academic staff, and a wide variety of 

departmental seminars and invited 

lectures made the department an 

enjoyable and stimulating place to be. 

Writing a dissertation, while often very 

hard work, was extremely satisfying and 

the final product is something with which I 

am extremely proud. I am currently taking 

time out to travel before embarking on a 

PhD. 

Oliver Zanetti, MA Cities and Cultures, 

2006-7, Winner of Landscape Research 

Group Masters Dissertation Prize 2007 

• Professor Alison Blunt 

• Dr Beth Greenhough 

• Professor Jon May 

• Professor Catherine Nash 

• Professor Miles Ogborn 

• Dr Alastair Owens 

• Dr David Pinder 

• Dr Simon Reid-Henry 


MSc Globalisation and Development 

MSc Globalisation and 

Development examines the 

economic, political, social 

and institutional bases and 

consequences of uneven 

power relations within 

contemporary processes 

of global development. 

Not restricted merely to economic 

dimensions of globalisation, the programme 

also examines the moral, ideological, gender 

and race relations that shape processes of, 

and institutional responses to, globalisation 

and development. It does so at a range of 

scales and in different spaces within an 

increasingly transnational world. 

MSc Globalisation and Development is an 

innovative programme that combines the 

theoretical and empirical study of 

globalisation with a detailed examination of 

the activities of a range of organisations 

concerned with the practice of development. 

Whilst the programme aims to develop an 

advanced and critical understanding of the 

geographies of globalisation and 

development and to engage with questions 

of power and resistance, it also offers the 

skills necessary to engage directly with 

practitioners working in the field of 

development. 

Taught through an innovative range of 

seminars, workshops, presentations and 

site visits, and delivered by members of the 

Department’s internationally renowned 

Economy, Development and Social Justice 

Research Group, the programme engages 

with the latest thinking and practice around 

globalisation and development. 

MSc Globalisation and Development is 

recognised under the ESRC's 1+3 funding 

scheme. 


All students take a compulsory module, 


Methodologies and a prerequisite module, 

Thinking Geographically. Students then take 

the following specialised modules: 


Development I and II 

• Globalisation and Development in Practice. 

You will also complete a 15,000 word 

dissertation to be submitted in September, 

which is based on original research on a topic 

of your choice relating to the themes of the 

course. Recent dissertations completed by 

students taking Globalisation and 

Development include: 

• The participation of civil society in the 

drafting and implementation process of 

the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper in 

Senegal 

• The Way East to Mile End 

• The Rise of Corporate Responsibility: 

a geographical exploration of contested 

terrain 

• Trade and Development: (In)coherences 

of EU policy. 

Specialist modules 

Understanding Globalisation and Development I 

This module aims to develop advanced and 

critical understandings of geographies of 

globalisation and development and to engage 

with questions of power and resistance. It 

also aims to provide an advanced theoretical 

grounding in the core aspects of globalisation 

as a process. It does so by exploring the 

economic, political and social dimensions of 

processes of globalisation. This includes a 

consideration of the history of globalisation 

and capitalism from a range of perspectives 

including analyses of neo-liberalism, gender 

and globalisation, global cities and urban 

fragmentation, globalisation and the semiperiphery, 

as well as global conflict and global 

justice. The geographical scope of the 

module is global, engaging with ‘First’ world 

perspectives, as well as post-socialism and 

development discourses. The focus is 

primarily theoretical, and there is scope for 

students to explore specific avenues of 

interest within these broad themes. 

Understanding Globalisation and Development II 

As a complement to Understanding 

Globalisation and Development I, this module 

focuses on the geographies of development 

and post-socialism. The module considers 

development and environmental ethics, as 

well as theories of post-socialism. At a 

different scale, it also explores global and 

local civil society, social capital and local 

networks. The focus is primarily theoretical, 

and there is scope for students to explore 

specific avenues of interest within these 

broad themes. 

Globalisation and Development in Practice 

This module provides a detailed examination 

of a series of interventions working to 

transform processes of globalisation at a 

variety of scales. It aims to introduce 

students, via site and web visits as well as 

external guest speakers, to the practical 

workings of a range of organisations both 

governmental and non-governmental, which 

are involved in attempts to shape processes 

of development in the context of 

globalisation. 


MSc Globalisation and Development (cont) 

Graduate profile – Lina 

Jamoul 

Studied: Masters in Globalisation and 

Development in the Geography department 

and PhD in Geography Department – 

graduated 2006. 

Currently: Community Organiser 

Why did you choose Queen Mary 

The Masters course looked very interesting 

and interdisciplinary. I stayed on to do my 

PhD there because the teaching quality was 

so high, the Department was full of 

interesting people doing interesting 

research, and it seemed very collegial. 

What did you gain from your time at 

Queen Mary 

An exposure to a diverse set of research 

interests. I got to meet and discuss my work 

with internationally-renowned, visiting 

academics I had a huge admiration for Stuart 

Hall, David Harvey, Doreen Massey, Julie 

Graham. I also got an opportunity to put 

radical research into practice that had a real 

impact on the community and on the 

university campus itself. 

What are your career plans in the next 

five years 

When I finished my PhD, I moved to Chicago 

to take up a job as a community organiser 

with the Industrial Areas Foundation. I plan 

to return to the UK and work with the 

Citizens’ Organising Foundation – an 

invaluable relationship that was forged 

through the Geography Department at 

Queen Mary. 

This module revolves around two projects. 

The first project explores globalisation, 

economic justice and worker empowerment, 

focusing on Business Process Outsourcing 

and attempts to empower e-service workers 

in the Global South vis-à-vis their colleagues 

in the Global North. The second project 

explores the roles and actions of Nongovernmental 

Organisations (NGOs) and how 

they are involved in global-local networks. 

Students may also take one of the following 

module options from MA Democracy and 

Democratisation taught in the Department 

of Politics: 

• Liberal Democratic Practice 

• Democracy, Disagreement and the Political 

• Media and Democracy 

• Democracy in Plural Societies. 

For more information, see 

www.politics.qmul.ac.uk 


The core teaching staff for MSc Globalisation 

and Development includes: 

• Dr Kavita Datta 

• Dr Joanna Herbert 

• Dr Al James 

• Professor Roger Lee 

• Dr Cathy McIlwaine 

• Professor Adrian Smith 

• Professor Jane Wills 

Student experiences 

The MSc Globalisation and Development 

course is perfect for those who, like me, 

want to gain a firm theoretical base and a 

broad knowledge of the issues while also 

being introduced to important practical 

skills. The opportunity to work with leading 

scholars in an excellently resourced and 

supportive department has fuelled my 

ambitions and allowed me to really expand 

my own interests. The class discussions 

are always extremely informative, and 

sometimes heated! Teaching is very 

personal with excellent support from all 

the staff. 

Ianto Jones, MA G&D 2007-8 

The importance of the MSc in 

Globalisation and Development is its 

nexus between theory and practice. 

During the year I was introduced to a 

myriad of contemporary development 

issues. These include: resistance to 

globalisation and neo-liberalism, social 

capital, civil society, theories of 

development, non-governmental 

organisations, and gender. Projects 

included call centres in India and the 

operation of NGOs. If your undergraduate 

degree is not geography, development, or 

economics, there is no need for concern. 

This degree is accessible to students from 

other disciplines complemented by the 

professionalism and devotion of staff who 

were always available to assist my 

multifarious questions. 

This Master's degree is ideal as a prelude 

to PhD study or to enhance one's 

employment prospects. Classes are small 

and there is always an opportunity to 

engage in spirited debate within a 

convivial milieu. 

Matthew Rippon, MA G&D 2007-8 


MA London Studies 

One year full-time, two 

years part-time (Taught 

in conjunction with the 

School of English and 

Drama and the 

Department of Politics) 

Programme description 

London has long been an international centre 

of cultural production and political power. 

This interdisciplinary masters programme 

takes the city as its focus, using London as a 

central example, resource and inspiration. 

The MA is collaboratively taught, drawing 

upon expertise across the Departments of 

Geography, Politics and the School of English 

and Drama. The programme brings together 

historical and contemporary perspectives on 

metropolitan culture, through approaches 

that span the humanities and social sciences. 

It also makes the most of Queen Mary’s 

position, being close to key cultural resources 

and institutions in London, while located in 

the city’s East End where many of the 

programme’s intellectual concerns find most 

vivid expression. Dramatic historical changes 

along with contemporary and future 

transformations of this area provide ample 

opportunities for scholarly reflection and 

debate as well as for engaging with practices 

and institutions within and beyond the 

academy. 

Programme outline 

A compulsory module considers influential 

perspectives on metropolitan life by using 

London as an example, but setting it in the 

context of other cities across the world. In 

addition, you will take three optional modules 

and complete a dissertation, following 

training in qualitative research methodologies 

and in the use of the unsurpassed resources 

for the study of London available in the city: 

libraries, archives, museums, galleries as well 

as sites and events. 

Compulsory modules 


• Dissertation (15,000 words) 

• Resources for Research 

Optional modules 

may include: 


• Empire, Race and Immigration 

• Health, Housing and Education of 

Immigrants in a Metropolitan Environment 

• Metro-intellectuals, 1770-1820 British 

Women Writers in London and Paris 

• Sociability: Literature and the City 

1660-1780 

• Urban Culture and the Book: London, 

Publishing and Readers in the Sixteenth 

Century 

• Writing the East End 

Assessment 

Assessment is through a variety of 

assignments, ranging from extended essays 

to book reviews and oral presentations. You 

will also complete a 15,000 word dissertation, 

worth a third of total marks, on a topic of your 

choice relating to the programme. 

Entry requirements 

You will normally be expected to have a 

first degree with first or upper-second class 

honours in a humanities or social science 

subject (or equivalent international 

qualification). We actively encourage 

applications from students who have 

developed an interest in any aspect of 

metropolitan culture at undergraduate 

level and/or who have practical experience 

of working in related areas. 


MSc in Physical Geography by Research 

The MSc in Physical 

Geography by Research 

provides students with an 

opportunity to investigate, 

in detail and to research 

standards, a topic of 

interest to them within 

physical geography. It 

provides training in the 

key research methods and 

techniques used within 

physical geography and 

environmental science. 

You will also have the 

opportunity to explore the 

main research approaches 

used within physical 

geography and the debates 

on these approaches. 


The programme is dominated by the 

Independent Research Project (IRP) which is 

worth 120 credits. Students propose, design, 

and implement a programme of original 

research under the guidance of one or more 

supervisors drawn from the physical 

geography staff in the Department. The IRP 

is assessed via a dissertation of up to 30 000 

words (or equivalent). In addition to the IRP 

there are three taught modules on the MSc: 

Environmental Modelling 

(15 credits) 

Through lectures, practicals and one-one 

supervision, this module (i) considers how 

models represent a fundamental means of 

understanding the operation of 

environmental systems, (ii) introduces key 

concepts (mass and energy balance and 

transfer equations) in environmental 

modelling, and (iii) explains how models 

can be constructed and tested in both a 

spreadsheet (MS Excel) and high-level 

programming language (Fortran 95) 

environment. The art and science of the 

formulation, construction, and testing of 

environmental models is covered. The 

module is assessed via a programming 

exercise and a written report that reviews 

the use of models in a given area of physical 

geography. 

Project-specific Research Training 

(15 credits) 

This module introduces and provides training 

in the research issues, methodologies and 

field and laboratory procedures that are 

appropriate to the IRP, including theoretical 

background and context, research design 

and project management. The focus of the 

IRP, therefore, significantly determines the 

module content. The module is delivered 

through formal supervisory sessions, together 

with appropriate field and/or laboratory 

training and is assessed via submission of 

two written reports. 

Physical Geography Research and Practice 

(30 credits) 

This module introduces students to current 

issues in physical geographical research. It 

focuses on the advantages and limitations of 

differing approaches to physical geographical 

research (ie observational (mainly field), 

manipulative experimental (field and 

laboratory), and modelling-based (computer 

simulation)). 

It also provides training in research skills 

including presentation and writing skills. The 

course involves attendance at meetings of the 

Physical Geography Group (approximately 

every three weeks during the teaching year). 

Assessment is via an oral presentation to the 

Physical Geography Group and a written 

critique of research approaches in an area of 

physical geography related to the IRP. 


All members of physical geography staff are 

available for IRP supervision. The IRP 

supervisor oversees the delivery of Projectspecific 

Research Training. The 

Environmental Modelling and Physical 

Geography Research and Practice courses 

are taught by Andrew Baird and a mixture of 

physical geography staff. Andrew Baird is the 

overall convenor of the MSc. 


PhD programmes 

The breadth of the 

Department’s research 

expertise offers a wide 

range of opportunities for 

those wishing to embark 

on a programme of 

doctoral research. 

Close collaboration between individual 

research staff and a number of governmental 

and non-governmental agencies provides 

further opportunities for those wishing to 

undertake collaborative research. 

The Department welcomes applications from 

those wishing to study full or part-time, holds 

ESRC recognition for full-time, part-time and 

CASE Studentships and is recognised under 

the ESRC’s 1+3 funding regime. The 

Department also receives NERC studentships 

via the NERC algorithm. 

Training 

Through its PhD training programmes, 

the Graduate School provides you with the 

training in research and research-related 

skills necessary for the satisfactory 

completion of your PhD and for a research 

career in the natural or social sciences. 

Through participation in a range of broader 

consortia, and taking up the opportunities 

for training provided by these and more 

specialist agencies (for example, the Queen 

Mary/UCL, and London Postgraduate 

Training consortia, Queen Mary Community 

Health Sciences Institute, London Group of 

Historical Geographers, London Human 

Geography Reading Group, British 

Hydrological Society, Geological Society of 

London, the NERC/Geomorphological 

Research Group’s and Geophysical Fluid 

Dynamics Group’s Postgraduate Training 

courses, and the Quaternary Research 

Association) you will be integrated into a 

range of research communities and networks 

operating at college, university, metropolitan, 

national and international scales. 

Research training in 

Human Geography 

Core training 

For those undertaking research in human 

geography, core training is provided through 

the Department’s ESRC-recognised training 

programme, offering exemption for those 

holding the Department’s MA/MSc 

Geography, MA Cities and Cultures or MSc 

Globalisation and Development degrees. 

Those not holding an ESRC-recognised 

Master’s degree take two modules through 

the Autumn and Spring terms of their first 

year: Social Science Research: Methods and 

Methodologies (see page 5) and Thinking 

Geographically (see page 5). 

Exemptions from parts of this programme 

may be granted where evidence of 

satisfactory training completed elsewhere is 

provided. The training requirements of CASE 

students are agreed in advance on an 

individual basis to enable professional 

qualifications and experience to be taken 

into account. 

Research training in 

Physical Geography and 

Environmental Science 

Core training 

For those undertaking research in physical 

geography or environmental science, core 

training is provided through a variety of 

mechanisms. You will carry out personal 

development planning throughout your PhD. 

In addition, you are required to undertake 

compulsory skills training each year. 

In the first year, this requirement is met by 

completion of two compulsory modules: 

Physical Geography Research (see page 12) 

and Practice and Project-specific Research 

Training (see page 12). In second and third 

years, the training requirement can be met by 

a combination of internal courses (eg Queen 

Mary Education and Staff Development 

courses), external short courses/workshops 

(eg UK GRAD workshops), demonstrating on 

undergraduate courses, external activities (eg 

POST placements) and self-directed 

learning. 

Supervision and upgrading 

The Graduate School provides you with a 

primary and secondary supervisor. While 

facilitating continuity in the case of staff 

leave, working closely with two supervisors 

provides you with a greater range of research 

expertise than would be possible through sole 

supervision. 

You can expect to form a close working 

relationship with your supervisors, meeting 

regularly (not less than fortnightly through the 

opening stages of the research) throughout 

your time in the Department. Supervisors are 

responsible for overseeing both your research 

and your broader career development. 

In both human and physical geography 

upgrading from MPhil to PhD status is usually 

completed towards the end of the first year. 

In human geography, the first-year training 

programme is assessed via the six-month 

review at which you present an extended 

literature review, methodology and timetable 

of research to your supervisors and one 

further member of staff. Supplemented by 

end of term reports, the six-month review 

provides both you and your supervisors with 

a clear indication of your progress in 

preparation for upgrading from MPhil to PhD 

status. 

Upgrading involves the submission of three 

pieces of work (a literature review, 

methodology and preliminary empirical 

examination) to the upgrading panel, which 

normally consists of your supervisors and an 

external expert of your choice. In physical 

geography, the first-year training programme 

is assessed through coursework completed 

for the Physical Geography Research and 

Practice and Project-specific Research 

Training modules. Upgrading involves the 

submission of a concise (c. 5000 word) 

report and oral examination by a panel of 

three staff who are not involved in the 

supervision. 


PhD programmes (cont) 

The Department is 

experienced in working 

with both part-time 

students and those 

undertaking collaborative 

research, and its training 

programmes and 

upgrading procedures 

have been designed with 

the particular needs of 

such students in mind. 

Research interests 

The breadth and depth of the Department’s 

research interests are reflected in the range 

of doctoral work completed over the years. 

Current PhD projects and recently defended 

PhD theses include: 

Physical Geography PhD Projects 

• Northwest European river systems over the 

last 200 ka 

• Sediment strain at the boundaries of former 

ice streams: multiscale analysis of the role 

and significance of subglacial sediment 

deformation 

• Modelling peatlands as complex adaptive 

systems 

• CH 4 ebullition from northern peatlands 

and temperate estuarine sediments 

• An investigation of the spatial distribution 

and partitioning of metals in estuarine 

sediments 

• Transport of fine sediments in vegetated 

chalk streams 

Human Geography PhD projects 

• Post-socialist transformations and the 

global city thesis, the case of Prague 

• Rickets: socio-economic and cultural 

factors and the role of primary care 

• Deconstructing the ghetto: a study of 

former Soviet Union Jewish emigration 

to eastern Germany 

• Commodifying Multicultures: urban 

regeneration and the politics of space 

in Spitalfields 

• Daily Bread: Evangelical beliefs and 

identities through place 

• Youth, urban violence and citizenship 

in east London 

• Casualised workers in South Korea: 

transformation of work places 

• Teaching the art of politics: broad based 

organising in Britain 

• Construction of masculinity, sexuality and 

condom use among long-haul truck drivers 

in southern Africa: implications for STI/HIV 

prevention 

• The role of public involvement for 

sustainable inner city urban regeneration: 

the experience of two east London 

boroughs 

• European alternatives: radical political 

movements and intervention in the 

production of space 

• Cultural geographies of gay liberation 

• Spatial aspects of gender inequality in 

pension policy in Greece 

• Student identities of mixed descent in 

the UK and USA 

• Trade union federations in liberal market 

economies: Leading from the centre 

• Political transnationalism, gender and 

peace building among Colombian migrants 

in the UK and Spain 

• The Gilt on the Golden City: Expatriates, 

Social Exclusion and the Production of 

Space in Post Socialist Prague 

• Geographies of theory and practice in 

contemporary British Anarchism. 

• Strengthening civil society in natural 

resource management in Vietnam. 

A record of success 

Our postgraduates have followed careers in 

different employment sectors and in a 

number of countries. Several former PhD 

students, from both the Human Geography 

and Physical Geography programmes, are 

following academic careers as lecturers or 

research fellows in the UK, Europe, the US, 

Mexico and New Zealand. Other former 

students have utilised their research skills 

outside academia in the UK, Europe and 

Africa. Positions have included freelance 

work, and employment with business 

corporations, the UN, the Royal Geographical 

Society and Dutch Geological Society. 

Students from our Masters courses have 

continued on to pursue PhD studies, while 

others have been able to transfer their skills 

to private and public sector employment. 

Graduate 

Profile – Akile 

Ahmet 

Studied: Geography BA, 

Geography MSc and 

PhD in the Geography 

Department, graduated 

BA 2003, Masters 2004. 

Currently: Working for Goldsmiths, University of 

London in the department of Professional and 

Community Education as a researcher. 

Why did you choose Queen Mary 

The Geography department as well as the 

university as a whole is extremely friendly. The 

lecturers are always accessible. Having one-toone 

contact and the opportunity for regular 

feedback and support is essential. 

What did you gain from your time at Queen 

Mary 

I have learnt so much from my time at Queen 

Mary. Firstly, how to manage my work and 

really enjoy the learning process to its fullest. 

Secondly, to be who I am at present. And finally, 

the unique location of Queen Mary being a 

student in East London has taught 

me so much. 

What are your career plans in the next five 

years 

I hope to continue my career as an academic. 


PhD Student 

experiences 

“My research is a mix of different social 

sciences, and I was attracted to the Queen 

Mary Geography Department partly 

because of its exciting interdisciplinary 

work. The broad scope of research taking 

place in the department makes it a really 

interesting melting pot. 

“I actually turned down a place at another, 

perhaps more famous college in favour of 

Queen Mary. I was immediately made to 

feel included and valued, and there was 

very little evidence of snobbery unlike 

some other departments of its calibre. All 

levels of staff are incredibly friendly, and 

go over and above the call of duty to help 

their students. 

“PhD students are also encouraged to 

participate more in extracurricular 

research projects and initiatives, which 

reflects the challenging yet supportive 

atmosphere in the department. Although 

the department is friendly and relaxed, it 

is still academically world class, and this 

really encourages an 

atmosphere of 

pushing the 

boundaries of the 

discipline.” 

Ant Ince, PhD Student 

in Political and 

Cultural Geography. 

“I am working on a PhD, focusing on 

global financial markets and the 

emergence of the Turkish financial market 

in particular. I am very happy to have a 

place at Queen Mary because I think it is 

the best place for my kind of research. 

Knowing the place from my ERASMUS 

year gave me the certain knowledge that I 

needed to come back and continue my 

studies here. My passion and enthusiasm 

in the field of cultural economic 

geographies and global restructuring was 

encouraged during my ERASMUS year as 

my lecturers’ economic geography meant 

more than pure economics, it was infused 

with cultural and social aspects. 

“And today, the regular meeting with my 

supervisors very much continues on an 

even higher level. They, as much as 

everybody else in the department are 

highly supportive and encouraging. I am 

very glad to be part of that atmosphere 

and am able to enhance my skills and 

abilities and share them with my 

colleagues and friends. Also continuing 

my academic career in London was of 

importance to me. The unique location 

of Queen Mary in 

London’s urban 

landscape will have a 

positive impact to my 

PhD, life and career.” 

Tim Heinemann, PhD 

Student in Economic 

and Cultural 

Geography 

“My PhD is investigating the physical and 

chemical factors which control the 

behaviour of organic and inorganic 

contaminants in soil and sediments 

through practical experience from detailed 

laboratory work. I chose to study at Queen 

Mary because of its good reputation and 

the conducive environment it provides for 

serious academic work. 

“In addition to this, the quality of research 

of the Hydrological, Hydrochemical and 

Fluvial Processes research group in the 

Geography Department is highly rated and 

matches the best in the world because 

members of the group are world class 

academics. The Department also provides 

state of the art laboratories. Regular 

supervision from my 

supervisors enables 

me to get regular 

feedback on my 

research.” 

Margaret Kadiri, PhD 

Student in Physical 


“Initially, I came to Queen Mary to work 

alongside leading professionals in my area 

of research (deformation structures 

beneath iceberg scour marks) and 

because of the recently opened Centre for 

Micromorphology, which houses an array 

of impressive microscopic facilities 

including the latest microscopic X-ray 

technology. That aside, I feel fortunate I 

chose a department 

that I have found to 

be extremely friendly 

with a thriving and 

sociable postgraduate 

community.” 

Lorna Linch, PhD 

Student in Physical 


Winner of the Best Presentation Award 

at the Quaternary Research Association 

Postgraduate Symposium, Copenhagen 

2007. 


Staff research interests 

Culture, Space and Power 

Research Theme 

Research in the group critically engages with 

the interplay of culture, space and power in 

both historical and contemporary contexts. 

Members of the group conduct theoretically 

informed and empirically grounded research 

in the following areas: 

• Feminist and postcolonial geographies 

of home, travel and diaspora 

• Art, politics and the city 

• Property, power and urbanism 

• Comparative histories and geographies 

of the modern city 

• Historical geographies of globalisation 

• Globalisation and identity formation 

• Geographies of identity and relatedness 

• Technology, the body and socialenvironmental 

relations. 

Members of the group convene and teach 

MA Cities and Cultures and supervise a 

number of PhD students. Three members 

of the group (Alison Blunt, Miles Ogborn and 

David Pinder) are editors (with Jon May, 

Queen Mary, and Pyrs Gruffudd, University 

of Wales) of Cultural Geography in Practice. 

(London: Arnold, 2003). 

Professor Alison Blunt 

Professor of Geography 

BA Hons(Cantab) MA PhD(UBC) 

a.blunt@qmul.ac.uk 

Alison Blunt’s research interests span 

cultural, feminist and postcolonial 

geographies, with a particular focus on 

imperial travel and domesticity and on 

geographies of home, identity, migration and 

diaspora. Her early research focused on the 

gendered spatiality of imperial travel and 

travel writing by women, and on imperial 

domesticity in British India. More recently, 

she has completed research funded by the 

ESRC and AHRC on Anglo-Indian women 

and the spatial politics of home in India, 

Britain and Australia in the context of 

imperialism, nationalism, decolonisation and 

multiculturalism. Rather than focus on the 

diversity of individual homes and identities, 

this research examines their collective and 

political implications for a community of 

mixed descent, both domiciled in India and 

resident across a wider diaspora. Her current 

research projects include ‘Diaspora Cities: 

Imagining Calcutta in London, Toronto and 

Jerusalem’ (funded by The Leverhulme 

Trust), which explores the city as a site of 

diasporic memory, attachment and 

belonging; and ‘Gender and the Built 

Environment’ (in partnership with Women’s 

Design Service, funded by Urban Buzz), 

which is setting up a new database of 

English-language publications for 

academics, practitioners and policy makers. 

She was awarded the Gill Memorial Award by 

the RGS-IBG in 2002 and a Philip 

Leverhulme Prize in 2003. She is editor of 

Transactions from 2008-13, is Adjunct 

Professor in the Department of Geography, 

NTNU, Trondheim, and chairs the London 

Women and Planning Forum. 

Publications include: 

• Blunt, A., Dowling, R., (2006). 

Home. Routledge, London. 

• Blunt, A., (2005). Domicile and diaspora: 

Anglo-Indian Women and the Spatial 

Politics of Home. Blackwell, Oxford. 

• Blunt, A., Gruffudd, P., May, J., Ogborn, M., 

Pinder, D., (2003). Cultural Geography in 

Practice. Arnold, London. 

• Blunt, A., McEwan, C., (2002). Postcolonial 

Geographies. Continuum, London. 

Professor Catherine Nash 


BA Hons PhD(Nott) 

c.nash@qmul.ac.uk 

Catherine Nash’s research interests are in 

feminist cultural geography. Her research has 

explored the politics of collective identity and 

belonging, focused on changing 

constructions of Irish national identity, and 

engaged with recent debates in geography 

about postcolonialism, landscape, the body, 

visual representation, gender and 

nationhood. Over the past five years she has 

been building on this work through new 

research that engages with recent theoretical 

concerns in geography and related 

disciplines, contemporary cultural practices 

and new configurations of identity and 


elonging. Two recent projects addressed 

diasporic and local negotiations of belonging: 

one exploring ‘Irish roots’ genealogy and 

ethnicity amongst descendants of Irish 

emigrants to New Zealand, Canada, Australia 

and the United States, and local and 

community history projects and activities in 

relation to cultural policy, cultural politics and 

community relations in Northern Ireland. Her 

current research funded by an ESRC 

Research Fellowship (2004-07), entitled 

‘Genealogy and genetics: cultural 

geographies of relatedness’, examines 

scientific and popular understandings of 

origins, ancestry, inheritance and descent 

in relation to ideas of ethnicity, nationhood, 

‘race’ and gender. 

It draws on new perspectives on kinship in 

cultural and social anthropology to explore 

cultural geographies of relatedness within 

popular genealogy and new genetics. 


Nash, C. (forthcoming) Genetic Kinship: 

New Geographies of Relatedness, Cornell 

University Press, Ithaca. 

Nash, C., (2008). Of Irish Descent: Origin 

Stories, Genealogy and the Politics of 

Belonging. Syracuse University Press, 

Syracuse. 

Nash, C., (2003). “They’re family!”: cultural 

geographies of relatedness in popular 

genealogy.’ In Ahmed, S., Fortier, A-M., 

Seller, M. (Eds.). Uprootings, Regroundings: 

Questions of Home and Migration, Berg, 

Oxford. 

Nash, C., (2002). Genealogical identities. 

Environment and Planning D: Society and 

Space. 20, 27 – 52. 

Professor Miles Ogborn 


BA Hons PhD (Cantab) 

m.j.ogborn@qmul.ac.uk 

Miles Ogborn’s research is concerned with 

the analysis of the geographical organisation 

of power. Early research focused on the 

historical geography of state formation in 

nineteenth-century Britain, with an 

investigation of how significant new forms of 

state intervention and social policy (from the 

police, poor law, and prisons to the regulation 

of prostitution) required new ways of 

organising space within disciplinary 

institutions and state formations. More 

recently he has examined the spaces of 

modernity in eighteenth century London in 

order to understand how the making of “the 

modern world” involved important changes in 

relationships of power through the creation of 

new forms of spatial arrangement within 

innovative organisations and institutions. 

His most recent research, funded by the 

Leverhulme Trust, the British Academy, and 

the Clark Memorial Library (UCLA), is 

concerned with the historical geographies of 

globalisation between 1550 and 1800. One 

strand involves examining writing as a 

powerful technology of globalisation through 

the example of the uses of script and print by 

the English East India Company. The second 

project uses biography to introduce Britain’s 

role in global history between the sixteenth 

and eighteenth centuries. By retelling the life 

stories of over forty individuals from a huge 

range of backgrounds – including merchants, 

monarchs, slaves, sailors and pirates – 

Britain’s rise as a global imperial power is 

described and explained. 


• Ogborn, M., (2008) (in press). Global Lives: 

Britain and the World, 1550-1800. 

Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 

In press. 

• Ogborn, M., (2007). Indian Ink: Script and 

Print in the Making of the English East India 

Company. Chicago University Press, 

Chicago. 

• Baldwin, E., Longhurst, B., McCracken, S., 

Ogborn, M., Smith, G., (2003). Introducing 

Cultural Studies. Prentice Hall, London. 

(second edition forthcoming 2008) 

Dr Alastair Owens 

Senior Lecturer in Geography 

BA Hons PhD (London) 

a.j.owens@qmul.ac.uk 

Alastair Owens is an historical geographer 

with interests in nineteenth and twentieth 

century Britain. A key focus of recent work 

has been on investigating the relationships 

between gender, class and wealth in order to 

explore how individuals used markets and 

legal structures to ensure their own material 


Staff research interests (cont) 

well-being and that of others. This is part of a 

wider project which aims to fundamentally 

revise our historical and geographical 

understanding of the provision of welfare in 

nineteenth and twentieth-century Britain. A 

recent, collaborative ESRC-funded project 

has extended this work through a study of 

gender and investment in England and 

Wales, 1870-1930. 

Alastair has further research interests in 

material culture and everyday life in Victorian 

cities. Working with professional 

archaeologists, he has recently completed an 

AHRC-funded project pioneering new 

approaches to studying the material histories 

or urban place in mid-Victorian London. As 

well as pursuing interdisciplinary research, 

Alastair also successfully collaborates with a 

number of organisations outside of 

academia, including the Geffrye Museum 

and the Museum of London. 


• Beachy, R., Craig, B., Owens, A., (2006). 

Women, Business and Finance in 

Nineteenth-Century Europe: Rethinking 

Separate Spheres. Oxford: Berg. 

• Green, D.R., Owens, A., (2004). Family 

Welfare: Gender, Property and Inheritance 

since the Seventeenth Century. Praeger, 

Westport CT. 

Dr David Pinder 

Reader in Geography 

BA Hons PhD(Cantab) 

d.pinder@qmul.ac.uk 

David Pinder is interested in cultural and 

urban geography, and in social theories of 

modernity, space and the city. His recent 

research addresses ways in which modern 

cities have been imagined, represented and 

contested through a focus on utopian visions 

of cities in twentieth century western Europe. 

This work critically engages with modernist 

planning and architectural discourses as well 

as the ideas and practices of avant-garde 

groups that sought to transform the 

geographies of cities and everyday life. It has 

especially centred on the activists, artists and 

writers associated with the Situationist 

International during the 1950s and 1960s, 

and it considers their critiques of post-war 

urbanisation, their development of critical 

geographical practices, and their utopian 

visions of urban space. 

The aim of this research is not only to 

reconfigure standard histories of the 

modernist city and to draw out contested 

ideals within twentieth-century urbanism; 

it is also to rethink the place of utopianism in 

approaches to cities, and indeed to rekindle 

elements of utopianism itself. He is currently 

developing these interests through writings 

on contemporary artistic practices, 

psychogeography and the politics of urban 

space; and on the potential value of 

utopianism for radical geographical 

perspectives today. He is also studying 

contested spaces of modernist urbanism in 

London and New York between the 1950s 

and 1970s. The latter research includes a 

focus on the ways in which artists and 

cultural practitioners sought to explore 

and intervene in urban space. 


• Pinder, D. (2005) Visions of the City: 

Utopianism, Power and Politics in 

Twentieth-Century Urbanism. Edinburgh, 

Edinburgh University Press. 




Health Place and Society 


The Health, Place and Society theme 

incorporates streams of work, taking critical 

and innovative perspectives on health and 

healthcare, population change, the body and 

societies. Research under this theme 

includes work on: 

• Migration, gender and health 

• The impact of new technologies, regulatory 

paradigms and global economic 

imperatives on the way that human and 

non-human biological materials are treated 

as commodities and hi-tech biomedical 

science in non-Western locales 

• Spatial variation and inequality in health 

and healthcare 

• New methods to explore spatial health 

variations through statistical modelling 


• The individual experiences and 

interpretations of the body in different 

geographical settings. 

• Policy relevant research concerning the 

ways that urban change impacts on health, 

health related behaviour and health care 

provision. 

Dr Steven Cummins 

Senior Lecturer & NIHR Fellow 

BSc (CGCHE) MSc (London) PhD(Glas) 

Steven Cummins has a wide range of 

interests in public health policy and health 

inequality. His particular interests are in the 

contextual and socio-environmental 

determinants of health; the design and 

evaluation of community social and policy 

interventions to improve population health; 

the consumer consequences of food retail 

restructuring; and the public policy 

implications of geographical research and 

books. He has authored over thirty-five 

papers. He has received a Philip Leverhulme 

Prize (2007) and his current research is 

supported by a NIHR Fellowship. 


• Cummins, S. (2007). ‘Understanding a 

representing place in health research: a 

relational approach', Social Science and 

Medicine 

• Cummins, S; Ellaway; MacIntyre; (2002). 

‘Place effects on health: how can we 

conceptualise, operationalise and measure 

them’ Social Science and Medicine 

Professor Peter Congdon 

Research Professor 

BSc (Econ) MSc PhD(Lond) 

p.congdon@qmul.ac.uk 

Peter Congdon specialises in quantitative 

and modelling applications and has wide 

experience of research in spatial 

epidemiology, health service research, and 

regional demography. He has been a 

member of the Geography Department since 

1992, and a Research Professor from 2001. 

He has participated in a range of funded 

research projects including ESRC funded 

projects on Contextual Health Variations and 

Trends in Locality Mortality, a SAMHSA 

funded project on Psychiatric Health Needs 

Mapping in New York State, and joint projects 

with the Department of General Practice, 

including a Department of Health funded 

study of psychiatric referrals in east London 

and a Kings Fund project on health and social 

care indicators for the elderly. He is an 

elected member of the International 

Statistical Institute since 2007. His research 

output includes methodological work (eg in 

statistical journals) and substantive studies 

considering links between health outcomes 

and social structure. 


• Congdon, P., (2006). Bayesian Statistical 

Modelling, 2nd edition. John Wiley, London. 

• Congdon, P., (2008). (forthcoming) 

Bayesian Hierarchical Models. 

Chapman&Hall/CRC. 

• Congdon, P., Stillwell, J., (1992). Migration 

Modelling: Macro and Micro Perspectives. 

Belhaven Press and John Wiley, London. 

Professor Isabel Dyck 


BA MA (Manc) PhD (Simon Fraser 

University) 

i.dyck@qmul.ac.uk 

Isabel Dyck joined the Department of 

Geography from the University of British 

Columbia. She is internationally recognised 

for her research on: Feminist analyses of the 

home and work experiences of women with 

chronic illness; healthcare access for 

immigrant minority women, and integration 

issues for immigrant families; the home as a 

site for long-term home care. She has 

produced a range of papers concerned 

with embodiment, identity, home and 

health/disability experience. 


• Davis-Lewis, N., Dyck, I., McLafferty, S., 

Lewis, N., (2004). Geographies 

of Women’s Health. 

• Moss, P., Dyck, I., (2003). Women, Body, 

Illness: Space and Identify in the Everyday 

Lives of Women with Chronic Illness. 



Dr Beth Greenhough 

Lecturer in Geography 

BSc (Reading) MSc (Bristol) PhD 

(Open University) 

b.j.greenhough@qmul.ac.uk 

Beth Greenhough’s research draws on a 

combination of political-economic geography, 

cultural geography and science studies to 

explore the social implications of scientific 

innovations in the areas of health, 

biomedicine and the environment. Her work 

to date has explored the way in which 

emerging technologies in the biosciences 

and bio-medicine are placing new demands 

on existing medical and biological data 

collections. Her ESRC funded doctoral 

research analysed the debates and 

controversy surrounding a proposal made 

by an Icelandic biotechnology firm to use 

Iceland’s national medical records to 

construct a commercial research database. 

The research argued that the commercial use 

of bio-medical information resources, 

such as medical records, reflects how 

the biosciences are transforming the 

relationships between nature and society, 

science and medicine, and human and nonhuman 

subjects. 

Beth’s most recent interest is in bioethics 

and the issue of consent for participation 

in medical and scientific studies. She is 

currently developing a project that will 

compare the ethical procedures adopted for 

human clinical trials with those developed for 

use with animal subjects in biomedical 

research. She also has a strong commitment 

to promoting an interdisciplinary approach to 

the study of environmental issues and has a 

project with a colleague in Physical 

Geography at Keele University at student’s 

perceptions of environmental citizenship and 

how these vary according to students’ degree 

programmes. 


• Greenhough, B., (2007). Situated 

knowledges and the spaces of consent. 

Geoforum. 38, 1140-1151. 

• Greenhough, B., (2006). Imagining an 

Island laboratory: Representing the field 

in Geography and Science Studies. 

Transactions of the Institute of British 

Geographers. 31, 224-237. 

• Greenhough, B., (2006). Decontextualised 

Dissociated Detached Mapping the 

networks of Bio-Informatic exchange. 

Environment and Planning A. 38, 445-463. 

• Greenhough, B., Jazeel, T., Massey, D., 

(2005). Introduction: geographical 

encounters with the Indian Ocean tsunami. 

Geographical Journal. 171, 369-371. 

Dr Ray Hall 


BA Hons PhD(Liv) 

r.hall@qmul.ac.uk 

Ray Hall’s research interests lie in the field 

of historical and contemporary population 

geography. A particular interest is changing 

European household structures and the 

interrelationships between these and wider 

social changes and how these are played out 

in cities. Her research has focused upon a 

number of scales, including work in both 

London and other European cities. Current 

research is concerned with urban change in 

central Europe. 


• Buzar S, Hall R and Ogden P E. Beyond 

gentrification: the demographic 

reurbanisation of Bologna. Environment 

and Planning A 39, 64-85 

• Buzar S. Ogden P E and Hall R. Households 

matter: the quiet demography of urban 

transformation. Progress in Human 

Geography, 29, 413-436 

• Hall R and Ogden PE (2003). The rise of 

living alone in inner London: trends among 

the population of working age. Environment 

and Planning A 35: 871-888 

Professor Philip Ogden 


BA Hons(Durham) DPhil(Oxon) 

p.e.ogden@qmul.ac.uk 

Phillip Ogden is a population geographer with 

particular interests in migration and recent 

demographic change in Western Europe and 

the Caribbean. He is currently engaged in 

research projects in France and the UK 

funded by the ESRC, the Nuffield Foundation 

and the British Academy on household 

structures and migration in the major cities. 

He has published widely in these areas and 

contributed to wider methodological debates 

in population geography. He chairs the 

Centre for Migration Studies at Queen Mary. 

He has published in over 15 books and 

numerous journals. 


• Ogden, P.E., (1992). London Docklands: 

the challenge of development. Cambridge 

University Press, Cambridge. 

• Ogden, P.E., White, P., (1989). Migrants in 

Modern France. Allen and Unwin, London. 

• Ogden, P.E., (1982). Migration and 

Geographical Change. Cambridge 

University Press, Cambridge. 

Dr Bronwyn Parry 

Reader in Geography 

BA Hons(Macquarie) PhD(Cantab) 

b.parry@qmul.ac.uk 

Bronwyn Parry is an economic and cultural 

geographer whose primary interests lie in 

investigating the way human-environment 

relations are being re-cast by technological, 

economic and regulatory changes. Her 

special interests include the rise and 

operation of the life sciences industry, 

informationalism, the commodification of life 

forms, posthumanism, bioethics and systems 

for knowing, disciplining and governing 

nature. 

Examining historical and contemporary 

contestations over ‘ownership’ of bodily 

materials and artefacts has led her to 

investigate the role that different knowledge 

systems (from the Linnaean system of 

biological classification to the WTO TRIPS 

system of Trade Related Intellectual Property 

Rights) have played in regulating access to, 

and use of biological and ‘natural’ materials 

over time. 

Bronwyn is currently developing several new 

strands of research. The first explores the role 

that corporeality plays in shaping our 

everyday engagements with the world. This 

work combines her long standing interests in 


the body with more recent engagements with 

phenomenology, materialist and affective 

geographies. The second analyses the 

phenomena of ‘reproductive tourism’ and 

assesses how it is altering concepts of 

kinship, nationality and biological 

relatedness, the third (for which she has 

recently received a project grant of £30,000) 

considers how the visual arts may be 

rehabilitated as a medium for communicating 

complex ethical issues in science to a wider 

public. 


• Parry, B.C., (2008) (forthcoming). 

Entangled exchange: Reconceptualising 

the characterisation and practice of bodily 

commodification. Geoforum. 

• Parry, B.C., (2008). Geographical 

Indications: Not all ‘Champagne and 

Roses’” In Bently, L., Davis, J., Ginsberg, J. 

(Eds.). Trademarks and Brands. Cambridge 

University Press. 

• Parry, B.C., (2007). Cornering the Futures 

Market in ‘Bio-epistemology.’ Biosocieties. 

2, 386-389. 

• Parry, B.C., (2006). The private life of 

genetic samples. Women’s Studies 

Quarterly Special Issue: The Global and 

the Intimate. 52-53. 

• Parry, B.C., Gere, C. M., (2006). 

Contested Bodies: Property Models and 

the Commodification of Human Biological 

Artefacts. Science as Culture. 15, 139-158. 

• Gere, C.M., Parry, B.C., (2006). The Flesh 

Made Word: Banking the Body in the Age of 

Information. Biosocieties. 1, 83-98. 

• Parry, B.C., (2004). Trading the Genome: 

Investigating the commodification of bioinformation. 

Columbia University Press, 

New York, New York. 

Economy, Development 

and Social Justice 


Members of the Economy, Development and 

Social Justice theme conduct theoreticallyinformed, 

politically-engaged research on 

the production, nature and consequences 

of inequality and uneven development. 

Members of this group offer an innovative 

combination of development, economic and 

social geographical specialisms. There are 

three important areas of focus within this 

research group: 

1. Social Relations and Economic 

Geographies: including the proliferative 

and diverse nature of economic practices; 

the cultural construction of economic 

geographies; historical geographies of 

property, investment and welfare; and 

changing forms of work and trade unions 

2. Geographies of Uneven Development: 

including work on global production and 

value networks, sunk costs and regional 

development in economic transformations; 

the political economy of post-socialist 

transformations; and the role of changing 

labour markets, welfare regimes and 

immigration in shaping poverty and 

livelihood strategies in cities in the U.K., 

East-Central Europe, southern Africa and 

Latin America 

3. Politics, Identity and Social Justice: 

including work on violence, insecurity and 

development; gender and generational 

inequalities shaping everyday experiences 

of HIV/AIDS; changing geographies of 

welfare provision and homelessness; 

geographies of neo-liberalism and 

resistance. 

4. International and transnational migration 

with a focus on migration to London 

Members of the EDSJ group are involved in a 

variety of collaborations with research users, 

including international trade unions (eg 

International Transport Workers’ Federation), 

community organisations (eg London 

Citizens), and regional and international 

governmental agencies (eg OECD, Thames 

Gateway). 



Dr Kavita Datta 


BA Hons (University of Botswana), PhD 

(Cantab) 

k.datta@qmul.ac.uk 

Kavita Datta’s research interests span a 

number of areas of development, gender and 

migration, and she has conducted research 

in both the global South (Botswana and 

South Africa) and North (London). Her most 

recent research has focused upon exploring 

the role and experiences of low paid migrant 

workers in London. This research has 

highlighted the changing nature, politics and 

sensibility of work, how and why ‘new’ 

migrants have come to dominate low-paid 

work in global cities like London, and the 

household strategies that they employ in 

order to survive. She is also interested in 

geographies of finance, and specifically 

financial exclusion and has undertaken 

research on financial exclusion among low 

paid migrant communities in London. This 

research builds upon broader research on 

housing finance, micro-finance and gender 

in the context of housing markets in Southern 

Africa, and she is co-editor of Housing 

Finance in Developing Countries. Gender is 

a critical focus of Kavita’s research and her 

work has focused specifically on gendered 

access to housing markets and migration 

processes as well as men and masculinities. 

She has also explored the interconnections 

between generation and gender in the 

context of the HIV/AIDS crisis in Southern 

Africa. 

Kavita’s research has been funded by 

the ESRC, Department for International 

Development (DfID), Nuffield Foundation 

and Central London Research Fund. She has 

worked as a consultant for the United Nations 

Centre for Human Settlement (UNHCS). 


• Datta, K., (2007). Sons and fathers: 

Changing constructions of fatherhood 

in urban Botswana. Women’s Studies 

International Forum. 30, 97-113. 

• Datta, K., (2007). In search of justice 

Gender and generation in a globalizing 

world. In: Mapetla, M., Schlyter, A., Bless, 

B. (Eds). Urban Experiences of Gender, 

Generation and Social Justice. Institute of 

Southern African Studies, National 

University of Lesotho. pp.19-44. 

• Datta, K., (2007). Gender and microfinance, 

Habitat Debate. Special issue 

on Financing for the Urban Poor. 13, 8. 

• Datta, K., (2007). Housing, Finance and 

Development. Report for the UNHCS. 

• Datta, K., (2007). Money matters: exploring 

financial exclusion among low paid migrant 

workers in London. Working Paper, 

Department of Geography, Queen Mary, 

University of London. 

• Datta, K., McIlwaine, C.J., Wills, J., Evans, 

Y., Herbert, J., May, J., (2007). The new 

development finance or exploiting migrant 

labour Remittance sending among lowpaid 

migrant workers in London. 

International Development Planning 

Review. 29, 43-67. 

Dr Joanna Herbert 

Leverhulme Early Career Fellow 

BA Hons PhD (Leic) 

j.herbert@qmul.ac.uk 

Joanna Herbert has research interests in the 

qualitative dimensions of migration and the 

South Asian diaspora. She has worked on 

several research projects on the experiences 

of minority ethnic groups including recent 

research for an ESRC project on migrants 

employed in low paid sectors in London. Her 

Leverhulme Trust funded research entitled 

‘Oral Histories of Ugandan Asians in Britain’ 

seeks to go beyond the simplistic narrative of 

the Ugandan Asian rise to economic and 

social success and glean other stories that 

constitute their experience in Britain. The 

project focuses on first and second 

generation Ugandan Asians and explores 

the role of memories, gender, class, place 

and generation in shaping identities and 

experiences. It also aims to contribute to 

wider debates about belonging, social 

cohesion and integration in Britain. 


• Herbert, J., (2008). Negotiating Boundaries 

in the City: Migration, Ethnicity and Gender 

in Britain. Aldershot: Ashgate. 

• Rodger, R., Herbert, J., (2007). Testimonies 

of the City: Identity, Community and Change 

in a Contemporary Urban World. Aldershot: 

Ashgate. 

Dr Al James 


BA Hons (Cambridge) PhD (Cambridge) 

a.james@qmul.ac.uk 

Al James is an economic geographer with 

teaching and research interests within the 

Global North (US, UK, Ireland) and Global 

South (India) focused around: (i) the cultural 

economy of innovation and learning in 

dynamic regional economies; (ii) gendered 

experiences of work and employment; and 

(iii) new forms of labour organising and 

worker empowerment in the New Economy. 

Within this framework, Al is currently working 

on an ESRC–funded research project that 

explores the connections between IT workers’ 

everyday experiences of work-life conflict 

(particularly those of working parents); 

employer provision of different work-life 

‘balance’ policies and practices; and the 

kinds of intra- and inter-firm innovation and 

learning processes widely recognised as 

underpinning high tech firm competitiveness. 

This work is based on comparative fieldwork 

in two well known IT ‘clusters’: Dublin and 

Cambridge. 

Al is also working on a second project (with 

Bhaskar Vira at the University of Cambridge) 

which explores the mobility of e-service 

workers in India’s Business Process 

Outsourcing / Information Technology 

Enabled Services Sector. Additionally, this 

project (funded by the Nuffield Foundation) 

compares the role of different labour market 

intermediaries (voice accent trainers, 

placement agencies, recruiters, labour 

‘unions’) in mediating work and training 

practices, brokering employment 

relationships, and improving labour market 

outcomes for call centre workers in India 

and the UK. In so doing, the project seeks 


to contribute to a decentred Economic 

Geography which rejects the ongoing 

academic division of labour between 

‘economic’ and ‘development’ geographers. 


• James, A., (2007). Everyday effects, 

practices and causal mechanisms of 

‘cultural embeddedness’: learning from 

Utah's high tech regional economy. 

Geoforum 38, 393-413. 

• Gray, M., James, A., (2007). Connecting 

gender and economic competitiveness: 

lessons from Cambridge's high tech 

regional economy. Environment and 

Planning A. 39, 417-436. 

• James, A., (2006). Critical moments in 

the production of ‘rigorous’ and ‘relevant’ 

cultural economic geographies. Progress 

in Human Geography. 30, 1-20. 

Professor Roger Lee 


BSc(Nott) 

r.lee@qmul.ac.uk 

Roger Lee’s research interests lie in the field 

of economic geography. They are centred 

primarily on the social and cultural 

construction and functioning of economic 

geographies. At the global scale, this work 

concerns the ways in which the norms and 

evaluations of capitalism are reproduced by 

and through ‘spaces of regulation’ dominated 

increasingly by financial markets with global 

reach. The ability of financial markets not 

merely to regulate but to form new 

geographies of accumulation is exemplified 

by work on ‘emerging markets’ as a category 

of investment which enhances the overall 

level of marginalisation and uneven 

development within the global economic 

geography. 

More recently, Roger has begin to think 

through the (limited) treatment of markets 

in economic geography and to examine the 

way in which they may both reinforce and 

intensify capitalist norms and categories 

(eg that of labour) through structured 

finance, for example, and may be put to 

work to challenge those norms. 

Although ‘alternative’ and challenging, these 

economic geographies are embedded in local 

social and political practices and institutions 

which are also constantly disrupted and 

shaped by globalising tendencies of circuits 

of value shaped by capitalist social relations. 

It is the contested relationships between the 

material imperatives of economies, their 

social manifestation and contestation in 

distinctive social forms of economic 

geography and the profound ontological 

significance of conceptions of space in 

economic geography that provide the focal 

points for Roger’s interests. 


• Lee, R., Smith, D.M., (2004). Geographies 

and Moralities. Blackwell, Oxford. 

• Leyshon, A., Lee, R., Williams, C., (2003). 

Alternative economic spaces. Sage, 

London. 

• Lee, R., Wills, J., (1997). Geographies of 

Economies. Arnold, London. 

Professor Jon May 


BA Hons (Cantab) PhD (Lond) 

j.may@qmul.ac.uk 

Jon May is a social and cultural geographer 

with a particular interest in (global) cities. 

His work uses an ethnographic approach to 

explore questions of inequality and social 

justice in an era of rapid urban chance, social 

and economic restructuring and welfare 

reform. For the past decade or so his work 

has focused around two main themes: 

exploring the geographies of homelessness, 

and migrant labour in the global city. 

In the first of these areas, early work explored 

the life histories of homeless people; media 

and legislative constructions of homelessness 

(especially those concerned with the 

construction of ‘homeless places’ and 

questions of geographical mobility); and 

homeless people’s own experiences of 

movement and of place. More recently, his 

work on the Homeless Places Project has 

extended the rather narrow accounts of 

homelessness and of the ‘revanchist city’ 

found in the geographical literature, exploring 



instead the various and complex experiences 

of and responses to street homelessness in 

the UK – examining the changing face of 

homeless services in an era of neo-liberal 

welfare ‘reform’; the geographies of 

voluntarism; and homeless people’s own 

understandings and experiences of voluntary 

service spaces and of the streets. Under the 

second of these themes, work with 

colleagues in the Global Cities at Work team 

at Queen Mary has explored the practices 

and politics of ‘travelling neoliberalism’ – 

charting the processes behind and formation 

of a distinctive ‘migrant division of labour’ in 

the London low-wage economy, the diverse 

experiences of low-paid migrant workers 

themselves, and the politics attendant to 

such divisions. 





• May, J., Thrift, N., (2001). TimeSpace: 

geographies of temporality. Routledge, 

London. 

• Crang, M., Crang, P., May, J., (1999). 

Virtual Geographies: bodies, space, 

relations. Routledge, London. 

Dr Cathy McIlwaine 

Reader in Human Geography 

BA Hons MA(Liv) PhD(Lond) 

c.j.mcilwaine@qmul.ac.uk 

Cathy McIlwaine is a development 

geographer with regional interests in Latin 

America (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Colombia 

and Guatemala), although she has also 

worked in South East Asia (the Philippines) 

and Southern Africa (Botswana and South 

Africa). Her research has focused on a 

number of key areas: gender and ethnic 

inequalities within households and labour 

markets; the reconfiguration of gender 

relations through export orientated 

development strategies; urban poverty; the 

relationships between violence and the 

development process; civil society, social 

capital, and social exclusion in the South. 

More recently, she has been working on 

issues of international migration especially 

among Latin Americans to Europe as well as 

migrant labour in London. In her work on 

urban violence in particular, Cathy has drawn 

heavily upon and further developed 

techniques of Participatory Urban Appraisal 

(PUA). Her research has a strong policy focus 

and she has worked as a consultant with the 

World Bank, the Inter-American 

Development Bank and the Commonwealth 

Secretariat. She also chairs the Carila Latin 

American Welfare Group which works with 

Latin American migrants in London. 


• McIlwaine, C., (2009). Latin London: the 

Lives of Latin American Migrants in the 

Capital. Institute for the Study of the 

Americas. London. 

• Chant, S., McIlwaine, C., (2009). 

Geographies of Development in the 21st 

Century: An Introduction to the Global 

South. Edward Elgar, London. 

• McIlwaine, C., Moser, C., (2004). 

Encounters with Violence in Latin America. 

Routledge, London. 

• McIlwaine, C., Willis, K., (2002). 

Challenges and Change in Middle America: 

Perspectives on Development in Mexico, 

Central America, and the Caribbean. 

Prentice Hall, Harlow. 

Dr Konstantinos Melachroinos 


Diploma in Town Planning (University of 

Thessaly, Greece) PhD(Lond) 

k.melachroinos@qmul.ac.uk 

Konstantinos Melachroinos is an economic 

geographer with a strong interest in issues 

related to regional development and change 

in a wide range of countries. Theoretical 

considerations about the nature of the 

economic indicators applied in spatial 

analysis form an important aspect of his 

work. Furthermore, another part of his 

research focuses on the measurement and 

mapping of territorial trends and the 

evaluation of regional development policies. 

During the period 2003-2005 he contributed 

to the development of the OECD Territorial 

Database and the preparation of several 

OECD publications. His current research 


projects involve the examination of the effects 

of globalisation on regional inequalities and 

the impact of Taiwanese FDI on local 

economic development in China. 


• Melachroinos, K.A., (2002). European 

integration and the spatial dynamics of 

manufacturing – employment change. 

Environment and Planning A. 34, 2017- 

2036. 

• Melachroinos, K.A., Spence, N., (2001). 

Manufacturing productivity growth across 

European Union states: 1978-1994. 

Environment and Planning A. 33, 1681- 

1703. 


Conceptualising sunk costs in economic 

geography: cost recovery and the 

fluctuating value of fixed capital. Progress 


Dr Simon Reid-Henry 


BA Hons (Cantab) MA PhD(Cantab) 

s.reid-henry@qmul.ac.uk 

Simon Reid-Henry’s research interests 

cover a range of interests across the Human 

Geography spectrum. His earlier research 

work on the politics of knowledge production 

centred upon the history of the attempt to 

develop an alternative biotechnology industry 

in Cuba. This work brought together his 

interests in the history of science, 

development agendas, socialism (and its 

nationalist variants) as well as a broader set 

of issues concerning pharmaceutical 

dependencies and health-based inequalities. 

His work today branches out from this in two 

linked research agendas. The first is about 

the contemporary pharmaceutical industry 

and in particular the issue of access to antiretroviral 

drugs, linking a series of arguments 

about social justice and moral economy to 

the technological mediation of political 

economy. 

The second concerns the cultural 

construction of sovereignty and is based 

upon an historical-geography of Guantánamo 

Bay. Both lines of research are ultimately 

concerned with the way that particular sorts 

of lives are valued in the twenty-first century, 


• Reid-Henry, S.M., (2008) (forthcoming). 

The Cuban Cure: Reason and Resistance in 

Global Science. Chicago University Press, 

Chicago. 

• Reid-Henry, S.M., (2007). Scientific 

Innovation and Non-Western Regional 

Economies. Environment and Planning A 

(doi:10.1068/a39157) 

• Reid-Henry, S.M., (2007). Activism and the 

Academy: an interview with Daniel Defert. 

Antipode. 39, 240-246. 

• Reid-Henry, S.M., (2007). Exceptional 

Sovereignty Guantanamo Bay and the Recolonial 

present. Antipode. 39, 627-648. 

• Reid-Henry, S.M., (2007). The Contested 

Spaces of Cuban Development: 

postsocialism, postcolonialism and 

development. Geoforum. 38, 445-455. 

Professor Adrian Smith 

Professor of Human Geography 

BA Hons MA DPhil(Sus) 

a.m.smith@qmul.ac.uk 

Adrian Smith’s main interests are in 

economic geographies, the political economy 

of cities and regions, and post-socialist 

transformations. For the past seventeen years 

or so he has been working on a variety of 

projects looking at the economic and social 

geographies of transformation in Central 

Europe. This work has engaged with debates 

over political-economic transformation, nonessentialist 

Marxism and development theory 

to try to understand the contemporary 

geographies of social power. 

His current research involves work in three 

main areas. Firstly, he is examining the 

economic geographies of post-socialist 

transformations and the ‘new’ Europe. 

Currently, this involves an examination of 

the east European garment industry and 

the growth of outward processing, global 

contracting and new trade regimes. 

Secondly, he works on cultures of economies 

and household economic practices. This 

research involves understanding household 



economic practices and survival strategies in 

central Europe as historically situated and 

culturally inflected economic relations. 

Thirdly, his work has also focused on the 

globalisation and restructuring of 

metropolitan manufacturing in London’s 

garment sector. Investigating the scope and 

scale of restructuring, the kinds of 

restructuring strategies established and the 

role of institutional structures and practices, 

this project builds upon his other interests in 

the global garment industry. 


• Smith, A., Stenning, A., Willis, K., (2008). 

Social Justice and Neo-Liberalism. Zed 

Books, London. 

• Rainnie, A., Smith, A., Swain, A., (2002). 

Work, Employment and Transition: 

Restructuring Livelihoods in ‘post- 

Communist’ Eastern Europe. Routledge, 

London. 

• Smith, A., (1998). Reconstructing the 

Regional Economy: Industrial 

Transformation and Regional Development 

in Slovakia. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham. 

• Pickles, J., Smith, A., (1998).Theorising 

Transition: The Political Economy of Post- 

Communist Transformations. 

Routledge, London. 

Professor Nigel Spence 


BSc(University of Wales) PhD(London) 

N.Spence@qmul.ac.uk 

Nigel Spence is an economic geographer 

currently working in several areas of the 

discipline. He is the author of several books 

and a considerable number of research 

papers in the field. He has also acted as a 

consultant on many urban and regional 

planning projects in the UK (including 

recently for the Department of Trade and 

Industry and the Thames Gateway London 

Partnership) and the European Union 

(including recently for the Commission and 

the Court of Auditors). He has a number of 

current research themes. 

The first concerns regional output, 

employment and productivity linked to issues 

of deindustrialisation and tertiarisation in the 

UK and Europe. Some of this work is linked to 

a government advisory role on regional 

accounts. 

The second examines regional dimensions of 

new firm formation especially in the context 

of government policy generally and Greece 

and the UK in particular. Some of this work 

has been supported by the European 

Commission. 

The third explores the links between public 

infrastructure provision and regional 

economic development. In the UK the 

specific research context has been to 

examine the effects on industrial costs via 

survey, whereas in Greece the focus has been 

on the relationships between the 

development and infrastructure explored via 

panel data and econometric methods. This 

research has had the support of both the UK 

and the Greek governments. 

The last involves issues of energy 

consumption and sustainability in UK 

cities, notably involving worktravel. 


• Frost, M., Spence, N., (2008). Energy 

consumption and worktravel trips: London, 

Birmingham and Manchester, 1981-2001. 

Environment and Planning A. 

• Rovolis, A., Spence, N., (2003). Promoting 

regional economic growth in Greece by 

investing in the public infrastructure. 

Environment and Planning C Government 

and Policy 20. 393-419. 

• Rovolis, A., Spence, N., (2002). Duality 

theory and cost function analysis in a 

regional context: the impact of public 

infrastructure capital in the Greek regions. 

Annals of Regional Science. 36, 55-78. 


Cost recovery and the fluctuating value 

of fixed capital: an alternative way of 

conceptualising sunk costs. Progress 


Professor Jane Wills 


BA Hons(Cantab) PhD(Open) 

j.wills@qmul.ac.uk 

Jane Wills has research interests in the 

political-economy of work and employment 

with a particular focus on labour organisation. 

Recent research has been focused on (1) 

migrant workers in low paid employment in 

London (with Datta, May and McIlwaine); (2) 

the London living wage campaign; (3) 

London Citizens’ model of broad-based 

organisation; and (4) efforts to enforce labour 

standards in global production chains. 

Previous research has explored the 

development of European Works Councils, 

labour internationalism and community 

unionism in the UK. More information and 

a list of journal articles are available on the 

Geography department website. 


• Wills, J., Datta, K., Evans, Y., Herbert, J., 

May, J., McIlwaine, C., (2009). Global Cities 

at Work: migrant workers in an uneven 

world. Pluto Press, London. 

• Hale, A., Wills, J., (2005). Threads of 

Labour: Garment industry supply chains 

from the workers’ perspective. Blackwell, 

Oxford. 

• Waterman, P., Wills, J., (2001). 

Place, Space and the New Labour 

Internationalisms. Blackwell, Oxford. 

Hydrological, 

Hydrochemical and Fluvial 

Processes Research 

Theme 

The Hydrological, Hydrochemical and Fluvial 

Processes theme conducts research on 

hydrological, geomorphological and chemical 

processes in freshwater (incl. wetland) and 

estuarine environments through field 

observation, laboratory and field 

experiments, and model development and 

testing, using grants from NERC, EPSRC, the 

Environment Agency, HR Wallingford Ltd, 

and Natural England among others. The 


theme has made significant advances in 

understanding of: (i) the influence of 

hydrological processes on the transport of 

agrochemicals in river catchments (Heppell, 

Wharton); (ii) hydro-geomorphological and 

hydro-ecological interactions in rivers with 

applications in flood estimation and river 

restoration (Wharton, Heppell); (iii) the 

sources, transport and behaviour of metals in 

estuarine environments (Spencer); (iv) water 

flows, heat transfers, and methane dynamics 

in wetland soils (Baird); and (v) 

ecohydrological processes and their role in 

peatland development over timescales of 

101-103 years (Baird). The theme has links 

with the Environmental Change research 

theme, particularly in the ecohydrology of 

Holocene peatland development (Belyea, 

Baird), and with colleagues in Biological 

and Chemical Sciences at Queen Mary 

(contaminant transport and biogeochemical 

cycling). 

Professor Andy Baird 

Professor in Physical Geography 

BSc Hons(Hull), PhD(Bris) 

a.j.baird@qmul.ac.uk 

Much of Andy’s research considers the 

physical processes of water, heat and gas 

transfer in peat soils. Peatlands are globallyimportant 

carbon stores (they contain at least 

a third of the global soil carbon store) and are 

both sinks and sources of atmospheric 

carbon dioxide and sources of atmospheric 

methane. Because of this, they are thought to 

exert an important control on global climate. 

Carbon balance processes in peatlands are 

strongly influenced by hydrological and 

thermal processes. For example: 

(i) When the peatland water table is near 

the peatland surface, more methane 

(produced during the anaerobic decay of 

peat) is lost to the atmosphere than when 

the water table is further below the surface. 

Andy has recently become interested in 

modelling peat formation / peatland 

development over timescales of 10 – 10 

years. A suite of models under the name 

DigiBog is being developed for this purpose. 

The models simulate peat accumulation 

(carbon sequestration) and allow for 

interactions between hydrological and 

ecological processes across a variety of 

spatial and temporal scales. The models 

are examples of a complex adaptive system 

(CAS) and show emergent behaviour. It is 

planned to link the CAS models to wetland 

methane emission models to improve 

predictions of wetland methane emissions. 

This work is being done in collaboration with 

one of Andy’s PhD students and Dr Lisa 

Belyea. 


• Kettridge, N., Baird, A.J., (2008) 

(forthcoming). Modelling soil temperatures 

in northern peatlands. European Journal of 

Soil Science. 

• Surridge, B.W.J., Heathwaite, A.L., Baird, 

A.J., (2007). The release of phosphorus to 

porewater and surface water from river 

riparian sediments. Journal of 

Environmental Quality. 36, 1534-1544 

• Kettridge, N., Baird, A.J., (2007). In situ 

measurements of the thermal properties 

of a northern peatland: Implications for 

peatland temperature models. Journal of 

Geophysical Research. 112, F2, F02019. 

• Kellner, E., Baird, A.J., Oosterwoud, M., 

Harrison, K., Waddington, J.M., (2006). 

The effect of atmospheric pressure and 

temperature on methane (CH4) ebullition 

from near-surface peats. Geophysical 

Research Letters. 33, L18405. 

(ii) Methane is produced by micro-organisms 

from the Archaea and the rate of 

production is strongly temperaturedependent 

(it increases with 

temperature). 



Dr Lisa Belyea 

Senior Lecturer in Physical Geography 

BSc Hons (Carleton), MSc (Waterloo), 

PhD (London) 

L.Belyea@qmul.ac.uk 

Lisa Belyea’s research interests focus on the 

spatial and temporal dynamics of ecological 

systems, with particular interests in peatlands 

and other moss-dominated lands. These 

systems are globally important stores of 

organic carbon, but their current role in 

transferring carbon to and from the 

atmosphere and hydrosphere is highly 

uncertain. Understanding how peatlands 

and other carbon-rich ecosystems respond 

to environmental forcing is vital to predicting 

possible feedbacks on the global carbon 

cycle and climate system. These responses 

can be abrupt and highly non-linear, owing 

to ecological-hydrological feedback 

mechanisms operating on a range of spatial 

scales (1 – 1000 m). Current research 

focuses on three major areas: 

Spatiotemporal dynamics of ecosystem 

development – ongoing work focusing on the 

formation of spatial patterns at the landscape 

scale; Geochemical controls on peat 

decomposition – a three-year NERC-funded 

project (with partners at Edinburgh, 

Newcastle and Uppsala Universities) uses 

a gradient from fen to bog to investigate the 

linkages among physicochemical 

environment, litter chemistry and 

decomposition rate; Short- and long-term 

effects of fire on peatland carbon cycling – 

an ‘Urgent’ NERC-funded project (with 

collaborators at MLURI and CEH Edinburgh) 

is investigating the impact of a fire on the 

Silver Flowe (a blanket peatland in southwest 

Scotland). 


• Cutler, N.A., Belyea, L.R., Dugmore, A.J. 

(2008) Spatial patterns of microsite 

colonisation on two young lava flows, Mt 

Hekla, Iceland. Journal of Vegetation 

Science. 

• Belyea, L.R., (2007). Revealing the 

Emperor’s new clothes: niche-based 

palaeoenvironmental reconstruction in 

the light of recent ecological theory. The 

Holocene. 17, 683-688. 

• Belyea, L.R., (2007). Climatic and 

topographic constraints on the abundance 

of bog pools. Hydrological Processes. 21, 

675-687. 

• Belyea, L.R., Baird, A.J., (2006). Beyond 

“the limits to peat bog growth”: cross-scale 

feedback in peatland development. 

Ecological Monographs. 76, 299-322. 

Dr Kate Heppell 


BSc Hons(Bris) MSc(Lond) Dphil(Oxon) 

c.m.heppell@qmul.ac.uk 

Kate Heppell is a hydrologist with 14 years 

research experience in the fields of hillslope 

hydrology and hydrochemistry, specialising in 

the influence of hydrological processes on 

the fate and transport of agrochemicals 

(nutrients and pesticides) in river 

catchments. There are two foci to her current 

research: Studying the hydrological and 

hydrochemical processes by which 

agrochemicals are transported to surface 

waters and understanding the in-stream fate 

and transport of agrochemicals in rivers and 

lakes of lowland catchments. 

Recent research at Queen Mary, funded as 

part of the NERC LOCAR thematic 

programme, has focused on understanding 

the different processes responsible for the instream 

trapping, and subsequent release, of 

particulate material by aquatic vegetation in 

chalk rivers. Kate’s role in this research has 

been to determine the fate of agrochemicals 

transported through the rivers of such 

permeable catchments. For example, the 

deposition of sediment beneath vegetation 

within chalk streams has unexpected 

implications for nitrogen and carbon cycling 

in the form of methane production and 

denitrification in the shallow hyporheic. Her 

research has also demonstrated that 

variations in organic matter composition of 

sediments in chalk streams (due primarily to 

algal remains) can account for differences in 

pesticide sorption to the sediment within a 

single river reach. As a result of this research 

Kate has developed an interest in the 


changing balance of the allochthonous and 

autothonous organic matter input to rivers, 

which plays a vital role in biogeochemical 

cycling and sorption of organic contaminants. 


• Sanders, I., Heppell, C.M., Cotton, J.A., 

Wharton, G., Hildrew, A., Flowers, E.J., 

Trimmer, M., (2007). Emission of methane 

from chalk streams has potential 

implications for agricultural practices. 

Freshwater Biology. 52, 1365-2427. 

• Cotton, J.A., Wharton, G., Bass, J.A.B., 

Heppell, C.M., Wotton, R.S., (2006). Plantwater-sediment 

interactions in lowland 

permeable streams: investigating the effect 

of seasonal changes in vegetation cover on 

flow patterns and sediment accumulation. 

Geomorphology. 77, 320-334. 

• Heppell, C.M., Chapman, A.S., (2006). 

Analysis of a two-component hydrograph 

separation model to predict herbicide 

runoff in drained soils. Agricultural Water 

Management. 79, 177-207. 

Dr Laura Shotbolt 

Postdoctoral Researcher 

BSc Hons (Lancaster) MSc (Aberdeen) 

PhD (Salford) 

l.shotbolt@qmul.ac.uk 

Laura Shotbolt’s research interests are in the 

transport, fate and impact of environmental 

contaminants. Her research is currently 

focused on reconstructing records of past 

pollution from environmental archives and 

investigating toxic effects of trace metals. 

She is also interested in improving analytical 

methods in environmental sciences and is 

developing new techniques for extracting 

porewater from anaerobic sediments. Most 

recent research projects include an 

investigation into the impacts of atmospheric 

pollution on microbial communities in 

blanket bogs funded by Moors for the Future 

and an investigation into temporal records of 

anthropogenic Pb deposition using 

herbarium mosses funded by a NERC 

instrumentation grant. She is also involved in 

a DEFRA funded project developing critical 

load methodologies for heavy metals. 


• Shotbolt, L., Büker, P., Ashmore, A.R., 

Tipping, E., (2007). Reconstructing past 

trace metal deposition in the UK using moss 

samples from herbaria collections. 

Environmental Pollution. 147, 120–130. 

• Shotbolt, L., Hutchinson, S.M., Thomas, 

A.D., (2006). Determining past heavy metal 

deposition onto the southern Pennines 

using reservoir sedimentary records. 

Journal of Paleolimnology. 35, 305–322. 

• Shotbolt, L., Thomas, A.D., Hutchinson, 

S.M., (2005). Reservoir sediments as 

records of recent environmental change: 

A review. Progress in Physical Geography. 

29, 337–361 

Dr Kate Spencer 


BSc(Thames Polytechnic) MSc/DIC(Lond) 

PhD(Greenwich) 

k.spencer@qmul.ac.uk 

Kate Spencer is an estuarine geochemist with 

particular interest in the management of fine 

sediment including issues of sediment 

quality, contaminant behaviour and 

pathways, and sediment tracing. Recent 

projects include an Environment Agency 

funded project to examine the impacts of 

water injection dredging on water quality 

and ecotoxicity and a NERC funded project 

to develop field methodologies for measuring 

fine sediment transport in estuarine 

environments. Recently, she convened an 

ESRC NERC transdisciplinary seminar 

‘Channel RestOration in Contaminated Urban 

Settings’ or CROCUS and has been involved 

in RIMEW, an EU funded international project 

examining sediment contamination and long 

term sediment management in UK and 

French estuaries. 


• Spencer, K.L., Suzuki, K., Benson, T., 

Taylor, J.A., Manning, A., Dearnaley, M., 

(2007). The potential use of geochemically 

labelled minerals as tracers for cohesive 

sediments. In: Westrich, B. and Förstner, U. 

(Eds) Sediment Dynamics and Pollutant 

Mobility in Rivers—Interdisciplinary 

Approach. Springer-Verlag Berlin, 

Heidelberg, New York. 

• Spencer, K.L., MacLeod, C.L., Tuckett, A., 

Johnson, S.M., (2006). Heavy Metals in the 

Medway and Swale Estuaries: Source, 

Distribution and Ecotoxic Potential. Marine 

Pollution Bulletin. 52, 226-230. 

• Spencer, K.L., Dewhurst, R.E., Penna, P., 

(2006). Potential impacts of water injection 

dredging on water quality and ecotoxicity in 

Limehouse Basin, River Thames, SE 

England, UK. Chemosphere. 63, 509-521. 

Dr Geraldene Wharton 

Reader in Physical Geography 

BSc Hons (Sheff) PhD (Soton) 

Geraldene Wharton’s current research 

focuses on the interactions of plants, water 

and fine sediments in rivers. She has a 

particular interest in the role that plants play 

as river ecosystem engineers in trapping and 

retaining fine sediments, and how the 

aggregated nature of these fine sediments 

affects their entrainment and transport 

characteristics. This research has been 

funded by the Environment Agency and the 

Natural Environment Research Council 

through the Lowland Catchment Research 

Thematic Programme. The research 

conducted through LOCAR has been 

important in demonstrating the significance 

of biotic processes in the sediment dynamics 

of chalk river systems in several ways. Ongoing 

work in this area is being conducted in 

collaboration with Roger Wotton (University 

College London), Ian Droppo (Environment 

Canada) and Natural England. 

Geraldene’s second main area of research is 

river restoration with current investigations 

centred on nitrogen dynamics in reconnected 

floodplains and the challenges and appraisal 

of urban river restoration schemes, funded by 

the Environment Agency and an ESRC-NERC 

Transdisciplinary seminar series, CROCUS 

(Channel RestOration in Contaminated 

Urban Settings). Geraldene also has a 

practical involvement in river restoration as a 

Director of the UK River Restoration Centre, a 

not-for-profit company promoting the science 

and practice of river restoration. 




• Wharton, G., Gilvear, D., (2007). River 

restoration in the UK: meeting the needs of 

both the EU Water Framework Directive and 

flood defence International Journal of 

River Basin Management. 5, 143-154. 

• Sanders, I. A., Trimmer, M., Heppell, C. M., 

Cotton, J. A., Wharton, G., Hildrew, A. G., 

Flowers, E. J., (2007). Emission of methane 

from chalk streams has potential 

implications for agricultural practices. 

Freshwater Biology. 52, 1176-1186. 

• Clarke, S. J., Wharton, G., Cotton, J. A., 

(2006). Spatial and temporal variations in 

the sediment habitat of Ranunculus spp. in 

lowland chalk streams – implications for 

using macrophytes as environmental 

monitors of sediment and water health 

Water, Air & Soil Pollution. Focus 6, 393- 

401. 

• Cotton, J. A., Wharton, G., Bass, J. A. B., 

Heppell, C. M., Wotton, R. S., (2006). The 

effects of seasonal changes to in-stream 

vegetation cover on patterns of flow and 

accumulation of sediment. Geomorphology. 

77, 320-334. 

Environmental Change 

theme 

The Environmental Change theme focuses on 

processes and patterns of regional to global 

environmental change. Research combines 

process modelling and palaeo-environmental 

reconstruction with laboratory- and fieldbased 

studies. There are three main strands 

of enquiry: (a) rapid environmental change 

and positive feedbacks between biological 

and physical systems, (b) quantitative and 

integrative analysis of environmental change 

across different scales of time and space, 

and (c) interaction of liquid and solid phases 

of water with sediments and landscapes. 

Current research projects include: subglacial 

processes and their influence on glacier 

dynamics; new approaches to the 

sedimentological and geomorphological 

archive of glacial and fluvial systems, in the 

latter allowing documentation of previously 

unrecognised complexity in river behaviour 

and response to climatic forcing and 

contributing significantly to linkage of the 

timing and patterns of Palaeolithic 

occupation of the British Isles to climate and 

sea level change; development of a new 

Mutual Temperature Range method for 

palaeoclimate reconstruction; how fine-scale 

heterogeneity and cross-scale feedbacks 

between vegetation and hydrology influence 

peatland dynamics on time scales of 10s to 

100s of years, with implications for predicting 

carbon cycle responses to climate change. 

Dr Simon Carr 


BSc Hons (London) PhD (London) 

s.j.carr@qmul.ac.uk 

Simon Carr undertakes research that 

examines the interactions between climate, 

glaciers and landscape on short to long 

timescales. This work is directed towards 

reconciling the climatic and glaciological 

modelling of ice-mass behaviour with the 

geomorphological and sedimentary evidence 

of recent and Quaternary glaciation. Simon’s 

work also examines the ways in which the 

Internet and global mass-media are used to 

communicate the science and implications of 

climate change. Simon is currently working 

on several projects: 

Deformation, Micromorphology & Microfabric 

of Subglacial Sediments; This work examines 

the potential of microfabric analysis of 

subglacial sediments for providing a detailed 

reconstruction of the strain history of tills to 

give a direct mechanism for the validation of 

models of predicted glacial dynamics. This 

approach may be used to validate models of 

ice sheet stability, including for example the 

presence and significance of palaeo icestreams. 

Topoclimatic Controls Over Marginal 

Glaciation; Small glaciers and ice-caps are 

considered by the IPCC to be the most 

sensitive indicators of climate change. It is 

therefore critical to understand the 

topoclimatic controls over small-scale 

mountain glaciation when using 

contemporary or former glaciers as climate 

proxy evidence. This research focuses on the 

examination of climatic and topographic 

controls over modern glacier mass-balance 

on small ice-cap (Iceland) and cirque/valley 

glaciers (Norway), and also examines the role 

and significance of glacier micro-climates. 

This research is being used to develop 

methods of glacier reconstruction that may 

be used to understand palaeoclimatic 

conditions, notably for the Younger Dryas 

period in the British Isles, and other events of 

marginal glaciation in Southern Africa. 



• Carr, S.J., Coleman, C.G., Humpage, A.J., 

Shakesby, R.A., (2007). The Quaternary of 

the Brecon Beacons; Field Guide. 

Quaternary Research Association, London. 

• Carr, S.J., Coleman, C.G., (2007). An 

improved approach for the reconstruction 

of former glacier mass-balance and 

dynamics. Geomorphology. 92, 76-90. 

• Carr, S.J., Goddard, M., (2007). Role of 

particle-size in the development of till 

fabric: implications for using eigenvectors 

in understanding glacier dynamics. Boreas. 

36, 371-385. 

• Carr, S.J., Holmes, R., van der Meer, J.J.M., 

Rose, J., (2006). The Last Glaciation in the 

North Sea Basin; micromorphological 

evidence of extensive glaciation. Journal of 

Quaternary Science. 21, 131-153. 

Dr David J Horne 


BSc MSc(Lond) PhD(Bristol) 

d.j.horne@qmul.ac.uk 

David Horne specialises in the study of living 

and fossil ostracod crustaceans, both marine 

and freshwater, and has broader research 

interests in the fields of palaeoclimatology, 

crustacean phylogeny, and the evolutionary 

ecology of sex and parthenogenesis. A 

current focus of his research is the 

application of ostracods to 

palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic 

interpretations of British Quaternary 

archaeological sites. He is also involved in 

investigations of older ostracod faunas such 

as those associated with the Early Cretaceous 

‘feathered dinosaurs’ of Liaoning in China. 

His NODE GIS database (Nonmarine 

Ostracod Distribution in Europe) forms the 

basis of a contribution to the EU-funded 

Fauna Europaean Biodiversity Project. He 

collaborates with colleagues at the Natural 

History Museum (where he is a Scientific 

Associate of the Zoology Department) and 

with scientists in Europe, Japan, China and 

the USA. 


• Williams, M., Siveter, D.J., Ashworth, A.C., 

Wilby, P.R., Horne, D.J., Lewis, A.R., 

Marchant, D.R., (2008). Exceptionally 

preserved lacustrine ostracods fromthe 

Middle Miocene of Antarctica. Proceedings 

of the Royal Society of London Series B. 

Online. doi:10.1098/rspb.2008.0396 

• Martens, K., Rossetti, G., Horne, D.J., 

(2003). How ancient are ancient asexuals 

Proceedings of the Royal Society of London 

Series B – Biological Sciences. 270, 723- 

729 

• Brouwers, E.M., Cronin, T.M., Horne, D.J., 

Lord, A.R., (2000). Recent shallow marine 

ostracods from high latitudes: implications 

for late Pliocene and Quaternary 

palaeoclimatology. Boreas. 29, 127-143. 

Dr Simon Lewis 


BSc Hons PhD(Lond) 

s.lewis@qmul.ac.uk 

Simon Lewis’s research focuses on the record 

of the ice ages and is concerned in particular 

with the stratigraphic evidence for glacial 

events, the nature of river behaviour during 

the repeated glacial episodes that have 

occurred over the last two million years and 

also the record of human presence in Europe 

during the ice age period. He is currently 

working on a number of research projects, 

including evidence for the earliest Palaeolithic 

occupation of Britain; environmental change 

and archaeology during the Hoxnian 

Interglacial and river dynamics and 

catchment development associated with iceage 

climate fluctuations. Work on Palaeolithic 

human occupation has investigated the 

landscapes inhabited by humans during the 

Quaternary in south east England and the 



factors influencing early human behaviour. 

Work on the evolution of the upper Thames 

catchment has examined the response of the 

river to large-scale climate fluctuations and 

long-term sediment stores and fluxes through 

the catchment. He is currently a member of a 

multi-institutional project on the ‘Ancient 

Human Occupation of Britain’. 


• Lewis, S.G., Maddy, D., Buckingham, C., 

Coope, G.R., Field, M.H., Keen, D.H., Pike, 

A.W.G., Roe, D.A., Scaife, R.G., Scott, K., 

(2006). Pleistocene fluvial sediments, 

palaeontology and archaeology of the upper 

River Thames at Latton, Wiltshire, England. 

Journal of Quaternary Science. 21, 181- 

205. 

• Ashton, N., Lewis, S.G., Parfitt, S., White, 

M., (2006). Riparian landscapes and 

human habitat preferences during the 

Hoxnian (MIS 11) Interglacial. Journal 

of Quaternary Science. 21, 497-505. 

• Ashton, N., Lewis, S.G., (2002). Deserted 

Britain: declining populations in the British 

late Middle Pleistocene. Antiquity. 76, 388- 

396. 

Dr Sven Lukas 

Lecturer in Physical Geography 

Diplom (MSc) (Bochum, Germany), 

PhD (St Andrews) 

s.lukas@qmul.ac.uk 

Sven Lukas' research aims at understanding 

the timing of glacier-climate interactions and 

their effects on the shaping of the landscape. 

He uses a combination of traditional and 

novel methods to provide input data to 

numerical models used to predict future 

climate change. Sven's research comprises 

three themes: (1) reconstructing the effects 

of rapid climate change on mountain 

glaciation using geomorphological mapping 

and palaeoglaciological approaches; (2) 

constraining the timing of these glaciations 

by applying optically-stimulated 

luminescence (OSL) dating to glacial 

sediments; and (3) using sedimentological 

methods to reconstruct ice-marginal moraine 

formation and glacier dynamics. Much of 

Sven's work focuses on the Younger Dryas 

and early Holocene with study sites in 

Scotland, Svalbard, Norway and the Alps. 


• Lukas, S., (2007). Early-Holocene glacier 

fluctuations in Krundalen, south central 

Norway: palaeo-glacier dynamics and 

palaeoclimate. The Holocene. 17, 585-598. 

• Lukas, S., (2005). A test of the englacial 

thrusting hypothesis of 'hummocky' 

moraine formation - case studies from the 

north-west Highlands, Scotland. Boreas. 

34, 287-307. 

• Benn, D.I., Lukas, S., (2006). Younger 

Dryas glacial landsystems in North West 

Scotland: An assessment of modern 

analogues and palaeoclimatic implications. 

Quaternary Science Reviews. 25, 2390- 

2408. 

• Lukas, S., Spencer, J.Q.G., Robinson, 

R.A.J., Benn, D.I., (2007). Problems 

associated with luminescence dating of 

Late Quaternary glacial sediments in the 

NW Scottish Highlands. Quaternary 

Geochronology. 2, 243-248. 

Professor Jaap van der Meer 


MSc PhD(Amsterdam) 

j.meer@qmul.ac.uk 

Jaap van der Meer’s research interests lie 

with glacial processes and resulting 

landforms. On a general level he studies 

sediment transfer and (temporal) storage in 

the glacial system, from the ice divide to the 

shelf edge. More specifically, the focus is 

upon two elements: the study of dynamic 

structures, eg push moraines and 

streamlined landforms; and the 

micromorphological (thin section) study of 

glacial sediments. Underpinning his research 

is the need to understand the response of 

Pleistocene ice masses to environmental 

change, as a key to future developments. 

Jaap is on the editorial board of Journal of 

Quaternary Science, Quaternary Science 

Reviews, Boreas and Terra Antartica. He is 

editor of the book series ‘Developments in 

Quaternary Science’. 



• Kjær, K.H., Larsen, E., van der Meer, J.J.M., 

Ingólfsson, Ó., Krüger, J., Benediktsson, 

Í.Ö., Knudsen, C.G., Schomacker, A., 

(2006). Subglacial decoupling at the 

sediment-bedrock interface – an essential 

mechanism for rapid ice flow. Quaternary 

Science Reviews. 25, 2704-2712. 

• van der Meer, J.J.M., (2004). Spitsbergen 

push moraines. Including translation of: 

Gripp K, Glaciological and geological results 

of the Hamburg Spitsbergen-Expedition of 

1927. Developments in Quaternary Science 

4, Elsevier, Amsterdam. 

• van der Meer, J.J.M., Menzies, J., Rose, J., 

(2003). Subglacial till: the deforming glacier 

bed. Quaternary Science Reviews. 

22,1659-1685. 

• Naish, T., Woolfe, K. J., Barrett, P. J., van 

der Meer, J. J. M., (2001). Orbitally induced 

oscillations in the East Antarctic ice sheet at 

the Oligocene/Miocene boundary. Nature. 

413, 719-723. 

Other staff in the Department include: 

• Dr Kathryn Allton, Research Associate; 

hydrological, hydrochemical and fluvial 

processes 

• Dr.Meic Goodyear, Research Associate; 

health 

• Dr. Noah Hysler-Rubin, Research 

Associate; culture, space and power 

• Dr. Shompa Lahiri, Research Associate; 

culture, space and power 

• Dr. Dianna Smith, Research Associate; 

health 

• Dr Frank Verheijen, Research Associate; 

hydrological, hydrochemical and fluvial 

processes 


Queen Mary, University of London 

One of the UK’s leading 

research-focused 

universities, Queen Mary, 

University of London is an 

inspiring place to work and 

study 

Among the three largest of the colleges of the 

University of London, Queen Mary's 3,000 

staff deliver world class degree programmes 

and research across a wide range of subjects 

in Humanities, Social Sciences and Laws, in 

Medicine and Dentistry and in Science and 

Engineering. 

With a budget of over £220 million per 

annum and a yearly economic impact on the 

UK economy of over £600 million, Queen 

Mary offers a vibrant and intellectually 

stimulating environment to its 15,000 

students. 

A focus on world-leading 

research coupled with firstclass 

teaching 

All of our academic staff are engaged in 

valuable research – bringing benefits to their 

chosen field of expertise, as well as the 

students with whom they share the fruit of 

their knowledge. 

A university is, by its very essence, a place 

dedicated to learning, and everything we do 

reflects that reality. This focus enables staff 

and students alike to realise their full 

potential. For each generation of students, 

this means being well-prepared for future 

success; and for staff, being supported in 

their valuable and ongoing research activity. 

As a member of the 1994 Group of researchfocused 

universities, Queen Mary has made a 

strategic commitment to the highest quality of 

research. Indeed, we believe that a vibrant 

research environment means that our 

students have access to the world's leading 

experts in their chosen subjects. 

We have invested in this principle through a 

systematic programme of recruiting to Queen 

Mary the best academic staff in their 

disciplines from around the world. We are 

interested in academics at the peak of their 

careers who have made a substantial 

commitment to their field, as well as those 

who show promise. This creates an inspiring 

and dynamic atmosphere, particularly 

suitable for postgraduate work. 

The Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) – 

the way the government grades and funds 

research excellence in universities - 

confirmed Queen Mary’s excellence in a 

broad range of fields in 2001. It also 

demonstrated that our research performance 

is continually improving. The College saw a 

100 per cent increase in the number of 

departments achieving the highest 5 and 5* 

ratings since the RAE in 1996 – a total of 60 

per cent of all departments in the College 

were in these bands. Over 80 per cent of staff 

were judged to be in departments ranked as 

4, 5 or 5* meaning that they were of national 

or international excellence, compared to a 

national average of 64 per cent. To add to 

Queen Mary’s achievement, we submitted 

one of the highest percentages of staff of any 

institution in the country for the RAE – 90 per 

cent of staff were selected for submission. 

Since 2001, Queen Mary has been ranked 

in the top ten in the UK for its resourcing of 

research. 

The College made extensive preparations 

to achieve the best possible profile in RAE 

2008. All three sectors of the College 

(Humanities and Social Sciences, the School 

of Medicine and Dentistry, Science and 

Engineering) have shown significant growth 

and development across all areas of research 

activity. This is based on numbers of 

postgraduate students, research assistants, 

post-doctoral research fellows and research 

grants. When the results of the latest RAE are 

available (December 2008), they will be 

available online at www.qmul.ac.uk/RAE 

Part of The University of 

London 

Although the size and the range of subjects 

covered by Queen Mary gives it all the 

characteristics and facilities of a university in 

its own right, it is also part of the federal 

University of London, a wide-ranging body 

comprising over 30 institutes. Together, these 

make it the largest and most diverse 


London and the East End 

university in the country. It also means that, 

although Queen Mary is a self-governing 

institution, our graduate students are able to 

take advantage of the wide and varied 

academic research facilities of the University 

of London. The University of London provides 

the single largest critical mass of academic 

research in the UK. 

The University of London is one of the leading 

universities in the world, with the largest 

postgraduate population of any university in 

the United Kingdom. It contains within it a 

large number of specialist graduate study 

and research centres, several of which are 

based at Queen Mary, including the Centre 

for Commercial Law Studies, the IRC in 

Biomedical Materials and many others. 

Students of Queen Mary are also 

automatically members of the University of 

London Union (ULU), which is among the 

most active and lively in the country. 

International outlook 

Queen Mary has many active collaborative 

partnerships, these form an integral part of 

our international strategy. The rise in 

importance of countries such as China, India 

and Pakistan in scientific, technical and 

medical research, teaching and industrial 

development presents some exciting 

opportunities. 

Furthermore, twenty per cent of our students 

are from overseas, representing more than 

100 countries, so we are a truly multicultural 

community. We have links with a variety of 

international institutions, and exchanges are 

available to the United States and many 

European countries. 

An exciting and dynamic 

location 

Queen Mary is in the heart 

of the East End, one of 

London’s most vibrant 

areas, with a rich history 

and an exciting future. 

Queen Mary's locations span London's 

diverse districts. Two of our four campuses 

are in east London, in the Borough of Tower 

Hamlets between The City and Canary Wharf, 

a multicultural and socially diverse area that 

is one of the most rapidly developing parts of 

London. 

Our other campuses are in central London: at 

Charterhouse Square and Barts Hospital, on 

the edge of the City of London, the key 

financial district, one of the two campuses of 

Barts and The London Medical School; and 

at Lincoln's Inn Fields, in London's Legal 

District, the home for our Graduate School of 

Law and the world-famous Centre for 

Commercial Law Studies. 

“Behind the imposing Victorian 

Queens’ Building at the front 

entrance, you quickly find 

yourself in a perfectly laid out, 

and brand new, student village. 

It has shops, restaurant, open 

green spaces.” 

The Guardian 

The Mile End Campus provides a completely 

integrated and secure student experience. 

Situated next to Regent’s canal and the open 

green spaces of Mile End Park, the campus 

offers a peaceful environment in which to 

study and live, with a 2,000-bed, awardwinning 

Student Village. An extensive 

programme of refurbishment, and over £200 

million invested in the last five years mean 

that students enjoy first-class facilities. 

As well as comfortable canal-side 

accommodation, the Mile End Campus is 

home to outstanding academic facilities, 

housed in architecturally-diverse buildings. 

These include the Victorian Queens’ 

Building, the modern, award-winning Lockkeeper’s 

Cottage Graduate Centre for the 

Humanities and Social Sciences, the 

Informatics Teaching Laboratory, a striking 

new Learning Resource Centre and state-ofthe-art 

laboratories. The Campus also has a 

bank, bookshop, the Student Union, and a 

good choice of cafés, bars and restaurants. 


Further information and applications 

Routes into PhD research 

Candidates with the appropriate 

qualifications (see below) may apply directly 

to any of the Department’s Masters’ or PhD 

programmes. The Department is recognised 

by the ESRC for full-time, part-time and CASE 

PhD studentships. It holds ESRC 1+3 

Research Training recognition on its MA/MSc 

Geography, MA Cities and Cultures and MSc 

Globalisation and Development programmes. 

Criteria for admission 

MA/MSc Human and Physical 

Entry to one of the Department’s MA/MSc 

programmes is dependent upon a first or 

upper-second class honours in Geography 

or a cognate discipline. You will be asked to 

include a brief Statement of Interest (about 

300 to 500 words) outlining the main 

academic areas covered in your first degree, 

how these might relate to the issues 

examined on your chosen MA/MSc 

programme, and your main reasons for 

choosing the MA/MSc programme at Queen 

Mary. You should include a full academic 

transcript (a record of courses taken and 

grades achieved) and two referees’ reports. 

PhD 

Entry to the Department’s PhD programme 

is usually dependent upon a first or an upper 

second class degree or equivalent in 

Geography or a cognate discipline. You are 

asked to include a 500 to 1,000-word 

Research Proposal outlining the academic 

context of the proposed research, the 

research aims, methodology and proposed 

timetable. 

You should include a full academic transcript 

(a record of courses taken and grades 

achieved) and two referees’ reports. You are 

strongly encouraged to make contact with a 

potential supervisor from the department 

(www.geog.qmul.ac.uk see staff interests) 

before submitting your application. Deadline 

dates for applications are posted on the 

departmental website www.geog.qmul.ac.uk. 

See the following websites for further 

information about external funding 

opportunities: 

Natural Environment Research Council 

www.nerc.ac.uk 

Economic and Social Research Council 

www.esrc.ac.uk 

Arts and Humanities Research Council 

www.ahrc.ac.uk 

The Department welcomes informal 

enquiries about any aspect of its graduate 

programmes. 

For further information on the content of 

individual MSc programmes please contact 

the relevant programme convenor: 

MA/MSc Geography 

email: geography-ma-msc@qmul.ac.uk 

MA Cities and Cultures 

email: geography-ma-cc@qmul.ac.uk 

MSc Globalisation and Development 

email: geography-msc-gd@qmul.ac.uk 

MA London Studies 

email: london-studies-ma@qmul.ac.uk 

MSc in Physical Geography by Research 

email: a.j.baird@qmul.ac.uk 

For further information about the 

Department’s PhD programme please 

contact: 

Director of Graduate Studies 



Mile End Road 

London 

E1 4NS 

email: geog@qmul.ac.uk 

Visit the Department’s website: 

www.geog.qmul.ac.uk 

Completed applications should be sent to 

Admissions and Recruitment Office 


Mile End Road, 

London E1 4NS 

Email: admission@qmul.ac.uk 


This guide has been produced by 

the Publications and Web Office for 

the Department of Geography 

For further information contact: 



Mile End Road 

London 

E1 4NS 

Tel: +44 (0)20 7882 8200 

Fax: +44 (0)00 8981 6276 

email: geog@qmul.ac.uk 

www.geog.qmul.ac.uk

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