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UNSW Canberra

Cultural geography

PhD opportunities
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RethinkingÌýthe cultural landscape

Culture serves as a lens through which people interpret theÌýexperiences and interactions that occur in theirÌýeveryday life.ÌýAdvances in technologyÌýare changing every aspect of our lives, leading to contemporary issues. This includes the opportunities and pitfalls ofÌýglobalisationÌýas well asÌýnew human technological relations that create new challenges from different cultures and communities.ÌýÌýÌý

Exploring cultural practices helps us understand human activities. Cultural geography explores the relationship between humans and the elements of our environment by examining the way meaning is constructed according to differences in space, timeÌýand place. It emphasises the relationships not only between people and their physical environmentÌýbut also their material, socialÌýand cultural landscapes.

Associated schools, institutes & centres

Impact

Working at the intersection of science and art, cultural and human geography research at UNSW Canberra addresses a range of transformative social and cultural processes. We explore the challenges posed to traditional social science through reconfigurations and changes to human life including: Ìý

  • innovations in material and biological scienceÌý
  • the proliferation of technological interfacesÌý
  • the emergence of digital culturesÌý
  • artistic, social, and technological communities associated with new forms of cultural and political creativity.ÌýÌý

Our research capability and expertise in Cultural Geography include:Ìý

  • Published research across a range of high impact journals in geography and social science disciplines, including:Ìý
  • Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers.Ìý
  • Cultural Geographies.Ìý
  • Environment and Planning.Ìý
  • Body & Society.Ìý
  • Performance Research and Theory.Ìý
  • Culture & Society. Ìý
  • Curation of special issues on emerging issues in social science, including post-humanist research methods, the unconscious, speculative thinking, and the geographies of fashion and style.ÌýÌý
  • Organisation of high-profile sessions and panel discussions at international conferences, including the annual meetings of the Institute of Australian Geographers, the American Association of Geographers, the Institute of British GeographersÌýand the Deleuze & Guattari Studies Conference.

Competitive advantageÌý

We have research capabilities, unique expertiseÌýand a strong tradition of conceptual innovation across many areas of human geography. This includes insights from non-representational theory, affect theory, post-humanismÌýand new materialism—as well as fromÌýa wide variety of continental philosophers and political theorists. Ìý

We are a leader in global research in the science of cultural geography. Our strength comes from: Ìý

  • Leading the field in cutting-edge conceptual debates in contemporary social science research.Ìý
  • Driving innovation in qualitative research methodologies.Ìý
  • Developing interdisciplinary research agendas across the sciences, artsÌýand humanities.Ìý
  • Ongoing and new research collaborations with leading Australian and international scholars and departments.

Our researchers

Head of School John-David Dewsbury

John-David Dewsbury

Head of School
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Senior Lecturer in Cultural Geography Andrew Lapworth

Andrew Lapworth

Senior Lecturer in Cultural Geography
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Lecturer in Human Geography Tom Roberts

Tom Roberts

Lecturer in Human Geography
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Lecturer in Cultural Geography Nina Williams

Nina Williams

Lecturer in Cultural Geography
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  • The Cultural Geography group has established a vibrant research culture in theÌýSchool of ScienceÌýhosting a weekly reading group (Non-representational Theory and Geography) and bi-monthly research workshops (Space, Performance, Art, and Technology). We have an internationally diverse team of PhD students working on a variety of research projects and we are active supporters of the UNSW ALLY Network for LGBTIQ+ people.Ìý

  • The Cultural Geography group has developed collaborative networks with several Australian and international partners, including:

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    The group also has ongoing and developing interdisciplinary research projects in collaboration with academics from the:Ìý

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    • Dewsbury, J-D. (2019). 'Refrains of Lost Time: Collapse, Refrain, Abstract'. In T. Jellis, J. Gerlach & J-D. Dewsbury (eds.)ÌýWhyÌýGuattari? A Liberation of Cartographies, Ecologies and PoliticsÌý(pp. 88-98).ÌýLondon:ÌýRoutledge.

    • Dewsbury J-D. (2019). 'Foreword: Civic Space and Desire: after Gilles Deleuze and FelixÌýGuattari', in C.ÌýDrozynskiÌýand D.ÌýBeljaarsÌý(eds.)ÌýCivic Spaces and DesireÌý(pp.ÌýXvii-xxi). London: Routledge.

    • Lapworth, A. (2020). ‘',ÌýBody & Society, 26, pp. 107-134.Ìýhttps://doi.org/10.1177/1357034X19882750

    • Lapworth, A. (2019). ‘’,ÌýTransactions of theÌýInstitute of British Geographers,Ìý44, pp. 657-660.Ìýhttps://doi.org/10.1111/tran.12327

    • Roberts, T. (2019). '',ÌýGeoHumanities,Ìý5, pp. 124 – 138.Ìýhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1080/2373566x.2019.1575762

    • Roberts, T. (2019). ‘’ÌýTransactions of theÌýInstitute of British Geographers, 44, pp. 542-554.Ìýhttps://doi.org/10.1111/tran.12280

    • Sharpe, S. (2020). ‘’,ÌýCultural Geographies,Ìý27, pp. 55-69.ÌýÌýhttps://doi.org/10.1177%2F1474474019866205

    • Sharpe, S. (2018). '',ÌýDialogues inÌýHuman Geography, 8, pp. 225 – 228.Ìýhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2043820617748270

    • Williams, N. (2019). 'Reframing politics in art: from representational subjects to aesthetic subjectification', In T. Jellis, J. Gerlach & J-D. Dewsbury (eds.),ÌýWhyÌýGuattari? A Liberation of Cartographies, Ecologies and PoliticsÌý(pp. 202-213). London: Routledge.

    • Williams, N. (2019). '',ÌýTransactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 44, pp.Ìý647-649.Ìýhttps://doi.org/10.1111/tran.12324

  • Our current research projects include:Ìý

    • Non-representational theory and Edouard Glissant
    • The production of smart subjectivity in Colombo, Sri Lanka
    • The Emotional Geographies of Fear and Harassment on Public Transport in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
    • Cinema, Subjectivity, and Deleuze
    • Cruel Optimism in Iran
    • Development of a Climate Resiliency and Adaptation Framework for the Protection and Management of Coastal Heritage Places along the Southern Victorian and Northern Tasmanian Coastlines.
    • ÌýAcoustic mapping, conservation, and contemplation: Documenting acoustic histories within ephemeral urban cultural landscapes

  • As a Cultural Geography student, you will benefit from:

    • National and international field trips available to undergraduate students
    • Research-led teaching and thinking through innovative conceptual ideas about cutting-edge empirical examples in art, technology, and science
    • Experimental methodologies with strong local community and public engagement.

    The following courses are available to students interested in Cultural Geography:

    Undergraduate:

    Postgraduate:

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  • The following projects are currently active: Ìý

    • Negotiating trust in AI-enabled navigation technologies (UNSW Faculty Seed Grant)
    • Psychological and physiological impacts of neighbourhoods (UNSW Faculty Seed Grant)

    The following research proposals are in the planning stage:Ìý

    • Fostering Ecological Care Through Public Arts: Creative Experiments with Lake Burley Griffin.Ìý
    • (Re-)Imagining Trust in Artificial Intelligence through Institutional Encounters (with colleagues at UNSW, Macquarie, Tokyo)
    • Re-thinking human-technology relations in the age of Industry 4.0.Ìý