Beyond Colouring-In: A Geography Podcast Ben Garlick

In this episode, Ben is joined once again by Dr Pauline Couper, Associate Professor of Geography and Associate Head for the School of Humanities at YSJU, to discuss the concept of ‘phenomenology’. We explore some of the ways in which philosophers and geographers have attempted to theorise and inject a sense of our bodily existence and experience into accounts of human-environmental interactions. We explore the contributions of humanist geography, as well as the application of ideas around perception in the work of continental philosophy, and consider some of the exciting and critical ways in which today’s scholars are extending and adding to our understanding of body-world relations.

Below, for those who are interested, are some links to relevant readings mentioned in conversation and that further flesh out the concepts / topics discussed...

Key Reading #1: The 2007 article “Leaving nothing but ripples on the water: performing ecotourism natures” by Gordon Waitt and Lauren Cook is mentioned by Pauline in discussion as a useful applied example of how scholarship on outdoor human activities might incorporate and consider bodily experiences. Published in the Social & Cultural Geography and available online here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14649360701529782

Key Reading #2: Pauline’s 2017 paper in cultural geographies, flagged in the episode, sees her apply the insights of Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology to the subject of small-boat sailing and the experience of ‘being in nature’. “The embodied spatialities of being in nature” is available online here: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1474474017732978

Further Reading: Geographer Eden Kincaid has developed a range of resources explaining and discussing key concepts and debates in geography as part of a series of collated twitter threads (see the website: ‘wtf is…geography!?’). Being as they work on phenomenology in their own research, the thread on this subject is a great way into the concept. Available online here: https://twitter.com/WTFisGeography/status/1572962871042273280?s=20&t=XW5MYaGWLJjfcgl8tkvsDQ

Further Reading:  The article by Drik van Eck and Roos Pijpers from 2017, ‘Encounters in place ballet’, published in Area, is one that Pauline has found works well when teaching students about phenomenological ideas and how they might be applied by geographers to understand spatial experience (in this case, the experience of parks by older people). Link here: https://rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/area.12311



(C) 2022. Produced / Edited by B. Garlick

In this episode, Ben is joined once again by Dr Joseph Bailey, currently part of the team at YSJU Geography but soon-to-be Senior Lecturer in Ecology, Conservation and Sustainability at Anglia Ruskin University, to discuss the concept of ‘Geodiversity’, and why the varied shape of the landscape is an important factor in determining ecosystem biodiversity, and its conservation. We discuss the ways in which Joe’s research has explored this concept, and how he has sought to map and measure geodiversity through a holistic understanding of landscape processes. We reflect on how geographers are well-placed to offer insight into the significance of geodiversity, and how we might feed an understanding of geodiversity into conservation practice and policy.

Below, for those who are interested, are some links to relevant readings that further flesh out the concepts / topics discussed...

Key Reading #1: The 2022 article “Conserving Nature’s Stage…” by John Gordon, Joe and Jonathan Larwood offers a useful account of the relationships between geo- and biodiversity, and the importance of preserving the varied surfaces of the earth upon which species flourish. Published in the Park Stewardship Forum and available online here as an open-access text: https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8fp8v4wk

Key Reading #2: Joe’s 2017 paper in Global Ecology and Biogeography, co-authored with several others and drawing on his PhD research, entitled “Modelling native and alien vascular plant species richness” specifically examines the question of scale, as discussed in the episode, and its importance when assessing the relevance of ‘geodiversity’. Published open access and available here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/geb.12574

Further Reading: Joe and fellow researcher Franziska Schrodt wrote a really accessible article for the online news site The Conversation in 2019 that introduces the concept and importance of geodiversity for a non-specialist audience interested in conservation. Available online here: https://theconversation.com/our-new-research-is-tracing-the-development-of-the-worlds-vital-non-living-nature-125664

Further Reading: Joe recommends Murray Gray’s 2013 book Geodiversity: Valuing and conserving abiotic nature as an excellent general reference text on the concept. A preview is available via google books here: https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Geodiversity/LSB8AAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0





(C) 2022. Produced / Edited by B. Garlick

In this episode, Ben is joined once again by Dr Olalekan (Lekan) Adekola, Senior Lecturer in Geography at York St John University, to discuss the concept of ‘Ecosystem Services’ – the idea that we can value different environments or ecologies on the basis of the provisioning, regulatory, supporting or cultural benefits or services they provide (primarily to humans). We discuss the origins of the term, and its implications and practical application to environmental management, as well as addressing some of the key critiques of this approach. We reflect on how geographers might offer a useful perspective on the value of specific natures, and a means to counter some of the concept’s more utilitarian tendencies.

Below, for those who are interested, are some links to relevant readings mentioned in conversation and that further flesh out the concepts / topics discussed...

Key Reading #1: Lekan discusses the work of Robert Constanza and others from 1997 – ‘The value of the world’s ecosystem services and natural capital’, published in Nature – that demonstrates an early, influential effort to quantify environmental benefits in terms of monetary value. Link here: https://www.nature.com/articles/387253a0

Key Reading #2: Sharachchandra Lele et al’s 2013 review of the concept published in Conservation and Society (‘Ecosystem Services: Origins, Contributions, Pitfalls, and alternatives’) incorporates a summary of some of the key ways that the concept of ES has been taken up in response to the challenges of environmental management and conservation, as well as reflecting on the weaknesses of the approach, and how these might be addressed. Open access and available here: https://www.jstor.org/stable/26393131?seq=1

Further Reading: Mark Everard’s textbook, Ecosystem Services: Key Issues, a second edition published in 2022, provides an accessible introduction and overview of the concept of ecosystem services (and associated ideas) via a range of case studies and suggested further reading. A previous is available via Google Books: https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Ecosystem_Services/r9dSEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0

Further Reading: Kurt Jax et al’s 2013 paper in Ecological Economics (‘Ecosystem services and ethics’) reflect on the ethical assumptions of potential issues arising from the application of the ES concept, and consider the importance of context for assessing the worth of the approach, as well as considering how improved clarity around the processes of evaluating the environment might address some of these concerns. Link here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800913002073





(C) 2022. Produced / Edited by B. Garlick

In this episode, Ben is joined by Dr Olalekan (Lekan) Adekola, Senior Lecturer in Geography at York St John University, to discuss the concept of ‘Sustainability’ – a term that has become commonplace in discussions of development and its environmental impacts. We examine the origins of this term, its contemporary associations and applications (particularly in relation to ideas of ‘sustainable development’), and the importance of considering sustainability beyond the environment, to encompass social and economic relations. We also discuss the relevance and critical exploration of this key concept within geographical scholarship, and the value of reflecting on how sustainability – as both a concept and a practice – manifests itself differently in particular places and times.

Below, for those who are interested, are some links to relevant readings mentioned in conversation and that further flesh out the concepts / topics discussed...

Key Reading #1: Jacobus Du Pisani offers a neat overview of the historical roots of the idea of sustainability in his 2006 article – ‘Sustainable development: historical roots of the concept’ – published in Environmental Sciences, including reflections on the ways in which notions of living ‘sustainably’ have permeated discussions of human-environmental relations for several centuries. Link here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15693430600688831

Key Reading #2: Although over 10 years old, Jenny Pickerill and Larch Maxey’s review of ‘Geographies of Sustainability’ (published in 2009 in Geography Compass) provides a useful way into thinking spatially about this concept, and some of the ways in which geographers have sought to critically engage with and apply it. Link here: https://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1749-8198.2009.00237.x

Further Reading: John Robinson’s 2004 article in Ecological Economics (‘Squaring the circle? Some thoughts on the idea of sustainable development’) offers a critical perspective on the idea of ‘sustainable development’, and its circulation, since the term first came to prominence in the late 1980s. The article elaborates some of the critiques of the term discussed in the podcast episode, as well as how these might be addressed. Link here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800904000175

Further Reading: Margaret Robertson’s textbook Sustainability Principles and Practice has recently been released in its 3rd edition (2021). A useful resource for students that offers a way into the cross-disciplinary concerns of sustainability, its challenges, practices and key debates, complemented with discussion questions, further reading, and key examples. A preview is available via Google Books here: https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Sustainability_Principles_and_Practice/WuMUEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0





(C) 2022. Produced / Edited by B. Garlick

In this episode, Ben is joined in conversation by Dr Jude Parks, Senior Lecturer in Geography, and Dr Catherine Heinemeyer, Lecturer in Arts and Ecological Justice, both of York St John University, to discuss the concept of ‘ecological justice’ and its implications for understanding and responding to contemporary climate crisis. The conversation includes discussing how best to make questions of justice in the context of human-environmental relations tangible for students in the classroom, and Jude and Cath also touch on their work at YSJU as part of the Ecological Justice Research Group, which has run a ‘Living Lab’ project to use a nearby congested junction as a place to think through the everyday relations and experiences of environmental (in)justice. You can read more about their work via the YSJU Institute for Social Justice blog here: https://blog.yorksj.ac.uk/isj/the-living-lab/. You can also follow the YSJU Ecological Justice Research Group on Twitter @YSJEcolJustice.

Below, for those who are interested, are some links to relevant readings mentioned in conversation and that further flesh out the concepts / topics discussed...

Key Reading #1: Julian Agyeman’s book Just Sustainabilities from 2013 explores the various dimensions of justice as they relate to questions of sustainable environmental (and broader) practices. In particular, Chapter 3, ‘Space and Place’ (pp.96-135), connects these ideas to geographical concerns. Link:  https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Just_Sustainabilities/XImxKppJsNEC?hl=en&gbpv=0

Key Reading #2: Farhana Sultana’s 2021 paper in Social & Cultural Geography, entitled ‘Climate change, COVID-19, and the co-production of injustices: a feminist reading of overlapping crises’, demonstrates the kind of feminist intersectional geographical approach that Jude describes near the end of the conversation, applied in the context of analysing the interrelated and unequal consequences of climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic. Link: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14649365.2021.1910994

Further Reading: ‘Racism and the Anthropocene’, a 2018 chapter by Laura Polido published in in Greg Mitman et al’s edited collection, Future Remains: A cabinet of curiosities for the Anthropocene, examines the intertwined issues of racial and environmental injustice as they affect our current epoch of ecological crisis. You can access part of the book (and her chapter) via Google Books but there are some websites out that that appear to host the chapter in full... Link: https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Future_Remains/tOpODwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0

Further Reading: A recent article by Perpertua Kirby and Rebecca Webb (2021) in Educational Review (‘Conceptualising uncertainty and the role of the teacher for a politics of climate change…’) informs much of Jude and Cath’s approach to teaching Ecological Justice in the classroom, as well as the ‘thing-based approach’ that Cath describes. Link: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00131911.2021.1933392





(C) 2022. Produced / Edited by B. Garlick

In this episode, Ben is joined in conversation by Dr Su Fitzpatrick, a Geographer lecturing at York St John University, to discuss the question of archives, and their use within geographical research and our efforts to understand the past. The conversation includes considering the question ‘what is an archive / the archive?’ We also reflect on our own work involving archives, the practicalities of doing so, and the issue of gaps or absences in recorded historical sources. Across much of the discussion Su draws from her recent experiences researching British ‘New Towns’ – specifically Warrington New Town – and you can read more about her work on her research blog, ‘Days of the New Town’: https://daysofthenewtown.wordpress.com/

Below, for those who are interested, are some links to relevant readings mentioned in conversation, and that further flesh out the concepts / topics discussed...

Key Reading #1: The chapters in the SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Geography by Hayden Lorimer (‘Chapter 14 – Caught in the Nick of Time: Archives and Fieldwork’) is a brilliant and insightful reflection on the challenge of archive-working. Link:  https://methods.sagepub.com/book/the-sage-handbook-of-qualitative-geography-srm/i1471.xml

Key Reading #2: The recent (2022) piece by Case Watkins and Judith Carney in the journal Antipode, entitled ‘Amplifying the Archive: Methodological Plurality and Geographies of the Black Atlantic’, features in our discussion. It’s a great example of how combining different kinds of sources offers a route to addressing the absences inherent in the ‘imperial archive’. Link: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/anti.12838

Further Reading: Su flags Francesca Moore’s ‘Tales from the archive: methodological and ethical issues in historical geography research’, published in 2010 in Area, as a useful elaboration of some of the key ethical questions that working in archives, particularly when exploring more sensitive topics or histories, can raise. Link: https://rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1475-4762.2009.00923.x

Further Reading: Sarah Mills’ review of archival research in Geography, published in Geography Compass in 2013 (‘Cultural–Historical Geographies of the Archive: Fragments, Objects and Ghosts’), especially concerns the often partial or fragmented character of historical records, the utilisation of artefacts as archival sources, and the various means by which history is ‘haunted’ by the stories of those excluded from the narrative of the day. Link: https://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/gec3.12071





(C) 2022. Produced / Edited by B. Garlick