Carlotta Molfese
Human Geography
PhD Researcher in Human Geography (ESRC 1+3)
Plymouth University, Geography, Earth and Environmental SciencesStart date: October 2017
Research topic: The Back-To-The-Land movement and nature in the Anthropocene: a personal journey through “haptic geographies”
My PhD will be looking at one particular social movement – the back-to-the-land movement (BTL) – and its engagement with the non-human world. Through an auto-ethnographical methodology that will pay particular attention to sensorial experience with the non-human world, I aim to investigate counter-culturenature ontologies as practiced on the ground by BTLs to highlight the diversity of relationships to and performances of nature within the presumed homogeneous Western society. Finally, through the lenses of anarchist theory I will attempt to respond to some of the philosophical and practical challenges presented by the emergence of the Anthropocene concept.Research supervisors: Dr Kim Ward, Professor Geoff Wilson
Email: carlotta.molfese@postgrad.plymouth.ac.uk
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/carlotta-molfese-676860151
Chloe Asker
Human Geography
PhD Researcher in Human Geography (ESRC +3)
University of Exeter, Department of Geography, College of Life and Environmental SciencesStart date: September 2017
Research topic: Mindful geographies? Towards the therapeutic geographies of mindfulness
Mindfulness has grown in popularity since the millennium, however the practice has been neglected from geographical literature concerning health and wellbeing. This is surprising since a recently published ‘Mindful Nation UK’ (2015) report by the Mindfulness All-Party Parliamentary Group (MAPPG) identified the practice as key to remedying mental health difficulties. My project aims to understand the geographies of mindfulness, and in doing so, expand the concept of therapeutic geographies using mindfulness practice. Practically, I will carry out ethnographic fieldwork with charities and/or organisations that use mindfulness as a therapeutic device.Research supervisors: Dr Jennifer Lea, Professor John Wylie
Professional memberships/Positions held:
Human Geography student rep for College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of ExeterEmail: ca409@exeter.ac.uk
Twitter: https://twitter.com/chloeasker
Courtenay Crawford
Human Geography
PhD Researcher in Human Geography (ESRC 1+3)
University of Bristol, School of Geographical SciencesStart date: October 2020
Research topic: Ecodharmic Worlds: Decoloniality, the Anthropocene, and Buddhist geographies
Buddhist philosophy and the questions it poses regarding the boundary between nature/culture and self/other speaks clearly to contemporary human geographical questions concerning political ecology, inter-species relationships, care-giving, and environmental governance. Its unique contribution lies in bridging gaps between post-colonial and post-human critique. My research will investigate how Buddhist critique can help human geographies reconceive the politics of our more-than-human worlds in an age of planetary crisis.Research supervisors: Dr Mark Jackson, Dr Naomi Millner
Email: Courtenay.crawford@bristol.ac.uk
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtenaycrawford/
Daisy Curtis
Human Geography
PhD Researcher in Human Geography (ESRC 1+3)
University of Exeter, Department of Geography, College of Life and Environmental SciencesStart date: September 2017
Research topic: Provisional title: 'Digital Geographies of the 5G mobile network: An exploration of the narratives and experiences of increasing interconnectivity.'
5G technology is the next generation of wireless mobile network, and my PhD research seeks to engage with proponents of 5G technology as well as potential users to provide an insight into how people make sense of, and engage with, this developing technology. The PhD research aims to critically explore some of the major themes bound up with the development of this new technology. These three main themes include: the materiality of the 5G network regarding infrastructural requirements, challenges and concerns; geopolitical and security issues related to the development of the network; as well as the narratives that 5G will be ‘transformative’ by enabling new capabilities, and will act as a foundation for further technological development.Research supervisors: Dr Pepe Romanillos, Dr Sean Carter
Professional memberships/Positions held:
Exeter Geography PGR Inclusivity and Wellbeing RepEmail: derc201@exeter.ac.uk
Twitter: https://twitter.com/der_curtis
Eleanor Cook
Human Geography
1+3
University of Exeter Sep-23Start date: Sep-23
Research topic: Climate anxie-teaching cryosphere concepts through playful geography
I am intending to investigate the value of playful learning for reducing climate anxiety in young people. I am particularly focused on cryosphere geography, and have based my project around Ice Flows, developed by Dr Anne Le Brocq, University of Exeter. I want to understand if playful learning can help develop the skills needed for proactively approaching climate change problems, especially through building climate resilience. I am also aware that playful learning needs to complement current UK secondary education, which prioritises written communication through examination. This balance will be key to my research.Research supervisors: Dr Anne Le Brocq, Dr Laura Smith, Professor Ian Cook
Email: elc248@exeter.ac.uk
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eleanorcookuoe
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sparkly_cook
Gemma Lucas
Human Geography
PhD Researcher in Human Geography (ESRC 1+3)
University of Exeter, College of Life and Environmental SciencesStart date: September 2019
Research topic: Yoga and gendered wellbeing: Exploring new ontologies of wellbeing and gendered body shame through innovative and ethnographic studies of yoga practices and spaces.
My ethnographic research of diverse yoga practices and spaces will deploy a novel ‘moving interview’ method to contribute to debates on gendered and embodied geographies of health and wellbeing. Modern postural yoga has rapidly gained popularity in the West (Singleton, 2010), and this research will foreground practitioners’ lived experiences of the body in contemporary yoga spaces, enabling an exploration of new ontologies of wellbeing and gendered body shame. This will open up novel analytical lines towards understanding wellness outside of consumerist, neoliberal and medico-scientific discourses (Dolezal, 2012).Research supervisors: Dr Jennifer Lea, Prof John Wylie, Dr Luna Dolezal
Email: GL366@exeter.ac.uk
Twitter: https://twitter.com/gemlucas12
Gia D’aprano
Human Geography
PhD Researcher in Human Geography (ESRC 1+3)
University of Exeter, College of Life and Environmental SciencesStart date: September 2016
Research topic: Feral food foraging in the city and ecological literacy
I am interested in how foraging for feral foods in an urban setting can provide opportunities for learning about ecological literacy, defined as identification with urban nature, leading towards greater ecological consciousness. I have chosen urban public space as the site for the research as it is replete with counter hegemonic initiatives towards more equitable and socially just relationships with both human and non-human members of community. An urban ecology of feral food plants, which can be seen as a subset of alternative food networks, could provide informal, experiential and embodied ways to become more eco-centric as a species.Research supervisors: Professor Stewart Barr, Dr Ewan Woodley
Email: gd300@exeter.ac.uk
Harriet Earle-Brown
Human Geography
PhD Researcher in Human Geography (ESRC 1+3)
University of Exeter, College of Life and Environmental SciencesStart date: September 2018
Research topic: Homeless Women and their Transgressive Bodies
Homeless women’s bodies often transgress ideas about what a woman’s body “should be”, perceived as dirty, undesirable and out of place. However, it can be used as capital within the homeless community, unless it is layered with other transgressions such as bigness, sexuality or colour.I am interested in the ways in which the body of the homeless woman is constructed, how these constructions influence its treatment and performance and how the homeless female body intersects with other identities.
Research supervisors: Professor Paul Cloke, Professor Jo Little
Professional memberships/Positions held:
Geography PGT course repEmail: he282@exeter.ac.uk
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harriet-earle-brown-20b697167/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hearlebrown
Website/Blog: http://postgraduategirl.home.blog
Heidi Barron
Human Geography
+3
Plymouth University, School of GeographyStart date: Oct-23
Research topic: Multi-species justice: exploring the development and application of a transformative concept.
The concept of multi-species justice (MSJ) reimagines how justice is conceived and adjudicated between humans and non-humans. This is through promoting holistic perspectives that consider the rights of all entities on an equal footing. Despite progress defining its principles, its practical application remains a major research frontier. Applying MSJ is only possible by addressing questions about how non-humans exert agency in human-orchestrated justice debates. Therefore, this project aims to develop the concept of MSJ through creative techniques that incorporate multi-species agencies, understand spatial, temporal and geographical interactions between humans and non-humans, and dissect how human-non-human relations are framed and enacted.Research supervisors: Dr Kim Ward, Dr Simon Dickinson
Email: heidi.barron@students.plymouth.ac.uk
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidilbarron/?originalSubdomain=uk
Twitter: https://twitter.com/heidilbarron
Website/Blog: https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/staff/heidi-barron
Jen Clements
Human Geography
PhD Researcher in Human Geography (ESRC/BBSRC +3)
University of Exeter, College of Life and Environmental SciencesStart date: September 2018
Research topic: Farming, labour and landscape in post-Brexit Cornwall
My project concerns the development of a post-Brexit domestic agricultural policy and the emerging trade-offs between economic, environmental and social aims among key stakeholders. Ultimately, it will combine interviews, surveys and economic data in order to model potential outcomes.Research supervisors: Professor Jane Wills, Professor Juliet Osborne, Professor Matt Lobley
Email: jc1011@exeter.ac.uk
Jo Hynes
Human Geography
PhD Researcher in Human Geography (ESRC +3)
University of Exeter, College of Life and Environmental SciencesStart date: September 2018
Research topic: Geographies of Immigration Law: Space, Technology & Access to Justice
My research explores the legal geographies of immigration law. Using ethnographies of tribunal hearings and interviews with their key actors, I will examine the impact of space and technology on access to justice in immigration bail hearings across sites in the UK and the USA.Research supervisors: Professor Nick Gill , Dr Helena Wray
Professional memberships/Positions held:
I am part of the ASYFAIR network, which explores the extent to which fair and consistent asylum appeal adjudication occurs across EU member states.Email: jh1076@exeter.ac.uk
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joanna-hynes-6b049096/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jo__hynes
Kieran Green
Human Geography
PhD Researcher in Human Geography (ESRC 1+3)
Plymouth University, Geography, Earth and Environmental SciencesStart date: September 2018
Research topic: British Youth Unseen: Sofa-Surfing and Space
My research seeks to understand how sofa-surfing, other temporary living arrangements and the support available for young people affects their motivation to achieve fruitful and prosperous lives. To complete these aims, I’m using an innovative methodology that combines descriptive statistics with interviews, person-centred photography and the ‘Future Authoring programme’.Research supervisors: Professor Richard Yarwood, Dr Mark Holton
Email: kieran.green@postgrad.plymouth.ac.uk
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kieran-green-2882a6130/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kegrenola
Leah Shackman
Human Geography
Human Geography 1+3
University of Exeter, College of Environmental and Life SciencesStart date: September 2021
Research topic: Children’s and Young Adult Feminist and Queer Non-Fiction Literature: A Literary Geography Approach.
My research examines the role of collective biographies of women and LGBTQ+ figures in diversifying children’s and young adult literature through narrating the lives and achievements of figures, past and present. I am interested in how the production of collective biographies of women and LGBTQ+ figures disrupts masculinist, heterosexual knowledge, and contributes to increasing the diversity of children’s literature. I aim to explore the successes, complexities and critiques of the content, themes and messages of children’s non-fiction literature, and will address how biography can be used to teach issues of gender and sexuality, perhaps providing potential solutions to the gaps in the school curriculum, created as a result of the unease surrounding feminist topics and LGBTQ+ education.Research supervisors: Dr. Cordelia Freeman, Professor Jana Funke, Dr. Nichola Harmer
Email: ls877@exeter.ac.uk
Lisseth Ring
Human Geography
Plymouth University, School of Geography, Earth, and Environmental SciencesStart date: October 2024
Research topic: The Anchoring Effect and Politics of Local Climate Plans
Over 95% of UK local authorities have declared climate emergencies and many have adopted local climate plans to establish targets and actions for reducing emissions and adapting to climate change. However, these plans typically lack the legal powers and accountability mechanisms of national policy frameworks, such as climate change acts, to force and incentivise actions by local actors. This research critically interrogates how local climate plans achieve impact in these circumstances by investigating the mechanisms and processes through which they seek to build stakeholder support and influence the behaviour of local actors in pursuit of net zero.Research supervisors: Ian Bailey, Richard Yarwood , Claire Pearce
Email: lisseth.ring@students.plymouth.ac.uk
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisseth-ring
Oliver Dawson
Human Geography
PhD Researcher in Human Geography (ESRC +3)
University of Bristol, School of Geographical SciencesStart date: October 2017
Research topic: Poetic Cartographies in the Age of the Anthropocene
My research happens at the intersection of art, philosophy and the social sciences. I explore how the cognitive, ritual and social references that art and poetry generates produce new ‘regimes’ of subjectivity. I am particularly interested in how the non-linguistic, a-signifying and affective qualities of poetry allow for the mapping of new subject capacities, and how these offer new ways of thinking and responding to the ethical and political challenges of the Anthropocene.Research supervisors: Dr John David Dewsbury, Dr Franklin Ginn , Dr Joe Gerlach
Email: od15598@bris.ac.uk
Polly Gregson
Human Geography
ESRC 1+3
University of Exeter, Faculty of Environment, Science and EconomyStart date: September 2022
Research topic: Word in edgeways: a creative pluralisation of climate change narratives
Through collaboration with the Eden Project, my research will work with communities in China, Chad, Colombia and Cornwall to elicit under-represented forms of climate change narrative using storytelling workshops.Research supervisors: Caitlin DesSilvey, Saffron O'Neill
Email: pdg203@exeter.ac.uk
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/polly-gregson/
Ryan Shum
Human Geography
PhD Researcher in Human Geography (ESRC +3)
University of Exeter, College of Life and Environmental SciencesStart date: October 2020
Research topic: How to care for microplastics: storying entanglements of microplastics through a speculative multi-sited ethnography
Microplastics are particles and fibres of heterogeneous size, shape and chemical composition less than 5mm in diameter found to be ubiquitous across the planet. This anthropogenic pollutant exposes the inextricable entanglements of plastic and human/more-than-human bodies which forces us think through what it would mean to respond and live well in a ‘permanently polluted world’ (Liboiron et al., 2018). My research aims to follow researchers pioneering ways of responding to microplastics to explore the extent to which the production of knowledge about microplastics and how to respond to them also reflects (or not) notions of care and responsibility.Research supervisors: Professor Gail Davies, Dr Angeliki Balayannis
Email: hs677@exeter.ac.uk
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShumRyan
Skylar Lindsay
Human Geography
1+3
University of Bristol September 2021Start date: September 2021
Research topic: Making quality coffee in Vietnam: Farmers, agricultural science and the production of value
I am a human geographer interested in agrarian change and the production of commodities, quality and value. My PhD research asks how coffee farmers in Vietnam work with specific value chains and agricultural science to improve their livelihoods by increasing the quality and value of their coffee. This project is driven by the need for policymakers, industry and consumers to build richer understandings of rural development and changing value chains from the perspectives of producers. Theoretically, this research is grounded in critical livelihood studies, commodity studies and science and technology studies.Research supervisors: Jonathan Rigg, Ed Atkins
Email: skylar.lindsay@bristol.ac.uk
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/skylarlindsay/
Website/Blog: https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/persons/skylar-lindsay
Taylor Butler-Eldridge
Human Geography
PhD Researcher in Human Geography (ESRC +3)
University of Exeter, College of Life and Environmental ScienceStart date: September 2021
Research topic: Open-Water Swimming and Environmental Health at Windermere, England’s Largest Lake.
My PhD research traces the different health motivations, responses, and complications of OWS at Windermere, England’s largest lake in the Lake District National Park. Specifically, the research questions the different bodily, socio-cultural, political, and environmental factors that shape these relational experiences of ‘healthy’ OWS practice. This wet, psychogeographically influenced, ethnographic inquiry is situated at two popular public bathing sites (Rayrigg Meadow and Millerground) across a full 12-month season. The PhD will make novel methodological contributions to health geographies, psychogeographies, and other transdisciplinary OWS research, whilst encouraging broader public engagement with existing (and potential) communities invested in Windermere. For more information, please visit: www.swimdermere.comPublications:
Butler-Eldridge, T. (2021). Taking a Pedagogic Chance with Psychogeography. RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2021 – 3rd Sept. [Online]. Royal Geographical Society: London.
Mcphie, J. and Butler-Eldridge, T. (2021). Slam Poetry, Giant Specs and a Psychogeography Monopoly Board: Progressive Directions for Outdoor Facilitation. In: Palmer, C. (Eds.). Arts-Based Learning in Outdoor Education. Sport and Wellbeing Press: Preston.
Butler-Eldridge, T., Bridger, A., Richardson, T., Cole, S. and Mcphie, J. (2019). Definitions, Debates and Directions for Contemporary Psychogeography. The Fourth World Congress of Psychogeography – 6th Sept. University of Huddersfield: Huddersfield.
Research supervisors: Dr Jennifer Lea, Professor John Wylie
Email: tb585@exeter.ac.uk
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylorbutlereldridge/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/taylorbutlereld
Website/Blog: http://www.swimdermere.com/
Tom Cantellow
Human Geography
PhD Researcher in Human Geography (ESRC +3)
University of Bristol, School of Geographical SciencesStart date: October 2020
Research topic: Spatial variations in the attachment of meaning to political engagement.
Tom’s research examines the manifestation of neoliberalism in British society. By reinforcing examinations of British socioeconomic policy with spatial analysis of sociodemographics, inequalities, and voting outcomes, he aims to produce novel insights into attitudes and trends across different places in Britain.Tom’s broader research interests include neoliberalism, political economy, international relations, voting, populism, social and political values, and spatial and statistical analysis, for which he predominantly uses R and QGIS.
Research supervisors: Professor Julie Macleavy, Professor David Manley
Email: t.cantellow@bristol.ac.uk
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tom_cantellow
Tommy Nagle
Human Geography
University of Exeter, Faculty of Environment, Science and EconomyStart date: September 24
Research topic: Renegade Software: Identity-Driven Cultural Economies of UK Drum & Bass Music
My research explores connections between culture and intersectional inclusion within the UK Drum & Bass (DnB). Following nearly a decade in music production, I am stepping back from the production networks to conduct a digital ethnography to examine how gendered and racial identities are promoted or excluded within contemporary DnB digital economies of peer production and influencer marketing. I am motivated by the potential for creating more equitable markets for my fellow producers and DJs through this research, with my research also partnering with several music labels to inform their diversity and inclusion strategies.Research supervisors: Dr Sam Kinsley, Dr Eliott Rooke
Email: tn320@exeter.ac.uk
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tommy-nagle-3a4218245
Twitter: https://bsky.app/profile/tommynagle.bsky.social
Website/Blog: https://tommynagle.uk/
Yuyue Sun
Human Geography
+3
University of Bristol, School of Geographical SciencesStart date: Sep-23
Research topic: The affective politics of the COVID-19 pandemic: lived experiences of Chinese diaspora in the UK
My research aims to understand the affective life of Chinese diasporas in the UK during and after COVID-19. The PhD project attends to the emotionally intensive ways in which migrant bodies, ordinary feelings and life (his)stories have been connected and shaped by technologies, policies and politics of the country’s pandemic management practices, thereby contributing to critical studies of crisis, governance and migration through an affective lens. Methodologically, it does so by facilitating alternative modes of narrating life during the pandemics using methods such life history interviewing and digital ethnography.Research supervisors: Dr Joe Gerlach, Dr Jennifer Crane
Email: ov22144@bristol.ac.uk
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yuyue-sun-36305b197/
South West Doctoral Training Partnership
