Author Archives: Fiona

Final words for the Finalists:

Posted on 17 May 2013 by Fiona

All our very best wishes and… from Carly, Fiona, James K, James P & Richard

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Being-in-landscape: fieldwork at Blenheim

Posted on 1 May 2013 by Fiona

“Geography without fieldwork would be like science without experiments” (Bland 1996).  Written in the Geography Teachers Handbook, this advice echoes the sentiments of Carl Sauer, American professor of Geography (1923-1957) who believed that fieldwork was the definitive activity of geographers.  … Continue reading →

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Mountains: A Rather Special Landscape – by Josh O’Shaughnessy

Posted on 7 April 2013 by Fiona

First year geographers have recently studied landscapes and cultural geography. Recent events, including accidents in Scotland and the death of George Lowe, the last surviving member of the 1953 Everest team, have highlighted how mountains exert such a powerful sway … Continue reading →

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Urban Routes and Social Geographies

Posted on 4 April 2013 by Fiona

You will, by now, be aware that Professor Danny Dorling, is to join the SOGE in September as the Halford Mackinder Professor of Human Geography.  Some of Professor Dorling’s key contributions to geography have involved mapping social inequalities, particularly within … Continue reading →

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Pitt Rivers Museum – knowing the world through objects

Posted on 5 March 2013 by Fiona

Keble College is superbly placed across the road from the Pitt Rivers Museum: home to the University of Oxford’s anthropological and world archaeological collections.  Founded by Augustus Pitt Rivers in 1884, the musuem enables the visitor to explore the past … Continue reading →

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Dans le jardin: landscapes of power and ambition

Posted on 12 February 2013 by Fiona

Recommended viewing:Monty Don’s French Gardens Prelim. cultural geography lectures delivered by Derek McCormack are designed “to explore the importance of cultural processes in shaping the meaning and experience of space and place”. You are asked to consider how cultural landscapes, … Continue reading →

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DO4 Models

Posted on 8 February 2013 by Fiona

by James King You may have noticed that in some of your lectures recently that a picture of a very white and very large salt pan (Google Map) has been shown with reference to a project that some faculty are … Continue reading →

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Still capturing the kinetic

Posted on 4 February 2013 by Fiona

I would like to share this photograph with you for the way the artist has played with ideas of relative mobility and stillness.  Is your eye most drawn to the red-sailed yacht nearest the foreground which, in its sharpness, appears … Continue reading →

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Lead to Inspire: a case study on immigrant community empowerment in London

Posted on 11 December 2012 by Fiona

Prelim. Human Geography lectures in Hilary Term will introduce the topic of migration.  In addition to journal articles and books, there are a range of sources that will be useful for exploring contemporary issues, e.g. UK Border Agency, International Organisation for … Continue reading →

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Hi-tech cities: London v. Berlin

Posted on 29 November 2012 by Fiona

A year ago to the day, Ali posted an article to the blog: Agglomeration: the promise of the Tech City. Focused on London’s growth as potential tech capital of Europe, he argued that “the next ‘Silicon – [insert geographical term … Continue reading →

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European territories and identities: Catalonian sovereignty

Posted on 25 November 2012 by Fiona

SPS Michaelmas lectures have explored relations between space and political processes and raised questions on the form of the nation-state, centralised power and politics.  This programme builds on the prelim. Human Geography lectures on territories and identities, which the first … Continue reading →

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GMT, MFIs, and other lessons from Africa

Posted on 17 November 2012 by Fiona

During the summer, between second and third year, Keble Geographers spend at least six weeks working on their own research projects towards the dissertation component of FHS.  For some students, this involves fieldwork abroad. Callum White chose to travel to … Continue reading →

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A MINI Fieldtrip

Posted on 24 October 2012 by Fiona

by Joshua O’Shaughnessy On Monday, first year geographers and their tutors made a visit to the BMW Mini factory in Cowley, partly with the aim of seeing somewhere other than central Oxford but also to gain an understanding of the … Continue reading →

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Radio 4 broadcast on Immigration

Posted on 23 October 2012 by Fiona

How far should an open society continue to accept outsiders? Radio 4′s “Public Philosopher” series delved into a lively debate on immigration this evening. In a public discussion hosted at the University of Dallas, Texas (a state that shares a … Continue reading →

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Earth Systems Processes: Ochre sands from the sea

Posted on 16 October 2012 by Fiona

The yellowish-red earth you see in this photograph is the ochre sand of the Luberon in Provence, Southern France.  Ochre is an earth pigment composed of mineral oxides, which produce these rich colours.  In this example, a combination of kaolin, … Continue reading →

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