Social and Cultural Geography Benchmarking

February 29, 2012

Dear Colleagues:

Thanks to those of you who were able to respond to my earlier request for information regarding the ESRC’s current ‘benchmarking review’ of UK human geography, chaired by Professor David Ley at UBC and being undertaken in partnership with the AHRC and RGS-IBG.

I was commissioned to provide an overview of social and cultural geography, covering the last ten years and seeking to answer the following three questions:

  1. How has research in social and cultural geography in the UK developed over the last ten years, and what are the major strengths and weaknesses of the field?
  2. How does UK research in social and cultural geography compare with research produced by colleagues in other countries?
  3. Can you suggest some examples of key academic outputs by UK scholars (books and other publications) that have made an important contribution to scholarship and/or have helped to set or move intellectual agendas in the field?

My draft report is attached here, with an invitation to provide any further comment by Monday 12 March.  The final report has to be submitted on 19 March

Please send your comments and suggestions to: p.a.jackson@sheffield.ac.uk

Your help will be very much appreciated and will contribute directly to the review process.

 

Thanks and best wishes

Peter Jackson