- A516 Portland Square, Drake Circus, Plymouth, PL4 8AA
- +44 1752 584705
- nichola.harmer@plymouth.ac.uk
Profiles
Dr Nichola Harmer
Lecturer in Human Geography
School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences (Faculty of Science and Engineering)
Biography
Biography
Lecturer in Human Geography
Qualifications
PhD Human Geography, Plymouth University, 2013.
MA Politics (International Relations), University of Exeter, 1993.
BA (Hons) American Studies (Literature), University of Sussex, 1989.
PGCAP Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice, University of Plymouth 2017
Professional membership
Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society with IBG
Fellow of Advance HE
Teaching
Teaching
Teaching interests
I am currently Stage 2 tutor for Geography, International Exchanges Co-ordinator for Geography. I teach on a range of undergraduate Geography modules. At Stage One these include leading our Sustainable Futures module (GGX1206) and teaching about research methods in our Changing Places module (GGH1202). I lead and teach on Stage Four module: Citizenship, Territory, War (GGH3208) and co-teach on Environmental Politics and Governance (GGH3210). I am a personal/academic tutor across the undergraduate stages for our Geography with International Relations students. I supervise undergraduate dissertations in Human Geography and supervise masters level dissertations in Sustainable Environmental Management. I also teach on the MRes Human Geography. I am currently second supervisor for one PhD student researching the impacts of fracking on rural communities in the UK and another PhD student examining the implementation of environmental legislation in Gibraltar. .
Research
Research
Research interests
My research interest cover three main areas with some significant overlap: the relationship between the UK and the British Overseas Territories, sustainability and creative approaches to research in human geography, particularly literature and art. My PhD focused on perceptions of the contemporary relationship between the UK and the overseas territories, focusing on issues of power, identity and ethics. More recently I have researched UK Parliamentary debate on the overseas territories and am currently examining parliamentary discourse on marine and terrestrial environments in the overseas territories. I have also contributed to research and co-authored articles on a wide range of sustainability issues including eco-cities, climate change adaptation, and emissions trading schemes. Having studied American Literature for my undergraduate degree, I am also interested in literary geographies and have written on post-peak oil apocalyptic fiction. I am currently working on a collaboration with artist Naomi Hart on artistic representation of parliamentary debate on environmental issues in the UK overseas territories.
Publications
Publications
Key publications
Key publications are highlighted
Journals
Articles
(2022) 'UK state identity-making and British overseas territories’ environments in times of ecological crisis and geopolitical change' Small States and Territories Publisher Site Open access
(2020) 'Ferries as travelling landscapes: tourism and watery mobilities' International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research ahead-of-print, (ahead-of-print) , DOI Open access
(2018) 'The value of 'having a go': Trialling a project-based learning activity to inform curriculum design' Journal of Geoscience Education 66, (4) , DOI Open access
(2018) 'Spaces of concern: Parliamentary discourse on Britain's overseas territories' Geographical Journal , DOI Open access
(2018) '“You don't want to peer over people's shoulders, it feels too rude!”: the moral geographies of using participants’ personal smartphones in research' Area 51, (1) 131-141 , DOI Open access
(2017) 'Designing New Zealand’s Emissions Trading Scheme' Global Environmental Politics 17, (3) 31-50 , DOI Open access
(2017) 'Crude geopolitics: territory and governance in post-peak oil imaginaries' Territory, Politics, Governance , DOI Open access
(2016) '“Choice may not necessarily be a good thing”: student attitudes to autonomy in interdisciplinary project-based learning in GEES disciplines' Journal of Geography in Higher Education 40, (4) , DOI Open access
(2015) 'Distant Relations: Identity and Materiality in Elite Discourse on Britain's Overseas Territories' Global Society 29, (4) 510-529 , DOI
(2015) 'Community resilience and land degradation in forest and shrubland socio-ecological systems: Evidence from Gorgoglione, Basilicata, Italy' Land Use Policy 46, 11-20 Publisher Site , DOI Open access
(2015) '‘ECO’ FOR WHOM? Envisioning Eco-urbanism in the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city, China' International Journal of Urban and Regional Research , DOI
(2015) 'A good move? Young people’s comparisons of rural and urban living in Britain' Childhood , DOI
(2014) 'Climate Change Response at the Farm Level: A Review of Farmers’ Awareness and Adaptation Strategies in Developing Countries' Geography Compass 8, (11) 808-822 , DOI Open access
(2014) 'The Benefits and Challenges of Project-Based Learning: a Review of the Literature' PedRIO Paper 6 Publisher Site
Chapters
(2021) 'Working with literary texts' in Von Benzon N; Holton M; Wilkinson C; Wilkinson S Creative Methods for Human Geographers Sage 193-204
(2020) 'Territory, identity and the UK Overseas Territories' in Storey D A Research Agenda for Territory and Territoriality Edward Elgar Publishing 83-102 , DOI
(2017) '‘Spatialising urban sustainability transitions: eco-cities, multilevel
perspectives and the political ecology of scale in the Bohai Rim, China'' in Frantzeskaki N; Castan-Broto E; Coenen L; Loorbach D Urban Sustainability Transitions Routledge
(2017) 'Adopting and designing New Zealand’s emissions trading scheme' in Wettestad J; Gulbrandsen LH The Evolution of Carbon Markets: Design and Diffusion London and New York Routledge 105-123