The Sonia Stonehouse Expedition Fund (SSEF) for Geography Dissertation Overseas Fieldwork

University expeditionIn 1948 a small group of Newcastle Geography undergraduates took part in a pioneering overseas expedition to Iceland. That first trip was guided by Hal Lister, a Reader in the Geography Department and noted Arctic explorer, but subsequent expeditions were organised and conducted by the students themselves, usually to carry out independent research and collect data for their final year dissertation thesis.

Over the next 40 years overseas student expeditions were a regular feature of the academic year, with trips to destinations including northern Norway, Greenland, Morocco, Senegal, Kenya, Java, the Faroes, the Himalayas, and the Yukon.

University expeditionSonia Stonehouse was a secretary in the Geography Department at Newcastle in the 1950s and early 1960s, during the time of active undergraduate overseas expeditions. Sadly Sonia passed away in 2007 and in remembrance of the happy time she spent in the Department her family, through kind donation, have established the Sonia Stonehouse Expedition Fund to support overseas fieldwork for dissertation research.

Through the fund we are able to make annual awards of up to £800 (typically £100-£400) to groups of Geography undergraduate students undertaking overseas fieldwork, as part of their compulsory dissertation in Physical or Human Geography.

University expeditionApplications are reviewed by a panel of academic staff on the basis of quality of research, depth of planning and logistics, and appropriate consideration of health and safety and ethical issues. Successful applicants are selected according to academic ability, energy and commitment to their studies and/or financial circumstances. Preference is given to teams of 2 or more students.

Eligibility

The fund is open to all F800, L701 FH82 and LK74 stage 2 students to help support overseas fieldwork for their final year dissertation. Individuals may apply but preference will be given to teams of 2 or more students. Similarly, preference will be given to proposals that demonstrate one or more of the following:

  • valuable experiences for Newcastle students and their counterparts from the host country
  • the least possible exposure to predictable risks
  • promotion of the University's and the School’s name
  • a lasting positive impacts for the locality and/or the host country

University expeditionApplication procedure

Application is via the SSEF application form (Word doc: 98KB) which should be filled in according to the application guidelines.

The closing date for applications is the last Friday in April.

 

Recent Geography SSEF awards have funded the following expeditions

2011

  • Olivia Mason, (Bosnia and Herzegovina) Dark Tourism: Motivations and Marketing in Post-conflict Sarajevo.
  • Sean Mongan, Joshua Robinson, Benjamin Storey. (South Africa) A Study into the Impacts of FIFA World Cup 2010 on Socio-Economic Change in Durban and three surrounding township areas.
  • Sarah Tupper. (South Africa). A new South Africa, a new identity? A critical analysis of the Zulu identity in contemporary South Africa

2010

  • Aoife Pearson. (Ghana) NGO representations of Ghana: A comparison of indigenous and international NGOs in Accra
  • Rhiannon Redpath. (Guatemala). A study into the role of Latter-day Saints missionaries within Post- Colonial development. Case Study: Quetzaltenango, Guatemala.
  • Saskia Dean. (Germany) Beyond The Wall: A study into sense of place in East Berlin.

2009

  • Emma Shearing. USA.  Little Truckee River Expedition, USA, 2009
  • Katherine Sheinman. (Israel) Jaffa’s Untold Stories: Israeli-Arab women, territoriality and identity in Jaffa, 2009.