Professor Peter Hopkins
Professor of Social Geography

  • Email: peter.hopkins@ncl.ac.uk
  • Telephone: (0191) 222 3924
  • Address: School of Geography Politics and Sociology,
    Newcastle University,
    Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
    NE17RU

 

I am currently Professor of Social Geography in the School of Geography, Politics and Sociology and have recently served as the Postgraduate Director for the School (2010 - 2013) and as the Director of Postgraduate Research for Geography (2008-2012). I was promoted to a Personal Chair in 2012 after earlier promotions to Reader and Senior Lecturer following my arrival in Newcastle in 2007. Before this, I worked at Lancaster University as a Lecturer in Human Geography (in what was the Department of Geography) where I also completed a PGCert in Academic Practice. Previous to this, I spent short periods as a Research Fellow at Glasgow University and a Lecturer in Human Geography at the University of Edinburgh. I have a PhD from the University of Edinburgh and an MRes and BA(Hons) from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. 

Research interests

My research and teaching interests centre upon the challenges and complexities of inequality and justice. More specifically, my work draws attention to the exclusionary ways in which various forms of discrimination and marginalisation – such as racism, sexism, sizism, ageism and religious intolerance – shape people’s everyday lives, structure the resources available to them and influence who they can become. This work is built upon a commitment to empirical research that is informed both by current debates in academic literatures and theoretical understandings about society and space, as well as – where appropriate – concerns of relevance to policy makers and practitioners.

My work tends to draw upon urban social, feminist and anti-racist research and falls within the following three themes:

Young people, place and identity
- Young people, social identities and political inequalities
- Youth transitions and intergenerational relations
- Young migrants, asylum seekers, refugees and ethnic minority groups

Religion, faith and spirituality
- The everyday lives and spatialities of religious young people
- Gender and generational relations in religious communities
- Experiences of faith and spirituality across the lifecourse

Masculinities, ethnicities and place
- Religious, racialised and ethnicised masculinities
- Constructions of hegemonic and marginalised masculine identities
- Gendered identities, social exclusion and spatial justice

I am also interested in exploring issues connected with the use of various qualitative methods including participatory action research approaches, focus groups as well as research ethics. 

Please feel free to contact me if you are interested in pursuing PhD or postdoctoral research on topics related to the research areas noted above. 

Research Roles

Editor-in Chief of Gender, Place and Culture from March 2013 (served as an Editor during 2012 and Book Review Editor from 2009-2011)

Editorial board member of:
- Contemporary Islam (2008-)
- Gender, Place and Culture (2009-)
- Children's Geographies (2009-)

Member of the AHRC peer review college, 2010 -

External Associate, Centre for Education for Racial Equality in Scotland (CERES), University of Edinburgh

Co-editor (with Rachel Pain (Durham)) of a series of books on Gender, Space and Society with Ashgate.

Founding Chair of the RGS-IBG Geographies of Justice Research Group.

Past Co-Chair (with Elizabeth Olson (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)) of the Geography of Religions and Belief Systems Speciality Group of the Association of American Geographers.

Esteem Indicators

2011 Royal Geographical Society Gill Memorial Award for contributions to geographies of religion, youth and race. 

Vice Chancellor's Distinguished Teacher Award 2011 

Visiting Scholar, Religion Research Cluster, National University of Singapore (Jul-Aug 2008)
Visiting Scholar, School of Political and Social Inquiry, Monash University (Feb 2011)
Visiting Scholar, School of Social Sciences, University of Western Sydney (Feb-Apr 2011)
Visiting Scholar, School of Political and Social Inquiry, Monash University (Dec 2011)
Visting Scholar, Royal Melbourne Institute for Technology (Dec 2011)

Funding

Postgraduate Supervision

Current students include:
Kevin Brice is exploring the experiences of white British Muslims (self-funded, 2011 onwards) (with Anoop Nayak and Alastair Bonnett)
Sean Gill is studying young Poles' transitions to adulthood in Northumberland (ESRC +3 collaborative studentship with Northumberland County Council, 2013 onwards) (with Alison Stenning and Jane Walker)
Jennifer Lloyd is researching the embodied experiences of female transnationals (ESRC 1+3 studentship, 2010 onwards) (with Alastair Bonnett)
Naomi Maynard (Durham) is researching young people's experiences of participation: identity, citizenship and transition' (ESRC + 3 collaborative studentship with Investing in Children, 2012 onwards) (with Rachel Pain and Lynn Staeheli (both Durham))
Elinor Predota is researching male young people in woods and forests (ESRC Scottish Governmental Collaborative 1+3 studentship, 2008 onwards) (with Anoop Nayak and Rachel Pain (Durham))
Michael Richardson is exploring intergenerationality and Irish masculinities on Tyneside (ESRC +3 studentship, 2010 onwards) (with Anoop Nayak)
Carl Thompson's project is called ‘Me, Myself and Cyber I: sexuality, performativity and place’ (ESRC 1+3 studentship, 2013 onwards) (with Mark Casey)
Joanna Wiseman is studying the integration and identities of young asylum seekers in Scotland (ESRC +3 collaborative studentship with Scottish Refugee Council, 2011 onwards) (with Anoop Nayak, Clare Tudor and Gareth Mulvey).

Submitted and pending viva: 
Rachel Clements is researching Polish parenthood in Newcastle Upon Tyne (ESRC +3 studentship, 2008 onwards) (with Alison Stenning)
Erin Pritchard is studying how people with restricted growth are socially and spatially marginalized in society (ESRC +3 studentship, 2009 onwards) (with Janice McLaughlin)

Recently completed students include:
Rahielah Ali thesis is about 'Gender, faith and locality: Muslim women in Scotland’ (ESRC Scottish Governmental Collaborative +3 studentship, 2008 onwards) (with Anoop Nayak)
Alex Tan's thesis is about 'British Chinese youth transitions: cultural identity and youth formations in Newcastle upon Tyne' (ESRC +3 studentship, completed 2013) (with Anoop Nayak)
Thomas Burgoine's study is 'Predisposed to Obesity? A Study into Environmental Equity and the possible Obesogenic Environment of North East England' (ESRC 1+3, completed 2012) (with Seraphim Alvanides (Northumbria University) and Amelia Lake (Durham University))

External examining of PhD theses (Aberystwyth University, University of Hull, University of Chester, Leeds University, National University of Singapore, University of Western Sydney).

Memberships
 
Association of American Geographers
Royal Geographical Society with the Institute of British Geographers
Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
Muslims in Britain Research Network

Projects

Undergraduate Teaching 

I am the module leader for the following modules:
Geo2100 Contested Geographies of New York City
Geo3105 Young People, Place and Identity 

In addition to this, I contribute to the following modules:
Geo2043 Key Methods in Human Geography  
Geo2111 Doing Geographical Research: Theory and Practice
Geo3099 Dissertation

In 2011, I was awarded a Vice Chancellor's Distinguished Teacher Award, and in 2013 I was nominated and shortlisted for a Newcastle Teaching Excellence Award.

From 2010-2013, I was the external examiner for Geography at Dundee University. 

Postgraduate Teaching 

I make a small contribution to a postgraduate module:
HSS8104 Qualitative Methodology in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (contributor)