I am Acting Director of the Confucius Institute at Newcastle University and I am a Senior lecturer in Town Planning in APL.

Academic Biography 

My work sits between research on the history of ideas, historical imaginaries, collective memory, (including national narratives), nostalgia, the politics of history and the uses and abuses of history.  In my career, I have often examined the role of the uses of history and historical imaginaries in the production of architecture, cityscapes/townscapes, urban conservation and heritage. Whilst my early research explored British/English cases, since 2010 I have investigated Chinese case studies.  In this respect, in the last decade, I have become an enthusiastic student of Chinese studies (Sinology).  

Broadly speaking my research interests relate to:

Social theory

the history of ideas

historical imaginaries

Collective memory

nostalgia

the politics of history

the uses of the past

the use and abuse of history

heritage

nationalism

national narratives

race and ethnicity

Chinese studies

Subject areas

My research is interdisciplinary and hopefully speaks to the disciplines of sociology, history, human geography, architecture, planning and Chinese studies.

Visiting academic positions

I have been a visiting scholar, visiting researcher and/or a visiting lecturer at the following institutions:

Xi'an Jiaotong University (March-April, 2019); Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (July, 2017); Xiamen University (July, 2017); Xi'an University of Architectural Technology (May-July, 2013); Wuhan University (March-May, 2013); Peking University (February, 2013; August, 2013).

Recent Work: Chinese cultural history and urban studies

In recent years, I have become a very enthusiastic student of Chinese studies (Sinology). I say student because my Mandarin needs to improve and because I am still finding my feet, I often work in teams with other Chinese researchers. Specifically, my research has mainly been concerned with Chinese culture, nostalgia, politics, heritage and urban development.

On my travels to China I have visited the following very interesting places: Beijing, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Hong Kong, Jining, Macau, Qingdao, Qufu, Shanghai, Suzhou, Wuhan, Xiamen and Xi'an.  In the near future, I hope to visit more places in the PRC.

Research led teaching

Stage 3: Chinese Cultural history and urban development: With Ms Qianqian Qin and Prof Rose Gilroy, I now run a stage 3 AUP course which explores the cultural history of Chinese city making and planning.  As well as examining ancient city planning, we also investigate in detail the contemporary status of the Chinese city and the social, cultural, economic and political processes that shape it.

Stage 2: Study visit:  With Ms Qianqian Qin, I now run an undergraduate fieldtrip to Beijing.  The first trip ran this year (March, 2019) during which  we visited scholars, practitioners and town planners at Peking University, (Professor Bin Lu and Professor Pengjun Zhao), the Tsinghua Institute and 798.  We also visit the Forbidden City and the Yuanmingyuan Gardens amongst other things.

Applications for Doctoral Work

I welcome applications for doctoral study; I welcome students, who want to develop projects on urban development, time, memory, nostalgia, identity and heritage; And of course, reflecting my recent work, I am very interested in project students that are keen to study issues in and around Chinese culture, nostalgia, politics, heritage and urban development. 

Languages: Mandarin

Above tourist level Mandarin (but a long way to go yet): On the 6th of January, 2016 I learnt that I passed the Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK) level 2 Mandarin Chinese Proficiency test. In the future I shall study for the HSK Level 3 Mandarin Chinese Proficiency test.

Outside of Work

Outside of work I am a keen walker and Chess player.  I also spend my time reading and sometimes trying to write fiction. I love listening to music, reading novels and watching movies. When I was younger I enjoyed Skateboarding.  Whilst I have retired this hobby, I still take an interest in Skateboarding culture broadly.

Current PhD/MPhil Supervision

Ang Gao - Reading Jiaoxing Village - PhD by Creative Film Practice - (with Dr Ian McDonald).

Lu Bao - Spatial Contest across Scales: A Study of Transportation Nodes at Dalian and Taipei and Multi-Scalar Spatial Politics in Japan’s Colonial Project in East Asia (1895-1945) 

Mohanad Alfelali - The history, sociology and heritage of Mecca (with Dr John Kamara and Dr Josep-Maria Garcia Fuentes) 

Submissions:

Lu Wang - Facilities for ageing middle class subjects in China (with Prof. Rose Gilroy).

Amelia Joicey - The history and sociology of the Northern Stage Theatre - DTC AHRC awards - AHRC Funded - (with Dr Rosalind Haslett).

Asmarani Februandari - Chinese culture and heritage - particularly in relation to China towns - in Indonesia - Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education - (with Prof. Pendlebury).

Completed PhD's 

Dr Rorie Parsons - Social Practice theory and networks of cycling - ESRC Funded - (With Prof Vigar).

Dr Xi Chen - Colonial heritage on an island in Wenzhou - PhD by creative practice - (with Prof Chiles and Dr Beattie).

Dr Zhang Su - Feng Shui, urban design and planning (Self-funded). (with Prof Madanipour).

Dr Tom Brigden - The Richmond View: transatlantic landscapes (AHRC Funded) - 2014. (With Prof. Sharr). 

• 12^th of March 2020 – I was nominated for a Teaching Education Award (TEA).  The category for which I was nominated was ‘Outstanding Contribution to Student Employability’.

• 14^th of May 2013 – I was nominated for a Teaching Excellence Award (TEA). The category for which I was nominated was “Innovative Teaching Method of the year”.

• • 15th of May 2012 – I was awarded a prize for ‘Innovation in postgraduate supervision/teaching’ by the School of Architecture, planning and landscape.

• Law A, Bonnett A, Zhu Y, Li Y, Yang Y, Qin Q. Cultural nationalist and state led discourses of humiliation and rejuvenation in the shaping of historic urban branding in the mid-western Chinese city of Xi’an. 2022. In Preparation.
• Law A, Qin Q. Pre-Qing imaginaries, values, practices, and Chinese identities: the contemporary Hanfu movement as a marginal generational culture. 2022. Submitted.
• Pendlebury J, Wang Y-W, Law A. Re-using ‘uncomfortable heritage’: the case of the 1933 building, Shanghai. In: Li, Y. González Martínez, P, ed. Re-creating Shanghai: Heritage Conservation and Urban Regeneration. Springer, 2022. In Press.
• Law A. Situating strategic or hybrid Confucianism(s): issues and problematics. Dialogues in Human Geography 2021, 11(2), 257-260.
• Li Y, Huang J, Law A. Research Frameworks, methodologies, and assessment methods concerning the adaptive reuse of architectural heritage: A Review. Built Heritage 2021, 5, 6.
• Qin Q, Law A. The Case of the North Lake (Beihu) Ecological New Town in Jining, Shandong: Discourses of Class, Taste, Luxury Consumption and ‘Conduct’. In: Abdulai, RT; Azuah, KGB, ed. Sustainable Real Estate in the Developing World. Emerald Publishing Limited, 2021, pp.83-114.
• Li Y, Xie J, Gao X, Law A. A Method of selecting potential development regions based on GPS and social network models – from the perspective of tourist behavior. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research 2021, 26(2), 183-199.
• Law A. Heritage Politics in China: The Power of the Past, by Yujie Zhu and Christina Maags [Book review]. International Journal of Heritage Studies 2021, 27(4), 423-425.
• Law A. The Role of History, Nostalgia and Heritage in the Construction and Indigenisation of State-led Political and Economic Identities in Contemporary China. In: Ludwig C; Walton L; Wang Y, ed. The Heritage Turn in China: The Reinvention, Dissemination and Consumption of Heritage. Amsterdam University Press: International Institute of Asian Studies in association with Amsterdam University Press, 2020, pp.215-238.
• Law A, Chen X. ‘Absent–Present’ Heritage: The Cultural Heritage of Dwelling on the Changjian (Yangtze) River. In: Hein C, ed. Adaptive Strategies for Water Heritage. Berlin: Springer, Cham, 2020, pp.272-289.
• Law A. Carrico, Kevin: The Great Han. Race, Nationalism, and Tradition in China Today. Oakland: University of California Press. Anthropos 2019, 114(2), 573-574.
• Lyu Z, Tang J, Wu X, Law A. The Research of English Vernacular Architecture History since 16th Century to Mid 20th Century (in Chinese). The Architect 2019, (6), 64-76.
• Law A. How do we interpret the history, collective memory and uses of old buildings? The problem of urban branding and historic urban branding?. Shanghai Daily 2018.
• Law A. Andrew Law on Chinese Ecologies - China's Urban Revolution: Understanding Chinese Eco-Cities by Austin Williams London: Bloomsbury, 2017 220pp. Price £17.99 (pb). Architectural Research Quarterly 2018, 21(3), 281-283.
• Law A. Brumann, Christoph & David Berliner (eds). (2016) World Heritage on the ground: ethnographic perspectives. viii, 327 pp., illus., bibliogrs. London, New York: Berghahn Books. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 2018, 24(1), 201-202.
• Pendlebury J, Wang Y, Law A. Re-using 'uncomfortable heritage': The case of the 1933 Building, Shanghai. International Journal of Heritage Studies 2018, 24(3), 211-229.
• Law A, Qin Q. Searching for economic and cosmopolitan roots: the historical discourse of “Hankou Merchant Port Nostalgia” in the central Chinese city of Wuhan 武汉. METU Journal of the Faculty of Architecture 2018, 35(2), 173-195.
• Law A, Veldpaus L. Colonial nostalgia, growth coalitions and urban planning in China. Urbanistica Informazioni 2017, 272(Special issue, part 4), 400-408.
• Law A. The role of history, nostalgia and heritage in the construction of entrepreneurial Chinese Cities. In: Asia in Motion: Beyond Borders and Boundaries, as part of the Association of Asian Studies. 2017, Korea University, Seoul, South Korea.
• Law A. Discourse. In: Richardson, D; Castree, N; Goodchild, MF; Kobayashi, AL; Liu, W; Marston, R, ed. The International Encyclopedia of Geography: People, the Earth, Environment, and Technology. New York: Association of American Geographers; Wiley, 2017.
• Law A. Kite Zhang's Kites. The Crack Magazine - Newcastle 2016.
• Li Y, Ye Y, Xiao L, Xu W, Law A, Wang D. Classifying Community Space at a Historic Tourism Site through Cognitive Mapping and GPS Tracking: The Case of Gulangyu, China. Urban Design International 2016, 22(3), 127-149.
• Law A. Unknotting the Heart: Unemployment and Therapeutic Governance in China, by Jie Yang. ILR Press, Ithaca, NY, 2015. British Journal of Industrial Relations 2016, 54(3), 673-675.
• Law A. Searching for “deep modernities” in the construction of modern Chinese identities: using history and heritage in the indigenisation of global capitalist modernity in Chinese cities’. In: The 2016 International Symposium on Reclaiming Identity and (Re)Materializing Pasts: Approaches to Heritage Conservation in China. 2016, Xi'an-Jiaotong Liverpool University, Suzhou, China.
• Sturzaker J, Law A. The rising Chinese middle class and the 'construction' of new countryside. In: Verdini G; Wang Y; Zhang X, ed. Urban China's Rural Fringe: Actors, Dimensions and Management Challenges. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2016, pp.33-60.
• Li Y, Xiao L, Ye Y, Xu W, Law A. Understanding tourist space at a historic site through space syntax analysis: The case of Gulangyu, China. Tourism Management 2016, 52, 30-43.
• Law A. Searching for “New Modernities” and constructing Chinese modern identities: Using history and heritage in the indigenization of global capitalist modernity in Chinese cities. In: Heritage of China International Symposium. 2016, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Suzhou.
• Law A. The House of Commons workshop approach. Newcastle upon Tyne: Newcastle University, 2015.
• Law A. The lives of Chinese objects, Buddhism, imperialism and display, by Louise Tythacott. Berghahn Books, 2011 [Book review]. International Journal of Heritage Studies 2015, 21(3), 306-308.
• Law A. Humiliation Heritage in China: Discourse, Affectual Governance, and Displaced Heritage at Tiananmen Square. In: Convery, I; Corsane, G; Davis, P, ed. Displaced Heritage: Responses to Disaster, Trauma and Loss. Woodbridge, UK: The Boydell Press, 2014, pp.165-173.
• Brooks E, Law A, Huang L-J. A comparative analysis of retrofitting historic buildings for energy efficiency in the UK and China . disP - The Planning Review 2014, 50(3), 66-75.
• Brooks E, Law A, Huang LJ. A Comparative Study on Historic Building Regeneration Between the UK and China: A Perspective on Energy Efficiency. Urban Planning International 2014, 2(139), 29-35.
• Law A. Social Protest and Contentious Authoritarianism in China edited by Xi Chen (Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2011). Journal of International Development 2014, 26(2), 297-298.
• Law A. Brace, C. John-Putra, A., 'Process, Landscape and Text', Amsterdam; New York: Rodopi, 2010. Landscape Research 2013, 38(1), 154-156.
• Law A. Balancing commercial and heritage scapes: Atmosphere, vitality and sterility in the urban conservation spaces of Shanghai. In: AESOP 26th Annual Congress. 2012, Ankara, Turkey.
• Law A. Balancing Development and Heritage Scapes: Can New Kinds of Creative Industry Save the Lilongs of Shanghai?. Intertrade 2012, 11(371), 4-13.
• Law A. Postcolonial Shanghai: An Urban Discourse of Prosperity and Futurity. In: Rajagopalan, M; Desai, M, ed. Colonial Frames, Nationalist Histories: Imperial Legacies, Architecture, and Modernity. Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate, 2012, pp.285-304.
• Ballantyne A, Law A. Architecture: The Tudoresque Diaspora. In: String, TC, Bull, M, ed. Tudorism: Historical imagination and the Appropriation of the Sixteenth Century. Oxford: Oxford University Press/British Academy, 2011, pp.155-181.
• Ballantyne A, Law A. Genealogy of the Singaporean black-and-white house. Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography 2011, 32(3), 301-313.
• Law A. Rising Shanghai: state power and local transformations in a global megacity, edited by Xiangming Chen with Zhenhua Zhou, Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press, 2009 [Book review]. Planning Perspectives 2011, 26(2), 325-327.
• Ballantyne A, Law A. Tudoresque Vernacular and the self-reliant Englishman. In: Guillery, P, ed. Built From Below: British Architecture and the Vernacular. Oxon, UK: Routledge, 2011, pp.123-144.
• Ballantyne A, Law A. Tudoresque: In Pursuit of the Ideal Home. London: Reaktion Books, 2011.
• Law A. Weighty histories and the industrial city: New creative economic spaces in the production of alternative heritage and identity. Intertrade 2011, 8(356), 55-62.
• Law A. Theme Park, London: Reaktion books , Lukas, S.A (2008) [book review]. Landscape Research 2010, 35(1), 139-141.
• Law A. Searching for Entrepreneurial and Economic Legacies in the 'Golden Age' of the Tang Dynasty. In: International Conference on China Urban Development. 2010, The University of Hong Kong.
• Grisola JM, Willis KG, Wymer C, Law A. Social engagement and regional theatre: patterns of theatre attendance. Cultural Trends 2010, 19(3), 225-244.
• Law A. The problem of sustainability and the historic city. Municipal Engineer 2010, 163(3), 127-130.
• Law A. Loukaki, A, (2008) Living Ruins, Value Conflicts, (within the Heritage, Culture and Identity series), Aldershot: Ashgate. European Spatial Research and Policy 2009, 16(1), 159-161.
• Law A. Constructing a Sense of Place: Architecture andthe Zionist Discourse. Yacobi, Haim (ed.). Aldershot,Ashgate 2004. Geografiska Annaler. Series B. Human Geography 2005, 87(3), 241-242.
• Law A. English Townscape as Cultural and Symbolic capital. In: Ballantyne, A, ed. Architectures: Modernism and After. Malden, MA; Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2004, pp.202-226.
• Law A. The built heritage conservation movement : landscapes of Englishness and social class. (PhD Thesis). Newcastle upon Tyne: School of Geography, Politics and Sociology, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, 2004.
• Law A. The City Cultures Reader edited by Malcolm Miles,Tim Hall and Iain Borden. London: Routledge, 2000. Area 2002, 34(2), 221-222.
• Law A. Out of place. Englishness, empire, and the locations of identity (Book review). Progress in Human Geography 2000, 24(4), 673-674.