Dear Emma (and listmembers),



Further to Susan's response - it might be of interest to investigate the removal of Geography and Sociology (as well as other subjects such as Community Education) from the UG curriculum at the University of Strathclyde, and the subsequent scattering of staff. Full disclosure: I was a UG student there from 2003-2007. Dr Wun Chan has written on this in the Scottish Geographical Journal: 



Chan, Wun Fung (2011) Mourning geography : a punctum, Strathclyde and the death of a subject. Scottish Geographical Magazine, 127 (4). pp. 255-266.



The closure of that programme raised real questions about the direction that the University was taking in terms of the applicability and 'impact' of research, as well as - for me at least - the disciplinary effects of changing administrative structures within Universities. 



A side note - as the programme wound down, I believe the staff of Geography and Sociology moved from their own (albeit interdisciplinary, and otherwise 'porous') space in the Graham Hills Building to an open space in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. I have long been interested in what this action sought to achieve, and what this kind of work-organisation (which appears increasingly common within HE institutions, despite attendant problems of productivity, ensuring privacy in meetings, and seeing students with a degree of confidentiality) *does* in the academic context. Was it influenced by current thinking around creativity, and innovation? (see Hodgson and Briand 2013, 'Controlling the uncontrollable: Agile teams and illusions of autonomy in creative work', Work Employment Society 27 (308), np). Did it work to erode disciplinary identity? Did it arise as a result of seeing social science as providing 'value added' to other subjects such as STEM and Business? Peripheral questions perhaps, but feeding into wider issues about the drive to strengthen links between academia and other sectors, authority, control, and the organisation of academic labour, methinks.



Very best wishes, 



Ealasaid







​Ealasaid Munro,

Research associate, the Supporting Creative Business project,

Room 408,

University of Glasgow Centre for Cultural Policy Research,

School of Culture and Creative Arts, 

13 Professor Square

G12 8QQ



Tel: 01413 302447

Mob: 07791 545 225





-----Original Message-----

From: A forum for critical and radical geographers [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Emma Saunders

Sent: 07 January 2015 07:43

To: [log in to unmask]

Subject: Geography department moves: call for info



Good morning,



Having just registered for a postgraduate course in the geography department of Edinburgh University, I was surprised to find that a large scale move has been planned to merge in one building the various sub-disciplines of the (recently created) School of Geosciences such as geography, geology, ecology...



In 2004, the geography department joined this administrative unit because of the shared grant applications with the physical sciences and the fact that geography sat uneasily in all the various larger units. Staff in its majority accepted this merger with the understanding that this administrative change would bear no consequences on the organisation and running of the discipline. The geography department indeed remained in a specific central building, where both human and physical geographers worked whilst the other disciplines of the School of Geosciences were based in an campus far from city centre.



The School of Geosciences now holds a vision of a 'single-site'  

building to be located in the Science campus far from city centre.  

Many lecturers and students in the geography department have expressed concerns that such a location would both marginalise 'radical'  

geographies and hinder collaboration across the social sciences. Many have also questioned the assumptions underlying the move and lack of evidence to support such a change.



I am interested in hearing positive and negative stories, experiences and consequences for geography departments, staff and students of similar mergers and moves. If you have any to share, please send them to this email address. This stems from a desire to research the consequences of such moves and mergers and assess how wide spread a phenomenon this is.



In the mean time, i wish you a happy, challenging and surprising new year,



Best,



emma saunders





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