Cultural Geography Blog

Sad news of the death of John Ryan, who was famous for creating Captain Pugwash. He was also involved with the production of the classic urban geography resource called Mary, Mungo and Midge that was part of my childhood...

I have been involved on the margins of a new project with geographical connections which is being developed by the Bridgeman Art Library. Here is some further information on the Bridgeman Art Library and the project itself... w ww.bridgemanart.com The Bridgeman Art Library founded in 1972, is one of the leading sources of cultural heritage imagery, working with museums, private collections and art collections in the UK and internationally. Over a million high quality resolution images cover subjects such as art, archaeology, architecture, history, geography, science and medicine, manuscripts, society, photography, religion and politics. We also have portraits of all the leading personalities throughout history from Archimedes to Obama. These images have traditionally been licensed to educational publishers (in a wide range of materials), fiction/non-fiction publishers, TV/Film companies, electronic producers and the media. We support museums by returning 50% of our fees ba...

This annual event takes place this year on the 31st of October at the Edinburgh Academy in Edinburgh. This year's SAGT keynote speakers include the mountaineer and author Andy Cave, and Ollie Bray. The theme is "Today's Geography , Tomorrow's World". I will be doing Workshop 10: "A Different View : what's your view ?" Go HERE to download your conference programme and book a place. (PDF download) The conference costs £60 for non-SAGT members , and £35 for SAGT members The description of my workshop is below: A Different View”: what’s your view ? Presenter Alan Parkinson Secondary Curriculum Development Leader, Geographical Association In April 2009, the Geographical Association published its ‘manifesto for geography’. Called ‘a different view’, it explores the nature of school geography, and suggests an approach to teaching the subject called ‘living geography’. The manifesto takes the form of a booklet with stunning images and text, a poster and p...

Sitting on my colleague's desk today at the GA was a copy of Carl Lee's intriguing new book, which I went out to get a copy of later that day. Called "Home: a personal geography of Sheffield" Have also been invited along to a conference that Carl is organising in September on Inequality. Article in the Sheffield Telegraph gives a flavour for the background "I wanted to write a geography book for people who wouldn't normally read a geography book. "I also wanted to try and get to the heart of why Sheffield was such a great place to live. I've thought the city is one of the best-kept secrets of Britain. I've had a go at exploring the ingredients that make up the city and contribute to it being such a great place to live. "I hope that Sheffield can continue to be the radical city that shaped its creation, now more than ever we need to think about alternatives to the discredited status quo. "Sheffield was one of the first industrial ...

Me on Crosby Beach, 2007 Antony Gormley is an artist whose work I have come across in numerous locations, from Crosby Beach to the O2 and even on a friend's wall (a long story). His latest project ONE AND OTHER involves the vacant fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square. The website has a live web feed of the activity. Was considering applying to go on the plinth in October. There's still a chance to get an hour of Geography up there... Anyone else got a place ?