Ron J. Johnston
Encyclopedia
Ronald John Johnston, OBE
, AcSS
, FBA
(born 30 March 1941 in Swindon
, England
) is a British
human geographer
, noted for elaborating his discipline's foundations, particularly its history and nature, and for his contributions to urban social geography and electoral geography
. His broad scope is illustrated by the fact that he makes extensive use of quantitative methods, while critically
dealing with subjects of social and political relevance. Johnston also is an exceptionally productive author: As of December 2009, he has authored or co-authored more than 50 books and 800 papers, and edited or co-edited a further more than 40 books (if translated and revised editions are counted separately). To students, he might be best known as the managing editor for the first four editions of The Dictionary of Human Geography.
in 1962 and 1964, respectively, he moved to Monash University
in Melbourne, Australia. There, Johnston obtained a Ph.D. degree, and came in contact with what has become known as the quantitative revolution
of geography. He also wrote his first paper on urban social geography during that time. From 1967–1974, he was part of the academic staff at the University of Canterbury
in Christchurch, New Zealand, where his interest in electoral geography began to develop. Johnston then was appointed professor at the University of Sheffield
. In 1979, Geography and Geographers, which he has updated and expanded every few years since then, and whose various editions have been translated into four languages, was published. Johnston became co-editor of the two journals Progress in Human Geography
and Environment and Planning A that same year. In 1981, the first edition of The Dictionary of Human Geography, to which Johnston has contributed hundreds of articles, was published. It has maintained its status as the discipline's authoritative dictionary ever since. After serving as pro-vice-chancellor for academic affairs of the University of Sheffield, he became vice-chancellor of the University of Essex
in 1992. Since 1995, Johnston has been professor at the University of Bristol
. He resigned from the editorial boards of both Progress in Human Geography and Environment and Planning A in 2006.
and the SCI
, he was identified as the second most cited geographer for 1981–1985, and the third most cited one for 1986–1990. In another citation count that covered more than 20 years (1981–October 2002), this time based on the SSCI and the A&HCI
, Johnston was listed as one of twelve geographers who had been cited more than 1000 times.
Among the most prestigious awards Johnston has received are the Murchison Award
(1985) and the Victoria Medal
(1990) by the Royal Geographical Society
, the Prix Vautrin Lud
at the International Geography Festival 1999, and a lifetime achievement award from the Association of American Geographers
(2009). Furthermore, he holds honorary doctorates from the University of Essex (D.Univ. 1996), Monash University (LL.D. 1999), the University of Sheffield (Litt.D. 2002) and the University of Bath
(Litt.D. 2005), is a founding member of the Academy of Social Sciences
, and was elected an ordinary fellow of the British Academy
in 1999.
Johnston was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2011 Birthday Honours
for services to scholarship.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, AcSS
Academy of Learned Societies for the Social Sciences
The Academy of Social Sciences is a research body in the UK. , the Academy was composed of over 450 Academicians and 32 Learned Societies. Academicians are distinguished scholars and practitioners from academia and the public and private sectors...
, FBA
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national body for the humanities and the social sciences. Its purpose is to inspire, recognise and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences, throughout the UK and internationally, and to champion their role and value.It receives an annual...
(born 30 March 1941 in Swindon
Swindon
Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
) is a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
human geographer
Human geography
Human geography is one of the two major sub-fields of the discipline of geography. Human geography is the study of the world, its people, communities, and cultures. Human geography differs from physical geography mainly in that it has a greater focus on studying human activities and is more...
, noted for elaborating his discipline's foundations, particularly its history and nature, and for his contributions to urban social geography and electoral geography
Electoral geography
Electoral Geography is the analysis of the methods, behavior, and results of elections in the context of geographic space and using geographical techniques. Specifically, it is an examination of the dual interaction whereby geographical traits of a territory affects political decisions and...
. His broad scope is illustrated by the fact that he makes extensive use of quantitative methods, while critically
Critical geography
Critical geography takes a critical theory approach to the study and analysis of geography. The development of critical geography can be seen as one of the four major turning points in the history of geography...
dealing with subjects of social and political relevance. Johnston also is an exceptionally productive author: As of December 2009, he has authored or co-authored more than 50 books and 800 papers, and edited or co-edited a further more than 40 books (if translated and revised editions are counted separately). To students, he might be best known as the managing editor for the first four editions of The Dictionary of Human Geography.
Academic career
After receiving his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of ManchesterUniversity of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
in 1962 and 1964, respectively, he moved to Monash University
Monash University
Monash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight and the ASAIHL....
in Melbourne, Australia. There, Johnston obtained a Ph.D. degree, and came in contact with what has become known as the quantitative revolution
Quantitative revolution
In the history of geography, the quantitative revolution [n] was one of the four major turning-points of modern geography -- the other three being environmental determinism, regional geography and critical geography)...
of geography. He also wrote his first paper on urban social geography during that time. From 1967–1974, he was part of the academic staff at the University of Canterbury
University of Canterbury
The University of Canterbury , New Zealand's second-oldest university, operates its main campus in the suburb of Ilam in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand...
in Christchurch, New Zealand, where his interest in electoral geography began to develop. Johnston then was appointed professor at the University of Sheffield
University of Sheffield
The University of Sheffield is a research university based in the city of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It is one of the original 'red brick' universities and is a member of the Russell Group of leading research intensive universities...
. In 1979, Geography and Geographers, which he has updated and expanded every few years since then, and whose various editions have been translated into four languages, was published. Johnston became co-editor of the two journals Progress in Human Geography
Progress in Human Geography
Progress in Human Geography is a bimonthly peer-reviewed academic journal that covers the field of human geography, primarily publishing critical reviews of current research. The journal's editor-in-chief is Noel Castree...
and Environment and Planning A that same year. In 1981, the first edition of The Dictionary of Human Geography, to which Johnston has contributed hundreds of articles, was published. It has maintained its status as the discipline's authoritative dictionary ever since. After serving as pro-vice-chancellor for academic affairs of the University of Sheffield, he became vice-chancellor of the University of Essex
University of Essex
The University of Essex is a British campus university whose original and largest campus is near the town of Colchester, England. Established in 1963 and receiving its Royal Charter in 1965...
in 1992. Since 1995, Johnston has been professor at the University of Bristol
University of Bristol
The University of Bristol is a public research university located in Bristol, United Kingdom. One of the so-called "red brick" universities, it received its Royal Charter in 1909, although its predecessor institution, University College, Bristol, had been in existence since 1876.The University is...
. He resigned from the editorial boards of both Progress in Human Geography and Environment and Planning A in 2006.
Recognition
Johnston has been one of the most cited geographers for decades. For instance, in an analysis of citation records based on the SSCISocial Sciences Citation Index
Social Sciences Citation Index is an interdisciplinary citation index product of Thomson Reuters' Healthcare & Science division. It was developed by the Institute for Scientific Information from the Science Citation Index....
and the SCI
Science Citation Index
The Science Citation Index is a citation index originally produced by the Institute for Scientific Information and created by Eugene Garfield in 1960, which is now owned by Thomson Reuters. The larger version covers more than 6,500 notable and significant journals, across 150 disciplines, from ...
, he was identified as the second most cited geographer for 1981–1985, and the third most cited one for 1986–1990. In another citation count that covered more than 20 years (1981–October 2002), this time based on the SSCI and the A&HCI
Arts and Humanities Citation Index
The Arts & Humanities Citation Index , also known as Arts & Humanities Search is a citation index, with abstracting and indexing for more than 1,300 arts and humanities journals, and coverage of disciplines that includes social and natural science journals. Part of this database is derived from...
, Johnston was listed as one of twelve geographers who had been cited more than 1000 times.
Among the most prestigious awards Johnston has received are the Murchison Award
Murchison Award
The Murchison Award was first given by the Royal Geographical Society in 1882 for publications judged to have contributed most to geographical science in preceding recent years.-Recipients:* 1895 Eivind Astrup* 1898 Herbert Warrington Smyth...
(1985) and the Victoria Medal
Victoria Medal (geography)
The Victoria Medal is an award presented by the Royal Geographical Society. It is awarded "for conspicuous merit in research in geography" and has been given since 1902.-Past recipients:...
(1990) by the Royal Geographical Society
Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
, the Prix Vautrin Lud
Lauréat Prix International de Géographie Vautrin Lud
The Lauréat Prix International de Géographie Vautrin Lud established in 1991, it is the highest award that can be gained in the field of geography. The award is modelled on the Nobel Prize it is considered and colloquially called the Nobel prize for geography...
at the International Geography Festival 1999, and a lifetime achievement award from the Association of American Geographers
Association of American Geographers
The Association of American Geographers is a non-profit scientific and educational society founded in 1904 and aimed at advancing the understanding, study, and importance of geography and related fields...
(2009). Furthermore, he holds honorary doctorates from the University of Essex (D.Univ. 1996), Monash University (LL.D. 1999), the University of Sheffield (Litt.D. 2002) and the University of Bath
University of Bath
The University of Bath is a campus university located in Bath, United Kingdom. It received its Royal Charter in 1966....
(Litt.D. 2005), is a founding member of the Academy of Social Sciences
Academy of Learned Societies for the Social Sciences
The Academy of Social Sciences is a research body in the UK. , the Academy was composed of over 450 Academicians and 32 Learned Societies. Academicians are distinguished scholars and practitioners from academia and the public and private sectors...
, and was elected an ordinary fellow of the British Academy
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national body for the humanities and the social sciences. Its purpose is to inspire, recognise and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences, throughout the UK and internationally, and to champion their role and value.It receives an annual...
in 1999.
Johnston was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2011 Birthday Honours
2011 Birthday Honours
The Birthday Honours 2011 for the Commonwealth Realms were announced on 7 June 2011 in New Zealand and 11 June 2011 in United Kingdom to celebrate the Queen's Birthday of 2011.-Privy Councillors:...
for services to scholarship.
Monographs
- Johnston, R. J. (1971): Urban Residential Patterns: An Introductory Review. London (G . Bell & Sons). ISBN 0-713-51675-5
- Johnston, R. J. (1978): Multivariate Statistical Analysis in Geography: A Primer on the General Linear Model. London (Longman). ISBN 0-582-48677-7
- Taylor, P. J.Peter J. TaylorPeter James Taylor is an English geographer. Born in Tring in Hertfordshire, he was Professor of Political Geography at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne between 1970 and 1996, since when he has been Professor of Geography at Loughborough University...
and R. J. Johnston (1979): Geography of Elections. Harmondsworth (Penguin). ISBN 0-709-90056-2 - Johnston, R. J. (1979): Geography and Geographers: Anglo-American Human Geography since 1945. London (Edward Arnold). ISBN 0-713-16239-2 (7th edition announced for publication in 2010)
- Johnston, R. J. (1991): A Question of Place: Exploring the Practice of Human Geography. Blackwell (Oxford). ISBN 0-631-15603-8
Edited Collections
- Johnston, R .J. et al. (eds.) (1981): The Dictionary of Human Geography. Oxford (Blackwell). ISBN 0-631-10721-5 (5th edition published in 2009)
- Johnston, R. J. , P. J. Taylor and Michael WattsMichael WattsMichael J. Watts is "Class of 1963" Professor of Geography and Development Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, and a leading critical intellectual figure of the academic left. An intensively productive scholar, he works on a variety of themes from African development to contemporary...
(eds.) (1995): Geographies of Global Change: Remapping the World in the Late Twentieth Century. London (Blackwell). ISBN 0-631-19327-8
External links
- Biography on the University of Bristol's website