Sarah Whatmore (geographer)
Encyclopedia
Sarah Whatmore is a Professor of Environment and Public Policy at Oxford University and from 2012, Head of School. She received her PhD in geography
in 1988 at University College London
, and previously taught for 12 years at Bristol University and briefly at the Open University.
Whatmore is a critical geographer
, questioning Marxist materialist
approaches in favor of actor-network theory
and feminist science studies
. Her approach, laid out in her 2002 book Hybrid Geographies, attempts to develop what she terms "more than human" modes of inquiry, and question the relationship between science and democracy. Hybrid Geographies has been cited over 700 times.
Her ideas have been well received by critical theorists, but less so by policy-oriented environmental thinkers and traditional geographers less inclined to "theorise" human-environment relationships.
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
in 1988 at University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
, and previously taught for 12 years at Bristol University and briefly at the Open University.
Whatmore is a critical geographer
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...
, questioning Marxist materialist
Dialectical materialism
Dialectical materialism is a strand of Marxism synthesizing Hegel's dialectics. The idea was originally invented by Moses Hess and it was later developed by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels...
approaches in favor of actor-network theory
Actor-network theory
Actor–network theory, often abbreviated as ANT, is a distinctive approach to social theory and research which originated in the field of science studies...
and feminist science studies
Science studies
Science studies is an interdisciplinary research area that seeks to situate scientific expertise in a broad social, historical, and philosophical context. It is concerned with the history of academic disciplines, the interrelationships between science and society, and the alleged covert purposes...
. Her approach, laid out in her 2002 book Hybrid Geographies, attempts to develop what she terms "more than human" modes of inquiry, and question the relationship between science and democracy. Hybrid Geographies has been cited over 700 times.
Her ideas have been well received by critical theorists, but less so by policy-oriented environmental thinkers and traditional geographers less inclined to "theorise" human-environment relationships.