The University of Sheffield
Department of Geography

Dr Kimberley Peters

Teaching Associate in Human Geography

Kimberley Peters Room number: E10
Telephone (internal): 27978
Telephone (UK): 0114 222 7978
Telephone (International): +44 114 222 7978
Email: K.Peters@Sheffield.ac.uk

Kimberley obtained a BSc (Hons) in Human Geography, before studying for an MA (2007) and PhD (2011) in Cultural Geography, at Royal Holloway, University of London. She worked as a Teaching Assistant at Royal Holloway between 2007 and 2011.

Research Interests

My research interests revolve around several key areas in geography:

In view of the largely landlocked and land-biased nature of geography, I am interested in the ways in which these human geographical concepts work at sea.

My doctoral research focused this interest on one comprehensive case study: the five ships which belonged the offshore pirate broadcaster Radio Caroline. Drawing on archival sources, in-depth interviews and through conducting ethnography within surviving fan organisations, I examined the socio-legal shape of social life onboard, the contested nature of legal geographies at sea, regulative surveillance practices enacted over ships, and the politics of memory surrounding offshore radio operation. I am now developing these interests in several new directions.

Current Research

Building particularly on my consideration of governance at sea I am currently extending this research by thinking through different strategies of surveillance and securitisation in this context. Surveillance studies remain land and air locked, so this project seeks to consider how 'watching' occurs at sea, and in particular, the legal and political challenges and implications of surveillance in the watery realm.

The project has four components:

I am further interested extending more-than-human geographies through an examination of the 'elemental' (building on discussions of air and atmosphere) exploring the affective natures of the force of the sea (tides, currents, wind, rain) and how these impact possible controls of the sea and visceral experiences of those living and working there; this drawing on naval archives from the National Maritime Museum.

Teaching

I have experience teaching a range of topics at undergraduate level; including modules on 'place'; material culture studies; geographies of music; social exclusion (along the lines of race, ethnicity, gender and sexuality); and geographies of mobility. At Sheffield I am involved in teaching social and cultural geographies (focusing on urban experience and the concept of 'place') and philosophical issues in human geography (notably considering the 'political'). I also teach interviewing and ethnography as part of the methods course and am involved in Masters-level teaching. This teaching reflects my research interests and methodological sensitivities, allowing me to bring the most up to date readings and debates in the discipline, to teaching.

Geography is a situated subject – we live our lives in and through space and place – this makes the subject exciting and relevant as we can observe and engage with geographies at work all around us, everyday. As such, I strongly believe teaching should be engaging also, relying not only on lectures, but film, photography and discussion; innovative group projects and workshop sessions, to enable students to critically analyse the world we live in (and provide skills for future employment).

Kimberley teaches on a range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses including:

GEO112 Introduction to Social and Cultural Geographies
GEO223 Philosophical Issues in Human Geography
GEO241 Social and Cultural Geographies
GEO265 Researching Human Geographies

GEO6003 Theoretical Debates in Human Geography
GEO6026 Geographical Debates Inside and Outside the Academy

All staff also engage in personal supervision and tutoring of individual students at all three undergraduate levels in the following modules:
GEO163 (Information & Communication Skills for Geographers)
GEO263 or GEO264 (Research Design in Human or Physical Geography)
GEO356 (Geographical Research Project)

Key publications