Learn about the work of your lecturers and more

We provide you with a list of resources that have been published by academic staff in our Department, along with a wider reading list.

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We hope that gives you a better idea of the diversity of topics that you will be learning about once starting your degree with us at the University of Sheffield.

Most of the texts listed here are news articles or websites which you can access for free online. We also list several academic books but would recommend that you do not purchase these until you arrive at university (where you will be able to access them for free in the library). The wider readings should be widely available from local bookshops and public libraries.

Our department

Other online resources

Natural environments

Allaby, M. (2000) Basics of Environmental Science. 2nd edition. Routledge. [Free PDF available].

Goudie, A.S. (2018) Human impact on the natural environment. John Wiley & Sons.

Zehnder, C. (2015) Introduction to Environmental Science - 2nd Edition [Available online].

Human geographies

  • Phillips, R. and Johns, J. (2012) Fieldwork for Human Geography. Sage.
  • Cloke, P.J., Crang, P. and Goodwin, M.A. eds., 2014. Introducing human geographies. Third edition.  Routledge.  [a broad introduction to contemporary human geography, with lots of interesting chapters to dip into, which will give you a head start in first year.]  
  • Williams, G., Meth, P. and Willis, K. (2014) Geographies of developing areas: the Global South in a changing world. 2nd edn. Oxon: Routledge. [a fabulous book which overviews development geographies in the Global South.]
  • Valentine, G. (2007) ‘Theorizing and Researching Intersectionality: A Challenge for Feminist Geography’, The Professional Geographer. Taylor & Francis Group, 59(1), pp. 10–21. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9272.2007.00587.x. [Is gender just about men and women? Is it the same in every space? This paper explores how discrimination can be a place-bounded experience.]
  • Wylie, J. (2007) Landscape (Key Ideas in Geography). Routledge.

Wider reading

  • Beerling, D. (2019) Making Eden: How Plants Transformed a Barren Planet. Oxford University Press.
  • Beerling, D. (2017) The emerald planet: how plants changed Earth's history. Oxford University Press.
  • Davis, M (2007) Planet of Slums. Verso.
  • Davis, M (2006) City of Quartz: Excavating the Future in Los Angeles. Verso.
  • Lopez, B. H. (1986). Arctic dreams: imagination and desire in a northern landscape. Vintage (2001).
  • Macfarlane, R. (2019). Underland: a deep time journey. Penguin. 
  • Steele, C. (2013) Hungry City: How Food Shapes our Lives. 
  • Stuart, T. (2008) Waste: uncovering the global food scandal. Penguin.

Study with us

Join an international community of geographers and help tackle the biggest issues in our changing world.

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International Merit Scholarships

We offer a generous package of financial support for international students including 75 undergraduate scholarships worth £10,000 towards the annual tuition fee and 125 postgraduate taught scholarships worth £5,000 towards the tuition fee. Applications are now open for existing offer holders.