Department of Geography
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Staff Profile

Professor Joe Painter, BA (Cambridge) PhD (Open University)

Deputy Head of Department in the Department of Geography
Telephone: +44 (0) 191 33 41906
Fax: +44 (0)191 33 41801
Room number: 220

Contact (email at j.m.painter@durham.ac.uk)

Current Research

My current research focuses mainly on the prosaic geographies of the state. I am interested in both the everyday lives of state institutions and actors and the manifestation of what Timothy Mitchell calls the 'effect of the state' in the everyday lives of people and places. One strand of this work considers how mundane socio-technical practices (such as accounting, statistical analysis, economic modelling, bureaucratic record-keeping and strategizing) generate specific state effects and state geographies. Another strand will look at the incomplete, uneven, but often intensive and unnoticed permeation of 'stateness' into diverse aspects of social life.

Biography

I was born in London and grew up in Hertfordshire and then Dorset, where I attended Weymouth Grammar School (now Budmouth Technology College). After seven months' voluntary work in rural India in 1984, I took up a place to study geography at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge University. I graduated with an upper second in 1987 and then moved to the Open University to do research for a PhD on the geography of trade unionism in Britain under the supervision of Doreen Massey and John Allen. In 1990 I was appointed to a lectureship in geography at the University of Wales, Lampeter (then St David's University College). I joined the Department of Geography at Durham in 1993, first as lecturer, then as reader (2000) and professor (2004). I spent 12 months as a visiting fellow at the Australian National University in Canberra (2004-05). I have also held visiting positions at the University of Cambridge and the University of British Columbia, among others.

Research Groups

Research Interests

  • Political geography
  • Geographies of the state and citizenship
  • Urban and regional theory
  • Urban politics and governance
  • Regionalism and regionality in Europe

Selected Publications

Books: authored

  • Painter, J & Jeffrey, A Political geography: an introduction to space and power. London: Sage; 2009. (Additional information) (View publication online)
  • Cloke, P., Cook, I., Crang, P., Goodwin, M., Painter, J. & Philo, C. Practising human geography. London: Sage; 2004. (View publication online)
  • Painter, J. Politics, geography and 'political geography': a critical perspective. London: Arnold; 1995.

Essays in edited volumes

  • Painter, J Territoire et réseau: une fausse dichotomie? = Territory and network: a false dichotomy? In: Vanier, M Territoires, territorialité, territorialisation: controverses et perspectives = Territories, territoriality, territorialisation: controversies and perspectives. Rennes: Presses Universitaires de Rennes; 2009:57-66. (Additional information) (View publication online)
  • Painter, J. Urbanism lite. In: Amin, A. & O'Neill, M. Thinking about almost everything. London: Profile Books; 2009:102-103. (Additional information) (View publication online)
  • Painter, J. Geographies of space and power. In: Cox, K., Low, M. & Robinson, J. The SAGE handbook of political geography. London: Sage; 2008:57-72. (Additional information) (View publication online)
  • Painter, J. Governmentality and regional economic strategies. In: Hillier, J. & Rooksby, E. Habitus: A Sense of Place. Aldershot: Ashgate; 2005:131-157. (View publication online)
  • Painter, J. State: society. In: Cloke, P. & Johnston, R. J. Spaces of geographical thought: deconstructing binaries. London: Sage; 2005:42-60. (View publication online)
  • Painter, J. Multi-level citizenship, identity and regions in contemporary Europe. In: Anderson, J. Transnational democracy: political spaces and border crossings. London: Routledge; 2002:93-110. (View publication online)
  • Painter, J. The rise of the workfare state. In: Johnston, R. J., Taylor, P. J. & Watts, M. J. Geographies of global change: remapping the world. Oxford: Blackwell; 2002:158-173.

Edited works: journals

Journal papers: academic

Reports: official

Show all publications

Related Links

Media Contacts

Available for media contact about:

  • Geography: Regional Politics and Government
  • Citizenship, state and governance: European citizenship and identity
  • Regional Affairs: Regional Politics and Government
  • Europe: Politics, institutions & law: European citizenship and identity
  • Geography: Cities and urban development

Supervises


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Last modified: 25th September 2009 | Disclaimer | Trading name