Dr Meg Sherval
| Work Phone | 61 2 4921 6809 |
|---|---|
| Fax | (02) 4921 5877 |
| Meg.Sherval@newcastle.edu.au | |
| Position |
Lecturer
School of Environmental and Life Sciences
|
| Office | SRR209 |
Biography
EDUCATION
I was appointed to a permanent ongoing position at the University of Newcastle in July 2009 after 2 years (July 2007-June 2009) as a lecturer in the Department of Environment & Geography at Macquarie University. My PhD and Masters of Environmental Science were studied part-time at Macquarie University.
Qualifications
- PhD, Macquarie University, 2008
Research
Research keywords
- Climate Change Impacts
- Legal Gegraphy
- Political Geography
- Resource and Environmental Geography
- Rural Geography
Research expertise
Remoteness, Impacts of resource depletion, Resource contestation, Resource nationalism, Social and economic impacts of climate change, Territoriality, Environmental law and ethics, Land-use transformation, Rurality.
Collaboration
My research interests revolve around constructs of nature, resource use and the social, economic and political impacts of environmental change. At the core of my research is a desire to understand and explain the spatial and temporal dynamics of natural resource development. I am interested in the economic processes and cultural practices through which nature and the environment are visualised and enacted as resources for utilisation by humankind. I am also interested in what transitions need to be made when resource stocks begin to decline and communities are faced with an uncertain future. Through this focus on resources, my work problematises the treatment of the environment and the commodification of nature within modern economic development.
My geographic research interests lie in two specific domains: a) the international (specifically the areas of the Arctic and Alaska on the Pacific Rim) and b) nationally (in the Hunter and other locations where transition to the effects of climate change and resource extraction are taking place). In researching these places, I seek to understand the complicated dynamics associated with climate change, strategic decision-making and contestation over access to, and use of, resources and the natural environment. As this type of Environmental Geopolitics is a newly emerging field of study, as my own knowledge and understanding grows, I will make valuable contributions to academic discussions and research concerning how specific places and regions cope with and make the important transition towards advancing resource depletion and climate change. Whether this is occurring in polar regions or in rural or urban Australia, marking the differences and similarities of climate experience is valuable to our accumulating knowledge of this evolving process. An understanding of the intricacies involved in making a transition and dealing with uncertainty, vulnerability and risk will remain important as we grapple with the effects of climate change in a globalizing world.
My work contributes to a robust tradition of critical geographical inquiry which recognises how 'natural resources are not naturally resources until human intervention'. It examines how resource geographies are structured in significant ways by economic, political, environmental, social and cultural processes and how new resource geographies are created by greenfields discoveries and the opening up of new frontiers. At the other end of the scale, my work examines life in resource-dependent communities during post-production stages and also considers what alternatives may exist for these communities in the future.
This geographical focus therefore examines the complicated processes that produce nature and shape spaces and places, and engages with questions of knowledge, environmental governance, scarcity, vulnerability, transition and sustainability that are at the heart of modern environmental geography. It also examines the ongoing peripheralisation of remote, resource rich places by neoliberal corporate strategies and questions how the dynamics of climate change and globalisation might affect future decision-making. I seek to understand the complicated dynamics associated with climate change, strategic decision- making and contestation over access to, and use of, resources and the natural environment. Therefore, my research aims to answer the following over-arching questions:
- How do vulnerable communities cope when faced with dwindling resource supplies?
- What strategies are in place to address such events & community concerns about viability?
- How does contestation over resources, territory & climate change manifest itself & how does it affect transitions associated with resource depletion and climate change at multiple scales?
- Is it possible to make the transition towards increasing climate extremes without enhancing more cumulative effects?
Fields of Research
| Code | Description | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 160499 | Human Geography Not Elsewhere Classified | 100 |
Centres and Groups
Centre
Memberships
Body relevant to professional practice.
- Member - Institute of Australian Geographers
- Member - International Arctic Social Sciences Association
- Member - Geographical Society of NSW
Committee/Associations (relevant to research).
- Member - Western Regions Science Association (USA)
- Member - Association of Polar Early Career Scientists
Other
- Member - The Geographical Society of NSW
Appointments
|
Convenor
Rural Geography Study Group - Institute of Australian Geographers (Australia) |
01/07/2011 |
Awards
Recognition.
| 2011 |
2011 Teaching and Learning Award
The University of Newcastle (Australia) For inspiring students through engagement in real-world scenarios offering ‘solutions’ to environmental problems by successfully challenging students to 'think outside the square'. |
|---|
Administrative
Administrative expertise
Honours coordinator (Macquarie University 2008), Acting Honours Coordinator (UoN 2010). Course Convenor - ENVS 1003, ENVS 1004. Lecturer - EMGT 2020 and GEOG 2080. Course Convenor - ENVS 6510, ENVS 6525, ENVS 6545.
Teaching
Teaching keywords
- Environmental Ethics
- Resource Management
- Sustainability
Teaching expertise
Environmental Ethics, Environmental and Social Impact Assessment, Geopolitics, Land-use transformation, Resource Geography, Sustainability options.