Yr Athro Jon Anderson
(Translated he/him)

Athro mewn Daearyddiaeth Ddynol, Cyfarwyddwr Recriwtio a Derbyn

: Sylwebydd y cyfryngau
: Ar gael fel goruchwyliwr ôl-raddedig

My academic interest is oriented around the 'extraordinary sets of relations between people and places' (Holloway & Hubbard, 2000:6). These 'extraordinary relations' circulate around a number of spaces of interest, including Geography, Place & Culture; Water Worlds and Surfing Places; and Literary Geographies, and have led to a range of international quality research publications and funding projects.

Current projects include the AHRC funded 'A New Literary Geography: Establishing a Digital Literary Atlas for Wales and its Borderlands' (April 2016-July 2018), and the ESRC funded 'Locality, Community & Civil Society' (Work Package 1.2 in WISERD Civil Societies, Theme 1: Redefining Local Civil Society in an age of Global Inter-Connectivity, with Professor Mike Woods, Sept 2016-Sept 2018).

These research interests inform my undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, both of which have won national teaching awards (Royal Town Planning Institute Awards for Teaching Excellence, 2009, 2011).

My key publications include: Understanding Cultural Geography: Places and Traces (2010 and Second Edition 2015), Water Worlds: Human Geographies of the Ocean (with Peters, K, 2014), and Page and Place: Ongoing Compositions of Plot (2014).

News

Surfers are model global citizens, according to geographer and sea-kayaker Dr Jon Anderson from Cardiff University's School of Geography and Planning.

While people may think of surfers as nomads obsessed only with catching the perfect wave, Dr Anderson argues that they care passionately about coastal areas and the people around them. Surfers' focus on protecting what is most dear to them - coastlines - is turning them into stewards of the sea.

Dr Anderson explained his ideas recently to more than 1,500 people at the Royal Geographical Society (with Institute of British Geographers) annual International Conference.

A number of media interviews were conducted on these projects including a radio interview with BBC World Service (31 Aug, 2011) and a BBC TV News interview with George Alagiah (GMT, BBC World News, 31 Aug 2011).

https://youtu.be/QH8qoZnlizo

Links to the presentations given at the Royal Geographical Society / Institute of British Geographers Conference in Kensington Gore, London, September 2011 can be found on Dr Jons Anderson's Spatial Manifesto Website.

Date
Type

2025

Anderson, J. 2025. Literary atlas: Plotting a new literary geography.. Routledge Research in Culture, Space and Identity. Abingdon and New York: Routledge. (10.4324/9781003321248)

2024

Anderson, J. 2024. Literary assemblages. In: Alexander, N. and Cooper, D. eds. The Routledge Handbook of Literary Geographies. London: Taylor and Francis, pp. 52-60., (10.4324/9781003097761-6)
Anderson, J. and Sorley, D. 2024. Cultures of managing hazard and play: Guarding life in the littoral zone. In: Brown, M. ed. The Ocean, Blue Spaces and Outdoor Learning. Routledge, pp. 134-148., (10.4324/9781003272496-11)
Anderson, J. and Stoodley, L. 2024. New moves in the imagineering of surf tourism: scripting wave pools. Teoros

2022

Anderson, J. 2022. Surfing spaces. Routledge Research in Culture, Space and Identity. Abingdon and New York: Routledge.
Anderson, J., Davies, A., Peters, K. and Steinberg, P. 2022. Introduction: Placing and situating ocean space(s). In: Peters, K. et al. eds. The Routledge Handbook of Ocean Space. Routledge, pp. 3-20.
Anderson, J. 2022. Surfing: The what, where, how and why of wild surfing. In: Peters, K. et al. eds. The Routledge Handbook of Ocean Space. Routledge, pp. 311-322.
Peters, K. et al. eds. 2022. The Routledge handbook of ocean space. Routledge International Handbooks. Abingdon and New York: Routledge.
Anderson, J. and Smith, K. 2022. Attuning to the affective in literary tourism: emotional states in Aberystwyth, Mon Amour. Tourism Geographies 24(2-3), pp. 435-456. (10.1080/14616688.2019.1674372)

2014

Anderson, J. 2014. Page and place: ongoing compositions of plot. Spatial Practices: An Interdisciplinary Series in Cultural History, Geography and Literature Vol. 19. Amsterdam and New York: Rodopi.
Anderson, J. 2014. Surfing between the local and the global: identifying spatial divisions in surfing practice. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 39(2), pp. 237-249. (10.1111/tran.12018)
Anderson, J. 2014. Exploring the space between words and meaning: Understanding the relational sensibility of surf spaces. Emotion, Space and Society 10, pp. 27-34. (10.1016/j.emospa.2012.11.002)
Anderson, J. M. 2014. What I think about when I think about kayaking. In: Anderson, J. M. and Peters, K. eds. Water Wolds: Human Geographies of the Ocean. Farnham: Ashgate, pp. 103-118.
Anderson, J. M. 2014. Merging with the medium? knowing the place of the surfed wave. In: Anderson, J. M. and Peters, K. eds. Water Worlds: Human Geographies of the Ocean. Farnham: Ashgate, pp. 73-88.
Anderson, J. M. and Peters, K. 2014. A perfect and absolute blank: Human geographies of water worlds. In: Anderson, J. M. and Peters, K. eds. Water Worlds: Human Geographies of the Ocean. Farnham: Ashgate, pp. 3-20.
Anderson, J. M. and Erskine, K. 2014. Tropophilia: a study of people, place and lifestyle travel. Mobilities 9(1), pp. 130-145. (10.1080/17450101.2012.743702)
Anderson, J. M. and Peters, K. eds. 2014. Water worlds: human geographies of the ocean. Aldershot: Ashgate.
Anderson, J. M. and Erskine, K. 2014. Lifestyle travel, tropophilia and identity transformation. In: Lean, G., Staiff, R. and Waterton, E. eds. Travel and Transformation. Current Developments in the Geographies of Leisure and Tourism Farnham: Ashgate, pp. 29-42.

2013

Anderson, J. M. 2013. From 'zombies' to coyotes': Environmentalism where we are. In: Jermier, J. M. ed. Corporate Environmentalism and the Greening of Organizations., Vol. 6. SAGE Library in Business and Management London: SAGE, pp. 335-354.
Anderson, J. M. 2013. Evaluating student-generated film as a learning tool for qualitative methods: geographical "drifts" and the city. Journal of Geography in Higher Education 37(1), pp. 136-146. (10.1080/03098265.2012.694070)
Woods, J., Anderson, J. M., Guilbert, S. and Watkin, M. 2013. Rhizomic radicalism and arborescent advocacy: a Deleuzo-Guattarian reading of rural protest. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space 31(3), pp. 434-450. (10.1068/d14909)
Anderson, J. M. 2013. Active learning through student film: a case study of cultural geography. Journal of Geography in Higher Education 37(3), pp. 385-398. (10.1080/03098265.2013.792041)
Anderson, J. M. 2013. Cathedrals of the surf zone: regulating access to a space of spirituality. Social & Cultural Geography 14(8), pp. 954-972. (10.1080/14649365.2013.845903)

2012

Anderson, J. M. 2012. Reflective Journals as a Tool for Auto-Ethnographic Learning: A Case Study of Student Experiences With Individualized Sustainability. Journal of Geography in Higher Education 36(4), pp. 613-623. (10.1080/03098265.2012.692157)
Anderson, J. M. 2012. Managing trade-offs in 'ecotopia': becoming green at the Centre for Alternative Technology. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 37(2), pp. 212-225. (10.1111/j.1475-5661.2011.00456.x)
Anderson, J. M. 2012. Stress in the City: A Pioneering study explores the relationship between urban planning and human happiness. Britain In 2013, pp. 13.
Woods, M., Anderson, J. M., Guilbert, S. and Watkin, S. 2012. 'The Country(side) is Angry': Emotion and Explanation in Protest Mobilization. Social & Cultural Geography 13(6), pp. 567-585. (10.1080/14649365.2012.704643)
Anderson, J. M. 2012. Relational places: the surfed wave as assemblage and convergence. Environment and Planning D: Society & Space 30(4), pp. 570-587. (10.1068/d17910)
Anderson, J. M. 2012. The relational state: the changing focus of geographical study. Progress in Human Geography

2011

Anderson, J. M. and Jones, K. 2011. The difference that place makes to methodology: uncovering the 'lived space' of young people's spatial practices. In: Coffey, A. J. and Hall, T. A. eds. Researching Young People: Identities., Vol. 3. Fundamentals of Applied Research London: SAGE Publications, pp. 367.

2010

Anderson, J. M., Adey, P. and Bevan, P. 2010. Positioning place: polylogic approaches to research methodology. Qualitative Research 10(5), pp. 589-604. (10.1177/1468794110375796)
Anderson, J. M. 2010. From 'zombies' to 'coyotes': environmentalism where we are. Environmental Politics 19(6), pp. 973-991. (10.1080/09644016.2010.518684)
Anderson, J. M. 2010. The Surfed Wave as Transient Convergence. You Are Here: Journal of Creative Geography 13, pp. 31.
Anderson, J. M. 2010. Elusive escapes? Everyday life and ecotopia. In: Leonard, L. and Barry, J. eds. Global Ecological Politics. Advances in Ecopolitics Vol. 5. Bingley: Emerald, pp. 89-108.

2009

Anderson, J. M. 2009. Transient convergence and relational sensibility: beyond the modern constitution of nature. Emotion, Space and Society 2(2), pp. 120-127. (10.1016/j.emospa.2009.10.001)
Anderson, J. M. and Jones, K. 2009. The difference that place makes to methodology: uncovering the 'lived space' of young people's spatial practices. Children's Geographies 7(3), pp. 291-303. (10.1080/14733280903024456)
Anderson, J. M. 2009. Surfing green: The ‘place’ of surf in narrations of nature. Presented at: Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting, Las Vegas.
Anderson, J. M. 2009. Understanding cultural geography: Places and traces. London: Routledge.
Anderson, J. M. 2009. The transient convergence of place. Presented at: Walking as Method and Practice Workshop, Cardiff University.

2008

Anderson, J. M. 2008. Talk to the hand? Community Councils and planning consultation. Planning Theory 7(3), pp. 284-300. (10.1177/1473095208094827)
Anderson, J. M. and Moles, K. 2008. Walking into coincident places. Qualitative Researcher 9, pp. 5-8.
Anderson, J. M. et al. 2008. What is Geography's Contribution to Making Citizens?. Geography 93(1), pp. 34-39.
Anderson, J. M. 2008. Problems and Participation: Problems and Participation: ‘Local Knowledge’ and Planning Consultation in Wales [In Chinese]. Urban Planning International 23(6), pp. 41-46.
Anderson, J. M. and Moles, K. 2008. Walking into coincident places. Presented at: Peripatetic Practices': A Workshop on Walking., Royal Holloway, University of London.
Woods, M., Anderson, J. M., Guilbert, S. and Watkin, S. 2008. Contesting Neoliberalism? Ideology, self interest, identity and grassroots rural protest in Britain. Presented at: Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting, Boston.
Woods, M., Guilbert, S., Watkin, S. and Anderson, J. M. 2008. Resistance as Empowerment: Local repertoires of action and the politics of rural development. Presented at: European Congress of Rural Sociology, Wageningen.

2007

Anderson, J. M. 2007. Elusive escapes: everyday life and ecotopias. In: Leonard, L. and Barry, J. eds. Global Ecological Politics. Advances in Ecopolitics Vol. 5. Bingley: Emerald, pp. 89-108., (10.1108/S2041-806X(2010)0000005009)

2006

Edwards, B., Anderson, J., Woods, M. and Gardner, G. 2006. Leadership in place: elites, institutions and agency in British rural community governance. In: International Perspectives on Rural Governance. Routledge Studies in Human Geography London: Routledge, pp. 211-226.

2004

Anderson, J. M. 2004. Talking Whilst Walking: A Geographical Archaeology of Knowledge. AREA 36(3), pp. 254-261. (10.1111/j.0004-0894.2004.00222.x)
Anderson, J. M. 2004. The Ties that Bind? Self and Place Identity in Environmental Direct Action. Ethics Place and Environment 7(1/2), pp. 45-57. (10.1080/1366879042000264769)
Anderson, J. M. 2004. Spatial Politics in Practice: the style and substance of environmental direct action. Antipode 36(1), pp. 106-125. (10.1111/j.1467-8330.2004.00384.x)

2002

Anderson, J. M. 2002. Researching Environmental Resistance: Working Through Secondspace and Thirdspace Approaches. Qualitative Research 2(3), pp. 301-322.

Projects

2015 A New Literary Geography: Establishing a Digital Literary Atlas for Wales and its Borderlands. AHRC. £617,614.05 May, 2015. Funded.
2015 Living Storied Streets: Actively Connecting Literature and Geography in the heart of Cardiff.
2014 WISERD Civil Societies: Theme 1 Locality, Community & Civil Society. Work Package 1.2: Redefining Local Civil Society in an age of Global Inter-Connectivity (October 2016 - September 2018), with Prof. Mike Woods. Funded.
2014 Partner in 'Sustainable Waters' University Research Institute, Funded.
2014 Cardiff University Research Fellowship, Cardiff University (£15,000).
2013 'Page & Place Ongoing Compositions of Plot'. Phase 2: Creating a Digital Cartography of Cardiff. Phase Two. WISERD £1980.
2013 Valuing a wave: using mixed methods to calculate the social and economic value of coastal surfing resources. The Cardiff Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme £1360.
2012 'Page and Place: Ongoing Compositions of Plot' Research Monograph funding, Wales Institute of Social & Economic Research, Data & Methods (WISERD) £3202.30.
2012 Biomapping - methodological trials in the social sciences. The Cardiff Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme £1,360.
2012 Widening Access Research, Cardiff University with Bousie, G. Harris, N. Thomas, H. £19,500.
2010 The 'relational state': the geographies and psychologies of Jet Lag. School of City & Regional Planning, Cardiff University Seedcorn Grant, £1000.
2010 Biomapping and Emotional Geographies, with Dr Chris Taylor, School of Social Sciences. Welsh Institute of Social & Economic Reseach (WISERD) Grant, project, £3000.
2008 Sports Council Users Survey. Sports Council for Wales, £3,535.
2008 Surfs Up! Participation Regimes and Motivations for Surfing in Wales. Sports Council for Wales, £8053 + VAT.
06-08 Grassroots Rural Protest and Political Activity in Britain. ESRC Research Grants Scheme. £198,249. Co-applicant with Dr M Woods (Director).
06-07 Being Ecological? Managing Multiple Identities through Environmental Action. The ESRC Centre for Business Relationships, Accountability, Sustainability and Society. £2000.
02-03 Research Study into the Role, Functions and Future Potential of Town and Community Councils in Wales. Welsh Assembly Government. £100,700 (Co-applicant, with Dr M Woods, Dr W.J. Edwards (Directors); Dr J Anderson, Dr G Gardner, R Hughes).

PhD Supervision

Richard Cheng-Yu. Sustainable Development in Protected Areas: Resolving the Conflicts Between Protected Area Management and Indigenous Peoples. 2004 - 2009. Self-funded.
Hui Yu-Yu. Consumer Space and Identity: The Eslite Phenomenon. 2006 - 2014 Self-funded.
Kathryn Erskine. Finding a place through liminal travel: the role of the gap year. 2009 - 2012 ESRC 1+3 Scholarship.
Matthew Nouch. Participation and Democracy For All: Possibilities for Gender, Queer Racial Expression at the Interface of State and Society at the Participatory Budget (PB) Porto Alegre. 2010-14
Diana Beljaars. Different conceptions of place: Gilles De La Tourette syndrome and the significance of insignificant materiality CPLAN Scholarship 2014-
Jennifer Owen. Storage Space. 2014-

I run the second year undergraduate module 'Cultural Geographies: Places and Practices', which complements the textbook 'Understanding Cultural Geography: Places and Traces) (2010, 2015, 2021). There follows some comments on the module from recent participants:

"Amazing lectures and seminars, very engaging and very interesting topics covered over the module".

"Have received a lot of support for this module, particularly with the assessment, and the lecturer's enthusiasm made the learning experience that much more enjoyable. Not only this but the lecture content was incredibly interesting and enjoyable"

"I want the lecturer to adopt me. Please. They are AMAZING! The lectures are so so good, because they actually teach [me things]! They'll be a few bullet points or quotes on the slide, but then they'll expand upon them and actually talk about the content instead of just reading it. This adds so much more detail and information, and helps with the context of the quotations, which helps us to frame the debates within the larger context of the module, which makes it make sense. The lectures are broken down into good sized chunks. The lecturer does really well to link each section to other sections, other weeks and the running themes of the module. Seminars are really good too. They are based around a reading, and we have a discussion to help us understand it. They are engaging and really useful. All of the content is engaging, innovative, interesting and just great".

"Loved this module so much, my favourite so far. The lecturer is really engaging and interesting to listen to".

"The lecturer's enthusiasm for cultural geography is inspiring and has definitely influenced the overall experience and understanding of this module in a positive way".

"Such a passioate lecturer! Love the enthusiasm which motivates students too"

Qualifications

Ph.D.'Environmental Direct Action: making space for new forms of political community?' School of Geographical
Sciences, University of Bristol, UK (1996-2000)
MSc, Environmental Policy and Management, University of Hull (1995-1996)
BA Hons, Geography, University of Hull. Class: 1 (1992-1995)

School and other Responsibilities

Director of Teaching and Learning

I am interested in supervising PhD students in the areas of:

Surfing Spaces and Water Worlds

Literary Geography

Cultural Geography

Goruchwyliaeth gyfredol

Tirion Jenkins

Contact Details

AndersonJ@caerdydd.ac.uk
+44 29208 75308
Adeilad Morgannwg, Ystafell 2.71, Rhodfa’r Brenin Edward VII, Caerdydd, CF10 3WA

Arddangosfa gelf deithiol yr Atlas Llenyddol yn cyrraedd ei chyrchfan derfynol

External profiles

Gwefan personol

Yr Athro Jon Anderson
(Translated he/him)

News

2025

2024

2022

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015