Dr Julian Brigstocke
Senior Lecturer in Human Geography
School of Geography and Planning
- BrigstockeJ@cardiff.ac.uk
- +44 29208 76085
- Glamorgan Building, Room Room 2.91, King Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3WA
- Media commentator
- Available for postgraduate supervision
Overview
I am an interdisciplinary cultural geographer with an interest in exploring relationships between cities, aesthetics, and authority. I specialise in cultural theory, geohumanities, and philosophies of geography. Key theoretical influences include Walter Benjamin, Hannah Arendt, Michel Foucault, Deleuze & Guattari, Michel Serres, Gloria Anzaldua, and Sylvia Wynter. I am working on a book titled Nonauthoritarian Authority, to be published in the Royal Geographical Society - Institute of British Geographers book series. The book is structured through a series of creative experiments with the forms of geographical writing.
I currently lead a 3-year AHRC funded participatory action research project looking at gender, race, violence, and creative embodied methodologies in a favela in Rio de Janeiro.
I have also published on issues around biopolitics, authority, urban avant-gardes, art in fin-de-siecle Paris, creative geographies, affect, gender, more-than-human and experimental participatory methods, the commons, future generations, the politics of aesthetics in Foucault and Benjamin, urban infrastructure in colonial Hong Kong, and experimental neuro-urbanism methods using mobile galvanic skin response biosensors
My drop-in hour is Wednesdays 12pm. Any student may drop in to discuss anything at all. Or: please schedule a meeting with me here.
Publication
2023
- Brigstocke, J. 2023. Form, genre, voice, and authority in human geography: A speculative genealogy. Dialogues in Human Geography (10.1177/20438206231174634)
- Brigstocke, J., Froes, M., Cabral, C., Malanquini, L. and Baptista, G. 2023. Biosocial borders: affective debilitation and resilience amongst women living in a violently bordered favela. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers (10.1111/tran.12601)
2022
- Brigstocke, J., Malanquini, L., Froes, M., Cabral, C. and Baptista, G. 2022. Disjunctive writing in the urban skinscape: bodies, borders, and the physiology of attention in a Rio de Janeiro favela. Sociological Review 70(4), pp. 810-831. (10.1177/00380261221106515)
- Brigstocke, J. 2022. Resisting with authority? Anarchist laughter and the violence of truth. Social and Cultural Geography 23(2) (10.1080/14649365.2020.1727555)
2021
- Brigstocke, J. and Gassner, G. 2021. Materiality, race and speculative aesthetics. Geohumanities 7(2), pp. 359-369. (10.1080/2373566X.2021.1977163)
- Brigstocke, J., Bresnihan, P., Dawney, L. and Miller, N. 2021. Geographies of authority. Progress in Human Geography 45(6), pp. 1356-1378. (10.1177/0309132520986227)
- Brigstocke, J. 2021. The aesthetics of sand: reclaiming Hong Kong's unsettled grounds. Geohumanities 7(2), pp. 370 -390. (10.1080/2373566X.2020.1847679)
2020
- Brigstocke, J. 2020. Experimental authority in the lecture theatre. Journal of Geography in Higher Education 44(3), pp. 370-386. (10.1080/03098265.2019.1698527)
2019
- Simpson, P. and Brigstocke, J. 2019. Affect. In: Atkinson, P. et al. eds. SAGE Research Methods Foundations.. London: SAGE
2018
- Noorani, T. and Brigstocke, J. Facer, K. and Dunleavy, K. eds. 2018. More-than-human participatory research. Bristol: University of Bristol / AHRC Connected Communities Programme.
- Brigstocke, J. 2018. Parrésia artística e a genealogia da ética em Foucault e Benjamin/ Artistic Parrhesia and the genealogy of ethics in Foucault and Benjamin. Revista Aurora 11(31), article number: 1954.
- Blencowe, C., Brigstocke, J. and Noorani, T. 2018. Engines of alternative objectivity: re-articulating the nature and value of participatory mental health organisations with the Hearing Voices Movement and Stepping Out Theatre Company. Health: An Interdisciplinary Journal for the Social Study of Health, Illness and Medicine 22(3), pp. 205-222. (10.1177/1363459315590246)
- Brigstocke, J. 2018. Humour, violence and cruelty in late nineteenth century anarchist culture. In: Ferretti, F. et al. eds. Historical Geographies of Anarchism: Early Critical Geographers and Present-Day Scientific Challenges. Routledge, pp. 65-86.
2017
- Brigstocke, J. et al. 2017. Implicit values: uncounted legacies. In: Facer, K. and Pahl, K. eds. Valuing Interdisciplinary Collaborative Research: Beyond Impact. Policy Press, pp. 65-84.
2016
- Brigstocke, J. and Tehseen, N. eds. 2016. Listening with non-human others. ARN Press.
- Brigstocke, J. 2016. Exhausted futures. GeoHumanities 2(1), pp. 92-101. (10.1080/2373566X.2016.1168192)
- Brigstocke, J. and Noorani, T. 2016. Posthuman attunements: aesthetics, authority and the arts of creative listening. GeoHumanities 2(1), pp. 1-7. (10.1080/2373566X.2016.1167618)
2015
- Kirwan, S., Dawney, L. and Brigstocke, J. eds. 2015. Space, power and the commons: the struggle for alternative futures. London: Routledge.
- Dawney, L., Kirwan, S. and Brigstocke, J. 2015. The promise of the commons. In: Kirwan, S., Dawney, L. and Brigstocke, J. eds. Space, Power and the Commons: The Struggle for Alternative Futures. London: Routledge, pp. 1-28.
- Brigstocke, J. 2015. Occupy the future. In: Kirwan, S., Dawney, L. and Brigstocke, J. eds. Space, Power and the Commons: The Struggle for Alternative Futures. Routledge Research in Place, Space and Politics London: Routledge, pp. 150-165., (10.4324/9781315731995-17)
- Blencowe, C., Brigstocke, J. and Noorani, T. 2015. Theorising participatory practice and alienation in health research: A materialist approach. Social Theory and Health 13(3-4), pp. 397-417. (10.1057/sth.2015.23)
2014
- Brigstocke, J. 2014. Immanent authority and the performance of community in late nineteenth century Montmartre. In: Blencowe, C., Brigstocke, J. and Dawney, L. eds. Authority, Experience and the Life of Power. London: Routledge, pp. 107-126.
- Blencowe, C., Dawney, L. and Brigstocke, J. eds. 2014. Authority, experience and the life of power. Routledge.
- Brigstocke, J. 2014. The life of the city: space, humour, and the experience of truth in fin-de-siècle Montmartre. Studies in Historical Geography. Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate. (10.4324/9781315556079)
- Blencowe, C., Brigstocke, J. and Dawney, L. 2014. Authority and experience. In: Blencowe, C., Dawney, L. and Brigstocke, J. eds. Authority, Experience and the Life of Power. London: Routledge, pp. 1-7.
2013
- Brigstocke, J. 2013. Immanent authority and the performance of community in late nineteenth century Montmartre. Journal of Political Power 6(1), pp. 107-126. (10.1080/2158379X.2013.774969)
- Blencowe, C., Brigstocke, J. and Dawney, L. 2013. Authority and experience. Journal of Political Power 6(1), pp. 1-7. (10.1080/2158379X.2013.774973)
- Brigstocke, J. 2013. Artistic parrhesia and the genealogy of ethics in Foucault and Benjamin. Theory, Culture & Society 30(1), pp. 57-58. (10.1177/0263276412450467)
- Noorani, T., Blencowe, C. and Brigstocke, J. eds. 2013. Problems of participation: reflections on democracy, authority, and the struggle for common life. Lewes: ARN Press.
2012
- Brigstocke, J. 2012. Defiant laughter: humour and the aesthetics of place in late 19th century Montmartre. Cultural Geographies 19(2), pp. 217-235. (10.1177/1474474011414637)
- Brigstocke, J. 2012. Book review: swinging city: a cultural geography of London, 1950-1974. Simon Rycroft. Cultural Geographies 19(4), pp. 553-554. (10.1177/1474474012461586)
2011
- Brigstocke, J. 2011. The time of the city: politics, philosophy and genre, by Michael J. Shapiro [Review]. Urban Research & Practice 4(2), pp. 225-226. (10.1080/17535069.2011.579782)
2010
- Brigstocke, J. 2010. Brigstocke on Stiegler: technics and time 2: disorientation [Review]. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space 28(6), pp. 1128-1130. (10.1068/d2806rvw)
Articles
- Brigstocke, J. 2023. Form, genre, voice, and authority in human geography: A speculative genealogy. Dialogues in Human Geography (10.1177/20438206231174634)
- Brigstocke, J., Froes, M., Cabral, C., Malanquini, L. and Baptista, G. 2023. Biosocial borders: affective debilitation and resilience amongst women living in a violently bordered favela. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers (10.1111/tran.12601)
- Brigstocke, J., Malanquini, L., Froes, M., Cabral, C. and Baptista, G. 2022. Disjunctive writing in the urban skinscape: bodies, borders, and the physiology of attention in a Rio de Janeiro favela. Sociological Review 70(4), pp. 810-831. (10.1177/00380261221106515)
- Brigstocke, J. 2022. Resisting with authority? Anarchist laughter and the violence of truth. Social and Cultural Geography 23(2) (10.1080/14649365.2020.1727555)
- Brigstocke, J. and Gassner, G. 2021. Materiality, race and speculative aesthetics. Geohumanities 7(2), pp. 359-369. (10.1080/2373566X.2021.1977163)
- Brigstocke, J., Bresnihan, P., Dawney, L. and Miller, N. 2021. Geographies of authority. Progress in Human Geography 45(6), pp. 1356-1378. (10.1177/0309132520986227)
- Brigstocke, J. 2021. The aesthetics of sand: reclaiming Hong Kong's unsettled grounds. Geohumanities 7(2), pp. 370 -390. (10.1080/2373566X.2020.1847679)
- Brigstocke, J. 2020. Experimental authority in the lecture theatre. Journal of Geography in Higher Education 44(3), pp. 370-386. (10.1080/03098265.2019.1698527)
- Brigstocke, J. 2018. Parrésia artística e a genealogia da ética em Foucault e Benjamin/ Artistic Parrhesia and the genealogy of ethics in Foucault and Benjamin. Revista Aurora 11(31), article number: 1954.
- Blencowe, C., Brigstocke, J. and Noorani, T. 2018. Engines of alternative objectivity: re-articulating the nature and value of participatory mental health organisations with the Hearing Voices Movement and Stepping Out Theatre Company. Health: An Interdisciplinary Journal for the Social Study of Health, Illness and Medicine 22(3), pp. 205-222. (10.1177/1363459315590246)
- Brigstocke, J. 2016. Exhausted futures. GeoHumanities 2(1), pp. 92-101. (10.1080/2373566X.2016.1168192)
- Brigstocke, J. and Noorani, T. 2016. Posthuman attunements: aesthetics, authority and the arts of creative listening. GeoHumanities 2(1), pp. 1-7. (10.1080/2373566X.2016.1167618)
- Blencowe, C., Brigstocke, J. and Noorani, T. 2015. Theorising participatory practice and alienation in health research: A materialist approach. Social Theory and Health 13(3-4), pp. 397-417. (10.1057/sth.2015.23)
- Brigstocke, J. 2013. Immanent authority and the performance of community in late nineteenth century Montmartre. Journal of Political Power 6(1), pp. 107-126. (10.1080/2158379X.2013.774969)
- Blencowe, C., Brigstocke, J. and Dawney, L. 2013. Authority and experience. Journal of Political Power 6(1), pp. 1-7. (10.1080/2158379X.2013.774973)
- Brigstocke, J. 2013. Artistic parrhesia and the genealogy of ethics in Foucault and Benjamin. Theory, Culture & Society 30(1), pp. 57-58. (10.1177/0263276412450467)
- Brigstocke, J. 2012. Defiant laughter: humour and the aesthetics of place in late 19th century Montmartre. Cultural Geographies 19(2), pp. 217-235. (10.1177/1474474011414637)
- Brigstocke, J. 2012. Book review: swinging city: a cultural geography of London, 1950-1974. Simon Rycroft. Cultural Geographies 19(4), pp. 553-554. (10.1177/1474474012461586)
- Brigstocke, J. 2011. The time of the city: politics, philosophy and genre, by Michael J. Shapiro [Review]. Urban Research & Practice 4(2), pp. 225-226. (10.1080/17535069.2011.579782)
- Brigstocke, J. 2010. Brigstocke on Stiegler: technics and time 2: disorientation [Review]. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space 28(6), pp. 1128-1130. (10.1068/d2806rvw)
Book sections
- Simpson, P. and Brigstocke, J. 2019. Affect. In: Atkinson, P. et al. eds. SAGE Research Methods Foundations.. London: SAGE
- Brigstocke, J. 2018. Humour, violence and cruelty in late nineteenth century anarchist culture. In: Ferretti, F. et al. eds. Historical Geographies of Anarchism: Early Critical Geographers and Present-Day Scientific Challenges. Routledge, pp. 65-86.
- Brigstocke, J. et al. 2017. Implicit values: uncounted legacies. In: Facer, K. and Pahl, K. eds. Valuing Interdisciplinary Collaborative Research: Beyond Impact. Policy Press, pp. 65-84.
- Dawney, L., Kirwan, S. and Brigstocke, J. 2015. The promise of the commons. In: Kirwan, S., Dawney, L. and Brigstocke, J. eds. Space, Power and the Commons: The Struggle for Alternative Futures. London: Routledge, pp. 1-28.
- Brigstocke, J. 2015. Occupy the future. In: Kirwan, S., Dawney, L. and Brigstocke, J. eds. Space, Power and the Commons: The Struggle for Alternative Futures. Routledge Research in Place, Space and Politics London: Routledge, pp. 150-165., (10.4324/9781315731995-17)
- Brigstocke, J. 2014. Immanent authority and the performance of community in late nineteenth century Montmartre. In: Blencowe, C., Brigstocke, J. and Dawney, L. eds. Authority, Experience and the Life of Power. London: Routledge, pp. 107-126.
- Blencowe, C., Brigstocke, J. and Dawney, L. 2014. Authority and experience. In: Blencowe, C., Dawney, L. and Brigstocke, J. eds. Authority, Experience and the Life of Power. London: Routledge, pp. 1-7.
Books
- Noorani, T. and Brigstocke, J. Facer, K. and Dunleavy, K. eds. 2018. More-than-human participatory research. Bristol: University of Bristol / AHRC Connected Communities Programme.
- Brigstocke, J. and Tehseen, N. eds. 2016. Listening with non-human others. ARN Press.
- Kirwan, S., Dawney, L. and Brigstocke, J. eds. 2015. Space, power and the commons: the struggle for alternative futures. London: Routledge.
- Blencowe, C., Dawney, L. and Brigstocke, J. eds. 2014. Authority, experience and the life of power. Routledge.
- Brigstocke, J. 2014. The life of the city: space, humour, and the experience of truth in fin-de-siècle Montmartre. Studies in Historical Geography. Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate. (10.4324/9781315556079)
- Noorani, T., Blencowe, C. and Brigstocke, J. eds. 2013. Problems of participation: reflections on democracy, authority, and the struggle for common life. Lewes: ARN Press.
Research
Research
My primary research interests lie in cultural theory, geographies of authority, philosophy of geography, geohumanities, and experimental participatory and action-research methods.
Funded Projects
- Co-Designing Spaces of Care in the Favelas of Rio de Janeiro: An Embodied Approach (Principal Investigator, £21,673, Global Challenges Research Fund, 2022-2023)
- Transforming Atmospheric Authority: Experimental Embodiments in the Favelas of Rio de Janeiro (Principal Investigator, £253,000, AHRC, 2020-2023).
- What it is to Be There: Exploring grief, place and memory (Co-Applicant, £2000, Brigstow Institute, 2022)
- Urban Humanities Research Network (Co-Applicant, £6134, GW4 Building Communities Programme, 2021-2022)
- Harena (Principal Investigator, £3000 creative residency, Leverhulme, 2018)
- Social Change Through Creativity and Culture, Brazil (Co-Investigator, Newton/AHRC, £280,000, 2016)
- An Affective Map of Journeys in the Mare Complex of Favelas (Principal Investigator, Newton, £12,000, 2016)
- The Museum of Living Exchange (Co-Investigator, Newton, £8000, 2016)
- Participation's "Others": A Cartography of Creative Listening Practices (Principal Investigator, AHRC, £55,000, 2014 - 2015).
- Starting From Values: Evaluating Intangible Legacies (Co-Investigator, AHRC, £128,000, 2014-2015).
- Landscapes of Authority (Principal Investigator, Plymouth University, £3000, 2013-2014)
- Authority, Knowledge and Performance in Participatory Practice (named researcher, AHRC, £40,000 (2012)
- Immanent Authority and the Making of Community (named researcher, AHRC, £40,000, 2011)
Teaching
Teaching
My teaching interests lie in cultural theory and philosophies of geography, as well as cultural, social, and political geography. My teaching aims to guide students towards understandings of contemporary issues by starting from embodied and creative practices and theories.
I currently teach on modules including:
- Border Spaces: Identities, Cultures, and Politics in a Globalizing World (module leader)
- Critical Geographies of Race and Power
- Gender, Space and Place
- Urban Theory Provocations
- Research Methods
- Dissertations (undergraduate and postgraduate)
Biography
Career
- Senior Lecturer, School of Geography and Planning, Cardiff University (2020-present)
- Lecturer, School of Geography and Planning, Cardiff University (2014 - 2020).
- Lecturer, School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Plymouth University (2012-2014).
- Research Associate, Warwick University, Department of Sociology (2012)
- Senior Research Assistant, Northumbria University, Department of Sociology (2012)
- Research Associate, Newcastle University, School of Geography, Politics and Sociology (2011)
- Teaching Associate, Newcastle University, School of Geography, Politics and Sociology (2010-2011)
- Project Editor, Canopus Books (2003-2006)
Memberships
- Chair of the Royal Geographical Society's History and Philosophy of Geography Research Group
- Editorial Board, GeoHumanities
- Editorial Board, Aurora: Revista de Arte, Mídia e Política
- Editorial Board, Cardiff University Press
- Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
- Founding member of the Authority Research Network (ARN)
- Peer Review College member, Arts and Humanities Research Council (2016-2021)
Qualifications
- PGDip Academic Practice, Plymouth University (2014)
- PhD Human Geography, Bristol University (2011)
- MSc Society & Space, Bristol University (2006)
- BA (Hons) Philosophy, Bristol University (2003)
Supervisions
Supervision
I am interested in supervising research students working in the following areas:
- Cultural and non-representational geographies
- Creative geographical writing
- Spaces and politics of aesthetics
- Geographies of power and authority
- Race, gender, and intersectionality
- Border spaces
- Gender, Inequality and Violence in Brazil's Favelas
- Geographies of Hong Kong
Current supervision

Fabiana D'ascenzo
Research student

Tirion Jenkins
Research student

Barbora Adlerova
Research student