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Staff Profile

Dr Ingrid A. Medby

Senior Lecturer in Human Geography

Background

I am a Senior Lecturer in Human Geography, with a focus on Political Geography. I joined Newcastle University in 2021, prior to which I worked at Oxford Brookes University and University College London (UCL). I hold a PhD in Human Geography from Durham University (2017), an MSc in International Relations from The University of Edinburgh (2012), and a BA in International Studies from RMIT University (2011).

My research focuses on Arctic geopolitics, and I am particularly interested in the intersections of identity, statecraft, and changing environments. In addition to my academic publications (please see below), I regularly engage with public media and policy.

I am a UK representative on the International Arctic Science Committee's (IASC) Social & Human Working Group, and committee member of the UK Arctic and Antarctic Partnership.


ORCiD profile.

Google Scholar profile.

Twitter profile.

Research

My research is situated in political geography and critical geopolitics. I am particularly interested in the intersections of identity, (geo)political practice and participation; and in governance of and responses to changing environments. My research focuses on the Arctic and High North, and seeks to broaden the voices and perspectives considered as contributors to ‘geopolitics’. In other words, key questions I have been and continue to be interested in include: Whose voices are heard, how, and why; what actions taken or not taken; and how may social relations across scales influence perceptions of self and other?

I completed my PhD in 2017, looking at how identity discourses are understood and articulated by state personnel representing three Arctic states (Norway, Iceland, and Canada), and arguing for a more ‘peopled’ account of geopolitics. I am currently working on a monograph based on this project. Since finishing my doctoral project, I have also explored how politics of sustainability become interwoven with national identity narratives, ‘Orientalism’ in Arctic affairs, critical security and the Anthropocene, Indigenous ‘inclusion’ in statecraft, and agency in peace-building/people-to-people initiatives (the latter funded by a BA Small Research Grant).

Most recently, I have also focused on the intersections of geopolitics and language, and in particular how we might apply Wittgenstein’s philosophy of language to the study of critical geopolitics. Across these concerns and projects, I continue to explore how we may challenge the taken-for-granted and the status quo.

Teaching

I am Degree Programme Director (DPD) for our MA in Human Geography Research.


I currently lead the following modules:

  • GEO3102: Geopolitics.
  • GEO8015: Doing Geographical Research.
  • GEO8017: Human Geography: Concepts in Action.
  • GEO8089: Research Dissertation.


And I also teach on the following modules:

  • GEO1024: Coasts and Communities.
  • GEO2047: Political Geography.
  • GEO2139: Exploring Everyday Political Geographies in a Divided City: Nicosia.
  • GEO3099: Dissertation.
  • POL8026: Security: Politics, Society, and Space.


Additionally, I contribute to the PhD supervision of Mr Carl Mohr at Oxford Brookes University, looking at the geopolitics of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Central Asia; and of Mr Joaquim Gaignard at Durham University, looking at Scotland's Northern-Arctic identity.


I welcome contact from anyone interested in PhD supervision - especially on Political Geographical topics relating to geopolitics, identity, language, and Arctic relations.

Publications