Gavin Brown - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Gavin Brown
Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 2015
This paper rethinks the origins of contemporary homonormativity. Through an analysis of archival ... more This paper rethinks the origins of contemporary homonormativity. Through an analysis of archival material from a rural lesbian and gay social movement from the 1970s, it questions the common link between homonormativity and urban neoliberalism. The Gay Rural Aid & Information Network (GRAIN) provided support to lesbians and gay men living in rural Britain or who were exploring the possibility of leaving the city for rural life. The network consisted of a heterogeneous mix of lesbian and gay environmentalists and ‘back‐to‐the‐land’ enthusiasts, older lesbians and gay men who had retired to the countryside, and rural‐based gay activists. Drawing on archival material relating to GRAIN, this paper traces the diverse economic practices engaged in by rural‐based lesbians and gay men in this period. GRAIN members engaged in a complex mix of diverse economic practices and relations, both as a means towards their goal of living more ‘sustainably’ and in order to fit in to the changing post‐p...
ACME: An International Journal for Critical Geographies, 2015
This is an introduction to the ACME themed section on "the sexual politics of austerity,&quo... more This is an introduction to the ACME themed section on "the sexual politics of austerity," which was developed from a series of papers on “The sexual politics of austerity. Queer everyday life in neoliberal times” organized for the II European Geographies of Sexualities Conference held in Lisbon in September 2013.
Cultural Geographies, 2008
HAL is a multidisciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific re... more HAL is a multidisciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L'archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d'enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés.
European Journal of Ecopsychology, Dec 15, 2012
The recent development of what is known as queer ecology–the bringing together of queer and ecolo... more The recent development of what is known as queer ecology–the bringing together of queer and ecological theories and politics–was a key point of inspiration for this special issue. In order to honour that legacy, and to bring queer ecology discussions to ecopsychology and vice versa, I invited seven contemporary thinkers to sit together at a virtual roundtable. I began the discussion by asking each of the participants to offer their own individual reflection on the nature and value of queer ecology. These scholars bring a diverse range ...
Emotion, Space and Society, 2009
Outside Geography, various scholars have begun only recently to consider the emotions that inspir... more Outside Geography, various scholars have begun only recently to consider the emotions that inspire and sustain activism, that are provoked by it, and consequently what spaces and practices are necessary to sustain individual and collective resistance in the long-term (Cvetkovich, 2003; Flam and King, 2005; Goodwin et al., 2001). Although recognition of the importance of emotions to the sustenance of political organizing has long been advocated by feminists (Starhawk, 1997), too often activists, the academics who study and work with them and activist-academics treat this as (at best) a secondary issue that is of less importance than the more clearly 'political' objectives of activist campaigns. Activists often need to strive for deintegration from society (and oppressive behaviours) in order to cause social change, however ''activists' experiences of deintegration and dissonance often lead to burnout, withdrawal or cynicism'' (King, 2005: 152), and we need emotional reflexivity to overcome this tension. This special issue, like the conference session that inspired it, seeks to draw together recent geographic scholarship on emotions, affect, and activism to consider how they might productively inform each other. It seeks to offer a spatial and geographic perspective to other social scientific enquiries into the connections between emotions and social movement activism. We attend to these issues both from a practical perspective that activists need greater support in considering (our/their) emotions, and as academics arguing that such topics require further attention. We also begin with the assertion that ''emotions are contextual, embodied, and socially constructed (and deconstructed and reconstructed in fluid, plural and emergent processes); emotions are relational across relational spaces'' (Askins, 2009). The papers by contributors in this issue explore the connections between activism and emotions in a number of political and geographical contexts; as well as expressing how these connections are (re)produced through a range of different spatialities (Leitner et al., 2008). Askins reflects upon the way emotions shape our choices as academics and activists. Using her experiences of working with asylum seekers in Newcastle through the group Families Unite in Newcastle she argues for an acknowledgement that our research, teaching, learning and others' acts within and beyond the academy are all motivated by emotions. She critically explores the concept of activism and its constitution and explores ''how emotions travel, how they circulate'' between different spaces and places. In summary, Askins calls for us
Environment and Planning A, 2009
This paper performatively decentres the role of mainstream gay consumption in contemporary though... more This paper performatively decentres the role of mainstream gay consumption in contemporary thought about the economic and social lives of lesbians and gay men in the Global North. It is simultaneously critical and reparative in outlook. This paper critically engages with recent writing on homonormativity, suggesting that this work presents ‘homonormativity’ as an all-encompassing structure that becomes politically unassailable. In parallel with an analysis of contemporary lesbian and gay life as being complicit in the reproduction of various normativities, this paper takes the innovative and reparative stance of considering how such spaces and practices also produce interdependent relationships across social difference. Drawing on the recent work of Gibson-Graham (2006, A Postcapitalist Politics University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, MN) this paper considers the prospects for outlining the diversity of lesbian and gay economic practices, with the performative ambition of making...
Emotion, Space and Society, 2009
This article appeared in a journal published by Elsevier. The attached copy is furnished to the a... more This article appeared in a journal published by Elsevier. The attached copy is furnished to the author for internal non-commercial research and education use, including for instruction at the authors institution and sharing with colleagues. Other uses, including reproduction and distribution, or selling or licensing copies, or posting to personal, institutional or third party websites are prohibited. In most cases authors are permitted to post their version of the article (e.g. in Word or Tex form) to their personal website or institutional repository. Authors requiring further information regarding Elsevier's archiving and manuscript policies are encouraged to visit: http://www.elsevier.com/copyright
Children's Geographies, 2011
performance des processus industriels. Cet article s'intéresse à la recherche du personnel permet... more performance des processus industriels. Cet article s'intéresse à la recherche du personnel permettant d'assurer, lors de son affectation, les objectifs de performance recherchés. Il s'appuie sur une méthodologie d'estimation de performance des processus d'entreprise, développée en collaboration avec un partenaire industriel, incluant explicitement l'impact des compétences des individus employés. Cette méthodologie permet de proposer une démarche d'affectation rapide et performante des ressources humaines s'appuyant sur un algorithme dichotomique. Une comparaison avec des approches heuristiques classiques (recuit simulé, etc.) est réalisée sur des exemples de moyenne et grande complexité. ABSTRACT. The human factor becomes a key element of the enterprise. Into a moving environment, it ensures timeless and competitiveness. It is now necessary to model and analyse enterprise processes by taking into account human resources as well as material resources. The proposed work is dedicated to decision making for human resource assignment. Human resources are needed for the execution of process activities and generate performance. A performance estimation methodology which links human capacities and process performance has been developed with an industrial. It underlies the human resource assignment approach proposed. It has been evaluated to determine the possible assignment guaranteeing the satisfaction a performance objective of a process. A fast and performant heuristic binary search algorithm for the human resources assignment is proposed. It is compared to other heuristic algorithms (Simulated Annealing, etc.) on large and medium complexity benchmarks. MOTS-CLÉS : affectation des ressources humaines, estimation de performance, algorithme heuristique.
Children's Geographies, 2011
Antipode, 2012
The late nineteenth century saw a burgeoning of geographical writings from influential anarchist ... more The late nineteenth century saw a burgeoning of geographical writings from influential anarchist thinkers like Peter Kropotkin andÉlisée Reclus. Yet despite the vigorous intellectual debate sparked by the works of these two individuals, following their deaths anarchist ideas within geography faded. It was not until the 1970s that anarchism was once again given serious consideration by academic geographers who, in laying the groundwork for what is today known as "radical geography", attempted to reintroduce anarchism as a legitimate political philosophy. Unfortunately, quiet followed once more, and although numerous contemporary radical geographers employ a sense of theory and practice that shares many affinities with anarchism, direct engagement with anarchist ideas among academic geographers have been limited. As contemporary global challenges push anarchist theory and practice back into widespread currency, geographers need to rise to this occasion and begin (re)mapping the possibilities of what anarchist perspectives might yet contribute to the discipline.
Antipode, 2014
International solidarity is frequently presented as an asymmetrical flow of assistance travelling... more International solidarity is frequently presented as an asymmetrical flow of assistance travelling from one place to another. In contrast, we theorise the more complex, entangled and reciprocal flows of solidarity that serve to enact social change in more than one place simultaneously. The international campaign against apartheid was one of the most widespread, sustained social movements of the last century. This paper examines the spatial practices of the Non-Stop Picket of the South African Embassy in London (1986-1990). Drawing on archival and interview material, we examine how the Picket produced solidarity with those resisting apartheid in South(ern) Africa. We argue that how the need for antiapartheid solidarity was framed politically cannot be understood in isolation from how it was performed in practice. The study of solidarity is enriched by paying attention to the micropolitics of the practices through which it is enacted and articulated through key sites. Resumo La solidaridad internacional es frecuentemente presentada como un flujo asimétrico de asistencia viajando de un lugar al otro. A diferencia, teorizamos los más complejos, enredados y recíprocos flujos de la solidaridad, cuales sirvan para promulgar el cambio social en mas de un lugar en forma simultánea. La campaña internacional en contra apartheid fue una de los movimientos sociales más amplios y sostenido del siglo pasado. Este artículo examina las prácticas espaciales del piquete continuo en frente a la Embajada de Sudáfrica en Londres (1986-1990). Sobre la base de materiales de archivos y entrevistas, examinamos como el piquete producía solidaridad con los que resistían apartheid en el Sur de África. Argumentamos que cómo la necesidad para la solidaridad contra el apartheid se enmarca políticamente no puede ser entendido en forma aislada de cómo fue realizado en la práctica. 2 El estudio de la solidaridad se enriquece prestándole atención a la micropolíticas de las prácticas a través de la cual se promulgó y articula a través de los sitios clave.
Environment and Planning A, 2012
Social scientists often use the notion of ‘transition’ to denote diverse trajectories of change i... more Social scientists often use the notion of ‘transition’ to denote diverse trajectories of change in different types of bodies: from individuals, to communities, to nation-states. Yet little work has theorised how transition might occur across, between, or beyond these bodies. The aim of this paper is to sketch out a multiple, synthetic, and generative (but by no means universal) theory of transition. Primarily drawing on the British context, we explore and exemplify two contentions. Firstly, that the notion of transition is increasingly being deployed to frame and combine discourses in terms of community development, responses to environmental change, and the individual lifecourse. Specifically framed as ‘transition’, such discourses are gaining increasing purchase in imagining futures that reconfigure, but do not transform, assumed neoliberal futures. Our second contention is that these discourses and policies must try to ‘hold the future together’ in one or more senses. They must w...
Journal of Geography, 2015
This paper reports on reusable mobile digital learning resources designed to assist human geograp... more This paper reports on reusable mobile digital learning resources designed to assist human geography undergraduate students in exploring the geographies of life in Dublin. Developing active learning that goes beyond data collection to encourage observation and thinking in the field is important. Achieving this in the context of large class sizes presents several challenges. Combining in-situ learning with spatially-accurate historical and contemporary multimedia, we developed a set of location-aware digital mobile tools or 'mediascapes'. We explore how scaffolding can be achieved in such a context, focusing on the development of students' observational, enquiry and thinking skills in the field.
Journal of Homosexuality, 2012
Anarchism and sexuality HECKERT Jamie.
Comprehensive and authoritative, this state-of-the-art review both charts and develops the rich s... more Comprehensive and authoritative, this state-of-the-art review both charts and develops the rich sub-discipline geographies of sexualities, exploring sex-gender, sexuality and sexual practices. Emerging from the desire to examine differences and exclusions as a key aspect of human geographies, these geographies have engaged with heterosexual and queer, lesbian, gay, bi and trans lives. Developing thinking in this area, geographers and other social scientists have illustrated the centrality of place, space and other spatial relationships in reconstituting sexual practices, representations, desires, as well as sexed bodies and lives. This book reviews the current state of the field and offers new insights from authors located on five continents. In doing so, the book seeks to draw on and influence core debates in this field, as well as disrupt the Anglo-American hegemony in studies of sexualities, sexes and geographies. This volume is the definitive collection in the area, bringing tog...
Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 2015
This paper rethinks the origins of contemporary homonormativity. Through an analysis of archival ... more This paper rethinks the origins of contemporary homonormativity. Through an analysis of archival material from a rural lesbian and gay social movement from the 1970s, it questions the common link between homonormativity and urban neoliberalism. The Gay Rural Aid & Information Network (GRAIN) provided support to lesbians and gay men living in rural Britain or who were exploring the possibility of leaving the city for rural life. The network consisted of a heterogeneous mix of lesbian and gay environmentalists and ‘back‐to‐the‐land’ enthusiasts, older lesbians and gay men who had retired to the countryside, and rural‐based gay activists. Drawing on archival material relating to GRAIN, this paper traces the diverse economic practices engaged in by rural‐based lesbians and gay men in this period. GRAIN members engaged in a complex mix of diverse economic practices and relations, both as a means towards their goal of living more ‘sustainably’ and in order to fit in to the changing post‐p...
ACME: An International Journal for Critical Geographies, 2015
This is an introduction to the ACME themed section on "the sexual politics of austerity,&quo... more This is an introduction to the ACME themed section on "the sexual politics of austerity," which was developed from a series of papers on “The sexual politics of austerity. Queer everyday life in neoliberal times” organized for the II European Geographies of Sexualities Conference held in Lisbon in September 2013.
Cultural Geographies, 2008
HAL is a multidisciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific re... more HAL is a multidisciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L'archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d'enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés.
European Journal of Ecopsychology, Dec 15, 2012
The recent development of what is known as queer ecology–the bringing together of queer and ecolo... more The recent development of what is known as queer ecology–the bringing together of queer and ecological theories and politics–was a key point of inspiration for this special issue. In order to honour that legacy, and to bring queer ecology discussions to ecopsychology and vice versa, I invited seven contemporary thinkers to sit together at a virtual roundtable. I began the discussion by asking each of the participants to offer their own individual reflection on the nature and value of queer ecology. These scholars bring a diverse range ...
Emotion, Space and Society, 2009
Outside Geography, various scholars have begun only recently to consider the emotions that inspir... more Outside Geography, various scholars have begun only recently to consider the emotions that inspire and sustain activism, that are provoked by it, and consequently what spaces and practices are necessary to sustain individual and collective resistance in the long-term (Cvetkovich, 2003; Flam and King, 2005; Goodwin et al., 2001). Although recognition of the importance of emotions to the sustenance of political organizing has long been advocated by feminists (Starhawk, 1997), too often activists, the academics who study and work with them and activist-academics treat this as (at best) a secondary issue that is of less importance than the more clearly 'political' objectives of activist campaigns. Activists often need to strive for deintegration from society (and oppressive behaviours) in order to cause social change, however ''activists' experiences of deintegration and dissonance often lead to burnout, withdrawal or cynicism'' (King, 2005: 152), and we need emotional reflexivity to overcome this tension. This special issue, like the conference session that inspired it, seeks to draw together recent geographic scholarship on emotions, affect, and activism to consider how they might productively inform each other. It seeks to offer a spatial and geographic perspective to other social scientific enquiries into the connections between emotions and social movement activism. We attend to these issues both from a practical perspective that activists need greater support in considering (our/their) emotions, and as academics arguing that such topics require further attention. We also begin with the assertion that ''emotions are contextual, embodied, and socially constructed (and deconstructed and reconstructed in fluid, plural and emergent processes); emotions are relational across relational spaces'' (Askins, 2009). The papers by contributors in this issue explore the connections between activism and emotions in a number of political and geographical contexts; as well as expressing how these connections are (re)produced through a range of different spatialities (Leitner et al., 2008). Askins reflects upon the way emotions shape our choices as academics and activists. Using her experiences of working with asylum seekers in Newcastle through the group Families Unite in Newcastle she argues for an acknowledgement that our research, teaching, learning and others' acts within and beyond the academy are all motivated by emotions. She critically explores the concept of activism and its constitution and explores ''how emotions travel, how they circulate'' between different spaces and places. In summary, Askins calls for us
Environment and Planning A, 2009
This paper performatively decentres the role of mainstream gay consumption in contemporary though... more This paper performatively decentres the role of mainstream gay consumption in contemporary thought about the economic and social lives of lesbians and gay men in the Global North. It is simultaneously critical and reparative in outlook. This paper critically engages with recent writing on homonormativity, suggesting that this work presents ‘homonormativity’ as an all-encompassing structure that becomes politically unassailable. In parallel with an analysis of contemporary lesbian and gay life as being complicit in the reproduction of various normativities, this paper takes the innovative and reparative stance of considering how such spaces and practices also produce interdependent relationships across social difference. Drawing on the recent work of Gibson-Graham (2006, A Postcapitalist Politics University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, MN) this paper considers the prospects for outlining the diversity of lesbian and gay economic practices, with the performative ambition of making...
Emotion, Space and Society, 2009
This article appeared in a journal published by Elsevier. The attached copy is furnished to the a... more This article appeared in a journal published by Elsevier. The attached copy is furnished to the author for internal non-commercial research and education use, including for instruction at the authors institution and sharing with colleagues. Other uses, including reproduction and distribution, or selling or licensing copies, or posting to personal, institutional or third party websites are prohibited. In most cases authors are permitted to post their version of the article (e.g. in Word or Tex form) to their personal website or institutional repository. Authors requiring further information regarding Elsevier's archiving and manuscript policies are encouraged to visit: http://www.elsevier.com/copyright
Children's Geographies, 2011
performance des processus industriels. Cet article s'intéresse à la recherche du personnel permet... more performance des processus industriels. Cet article s'intéresse à la recherche du personnel permettant d'assurer, lors de son affectation, les objectifs de performance recherchés. Il s'appuie sur une méthodologie d'estimation de performance des processus d'entreprise, développée en collaboration avec un partenaire industriel, incluant explicitement l'impact des compétences des individus employés. Cette méthodologie permet de proposer une démarche d'affectation rapide et performante des ressources humaines s'appuyant sur un algorithme dichotomique. Une comparaison avec des approches heuristiques classiques (recuit simulé, etc.) est réalisée sur des exemples de moyenne et grande complexité. ABSTRACT. The human factor becomes a key element of the enterprise. Into a moving environment, it ensures timeless and competitiveness. It is now necessary to model and analyse enterprise processes by taking into account human resources as well as material resources. The proposed work is dedicated to decision making for human resource assignment. Human resources are needed for the execution of process activities and generate performance. A performance estimation methodology which links human capacities and process performance has been developed with an industrial. It underlies the human resource assignment approach proposed. It has been evaluated to determine the possible assignment guaranteeing the satisfaction a performance objective of a process. A fast and performant heuristic binary search algorithm for the human resources assignment is proposed. It is compared to other heuristic algorithms (Simulated Annealing, etc.) on large and medium complexity benchmarks. MOTS-CLÉS : affectation des ressources humaines, estimation de performance, algorithme heuristique.
Children's Geographies, 2011
Antipode, 2012
The late nineteenth century saw a burgeoning of geographical writings from influential anarchist ... more The late nineteenth century saw a burgeoning of geographical writings from influential anarchist thinkers like Peter Kropotkin andÉlisée Reclus. Yet despite the vigorous intellectual debate sparked by the works of these two individuals, following their deaths anarchist ideas within geography faded. It was not until the 1970s that anarchism was once again given serious consideration by academic geographers who, in laying the groundwork for what is today known as "radical geography", attempted to reintroduce anarchism as a legitimate political philosophy. Unfortunately, quiet followed once more, and although numerous contemporary radical geographers employ a sense of theory and practice that shares many affinities with anarchism, direct engagement with anarchist ideas among academic geographers have been limited. As contemporary global challenges push anarchist theory and practice back into widespread currency, geographers need to rise to this occasion and begin (re)mapping the possibilities of what anarchist perspectives might yet contribute to the discipline.
Antipode, 2014
International solidarity is frequently presented as an asymmetrical flow of assistance travelling... more International solidarity is frequently presented as an asymmetrical flow of assistance travelling from one place to another. In contrast, we theorise the more complex, entangled and reciprocal flows of solidarity that serve to enact social change in more than one place simultaneously. The international campaign against apartheid was one of the most widespread, sustained social movements of the last century. This paper examines the spatial practices of the Non-Stop Picket of the South African Embassy in London (1986-1990). Drawing on archival and interview material, we examine how the Picket produced solidarity with those resisting apartheid in South(ern) Africa. We argue that how the need for antiapartheid solidarity was framed politically cannot be understood in isolation from how it was performed in practice. The study of solidarity is enriched by paying attention to the micropolitics of the practices through which it is enacted and articulated through key sites. Resumo La solidaridad internacional es frecuentemente presentada como un flujo asimétrico de asistencia viajando de un lugar al otro. A diferencia, teorizamos los más complejos, enredados y recíprocos flujos de la solidaridad, cuales sirvan para promulgar el cambio social en mas de un lugar en forma simultánea. La campaña internacional en contra apartheid fue una de los movimientos sociales más amplios y sostenido del siglo pasado. Este artículo examina las prácticas espaciales del piquete continuo en frente a la Embajada de Sudáfrica en Londres (1986-1990). Sobre la base de materiales de archivos y entrevistas, examinamos como el piquete producía solidaridad con los que resistían apartheid en el Sur de África. Argumentamos que cómo la necesidad para la solidaridad contra el apartheid se enmarca políticamente no puede ser entendido en forma aislada de cómo fue realizado en la práctica. 2 El estudio de la solidaridad se enriquece prestándole atención a la micropolíticas de las prácticas a través de la cual se promulgó y articula a través de los sitios clave.
Environment and Planning A, 2012
Social scientists often use the notion of ‘transition’ to denote diverse trajectories of change i... more Social scientists often use the notion of ‘transition’ to denote diverse trajectories of change in different types of bodies: from individuals, to communities, to nation-states. Yet little work has theorised how transition might occur across, between, or beyond these bodies. The aim of this paper is to sketch out a multiple, synthetic, and generative (but by no means universal) theory of transition. Primarily drawing on the British context, we explore and exemplify two contentions. Firstly, that the notion of transition is increasingly being deployed to frame and combine discourses in terms of community development, responses to environmental change, and the individual lifecourse. Specifically framed as ‘transition’, such discourses are gaining increasing purchase in imagining futures that reconfigure, but do not transform, assumed neoliberal futures. Our second contention is that these discourses and policies must try to ‘hold the future together’ in one or more senses. They must w...
Journal of Geography, 2015
This paper reports on reusable mobile digital learning resources designed to assist human geograp... more This paper reports on reusable mobile digital learning resources designed to assist human geography undergraduate students in exploring the geographies of life in Dublin. Developing active learning that goes beyond data collection to encourage observation and thinking in the field is important. Achieving this in the context of large class sizes presents several challenges. Combining in-situ learning with spatially-accurate historical and contemporary multimedia, we developed a set of location-aware digital mobile tools or 'mediascapes'. We explore how scaffolding can be achieved in such a context, focusing on the development of students' observational, enquiry and thinking skills in the field.
Journal of Homosexuality, 2012
Anarchism and sexuality HECKERT Jamie.
Comprehensive and authoritative, this state-of-the-art review both charts and develops the rich s... more Comprehensive and authoritative, this state-of-the-art review both charts and develops the rich sub-discipline geographies of sexualities, exploring sex-gender, sexuality and sexual practices. Emerging from the desire to examine differences and exclusions as a key aspect of human geographies, these geographies have engaged with heterosexual and queer, lesbian, gay, bi and trans lives. Developing thinking in this area, geographers and other social scientists have illustrated the centrality of place, space and other spatial relationships in reconstituting sexual practices, representations, desires, as well as sexed bodies and lives. This book reviews the current state of the field and offers new insights from authors located on five continents. In doing so, the book seeks to draw on and influence core debates in this field, as well as disrupt the Anglo-American hegemony in studies of sexualities, sexes and geographies. This volume is the definitive collection in the area, bringing tog...