Dr Pauline Couper

Teaching

I have taught on a wide range of modules across the Geography undergraduate programmes but my specialist module is the second-year Geographical Thought module, aligning with my 2015 textbook. Geography is a hugely powerful subject, developing students’ familiarity with natural science, social science and humanities approaches to knowledge generation. The module encourages students to explore the breadth and diversity of geography, and offers a means of understanding how knowledge is generated not just in geography but in other disciplines too. 
From 2025/26 I also teach the Research Design and Practice module on the MSc Environmental Management and Sustainability. Informed by philosophy of science and science & technology studies (STS), this module supports students to develop their Masters’ research proposals with a critical understanding of the societal contexts for research.  

I supervise undergraduate dissertations and appear occasionally in other modules, including on the Liberal Arts Foundation Year.

Research

My research mostly pays attention to the practices through which we arrive at knowledge, and to knowledge ‘as’ practice, in the sense that knowing means being able to operate (to do something, conceptually or practically) in a given context. My publications have addressed these themes in more concrete terms in relation to: how we arrive at knowledge in field-based geomorphology; geography’s relation with, and reproduction of, the nature/culture binary; how the bodily practices of outdoor activities such as sailing and climbing intersect with scientific and cultural understandings of nature; and the social dimensions of geography as a discipline, in research and teaching. 

My ongoing research has three strands:

• The epistemic practices of geomorphology fieldwork: articulating aspects of geomorphology fieldwork that are normally invisible in the published science.
• Work to support increased diversity in Geography, Earth and Environmental Science disciplines, with particular attention to ethnic diversity. I am part of the team for the NERC-funded EMBRACE Enviro project. I am also leading a project to scope out the current status of Geography in UK universities in relation to efforts to increase ethnic diversity, funded by a small grant from the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG). This is in collaboration with Olalekan Adekola and two student researchers. 
• A geomorphology project aims to assess evidence of groundwater sapping and other processes at the Hole of Horcum, North York Moors, in collaboration with Lucy Jones and Abby Mycroft (supported by a small grant from PLACE). 

I am a UKCGE Recognised Research Supervisor, currently lead supervisor or co-supervisor for three PhD students. 

I would particularly welcome postgraduate research student applications for projects that investigate geographical and/or environmental knowledges and practices, whether in academic, public or private spheres. 

I have examined PhD theses across geography (both physical and human geography) and education.

Publications

Books

Couper, PR (2015) A Student’s Introduction to Geographical Thought: Theory, Philosophy, Methodology. London: SAGE. 

Book chapters 

Couper, P & Bellew, M (2025) Life savers: making health and safety work for you. In Hammett, D & Holmes, N (eds), Handbook of Field Research. Routledge. 193-201. 

Couper, PR (2022) Positivism. In Ballamingie, P & Szanto, D (eds) Showing Theory to Know Theory: Understanding Social Science Concepts Through Illustrative Vignettes. Open Educational Resource, Rebus Community / Carlton University. 

Couper, PR (2020) Epistemology. In: Kobayashi, A (ed), International Encyclopedia of Human Geography (2nd ed), vol. 4. Elsevier. 275–284. 

Recent peer-reviewed journal articles

Couper, PR (2024) Feeling rules and emotion work in geomorphology fieldwork. Environment & Planning F: Philosophy, Theory, Models, Methods and Practice.  3 (3): 162-177. 

Jöns, H; Brigstocke, J; Bruinsma, M; Couper, P; Ferretti, F; Ginn, F; Hayes, E & van Meeteren, M (2024) Conversations in geography: journeying through four decades of history and philosophy of Geography in the United Kingdom. Journal of Historical Geography. 85: 40-54. 

Jöns, H; Brigstocke, J; Couper, P & Ferretti, F (2024) British history and philosophy of geography: looking back and looking forward. Journal of Historical Geography. 85: 1-8.  

Couper, PR (2024) Reflections on the first decade of the HPGRG Undergraduate Dissertation Prize: the geography and politics of reward. Journal of Historical Geography. 85: 95-98. 

Dyer, S; Hill, J; Walkington, H; Couper, P; McMorran, C; Oates, Y; Pant, L; Rink, B & West, H (2023) Courageous and compassionate teaching: International reflections on our responses to teaching geography during the pandemic. Journal of Geography in Higher Education. 48 (4): 557-574.  

Couper, P (2023) Interpretive field geomorphology as cognitive, social, embodied and affective epistemic practice. Canadian Geographies / Géographies canadiennes. 67: 430-441. 

Porter, S & Couper PR (2021) Autoethnographic stories for self and environment: reflective pedagogy to advance ‘environmental awareness’ in student outdoor practitioners. Journal of Adventure Education & Outdoor Learning. 23 (1): 25-37. 

Couper, PR (2017) The embodied spatialities of being in nature: encountering the nature/culture binary in green/blue space. cultural geographies. 25 (2): 285-299.  

Couper, PR (2017) Visibility and invisibility in, of, and through textbook production. Area. 50 (1): 43-45.  

Couper, PR & Porter, S (2016) ‘Environmental awareness’ and rock climbing: changing pedagogies to enhance pro-environmental graduate attributes. Journal of Geography in Higher Education 40 (2): 207-221. 

Couper, PR & Yarwood, R (2012) Confluences of human and physical geography research on the outdoors: an introduction to the special section on ‘Exploring the Outdoors’.  Area 44 (1):2-6. 

Couper, PR & Ansell, L (2012) Researching the outdoors: exploring the unsettled frontier between science and adventure. Area 44 (1):14-21. 

Conferences

Conference presentations

2025 Geomorphological imagination as epistemic practice in fieldwork. Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) Annual International Conference, Birmingham. 

2023  Emotion work in physical geography fieldwork: revealing the burden. Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) Annual International Conference, London.

2022  Convenor: Teaching Geographical Thought in the World: Purposes, Practices, Experiences discussion panel, Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) Annual International Conference, Newcastle.

2021  The first decade of the HPGRG Undergraduate Dissertation Prize. RGS History and Philosophy of Geography Research Group 40^th Anniversary Symposium, online (Sept 2021).

2021  ‘Getting your eye in’: the language-practice of seeing landforms in geomorphology. Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) Annual International Conference, London (Sept 2021).

2018  (with Ben Garlick) Gardening with the remains of “a living archive”: The Humberhead Peatlands as Anthroposcenic, Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) Annual International Conference, Cardiff (Sept 2018).

2018  Being in nature: challenging the myth of human mastery. Nature Connections, Derby (June 2018).

2017  Doing geographical research: a social and physical activity. Guest lecture, Geography Department, University of Bergen (Sept 2017)

2017  ‘Geography is what Geographers do’: a Wittgensteinian reprieve. Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) Annual International Conference, London (Aug 2017).

2016  Panel discussant in session titled The publication and utilization of geography textbooks, convened by Tim Hall and James Sidaway, Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) Annual International Conference, London.

2015  Nature and Culture: The problem of Geography’s human/physical ‘divide’. 64^th Lovatt Lecture, University of Worcester.

2013  (with Su Porter) Self-awareness, environmental awareness and rock climbing: using auto-ethnography to enhance graduate attributes in an Outdoor Adventure Education degree.Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) Annual International Conference, London.

2012 (with Julie Evans) The experiences of CREST’s part-time research students. Presentation to CREST Research Leads, CREST/GuildHE, London.

2013  (with Julie Evans) The part-time doctoral experience. Meeting the Needs of Part-Time Postgraduate Students, UK Council for Graduate Education, London (08/02/13).

2013  The ‘research/teaching nexus’. ‘Securing external funding for research’ – Arts and Humanities.  CREST Research Skills Seminar, Plymouth College of Art (02/07/13).

2012  (with Tim Hall) convening session titled ‘When is a geographer not a geographer? The security of Geographers’ identities through change’ (sponsored by the History and Philosophy of Geography Research Group and the Higher Education Research Group).  Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) Annual International Conference, Edinburgh.

2011  Academic language-games and the problem of the ‘research/teaching nexus’.  CREST Education Seminar, GuildHE, London (seminar convenor).

2009  (with Richard Yarwood) Current research and researching currents:  perspectives on the Great Outdoors from human and physical geography.  Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) Annual International Conference, session on “The Great Outdoors?” convened by Couper and Yarwood (supported by the Rural Geography Research Group).

2008 (with Gaynor Pollard, Sue Lea, Colin Dawson and Lisa Spencer) Learning to Sing Together: Developing Researcher Identities. Marjon Learning, Teaching and Research Conference.

2007  The River System as a Semiotic Scalar Hierarchy. International Conference on Complex Systems, Boston (MA). (with Geoff Stoakes) Research and Scholarly Activity: Implications for a Teaching-Led Institution. Marjon Learning, Teaching and Research Conference.

2006 (with Geoff Stoakes) Introducing SandRA – implications for practice.  3HEIs Change Champions Event: Encouraging a scholarly, strategically aligned approach to teaching.  North East Wales Institute, Wrexham.

With a little help from SandRA: integrating institutional, (individual) lecturer, and student perspectives on research and teaching in Geography.  Royal Geographical Society Annual International Conference.

What’s the meaning of this?  The language-games of human geography and physical geography.  Royal Geographical Society Annual International Conference.

2005 Measuring the ‘where and when’ of river bank erosion.  Royal Geographical Society Annual International Conference.

2001  Poster presentation: Subaerial river bank erosion – an underestimated erosive force. British Geomorphological Research Group Annual Conference.

2000  River bank erosion and soil particle size. British Geomorphological Research Group Postgraduate Symposium

1998 Poster presentation: The RIGS questionnaire.  First UK RIGS conference.

1998 Investigating the influence of soil particle size on river bank erosion. British Hydrological Society Postgraduate Symposium

Professional activities and memberships

I am a Chartered Geographer (CGeog), a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) (FRGS) and a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (PFHEA). I am an active member of the geographical academic community with over 20 years’ experience of teaching, research and leadership in UK higher education. 
I am a member of the History & Philosophy of Geography Research Group (HPGRG) and Geography & Education Research Group (GeogEd) of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), and a member of the British Society for Geomorphology. 
I have served as external examiner and on validation panels for undergraduate degrees, and internal and external examiner for PhD theses. 

I regularly peer review for academic journals across geography and outdoor education, as well as for academic book publishers.

Qualifications

• Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Development (Exon), 2004
• PhD: River bank erosion and the influence of soil particle size (Coventry), 2001
• BA (Hons) Geographical Studies (Coventry) – first class, 1995