About me:

Nicola Thomas is Professor of Historical and Cultural Geography and Head of Geography at the University of Exeter.

You can hear a pronounciation of Nicola's name here, and her pronouns are she/hers.

She has developed a body of work around craft geographies, situating contemporary and 20th century craft practice within the broader creative economy. Her approach addresses the intersection of material, historical, cultural, social, political and economic contexts through an exploration of craft makers livelihoods and the spatial dimension of their labour. Her research always attends to the historicity of cultural production and consumption, bringing a historical sensitivity to critical understandings of the cultural and creative economy.

Nicola has worked on a number of research projects funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council that have interrogated the form and practice of the craft sector. She has recently completed a study of UK regional craft guilds and their role in supporting the livelihoods of designer makers and rural craft ecologies. As part of her research practice Nicola supports the professional development of craft practitioners through collaborative practice interventions and by sitting on the UK Crafts Council’s Talent and Development Advisory Board. Nicola co-curated a professional development collaborative craft project with Miranda Leonard and the Gloucestershire Guild of Craftsmen. The associated exhibition 'Two Make' toured in 2016-2017.

Nicola sits as a Trustee and Director of two arts organisations, Kaleider and Double Elephant, enabling her to take her research back into the sector. Her own passion for engaged research has led her to develop a strong co-design methodology within her research practice, working in partnership with organisations like the Devon Guild of Craftsmen, Gloucestershire Guild of Craftsmen and the UK Crafts Council.

Nicola has authored many book chapters, peer-reviewed journal articles and reports on regional creative economies and the craft sector. She is co-editor of Craft Economies (Bloomsbury 2018), Craft Communities (Bloomsbury 2018).

Nicola is interested in digital humanities, exploring digital storytelling and ways to connect to audiences through digital marketing in the craft sector. Recent work includes the design of a digital biography app using the research around the life of Mary Curzon, working with Software developers at Bow Software under and AHRC REACT and HEIF Open Innovation Platform grant. This work has developed into a new app, Craft Shelf, developed for the Devon Guild of Craftsmen.

Films about Nicola's research by R&A Collaborations:

A short introduction to craft geographies: https://vimeo.com/200385456

A film about my craft geographies research process: https://vimeo.com/204397645

A film about my research on craft guilds: https://vimeo.com/200847646

Film about the collaborative project 'Two Make' in partnership with the Gloucestershire Guild of Craftsmen

Introduction Film to Two Make

Film about Craft Shelf, an online marketing tool with the Devon Guild of Craftsmen:

Nicola has two further areas of research which she has pursued throughout her career. This includes:

• postcolonial geographies of gender, race and empire; gender, race and class in Colonial India; exploring relational colonial encounters through biographical methodologies; travel writing and empire embodied and material colonial histories; histories of geography and science; historical geographical methodologies and archival approaches
• gendered labour practices and career progression in higher education; equality in the workplace.

Broad research specialisms:

• Cultural Historical Geography
• Historical Cultural Georgaphies of the Creative Economy
• Craft
• Colonial and Postcolonial Geographies
• Biography and life writing
• Histories of Geographical Knowledge

Interests:

Nicola is a cultural and historical geographer who has developed several strands to her research, united by her interests in biographical approaches.

1. Cultural and humanities perspectives on the creative economy
2. Postcolonial geographies of gender, race and empire
3. Histories of geography and science
4. Gendered labour practices and career progression in higher education; equality in the workplace.

Personal Interests:

Office Hours

Amory 406

Monday 4 - 5

Thursday 11 - 12

Qualifications:

MA (Oxford)
MA (Royal Holloway, University of London)
DPhil (Oxford)

Career:

Nicola Thomas developed her interest in historical and cultural geography during her undergraduate degree at the University of Oxford. She pursued this through an MA in Cultural Geography (Research) at Royal Holloway, University of London before returning to the University of Oxford to develop her doctoral research. Nicola was appointed as Research Associate on the ESRC funded project ‘South Asian Transnationality and Commodity Culture’ in 2001, based at Royal Holloway, University of London working with Prof Peter Jackson, Prof Phil Crang and Dr Claire Dwyer. She joined Exeter University as a Lecturer in Human Geography in September 2002. During her time at Exeter Nicola has gained research council funding from the British Academy and the AHRC. She is was co- investigator (2007-2010) on a large AHRC-funded research project entitled Negotiating the Cultural Politics and Poetics of Identity within the Creative Industries of South West Britain. Her recent funding includes an AHRC Connected Communities projects, AHRC Early Career Grant titled 'Situating Craft Guilds in the Creative Economy: Histories, Politics and Practices'.

Nicola has served for many years on the RGS-IBG research groups and has represented the RGS-IBG research groups on the RGS-IBG Research Committee. She is Honorary Secretary of the Reearch adn Higher Education Division of the Royal Goegrpahical Society, and sits as a Trustee and Member of Council on the RGS-IBG.