Dr Anna Pigott

Lecturer, Geography

a.l.pigott@swansea.ac.uk

Available For Postgraduate Supervision

Research Links

About

I am a lecturer in Human Geography, having recently completed an ESRC Early Career Fellowship at Swansea University. I have a PhD in Human Geography (Swansea University, 2018), an MSc in Environmental Dynamics and Climate Change (Swansea University, 2012, Distinction), and a BA in Geography (Cambridge University, 2007, First Class Honours).

I am interested in the intersections between cultural geography, ecology, and climate, an approach which aligns with the aims of the Environmental Humanities (EH). The EH is an emerging field of scholarship that is engaging with fundamental questions of meaning, value, responsibility, and purpose in a time of rapid environmental change, and which draws on insights from arts and humanities to help grasp and respond to this change. I am particularly interested in the relationships between humans and the more-than-human world, and how these relationships are shaped by stories and narratives. In this vein, my current research is focusing on practices of tree-planting for carbon-sequestration.

Areas Of Expertise

Environment/climate change and society
Environmental justice
Social theory
Cultural geographies
Stories and narrative
Environmental Humanities
Environmental art and creativity

Career Highlights

Teaching Interests

I am currently developing a new second year module on the Geographies of Climate Action and Activism. I have taught and assisted across a wide range of human and physical geography modules, including social research methods, climate change, social theory, and foundations in human geography. My particular interests and expertise are at the intersection between human geography and environment.

Research Award Highlights Collaborations

Publications

Research Highlights

Pigott, A. (2018). Imagining socioecological transformation: An analysis of the Welsh Government’s policy innovations and orientations to the future. Elememta: Science of the Anthropocene, 6(1), 60-78.
https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.315, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa45955
https://www.elementascience.org/article/10.1525/elementa.315/
Pigott, A. (2019). Reviewed Work: The Progress of This Storm: Nature and Society in a Warming World by Andreas Malm. Environment, Space, Place, 11(1), 159-162.
SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa51123
https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5749/envispacplac.11.1.0159
Pigott, A. (2020). Articulating artfulness: Exploring the ecological potential of creative conversation. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 45(4), 877-890.
https://doi.org/10.1111/tran.12398, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa54472
Pigott, A. (2020). Hocus pocus? Spirituality and soil care in biodynamic agriculture. Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space, 4(4), 251484862097092
https://doi.org/10.1177/2514848620970924, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa55541
Pigott, A. (2020). Holocene book review: The Science and Politics of Global Climate Change: A Guide to the Debate. The Holocene, 30(7), 1097-1098.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683620910017, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa61209

All Research

Journal Articles

Pigott, A. (2020). Articulating artfulness: Exploring the ecological potential of creative conversation. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 45(4), 877-890.
https://doi.org/10.1111/tran.12398, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa54472
Pigott, A. (2020). Hocus pocus? Spirituality and soil care in biodynamic agriculture. Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space, 4(4), 251484862097092
https://doi.org/10.1177/2514848620970924, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa55541
Pigott, A. (2020). Holocene book review: The Science and Politics of Global Climate Change: A Guide to the Debate. The Holocene, 30(7), 1097-1098.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683620910017, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa61209
Pigott, A. (2019). Reviewed Work: The Progress of This Storm: Nature and Society in a Warming World by Andreas Malm. Environment, Space, Place, 11(1), 159-162.
SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa51123
https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5749/envispacplac.11.1.0159
Pigott, A. (2018). Imagining socioecological transformation: An analysis of the Welsh Government’s policy innovations and orientations to the future. Elememta: Science of the Anthropocene, 6(1), 60-78.
https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.315, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa45955
https://www.elementascience.org/article/10.1525/elementa.315/

Supervision

Working the Land at a Time of Crises: Emotional responses to Climate and Nature emergencies in Wales (current)

PhD

Other supervisor: Dr Christopher Muellerleile

Other supervisor: Prof Tavi Murray

Taught Modules

GEG273 Geographies of Climate Action and Activism

This course will explore the kinds of knowledge, politics, and imaginations that underpin current responses to the climate crisis. It will engage critical and cutting-edge debates in Geography and related fields to help us grapple with the multiple ways we might understand and respond to a warming world. The module will begin by introducing climate change as a `hyperobject¿ - that is, a phenomenon that is so vast in its temporality and scale that it is hard to grasp as a traditional `object', but nonetheless requires urgent and widespread action. We will explore the particular politics and imaginaries associated with past and recent prominent climate movements (Extinction Rebellion, Greta Thunberg, and the School Strikes, for example) whilst examining the various attempts at thinking environment and politics differently that some of these movements embody. The final part of the module will engage with the concepts of ecological anxiety and ecological citizenship. This is a crucial and exciting time to be studying the emerging responses to the climate crisis, as there are so many examples from the world around us, and geographers are especially well placed to explore their tensions and possibilities. This course will help students to develop their `climate change literacy¿ and to learn how to navigate and contribute to the complex political worlds of climate science, activism, and agency.
GEG331 Dissertation Report: Geography

The dissertation is an original, substantive and independent research project in an aspect of Geography. It is typically based on approximately 20 - 25 days of primary research and several weeks of analysis and write-up. The end result must be less than 7,500 words of text. The dissertation offers you the chance to follow your personal interests and to demonstrate your capabilities as a Geographer. During the course of your dissertation you will be supported by a student-led discussion group and a staff supervisor, and you will also provide constructive criticism to fellow students undertaking related research projects, learning from their research problems and subsequent solutions. This support and supervision is delivered through the 'Dissertation Support' module, which is a co-requisite.
GEG332 Dissertation Support: Geography

This module provides structured, student-led peer-group support and academic staff group supervision for students undertaking the 30-credit 'Dissertation Report: Geography' module. This support and supervision is assessed through the submission of a PowerPoint Poster in TB1 and the submission outline in TB2. Working within a supervised Student Peer Group, you will also have the opportunity to provide constructive criticism to fellow students undertaking related research projects, learning from their research problems and subsequent solutions. This module complements the 'Dissertation Report: Geography' module, which is a co-requisite.
GEGM15 Qualitative Research Methods

This module provides an introduction to the main data-sources and analysis methods used in qualitative research. In addition to covering the key conceptual and epistemological issues associated with qualitative research design, the module provides an introduction to a range of qualitative techniques used in social science research including questionnaire design, interviewing, observational methods, visual methodologies and textual analysis. Issues associated with combining a mixture of qualitative methods are also considered. The strengths and limitations of various techniques are explored with particular emphasis on issues of reliability, validity and representativeness.