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Jo Sharp

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Prof Jo Sharp
Born17 November 1969
Perth, Scotland
TitleGeographer Royal for Scotland
SpouseVal McDermid
HonoursHonorary Fellowship of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society

President's Medal of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society

Busk Medal of the Royal Geographical Society

Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
Websitehttps://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/geography-sustainable-development/people/js314/

Joanne Patricia Sharp (born 17 November 1969), known as Jo Sharp, is a Scottish geographer. She researches and writes on geopolitics and feminist geography.[1] In April 2022 she became Geographer Royal for Scotland, the first woman to hold the title which was created in 1682.[2] She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and has been awarded the President's Medal of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society.[3]

Biography

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Academic background

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Sharp's dissertation was published in 2000 under the title Condensing the Cold War: Reader's Digest and American Identity.[4] She was a Professor at the University of Glasgow from 1995 to 2019, and later a Professor at the University of St Andrews.[5]

Research

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Geopolitics and critical political geography

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Sharp's dissertation (2000), focused on the American magazine Reader's Digest and how it contributed to the creation of a certain "American identity" between 1922 and 2000. According to her, Reader's Digest consolidated its image of America in opposition to the Soviet Union and communism.[6]

Feminist geography

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Sharp has published significant research on feminist geography, notably with co-author Linda McDowell.[7]

Postcolononial geography

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According to Heidi Bojsen:

"Joanne Sharp reminds us that colonial cartography, that of conquered territories, first served colonizers to control and occupy colonized countries and, second, as a concept that allowed the colonized to imagine themselves as 'nations' and thus to claim their independence."[8]

Personal life

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Sharp was born and raised in Perth, Scotland and attended Perth Academy. She credits her love of geography to her “inspirational” teacher, Kenneth Maclean.[9]

Sharp has been married to the Scottish crime writer Val McDermid since October 2016.[9][10]

Awards and recognition

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Sharp became Geographer Royal for Scotland in April 2022.[5][2] This distinction was created in 1682 and the first geographer to hold this title was Robert Sibbald. It was reintroduced in 2015, having not been awarded for nearly a century. Sharp is the first woman to hold this title. Her position as Geographer Royal for Scotland is scheduled to last for six years, from 2022 to 2028.[11]

Sharp has also received the following medals, distinctions, and awards:

  • 2009: Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society[12]
  • 2010: President's Medal of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, which recognises the achievement of geographers and the impact of their work on society[3]
  • 2016: Busk Medal of the Royal Geographical Society[13]
  • 2017: Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh[14]

Principal publications

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Works

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  • Linda McDowell and Joanne Sharp, Space, Gender, Knowledge: Feminist Readings. London, Routledge, 1997, 483 p. (ISBN 9781315824871, DOI https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315824871)
  • Linda McDowell and Joanne Sharp, A Feminist Glossary of Human Geography, London, Routledge, 1999, 382 p. (ISBN 9781315832449, DOI https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315832449)
  • Joanne Sharp, Paul Routledge, Chris Philo and Ronan Paddison, Entanglements of Power. London, Routledge, 1999, 320 p. (ISBN 978-0-415-18434-2, 0-415-18434-7 et 978-0-415-18435-9, OCLC 156864646, DOI 10.4324/9780203011270)
  • Joanne P. Sharp, 2000, Condensing the Cold War: Reader's Digest and American Identity, NED-New edition, University of Minnesota Press, 2000 (ISBN 978-0-8166-3415-6, DOI 10.5749/j.ctttsx1j)
  • Joanne P. Sharp, 2008, Geographies of Postcolonialism. London: Sage. ISBN 9781526498823

Articles and chapters

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  • Joanne P. Sharp, “Publishing American identity: popular geopolitics, myth and The Reader's Digest”, Political Geography, vol. 12, no 6, November 1, 1993, p. 491–503 (ISSN 0962-6298, DOI 10.1016/0962-6298(93)90001-N, read online [archive], accessed August 19, 2022)
  • Joanne P. Sharp, “Gendering Nationhood: A feminist engagement with national identity”, in Nancy Duncan, BodySpace: Destabilizing Geographies of Gender and Sexuality, London, Routledge, 1996, 288 p. (ISBN 9780203974070, DOI 10.4324/9780203974070-15/gendering-nationhood, read online [archive]), pp. 97–107
  • Lorraine Dowler and Joanne Sharp, “A Feminist Geopolitics?”, Space and Polity, vol. 5, no. 3, 1 December 2001, pp. 165–176 (ISSN 1356-2576, DOI 10.1080/13562570120104382, read online [archive], accessed 19 August 2022)
  • John Briggs and Joanne Sharp, “Indigenous knowledges and development: a postcolonial caution”, Third World Quarterly, vol. 25, no. 4, 1 May 2004, pp. 661–676 (ISSN 0143-6597, DOI 10.1080/01436590410001678915, read online [archive], accessed 19 August 2022)
  • Joanne Sharp, Venda Pollock and Ronan Paddison, “Just Art for a Just City: Public Art and Social Inclusion in Urban Regeneration”, Urban Studies, vol. 42, nos. 5–6, May 2005, pp. 1001–1023 (ISSN 0042-0980 and 1360-063X, DOI 10.1080/00420980500106963, read online [archive], accessed 19 August 2022)

References

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  1. ^ "Jo Sharp: Feminist geopolitics, postcolonialism, common sense, Reader's Digest – Exploring Geopolitics". 2011-11-05. Retrieved 2025-07-26.
  2. ^ a b "New Geographer Royal for Scotland Appointed". The Royal Scottish Geographical Society. 2022-04-13. Retrieved 2025-07-26.
  3. ^ a b "President's Award". The Royal Scottish Geographical Society. 2019-06-09. Retrieved 2025-07-26.
  4. ^ admin (2019-12-03). "Would Prof Jibrin Ibrahim Still Pay His Theoretical Debt?". Intervention. Retrieved 2025-07-26.
  5. ^ a b Charles W. J. Withers, «  », Scottish Geographical Journal, 16 August 2022, p. 1–7 (ISSN 1470-2541, DOI 10.1080/14702541.2022.2112273)
  6. ^ Julia Mickenberg, «Condensing the Cold War: "Reader's Digest" and American Identity (review)», American Literature, vol. 74, no 1, 2002, p. 181–183 (ISSN 1527-2117)
  7. ^ McDowell, Linda; Sharp, Joanne, eds. (2016-04-29). Space, Gender, Knowledge: Feminist Readings (0 ed.). Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781315824871. ISBN 978-1-317-83618-6.
  8. ^ Bojsen, Heidi (2008), "La géographie de l'errance : à la recherche de l'intention poétique de la géographie politique", Autour d’Edouard Glissant, Pessac: Presses Universitaires de Bordeaux, pp. 31–48, ISBN 978-2-86781-477-8, retrieved 2025-07-26
  9. ^ a b Alexander, Michael (2025-02-11). "What's it like living with legendary Fife crime author Val McDermid?". The Courier. Retrieved 2025-07-26.
  10. ^ Warrender, Claire (2016-10-24). "Queen of crime Val McDermid ties the knot". The Courier. Retrieved 2025-07-26.
  11. ^ Alexander, Michael (2022-04-13). "'Honoured and excited': St Andrews University academic appointed Geographer Royal for Scotland". The Courier. Retrieved 2025-07-26.
  12. ^ "Honorary Fellowship". The Royal Scottish Geographical Society. 2019-06-10. Retrieved 2025-07-26.
  13. ^ "Royal Geographical Society – Medals and awards". www.rgs.org. Archived from the original on 2022-07-05. Retrieved 2025-07-26.
  14. ^ "RSE Fellowships for two MVLS researchers". www.gla.ac.uk. Retrieved 2025-07-26.
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