Forthcoming collection — “Concepts for Cultural Geography” and new CG(U)LE website
Another year, another call! Ben and I are excited about the next collection in the works to be published by Cultural Geography (Un)limited Editions, called Concepts for Cultural Geography.
Submissions have just closed, and we’re delighted to have had over 130 entries sent in. The summer will be spent combing through these, and thinking about how and what this comingling of concepts adds to the rich world of cultural geography.
Relatedly, we’ve finally got a website for the publisher up and running. We’re appreciative to the University of Bristol for giving us some seed funding to get the platform up and running. It’s still a work-in-progress, but it’s nice to have a little plot of our own to tend to, and hopefully you will see things grow over the next months...
Another year, another call! Ben and I are excited about the next collection in the works to be published by Cultural Geography (Un)limited Editions, called Concepts for Cultural Geography.
Submissions have just closed, and we’re delighted to have had over 130 entries sent in. The summer will be spent combing through these, and thinking about how and what this comingling of concepts adds to the rich world of cultural geography.
Relatedly, we’ve finally got a website for the publisher up and running. We’re appreciative to the University of Bristol for giving us some seed funding to get the platform up and running. It’s still a work-in-progress, but it’s nice to have a little plot of our own to tend to, and hopefully you will see things grow over the next months...
New paper — “Ambivalent threads of repair: transmitting, translating and transforming Yao embroidery at an ethnic boarding school in China”
My colleagues at Guangzhou University and I have a short new article out in the Cultural Geographies in Practice section of cultural geographies.
Led by my fantastic colleague Lei Wei, it draws on research that Lei has been leading into ethnic minority folk and craft practices in China. It draws on a particular thread of this fieldwork that took place in a primary school where traditional craft practices are being revived and reinvented in the classroom.
We argue that the school is not simply preserving these practices but also reshaping them – imparting new relations and functions, including commodification and codification into state-led institutions concerned with cultivating ideal citizen-subjects. Without appealing to celebratory narratives or idealised repair, we reflect in this article on the transmission of craft practices at the intersection of loss and transformation.
My colleagues at Guangzhou University and I have a short new article out in the Cultural Geographies in Practice section of cultural geographies.
Led by my fantastic colleague Lei Wei, it draws on research that Lei has been leading into ethnic minority folk and craft practices in China. It draws on a particular thread of this fieldwork that took place in a primary school where traditional craft practices are being revived and reinvented in the classroom.
We argue that the school is not simply preserving these practices but also reshaping them – imparting new relations and functions, including commodification and codification into state-led institutions concerned with cultivating ideal citizen-subjects. Without appealing to celebratory narratives or idealised repair, we reflect in this article on the transmission of craft practices at the intersection of loss and transformation.
02/2026
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Photographs by Teng Zhou.
Citation: Wei, L., Zhang, V., Zhou, T., & Zhu, H. (2026). Ambivalent threads of repair: transmitting, translating and transforming Yao embroidery at an ethnic boarding school in China. cultural geographies, 14744740261418698. doi:10.1177/14744740261418698
Photographs by Teng Zhou.
Citation: Wei, L., Zhang, V., Zhou, T., & Zhu, H. (2026). Ambivalent threads of repair: transmitting, translating and transforming Yao embroidery at an ethnic boarding school in China. cultural geographies, 14744740261418698. doi:10.1177/14744740261418698
Compilation — “The Promise of Cultural Geography”
What somehow has come to feel like the main thing I’ve been working on throughout 2025 has been a side project with Ben Anderson up in Durham called The Promise of Cultural Geography, put out on our new publisher, Cultural Geography (Un)limited Editions, which we (frankly) established to put out the book (more on that in a future post...). The Promises project followed on from the 50th anniversary event for the RGS-IBG Social and Cultural Geography Research Group that I last wrote about, out of which Chris Philo and I wrote the Revisiting New Words, New Worlds correspondence piece.
To pair that ‘backwards-looking’ reflection, Ben and I hatched out a plan for a more ‘forwards-looking’ (or perhaps ‘stock-taking’) project, one that hoped to grasp at the multiplicty of the sub-discipline as it was being practiced in diverse corners and quarters of the world.
At the start of the year, we sent out an open call for single-word submissions of between 1 and 1,000 words, in any style or form, in response to the question ‘What, for you, is the promise of cultural geography?’
That call-out became Promises, a compilation of 86 single- and multi-authored entries responding to this perhaps rather engimatic question. (Indeed, I enjoyed chatting to my Chinese colleagues about how to translate the different meanings and connotations of the word ‘promise’, for which there is no single equivalent in Mandarin, including the sense of a pledge, an oath, a commitment, its directedness, futurity, uncertainty, even failure...)
In addition to the open-access digital copy (‘unlimited’), we also did a short run printed book (‘limited’), which we launched at the RGS-IBG Dialogues in Human Geography Discussion Forum ‘The future of cultural geography: promises and dreams’, alongside a stellar lineup of reflections and provocations by Adam Searle, Sasha Engelmann, Anna Secor, Leila Dawney and Chris Philo.
We were absolutely delighted to have the book beautifully printed by Gomer Press in Llandysul, Wales, with a embossed hot pink cover, textured cream paper, and a flurorescent-orange-stitched naked spine. Big props go to Merle Patchett for style tips on colours and textures for the print version.
Print copies are available for £10 + £3 postage worldwide — just get in touch with me by email if you’d like a copy. We managed to sell over 100 copies at the conference — a huge thanks goes to Catherine Souch and Sarah Evans of the RGS-IBG for taking care of the books at the registration desk.
If you’re interested in hearing more about the origins and unfoldings of the project, Ben and I recently joined a podcast about the project at the Channel, the podcast of the Institute of Asian Studies at the Universiteit Leiden. We were generously hosted by Ben Linder, who got in touch with us to learn more about the project. Ben asked some really banger questions, and it was an absolute delight to speak with him.
We are so grateful to every person who saw ‘promise’ in the Promise project. Ben and I are planning another collective project in the coming year, with much more planned for ‘cg(u)le’ — so stay tuned, and please, please consider sending something in! We’d love to have you.
What somehow has come to feel like the main thing I’ve been working on throughout 2025 has been a side project with Ben Anderson up in Durham called The Promise of Cultural Geography, put out on our new publisher, Cultural Geography (Un)limited Editions, which we (frankly) established to put out the book (more on that in a future post...). The Promises project followed on from the 50th anniversary event for the RGS-IBG Social and Cultural Geography Research Group that I last wrote about, out of which Chris Philo and I wrote the Revisiting New Words, New Worlds correspondence piece.
To pair that ‘backwards-looking’ reflection, Ben and I hatched out a plan for a more ‘forwards-looking’ (or perhaps ‘stock-taking’) project, one that hoped to grasp at the multiplicty of the sub-discipline as it was being practiced in diverse corners and quarters of the world.
At the start of the year, we sent out an open call for single-word submissions of between 1 and 1,000 words, in any style or form, in response to the question ‘What, for you, is the promise of cultural geography?’
That call-out became Promises, a compilation of 86 single- and multi-authored entries responding to this perhaps rather engimatic question. (Indeed, I enjoyed chatting to my Chinese colleagues about how to translate the different meanings and connotations of the word ‘promise’, for which there is no single equivalent in Mandarin, including the sense of a pledge, an oath, a commitment, its directedness, futurity, uncertainty, even failure...)
In addition to the open-access digital copy (‘unlimited’), we also did a short run printed book (‘limited’), which we launched at the RGS-IBG Dialogues in Human Geography Discussion Forum ‘The future of cultural geography: promises and dreams’, alongside a stellar lineup of reflections and provocations by Adam Searle, Sasha Engelmann, Anna Secor, Leila Dawney and Chris Philo.
We were absolutely delighted to have the book beautifully printed by Gomer Press in Llandysul, Wales, with a embossed hot pink cover, textured cream paper, and a flurorescent-orange-stitched naked spine. Big props go to Merle Patchett for style tips on colours and textures for the print version.
Print copies are available for £10 + £3 postage worldwide — just get in touch with me by email if you’d like a copy. We managed to sell over 100 copies at the conference — a huge thanks goes to Catherine Souch and Sarah Evans of the RGS-IBG for taking care of the books at the registration desk.
If you’re interested in hearing more about the origins and unfoldings of the project, Ben and I recently joined a podcast about the project at the Channel, the podcast of the Institute of Asian Studies at the Universiteit Leiden. We were generously hosted by Ben Linder, who got in touch with us to learn more about the project. Ben asked some really banger questions, and it was an absolute delight to speak with him.
We are so grateful to every person who saw ‘promise’ in the Promise project. Ben and I are planning another collective project in the coming year, with much more planned for ‘cg(u)le’ — so stay tuned, and please, please consider sending something in! We’d love to have you.
12/2025
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Citation: Zhang, V., & Anderson, B. (2025). The promise of cultural geography. Cultural Geography (Un)limited Editions: Bristol and Durham. https://doi.org/10.71706/8dfd3ca0-0a6d-49ce-abdb-568a7ccbb807
Podcast about the project at ‘The Channel’, the podcast from IIAS at Leiden University: https://www.iias.asia/the-channel/promise-cultural-geography
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Citation: Zhang, V., & Anderson, B. (2025). The promise of cultural geography. Cultural Geography (Un)limited Editions: Bristol and Durham. https://doi.org/10.71706/8dfd3ca0-0a6d-49ce-abdb-568a7ccbb807
Podcast about the project at ‘The Channel’, the podcast from IIAS at Leiden University: https://www.iias.asia/the-channel/promise-cultural-geography
Book — “Revisiting New Words, New Worlds: A Correspondence, June-September 2024”
Last November, Chris Philo and I put out a ‘correspondence’ in the form a small self-published book (seems impertinent to call it a book, but I suppose that’s an accurate description of the physical form it takes). The correspondence reflected on the early life of the Social and Cultural Geography Research Group (SCGRG) of the RGS-IBG and its role in the emergence of the influential ‘New Cultural Geography’ in the 1980s and 90s, specifically around the publication New Words, New Worlds published November 1991.
Several timelines converged and intertwined themselves early in 2024 to bring this project to life.
The earliest goes back to Chris examining my PhD thesis in early 2021. In the years since, we’ve kept in touch, and in the course of preparing lectures for an introduction to cultural geography unit as I started at Bristol, New Words, New Worlds kept cropping up in my reading - and yet, no matter where I looked, I couldn’t seem to find a copy. Seeing the Chris was the compiler, I got in touch to ask him about it.
When the 50th anniversary of the SCGRG came up (of which I’ve been Treasurer the last few years), Chris and I came up with the idea to make NWNW available again, to honour the role of the group in bringing the original publication together, and to put some contextualising words to the life NWNW has taken in the 33 years since.
To pull this together, Chris and I exchanged emails every few weeks for much of 2024. I loved receiving each thoughtful missive, and I’m thankful to Chris for taking the time to engage so wholeheartedly in this correspondence.
Last November, Chris Philo and I put out a ‘correspondence’ in the form a small self-published book (seems impertinent to call it a book, but I suppose that’s an accurate description of the physical form it takes). The correspondence reflected on the early life of the Social and Cultural Geography Research Group (SCGRG) of the RGS-IBG and its role in the emergence of the influential ‘New Cultural Geography’ in the 1980s and 90s, specifically around the publication New Words, New Worlds published November 1991.
Several timelines converged and intertwined themselves early in 2024 to bring this project to life.
The earliest goes back to Chris examining my PhD thesis in early 2021. In the years since, we’ve kept in touch, and in the course of preparing lectures for an introduction to cultural geography unit as I started at Bristol, New Words, New Worlds kept cropping up in my reading - and yet, no matter where I looked, I couldn’t seem to find a copy. Seeing the Chris was the compiler, I got in touch to ask him about it.
When the 50th anniversary of the SCGRG came up (of which I’ve been Treasurer the last few years), Chris and I came up with the idea to make NWNW available again, to honour the role of the group in bringing the original publication together, and to put some contextualising words to the life NWNW has taken in the 33 years since.
To pull this together, Chris and I exchanged emails every few weeks for much of 2024. I loved receiving each thoughtful missive, and I’m thankful to Chris for taking the time to engage so wholeheartedly in this correspondence.
3/2025
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Citation: Philo, C. & Zhang, V. (2024). Revisiting ‘New Words, New Worlds’: A Correspondence. Social and Cultural Geography Research Group: Bristol. https://doi.org/10.71706/29b99027-6c3b-46ab-bf6b-54a74a746105
Learn more about the SCGRG 50th event and publication, and read the original New Words, New Worlds: https://scgrg.co.uk/50th
Citation: Philo, C. & Zhang, V. (2024). Revisiting ‘New Words, New Worlds’: A Correspondence. Social and Cultural Geography Research Group: Bristol. https://doi.org/10.71706/29b99027-6c3b-46ab-bf6b-54a74a746105
Learn more about the SCGRG 50th event and publication, and read the original New Words, New Worlds: https://scgrg.co.uk/50th