Overview
Background
Geoff is a leading Australian sociologist with interests in rural and regional sociology, globalisation/localisation and agrifood research.
He attended James Ruse Agricultural High School in Sydney and was School Captain in 1968. He then completed a degree in agricultural economics at Sydney University in 1972. This was followed by a diploma in social science (UNE), Master of Science in Sociology (Wisconisn-Madison) and a PhD (Griffith). In 1992 he became Associate Professor of Sociology and Foundation Director, Centre for Rural Social Research, at Charles Sturt University before moving later that year to Central Queensland University as Foundation Professor of Sociology (1992-2002) and Executive Director, Institute for Sustainable Regional Development (1998-2002). He joined The University of Queensland as Professor of Sociology and Head of the School of Social Science in 2002. He is a Life Member of the Fitzroy Basin Association, a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia, Life Member of the Australian Sociological Association, and was President of the International Rural Sociology Association (2012-2016). He became Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Queensland in 2014.
His full profile can be seen at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Lawrence_(sociologist)
Availability
- Emeritus Professor Geoffrey Lawrence is:
- Not available for supervision
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Science, University of Sydney
- Postgraduate Diploma, University of New England Australia
- Masters (Coursework) of Science, University of Wisconsin
- Doctor of Philosophy, Griffith University
Research interests
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Agriculture, the Environment and the Politics of Sustainability
The questions are: To what extent is 'greening' and green politics influencing the course of agricultural development and resulting in policies aimed at reducing ecological destruction? What is the nature of the debates and theorisations regarding productivism/post-productivism in the rural landscapes of advance economies? In a practical sense, how is it possible to ensure that current and future natural resource management will provide sustainable outcomes for society?
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Globalisation, Localisation and Restructuring of Regional Australia
This is a broad area whcih includes an examination of the social affects of economic change upon regions and highlights town decline, poverty, unemployment and ill-health - as well as the 'ingredients' for successful community development and the enhancement of social capital. Issues of empowerment and governance are crucial to the understanding of the future of the regions. The issue of global/local relations is also of significance - particularly as Australian governments seek to promote 'self help' and 'partnership' options.
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Financialisation of Food and Farming
Finance capital is playing an increasingly important role in food and farming industries. Entities like merchant banks, sovereign wealth funds, private equity firms and hedge funds are purchasing farmlands and agribusinesses in an effort to increase returns to shareholders. However, some of these activities are speculative and lead to food price distortions; others impact upon traditional owners when so-called 'land grabs' force producers from their farms. 'Financialisation' is seen as being as important as globalisation and neoliberalism in altering the face of food and farming.
Works
Search Professor Geoffrey Lawrence’s works on UQ eSpace
2001
Book Chapter
What do we mean by green? Consumers, agriculture and the food industry
Burch, David, Lyons, Kristen and Lawrence, Geoffrey (2001). What do we mean by green? Consumers, agriculture and the food industry. Consuming foods, sustaining environments. (pp. 45-68) Bowen Hills, Qld: Australian Academic Press.
2001
Book
Environment, society, and natural resource management: Theoretical perspectives from Australasia and the Americas
G. A. Lawrence, Stewart Lockie and Vaughan Higgins eds. (2001). Environment, society, and natural resource management: Theoretical perspectives from Australasia and the Americas. Cheltenham ; Northampton, Mass., U.S.: Edward Elgar.
2001
Book Chapter
Institutionalisation and resistance – organic agriculture in Australia and New Zealand
Lyons, Kristen and Lawrence, Geoffrey (2001). Institutionalisation and resistance – organic agriculture in Australia and New Zealand. Food, nature and society: rural life in late modernity. (pp. 124-147) edited by Hilary Tovey and Michel Blanc. Aldershot: Ashgate.
2001
Journal Article
Review of The Exploitation of Plant Genetic Information
Lawrence, G. and Norton, J. (2001). Review of The Exploitation of Plant Genetic Information. Sociologia Ruralis, 41 (4), 477-478.
2001
Conference Publication
Eating 'Green': the relative importance of environmental concerns in the consumption of organic foods
Lockie, S., Lyons, K., Mummery, K. and Lawrence, G. (2001). Eating 'Green': the relative importance of environmental concerns in the consumption of organic foods. Kyoto Environmental Sociology Conference, Kyoto, Japan, 21-23 October 2001.
2001
Book Chapter
Globalisation, Neoliberalism and Rural Decline: Australia and Canada
Gray, I., Knutilla, M. and Lawrence, G. (2001). Globalisation, Neoliberalism and Rural Decline: Australia and Canada. Writing Off Rural Communities: Globalization, Governments, and the Transformation of Rural Life. (pp. 89-105) edited by Epp, R. and Whitson, D.. Edmonton, Canada: University of Alberta Press.
2001
Journal Article
A cultural economy study of beef as a commodity: A preliminary analysis from Central Queensland
Reis, Julie, Lawrence, Geoffrey and Lockie, Stewart (2001). A cultural economy study of beef as a commodity: A preliminary analysis from Central Queensland. Rural Society: the journal of research into rural and regional social issues in Australia, 11 (3), 225-241. doi: 10.5172/rsj.11.3.225
2001
Journal Article
Regional Australia: the 'Other Nation'
Gray, I. and Lawrence, G. (2001). Regional Australia: the 'Other Nation'. Nexus, 13 (2).
2000
Book Chapter
Australian communities in a 'Greening' world
Lawrence, G. (2000). Australian communities in a 'Greening' world. A decade of Landcare: our achievements: report on proceedings. (pp. 34-51) Rockhampton, QLD, Australia: Department of Natural Resources and mines.
2000
Conference Publication
Keynote Address: Rural and regional development - fulfilling a partial approach
Cavaye, J. and Lawrence, G. (2000). Keynote Address: Rural and regional development - fulfilling a partial approach. Fourth National Sustainable Economic Growth for Regional Australia (SEGRA) Conference, Ballarat, VIC, Australia, 20-22 November 2000.
2000
Journal Article
Gender and drought: Experiences of Australian women in the drought of the 1990s
Stehlik, D, Lawrence, G and Gray, L (2000). Gender and drought: Experiences of Australian women in the drought of the 1990s. Disasters, 24 (1), 38-53. doi: 10.1111/1467-7717.00130
2000
Book Chapter
Sport and Australian society
Hughson, J., Lawrence, G. W., McKay, J. and Rowe, D. (2000). Sport and Australian society. A Sociology of Australian Society. (pp. 275-300) Melbourne: MacMillan.
2000
Conference Publication
Global Perspectives on Rural Communities - Trends and Patterns
Lawrence, G. (2000). Global Perspectives on Rural Communities - Trends and Patterns. International Landcare 2000 Conference & Exhibition, Melbourne, VIC Australia, 2-5 March 2000. Melbourne, VIC Australia: Landcare Australia.
2000
Conference Publication
Public Perceptions of Biotechnology: Communication Strategy Options
Lawrence, G. and Norton, J. (2000). Public Perceptions of Biotechnology: Communication Strategy Options. 15th Australasian Biotechnology Conference, Brisbane, QLD Australia, 2-6 July 2000.
2000
Journal Article
Constructing "green" foods: corporate capital, risk and organic farming in Australia and New Zealand
Lockie, Stewart, Lyons, Kristen and Lawrence, Geoffrey (2000). Constructing "green" foods: corporate capital, risk and organic farming in Australia and New Zealand. Agriculture and Human Values, 17 (4), 315-322. doi: 10.1023/A:1026547102757
2000
Conference Publication
'Capacity for Change' and Adoption of Improved Natural Resource Management Practices in Australian Agriculture
Lockie, S., Dale, A., Lawrence, G. and Taylor, B. (2000). 'Capacity for Change' and Adoption of Improved Natural Resource Management Practices in Australian Agriculture. 10th World Congress of Rural Sociology and the 38th Congresso Brasileiro de Economia e Sociologia Rural, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 30 July - 5 August 2000. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: International Rural Sociology Association.
2000
Conference Publication
Assessing the neo-liberal experiment in antipodean agriculture: an investigation into the 'Sociology of Instability'
Campbell, H. and Lawrence, G. (2000). Assessing the neo-liberal experiment in antipodean agriculture: an investigation into the 'Sociology of Instability'. Xth World Congress of Rural Sociology 'Sustainable Rural Livelihoods', Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 30 July - 5 August 2000.
2000
Book Chapter
The Myths of Modern Agriculture: Australian Rural Production in the 21st Century
Lawrence, G. and Gray, I. (2000). The Myths of Modern Agriculture: Australian Rural Production in the 21st Century. Land of Discontent: the Dynamics of Change in Rural and Regional Australia. (pp. 33-51) edited by Pritchard, B. and McManus, P.. Sydney, NSW Australia: University of NSW Press.
2000
Conference Publication
Opening address
Lawrence, G. (2000). Opening address. Annual Conference of the Committee for Economic Development of Australia, Hervey Bay, QLD, Australia, 11-12 October 2000.
2000
Conference Publication
Reflexivity and Neoliberalism in Regional Australia
Lawrence, Geoffrey (2000). Reflexivity and Neoliberalism in Regional Australia. Sights/Sites TASA 2000 Conference, Adelaide, SA, Australia, 6-8 December 2000. Parkville, VIC, Australia: The Australian Sociological Association.
Funding
Supervision
Availability
- Emeritus Professor Geoffrey Lawrence is:
- Not available for supervision
Supervision history
Completed supervision
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2020
Doctor Philosophy
Financialization and the restructuring of agriculture in Tanzania: Global finance and the takeover of farmland
Principal Advisor
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2020
Doctor Philosophy
Agri-food transformations in Northern Australia: The work of local actors in mediating financial investments
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Kiah Smith
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2017
Master Philosophy
Cultivating climate change resilience in agri-food systems: Responses to natural disasters and emerging climate risks in Queensland's fresh produce supply chains
Principal Advisor
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2017
Doctor Philosophy
Climate Change Adaptation in Southwest Bangladesh: Vulnerability and Gender Inequality
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Adjunct Professor Adil Khan
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2016
Doctor Philosophy
Rice, politics and power: the political economy of food insecurity in East Asia
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Melissa Curley
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2014
Doctor Philosophy
The production of audit assurance: Unintended consequences of retailer governance in the Australian food system
Principal Advisor
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2012
Doctor Philosophy
Environmental Governance in Rural Regions: A critical-interpretive perspective on policy implementation in Australia
Principal Advisor
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2011
Doctor Philosophy
Contesting 'ethicality': Ethical trade, gender and sustainable livelihoods for smallholder farmers in Kenya
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Kristen Lyons
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2010
Doctor Philosophy
Lakeside living - realising dreams in a master planned community
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Lynda Cheshire
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2010
Doctor Philosophy
Regional whole-of-government in Central Queensland: a sociocultural interpretation
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Lynda Cheshire
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2008
Doctor Philosophy
Transformation of the Australian Beef Industry: Integrating Political Economy and Sociocultural Approaches to Agri-Food Restructuring
Principal Advisor
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2007
Doctor Philosophy
ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE CATTLE GRAZING WITHIN A CULTURE OF PRODUCTIVISM? A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF BROADSCALE BEEF PRODUCTION IN CENTRAL QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Lynda Cheshire
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2007
Doctor Philosophy
REGIONAL PLANNING AS GOOD GOVERNANCE: A CENTRAL QUEENSLAND CASE STUDY
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Lynda Cheshire
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2025
Doctor Philosophy
Cultural Reproduction, Loss and Limitations of Indigenous Traditions of Social Resilience in Rural Fiji.
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Richard Martin, Dr Kim de Rijke
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2018
Master Philosophy
What is food in the food regime?: Remaking food and markets in a time of crisis
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Kristen Lyons
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2014
Doctor Philosophy
Resonance of the land grabbing frame in Mali, West Africa: A social movements and political ecology perspective
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Kristen Lyons
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2009
Doctor Philosophy
It's for love not money: Queensland graziers' perceptions of sustainable development
Associate Advisor
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2008
Doctor Philosophy
Growing old in Springfield Lakes: the possibility of community in a new suburb
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Lynda Cheshire
Media
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