![Emeritus Professor Geoffrey Lawrence](/sites/default/files/profiles/1120.jpeg)
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:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
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
1993
Conference Publication
Personal and social consequences of the rural crisis
Gray, I. and Lawrence, G. (1993). Personal and social consequences of the rural crisis. Annual Conference of the National Association of Loss and Grief, Yeppoon, QLD, Australia, 7-10 September 1990. Rockhampton, QLD, Australia: National Association of Loss and Grief.
1993
Conference Publication
Rural restructuring and community change: issues, problems and policy directions in Australia
Lawrence, G. (1993). Rural restructuring and community change: issues, problems and policy directions in Australia. National Rural and Remote Youth Affairs Conference, Wagga Wagga, NSW, Australia, 27-29 April 1993.
1993
Conference Publication
Farm coping strategies: some sociological analysis
Gray, I. and Lawrence, G. (1993). Farm coping strategies: some sociological analysis. Conference on Water Resource Management, Griffith, NSW, Australia, 9-10 July 1993. Griffith, NSW, Australia: CSIRO.
1993
Conference Publication
Community ownership and change: problems and opportunities
Lawrence, G. (1993). Community ownership and change: problems and opportunities. DPIE Workshop on Socio-economic Issues and Research Needs in the Murray-Darling Basin, Melbourne, Vic, Australia, 17-18 November 1992. Adelaide, SA, Australia: South Australian Department of Primary Industies.
1992
Journal Article
The global restructuring of agriculture and its implications for Australia and New Zealand
Lawrence, Geoffrey, Share, Perry and Campbell, Hugh (1992). The global restructuring of agriculture and its implications for Australia and New Zealand. Journal of Australian Political Economy, 30, 2-23.
1992
Journal Article
Farm structural adjustment: the imperative for the nineties?
Lawrence, Geoffrey (1992). Farm structural adjustment: the imperative for the nineties?. Rural Society: the journal of research into rural and regional social issues in Australia, 2 (4), 5-7. doi: 10.5172/rsj.2.4.5
1992
Journal Article
Rural restructuring, genetic engineering and Australian agriculture: some preliminary observations
Lawrence, Geoffrey, McKenzie, Helen and Vanclay, Frank (1992). Rural restructuring, genetic engineering and Australian agriculture: some preliminary observations. Rural Society: the journal of research into rural and regional social issues in Australia, 2 (2), 2-6. doi: 10.5172/rsj.2.2.2
1992
Journal Article
Review: Games and Sets: The Changing Face of Sport on Television
Lawrence, Geoffrey (1992). Review: Games and Sets: The Changing Face of Sport on Television. Media Information Australia, 64 (1), 88-89. doi: 10.1177/1329878x9206400113
1992
Book Chapter
Agricultural production and environmental degradation in the Murray-Darling Basin
Lawrence, Geoffrey and Vanclay, Frank (1992). Agricultural production and environmental degradation in the Murray-Darling Basin. Agriculture, environment and society. (pp. 33-59) edited by Geoffrey Lawrence , Frank Vanclay and Brian Furze. London, United Kingdom: Macmillan Education UK.
1992
Journal Article
A blue green politics?
Vanclay, F. and Lawrence, G. (1992). A blue green politics?. Arena, 98.
1992
Book Chapter
Agricultural production and environmental degradation in the Murray-Darling Basin
Lawrence, Geoffrey and Vanclay, Frank (1992). Agricultural production and environmental degradation in the Murray-Darling Basin. Agriculture, environment and society. (pp. 33-59) London, United Kingdom: Macmillan Education UK.
1992
Conference Publication
Biotechnological applications in Australian agriculture: an assessment of the views of rural producer representatives
McKenzie, H., Lawrence, G. and Vanclay, F. (1992). Biotechnological applications in Australian agriculture: an assessment of the views of rural producer representatives. Annual Conference of the Australian Sociological Association, Adelaide, SA, Australia, 10-13 December 1992.
1992
Conference Publication
The environmental problems of Australian agriculture: a sociological assessment
Lawrence, G. and Vanclay, F. (1992). The environmental problems of Australian agriculture: a sociological assessment. Annual Conference of the Australian Sociological Association, Adelaide, SA, Australia, 10-13 December 1992.
1992
Journal Article
A sociological understanding of agricultural biotechnologies
Lawrence, G. (1992). A sociological understanding of agricultural biotechnologies. Australasian Biotechnology, 1 (2).
1992
Conference Publication
Rural social structure: implications for water management in Australia
Lawrence, G. (1992). Rural social structure: implications for water management in Australia. Australian Rural Water Demand Management Workshop, Sydney, NSW, Australia, 26-27 February 1992. Sydney, NSW, Australia: Australian Water Resources Council.
1992
Conference Publication
Genetic engineering and rural restructuring
Lawrence, G., McKenzie, H. and Vanclay, F. (1992). Genetic engineering and rural restructuring. Nature Conservation Council of Australia, Genetic Engineering Forum, Sydney, Australia, 1-2 August 1992.
1992
Conference Publication
Farmer rationality and the adoption of environmentally sound practices: a critique of the assumptions of agricultural extension
Vanclay, F and Lawrence, G (1992). Farmer rationality and the adoption of environmentally sound practices: a critique of the assumptions of agricultural extension. 55th Annual Meeting of the Rural Sociological Society, State College, PA, United States, 16-19 August 1992.
1992
Conference Publication
Environmental and social consequences of capitalist agriculture: the Australian experience
Lawrence, G. and Vanclay, F. (1992). Environmental and social consequences of capitalist agriculture: the Australian experience. 8th World Congress of Rural Sociology, International Rural Sociology Association, State College, PA, United States, 11-16 August 1992.
1992
Book
Agriculture, environment, and society : contemporary issues for Australia
Geoffrey Lawrence, Frank Vanclay and Brian Furze eds. (1992). Agriculture, environment, and society : contemporary issues for Australia. Melbourne: Macmillan.
1992
Conference Publication
The impact of restructuring within land-based production systems: sociological perspectives on farm-family stress
Gray, I. and Lawrence, G. (1992). The impact of restructuring within land-based production systems: sociological perspectives on farm-family stress. Annual Conference of the Australian and New Zealand Geographers Association, Auckland, New Zealand, 24-28 January 1992. Auckland, New Zealand: Department of Geography, University of Auckland.
Funding
Supervision
Availability
- Emeritus Professor Geoffrey Lawrence is:
- Available for supervision
Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.
Available projects
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Students can be involved in work on ARC and other projects exploring:
Structural change in agriculture; changes power relations along agri-food chains; the financialisation of food and farming.
Supervision history
Current supervision
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Doctor Philosophy
Climate Change in Rural Fiji: Reproduction, Erosion and Limitations of Social Resilience in Intercultural Domains
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Richard Martin, Dr Kim de Rijke
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: Dr 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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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
Enquiries
Contact Emeritus Professor Geoffrey Lawrence directly for media enquiries about:
- Agriculture - sociology
- Financialisation
- Food security
- Globalisation
- Neoliberalism
- Rural Australia
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