Emeritus Professor Geoffrey Lawrence
Emeritus Professor

Geoffrey Lawrence

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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

Sociology

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

  • 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?

  • 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.

  • 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.

Search Professor Geoffrey Lawrence’s works on UQ eSpace

532 works between 1980 and 2022
All (532) Journal Article (163) Book Chapter (110) Conference Publication (218) Book (28) Other Outputs (9) Edited Outputs (4)

461 - 480 of 532 works

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.

Agricultural production and environmental degradation in the Murray-Darling Basin

1991

Journal Article

Review: Sport Commercialisation and Culture: No Pain, No Gain? Sport and Australian Culture

Lawrence, Geoffrey (1991). Review: Sport Commercialisation and Culture: No Pain, No Gain? Sport and Australian Culture. Media Information Australia, 62 (1), 95-96. doi: 10.1177/1329878x9106200118

Review: Sport Commercialisation and Culture: No Pain, No Gain? Sport and Australian Culture

1991

Journal Article

Rural sociology and the media

Campbell, Hugh and Lawrence, Geofrey (1991). Rural sociology and the media. Rural Society: the journal of research into rural and regional social issues in Australia, 1 (1), 13-13. doi: 10.1080/10371656.1991.11005029

Rural sociology and the media

1991

Conference Publication

Sustaining agricultural communities

Lawrence, G. (1991). Sustaining agricultural communities. Biennial Conference of the NSW Agricultural Teachers Association, Leeton, NSW, Australia, 23 January 1991.

Sustaining agricultural communities

1991

Book Chapter

The vertical and horizontal restructuring of rural regions: Australia and New Zealand

Share, P., Campbell, H. and Lawrence, G. (1991). The vertical and horizontal restructuring of rural regions: Australia and New Zealand. Family farming. (pp. 1-23) edited by M. Alston. Wagga Wagga, NSW, Australia: Rural Social and Economic Research Centre.

The vertical and horizontal restructuring of rural regions: Australia and New Zealand

1991

Conference Publication

Rural restructuring in Australia and New Zealand

Share, P., Gray, I. and Lawrence, G. (1991). Rural restructuring in Australia and New Zealand. Conference on Ecology, Socialism and Human Survival, Melbourne, Australia, 18-21 July 1991.

Rural restructuring in Australia and New Zealand

1991

Journal Article

Sport, Commercialism and Culture

Lawrence, G. (1991). Sport, Commercialism and Culture. Media Information Australia, 62, 95-96.

Sport, Commercialism and Culture

1991

Journal Article

Review of Guy Robinson, Conflict and Change in the Countryside

Lawrence, G. and Campbell, H. (1991). Review of Guy Robinson, Conflict and Change in the Countryside. Australian Geographer, 22 (1).

Review of Guy Robinson, Conflict and Change in the Countryside

1991

Journal Article

The crisis of agriculture

Campbell, H. and Lawrence, G. (1991). The crisis of agriculture. Arena, 94.

The crisis of agriculture

1991

Conference Publication

Rural restructuring in the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia: economic imperatives and ecological consequences

Lawrence, G. and Vanclay, F. (1991). Rural restructuring in the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia: economic imperatives and ecological consequences. Conference of the Rural Sociological Society 'Food Systems and Agrarian Change in the Late Twentieth Century', Columbus, OH, United States, 21-22 August 1991.

Rural restructuring in the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia: economic imperatives and ecological consequences

1991

Conference Publication

Rural sociology and the sociology of agriculture: research priorities for rural sociologists in the 1990s

Share, P., Gray, I. and Lawrence, G. (1991). Rural sociology and the sociology of agriculture: research priorities for rural sociologists in the 1990s. Rural Economy and Society Section, Sociological Association of Aotearoa (NZ), Lincoln, New Zealand, 7-9 December 1990. Canterbury, New Zealand: Agribusiness and Economic Unit, Lincoln University.

Rural sociology and the sociology of agriculture: research priorities for rural sociologists in the 1990s

1990

Book

Sport and leisure: Trends in Australian popular culture

David Rowe and Geoffrey Lawrence eds. (1990). Sport and leisure: Trends in Australian popular culture. Sydney, NSW, Australia: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

Sport and leisure: Trends in Australian popular culture

1990

Book Chapter

The dynamics of decline: implications for social welfare delivery in rural Australia

Lawrence, G. and Williams, C. (1990). The dynamics of decline: implications for social welfare delivery in rural Australia. Rural health and welfare in Australia. (pp. 38-59) edited by T. Cullen, P. Dunn and G. Lawrence. Melbourne, VIC, Australia: Arena.

The dynamics of decline: implications for social welfare delivery in rural Australia

1990

Book

Rural health and welfare in Australia

Tom Cullen, Peter F. Dunn, Geoffrey Lawrence and Charles Sturt University. Centre for Rural Welfare Research. eds. (1990). Rural health and welfare in Australia. Wagga Wagga, N.S.W., Australia: Centre for Rural Welfare Research, Charles Sturt University.

Rural health and welfare in Australia

1990

Conference Publication

The management of change in resource use and its consequences in the Murray-Darling Basin

Lawrence, G. (1990). The management of change in resource use and its consequences in the Murray-Darling Basin. Conference of the Community Advisory Committee of the Murray-Darling Basin, Shepparton, VIC, Australia, 20-21 November 1990.

The management of change in resource use and its consequences in the Murray-Darling Basin

1990

Book Chapter

Introduction

Rowe, D. and Lawrence, G. (1990). Introduction. Sport and leisure: trends in Australian popular culture. (pp. 1-23) edited by D. Rowe and G. Lawrence. Sydney, NSW, Australia: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

Introduction

1990

Journal Article

Fear and loathing in Wagga Wagga: cultural representations of rurality and possible policy implications

Share, P. and Lawrence, G. (1990). Fear and loathing in Wagga Wagga: cultural representations of rurality and possible policy implications. Culture and Policy, 1 (2).

Fear and loathing in Wagga Wagga: cultural representations of rurality and possible policy implications

1990

Journal Article

Rural retreat

Moore, D. and Lawrence, G. (1990). Rural retreat. Australian Left Review, 118.

Rural retreat

1990

Book Chapter

Football hooliganism: Australian media representations of the Heysel Stadium riot

Lawrence, G. (1990). Football hooliganism: Australian media representations of the Heysel Stadium riot. Sport and leisure: trends in Australian popular culture. (pp. 40-58) edited by D. Rowe and G. Lawrence. Sydney, NSW, Australia: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

Football hooliganism: Australian media representations of the Heysel Stadium riot

1989

Conference Publication

The dynamics of decline: implications for social welfare delivery in rural Australia

Lawrence, G. and Williams, C. (1989). The dynamics of decline: implications for social welfare delivery in rural Australia. Tenth National Conference, Student Initiatives in Community Health and Welfare, Wagga Wagga, NSW, Australia, 26-28 September 1989.

The dynamics of decline: implications for social welfare delivery in rural Australia

Past funding

  • 2016 - 2021
    Food, Farming and Financialisation: Agri-food Transformations in Australia
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2015 - 2019
    Frogs, fuel, finance or food? Cultures, values, ethics, arguments and justifications in the management of agricultural land (FORFOOD)
    Centre for Rural Research
    Open grant
  • 2012 - 2014
    Governing Food Security in Australia in an Era of Climate Change: A Sociological Analysis
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2011 - 2015
    The New Farm Owners: Finance Companies and the Restructuring of Australian and Global Agriculture
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2009 - 2011
    Local government, mining companies and resources development in regional Australia: meeting the governance challenge
    ARC Linkage Projects
    Open grant
  • 2009 - 2011
    Globally Engaged? Responses to Neoliberal Globalisation among Family Farmers in Australia
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2008
    Review of the Community Futures Task Force (Stage 1)
    Community Futures Task Force Unit
    Open grant
  • 2007 - 2011
    From Seedling to Supermarket: The Social and Environmental Implications for Australia of the Restructuring of Agri-food Supply Chains
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2005 - 2009
    ARC Research Network in Spatially Integrated Social Science
    ARC Research Networks
    Open grant
  • 2004 - 2006
    Organics, environment and sustainability
    Griffith University
    Open grant
  • 2004 - 2006
    Agri-food Applications of Genetically-Modified Organisms: Public Perceptions Risk and Sustainability
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2003 - 2006
    Building sustainable social capital in new communities.
    ARC Linkage Projects
    Open grant
  • 2003 - 2006
    Engaged government: a study of government-community engagement for regional outcomes
    Griffith University
    Open grant
  • 2003
    The social construct of safe foods: Uncertainty, risk and trust in agri-food applications of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)
    University of Queensland Research Development Grants Scheme
    Open grant
  • 2002 - 2003
    An Analysis of the Patterns of Consumption, Community Impacts and Returns on Investment of Rural Popular Cultural Activities
    UQ FirstLink Scheme
    Open grant
  • 2002 - 2006
    Governance, institutional capacity and regional planning: A Central Queensland case study.
    ARC Linkage Projects
    Open grant
  • 2002 - 2005
    Farmer adoption of sustainable land management practices in the Fitzroy Basin, Central Queensland.
    ARC Linkage Projects
    Open grant
  • 2001 - 2002
    The Sustainability of Australian Rural Communities
    Academy of Social Sciences
    Open grant

Availability

Emeritus Professor Geoffrey Lawrence is:
Available for supervision

Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.

Available projects

  • 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

  • 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

Enquiries

Contact Emeritus Professor Geoffrey Lawrence directly for media enquiries about:

  • Agriculture - sociology
  • Financialisation
  • Food security
  • Globalisation
  • Neoliberalism
  • Rural Australia

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