Dr Steve Harry

Steve Harry works as a research associate in the Department of Political Economy and as a teacher in the Department of Geography and the Department of International Development.

In 2022, Steve completed his PhD at King's in the Department of Geography. His thesis explores the processes, challenges and opportunities associated with renewable energy transition through a theoretical analysis of the relations between capital, land and energy, and an empirical analysis of two wind energy projects on island archipelagos in Norway and Scotland. He has an MA in spatial and environmental planning and a BSc (Hons) in cultural theory and social policy studies.

Steve's teaching experience is wide and varied, including undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, supervision and assessment. Modules taught include Critical Geopolitics, Development Geographies, Field Research in Human Geography, Geographical Foundations I & II, Geographical Research Skills, Geography Tutorials (Critical Thinking & Techniques), Principles of Geographical Inquiry, Research Design & Project Management, ‘Right to the City’ (UG and PGT), and PGT Dissertation and Writing.

He has a background working in a number of fields outside and related to academia, including market and social research, the built environment and ecological charity sector, and academic library services. Steve also worked for many years as a drum teacher, community music worker and as a professional musician.

Research

Overall, Steve's work seeks to understand the relations between energy, power, space and society at a time of ecological crisis. Working within the fields of political ecology and historical geographical materialism, his research considers the politics and geographies of energy transition and how energy landscapes are conceived, produced, lived and contested, while more recent work focuses on labour-nature relations, climate justice and the ‘technopolitics’ of energy infrastructural change.

He is currently working on a project with Tomas Maltby, Alex Loftus and Kacper Szulecki – funded through the King's Climate and Sustainability seed fund – exploring the effects of the potentially transformative transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy in the North Sea. Find out more here.

This research builds on and overlaps with two other projects. Tomas, Kacper and Steve began working together last year on a project exploring the relations between climate delay and ‘just’ energy transitions. This research considers the ways in which workers and trade unions operate, both strategically and structurally, as actual and potential forces for both socio-energy system continuity and change. These collaborative projects closely align with Steve's ongoing work exploring the politics and processes of decarbonisation and the emergence of new energy spaces and flows, with an emphasis on the spatial and generative role of islands in understanding energy systems, transitions and futures. 

Further details

See Steve's research profile