Dr Nicola Spurling
Senior LecturerResearch Overview
Nicola Spurling is a Senior Lecturer renowned for her contributions to Mobilities scholarship and Sociology of consumption through her research leadership in the fields of Sustainable Practices, Everyday Futures, Decarbonising Mobility and Autobiographical Mobilisation. Her research has international reach and significance, it is widely cited and has informed policy discussions in the UK, the EU and Australia.
Her research has been funded by the ESRC, The Scottish Government, the AHRC, Design United (The Netherlands) and the EPSRC for her projects on Interventions in Practices; Mobile Utopias; Everyday Futures; and, DecarboN8 - A Network for the place-based decarbonisation of transport. She has published journal articles in leading Sociology and Environmental journals, book chapters in interdisciplinary edited collections and was co-editor of the widely cited book Sustainable Practices (Routledge Advances in Sociology, 2013).
Underpinned by an ethos of Public Sociology, much of her work develops and translates ideas from social theory, ethnographic, autobiographical and participatory knowledges into interventions and actions. Nicola has produced a range of non-academic outputs through her research including policy reports, websites, workshops, sociological films, exhibitions, picture books, design prototypes and frameworks.
Through her teaching and supervision she has supported the exploration of a range of environment, culture and society challenges underpinned by these values and approaches, including recent seminar discussions for students with external guests on ‘What role for sociologists in environmental change?’, and PhD student projects by Harriet Phipps on ‘Reimagining Young Peoples’ Participation in Food Circuits of Care’ and Abi Lafbery on ‘Becoming With Wild Swimming: knowledges, environmentalisms, and the implications for swimmers’ health and ecological health’.
Beyond academia, she has prioritised community engagement, policy advocacy and intervention towards beneficial change for environment and society, through invited roles as Commissioner on the National Commission on Travel Demand 2017-2019, and as Founder and Chair of the DecarboN8 Stakeholder Reference Group from 2019-2022. Such work has provided Nicola with a deep understanding of policy and professional practices; and, has underpinned her collaborations with ThinkTanks, Policy, Industry and Community partners.
Career Details
I came to Lancaster University as a Senior Research Associate in 2014. I took up position as Anniversary Lecturer in 2016, and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2020.
PhD Supervision Interests
Qualitative and ethnographic empirical projects on aspects of climate, ecological and socio-cultural change. What new and emerging socio-cultural practices are happening around the world in relation to changing climates and environments? and, what are their implications for human health and ecological health? What new practices of custodianship and care are needed, how can this be achieved? What are the losses - which practices need to disappear, how can this be researched? how will such change be differentially experienced, and how to advocate for it? how can people and communities be supported? What knowledge already exists and where do we find it? How is life course changing in a context of changing climates, for whom? and, for what? what new issues does this place on the agenda, and how can they be researched? Methodological interests: creative, ethnographic, auto/biographical, intergenerational, more-than-human and participatory methodologies. Archival research, mobile methods.
Connecting Mobilities Research between the UK and South Korea: narrating, mobilizing, experimenting and engaging mobilities for a just future
01/02/2022 → 31/07/2023
Research
ISF: Adding Another Layer?: The Role of Clothing in Heating Demand Reduction and Decarbonisation
01/10/2020 → 30/09/2021
Research
DecarboN8-An Integrated Network to Decarbonise transport
01/09/2019 → 31/08/2022
Research
Follow the Autobiography!
Oral presentation
Want to get to know the future?
Invited talk
How to explore and intervene in everyday futures
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Concito
Visiting an external academic institution
Art Practice and Auto/biography for environmental mobilities research
Invited talk
Mobilities and Futures in the Social Sciences
Public Lecture/ Debate/Seminar
Five Ways With Mobilities and Futures
Invited talk
Linköping University, Department of Thematic Studies
Visiting an external academic institution
Mobilities Research 20 Years On
Invited talk
Academy Mobility Humanities, Konkuk University, Seoul
Visiting an external academic institution
Auto/biography, Mobilities and the Climate Emergency
Participation in conference - Academic
Climate Emergency Moblities Symposium
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
MoHu (Padua) and CeMoRe (lancaster) Mobilities Workshop
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
T2M 2021 Conference
Invited talk
DecarboN8 International Conference: Real Zero in a Hurry
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
What does it take to decarbonise mobility?
Public Lecture/ Debate/Seminar
Tactical Urbanism, Everyday Life and Sustainable Mobility Solutions
Invited talk
The Hub as Intervention for Low Carbon Mobility Futures
Invited talk
Thinking on the Move
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Social Futures: The View from Lancaster
Invited talk
Managing Waste and the Circular Economy
Invited talk
Making Space for the Car at Home
Invited talk
Beyond Behaviour Change and the Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University, Melbourne
Visiting an external academic institution
Sociology (Journal)
Editorial activity
Space in Use: dwelling in days, weeks, seasons and decades
Invited talk
Institute for Transport Studies, Leeds University (External organisation)
Membership of committee
Workshop 'Dwelling in the Utopian Everyday'
Invited talk
Utopia Fair
Festival/Exhibition/Concert
Making and Unmaking Space for the Car: infrastructure in practice
Invited talk
Reconfiguring Everyday Practices for a Post-Carbon World (Event)
Membership of committee
If the Walls Could Talk
Festival/Exhibition/Concert
Exploring the Peaks: Energy demand and the changing rhythms of daily life
Public Lecture/ Debate/Seminar
Mobility Practice Bundles: Exploring the relationship between everyday and professional practices
Invited talk
Sustainability|Social Practices|Policy
Festival/Exhibition/Concert
- CeMoRe - Centre for Mobilities Research
- Institute for Social Futures Fellow