About me


I'm a historical and cultural geographer with expertise in nineteenth- and twentieth-century travel and exploration.  
I am the Alan Pearsall Fellow in Naval and Maritime History at the Institute of Historical Research, University of London. I have a Ph.D. in historical geography from Royal Holloway. My research focuses on four main areas:
  • Diversifying the history of geography through focusing on the contributions of people of colour to British-led expeditions.
  • How studying exploration can inform contemporary debates about the decolonisation of geography.
  • The role of polar expeditions in developments in maritime health.
  • Explorers' use of alcohol and other stimulants
I'm currently working on a book titled On the Backs of Others: Rethinking the History of Exploration, which is under contract with the University of Nebraska Press.

Publications


Exploring Bodies: Recentring the Body in Histories of British Exploration, c.1850–1914


Edward Armston-Sheret

Royal Holloway, University of London, 2021


Is Alcohol a Tropical Medicine? Scientific Understandings of Climate, Stimulants and Bodies in Victorian and Edwardian Tropical Travel


Edward Armston-Sheret, Kim Walker

British Journal for the History of Science , vol. 54, 2021, pp. 465-484


Off the Beaten Track? Critical Approaches to Exploration Studies


Peter Martin, Edward Armston-Sheret

Geography Compass , vol. 14, 2020


Leaky Bodies: Syphilitic Incontinence on the Jackson- Harmsworth Expedition


Edward Armston-Sheret

Victorian Review , vol. 45, 2019, pp. 10-14


'A Good Advertisement for Teetotalers:' Polar Explorers and Debates over the Health Effects of Alcohol, 1875–1904


Edward Armston-Sheret

The Social History of Alcohol and Drugs , vol. 33(2), 2019, pp. 257-285

Projects


On the Backs of Others: Rethinking the History of Geographical Exploration


My forthcoming monograph focuses on the embodied labour of exploration to foreground subaltern contributions to British-led expeditions. In doing so, it asks bigger questions about whose labour is valued within the history of geography.


Icy Encounters: Indigenous Contributions to Developments in Maritime Health


This project examines the role of Arctic expeditions in the transmission and appropriation of Indigenous knowledge about the body and health.


Cultures of Drink and Abstinence on Expeditions


Expeditions played an important role in domestic medical and social developments. I show that expeditions became a key place for testing medical knowledge about the effects of alcohol and other drugs on the human body.


Non-Heroic Failure on Expeditions


Exploration is often understood through the lens of heroism. This project asks whether focusing on less-heroic incidents can allow us to get develop a more nuanced picture of Victorian and Edwardian exploration cultures.

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