This page and repository represent the collection of resources for States, Economies and Societies. This is a research group consisting of academics and students from the School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, who are interested in the processes of economic, social and political change across different countries, regions and cities worldwide. Group members have a track record in working closely with policymakers in local and national governments both in and beyond the UK, non-governmental organisations, and the multilateral system. The group asks: What is the state and how does it impact people’s lives? What is the form, function and evolution of cities and urbanisation? What are the lived experiences in different geographical contexts and how can we illuminate them? Follow the university official web page for more information.

We meet for an hour once a week during academic year to discuss what's new in the world of economic, social and political changes and get inspired by presentations from researchers within our group, but also from the outside. This page provides you with useful information such as when do we meet, where, who is talking, but also link to emails where you can provide your feedback or suggestions for sessions.

During 2026/27, we will usually hold seminars on Tuesdays 13.00-14.00. But there will be occassions where the times for our seminars/lectures/events would be different (will be specified in the below table).

See the below table.

1. Research presentations of fully or partially developed paper/project idea from internal and external speakers.

2. PhD student presentations. 1st year and 2nd year PhD students are required to give a 30 min presentation on their research introduction and progress. Each student has 20-25 min presentation followed by 5-10 min for questions. Third- or fourth-year students are not required to do this, but should feel free to arrange a slot to present about their research. First year students are strongly encouraged to present in TB1. This is a great opportunity for new students to introduce themselves and their research interests in a relaxed environment. It is also the opportunity for everyone on the research group to extend their welcome to the new studens and to help them feel ready to kick off their PhD journey.

3. Discussion sessions based on readings. Before this session, we provide you with reading 1 or 2 articles related to a specific topic, a new idea or an emerging issue. On the session then we give 10 min overview on the reading and facilitate discussion.

Bellow you can find schedule for this academic year.

If you have a suggestion for a speaker (including yourself!), or a discussion topic, or you just want to give us some feedback please email Joe or Qiujie.