I'm a historical and cultural geographer with expertise in nineteenth- and twentieth-century travel and exploration.
I am an IHR Fellow 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
You can pre-order my first book, On the Backs of Others: Rethinking the History of British Geographical Exploration, here.
Publications
On the Backs of Others: Rethinking the History of British Geographical Exploration
Edward Armston-Sheret
University of Nebraska Press, 2024 Dec
Edward Armston-Sheret
Medical History, 2024 Mar
Edward Armston-Sheret
Journal of Historical Geography, 2023
Exploring Bodies: Recentring the Body in Histories of British Exploration, c.1850–1914
Edward Armston-Sheret
Royal Holloway, University of London, 2021
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
Edward Armston-Sheret
vol. 65, 2019, pp. 19-28
Edward Armston-Sheret
The Social History of Alcohol and Drugs , vol. 33(2), 2019, pp. 257-285
Posts
How the 1901 Discovery expedition’s polar explorers stayed healthy during their Antarctic journey
(Link)
Guide or explorer? Who counts in the history of exploration?
(Link)
What led to Antarctic explorer Captain Scott’s death
(Link)
Why is alcohol thought to be relaxing? Victorian and Edwardian explorers might hold the clue
(Link)
Isabella Bird: Explorer or Exploiter?
(Link)
View all
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.