缅北禁地

My work has spanned social and political geography with separate but inter-connected interests in geographies of childhood and young people, emotions, racism and anti-racism, marginalised migration and human trafficking, and academia. What brings these themes together is the focus on agency and commitment to critical collaborative praxis with partners from within and outside the university.

As a pedagogue, I am particularly interested in the interrelated themes of mental health and inequalities in higher education. 

I welcome undergraduate/Masters dissertation, PhD, post-doctoral and/or collaborative proposals in any of these areas.

Before coming to 缅北禁地 in 2017, I was a lecturer at the Loughborough University (2012-2016) and a researcher for the International Organization for migration (2012-2013).

I am Senior Fellow of Higher Education Academy, Managing Editor of and Editorial Board member of the and of the journal (where I served seven years as Associate Editor/Co-Editor/Editor-in-Chief, and the journal remains very dear to me...). Other external activities include external examination for University of Birmingham (MSc Human Geography Research & MA Cities, Sustainability, and Wellbeing) and Edge Hill University (BA Childhood and Youth Studies), and membership on the International Expert Panel of the .

My main interest is in how people too often found to lack capacities to act can transform their lives, their communities, and the world far beyond; and how structural factors of inequality and oppression often operate outside the better-understood spaces, scales and rhythms. For a decade or so, my research evolved around two areas: childhood and marginalised migrants; while more recently, I have found interest particularly in i) post-socialist geographies of racism; ii) Roma geographies, and iii) inequalities, mental health and emotional politics of higher education. I am open to collaborations - or just general chats - with academics and non-academics interested in any of these topics.

Also very happy to hear from students (postgraduate and undergraduate) and early career scholars looking for supervision, support or just a listening ear on these themes. I prefer to work collaboratively, believe in reciprocal generosity, and my commitment is to fair engagement with students, academics and partners from outside academia.

(Some publications linked below should be freely accessible via 缅北禁地 depository or . If they are not, I am happy to share them directly.)

I am currently not involved in teaching aside from personal tutoring

• Articles

  • Blazek M. . Progress in Human Geography 2025, 49(1), 119-130.
  • Children's Geographies. . Children's Geographies 2024, 22(2), 195-196.
  • Blazek M. . Progress in Human Geography 2024, 48(2), 224-235.
  • Blazek M, Stenning A. . Journal of Geography in Higher Education 2023, 47(5), 697-705.
  • Shaw R, Blazek M. . Critical Studies in Education 2023, 65(3), 276-293.
  • Blazek M, Stenning A. . Journal of Geography in Higher Education 2023, 47(5), 755-772.
  • Blazek M. . Emotion, Space and Society 2021, 41, 100850.
  • Cheung Judge R, Blazek M, Esson J. . Population, Space and Place 2020, 26(6), e2307.
  • Blazek M, Esson J, Smith DP. . Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 2019, 44(1), 63-78.
  • Blazek M, Askins K. . Area 2019, 52(3), 464-471.
  • Blazek M, Esson J. . Area 2018, 51(2), 324-331.
  • Blazek M, Suska P. . Political Geography 2017, 61, 46-56.
  • Askins K, Blazek M. . Social & Cultural Geography 2017, 18(8), 1086-1105.
  • Smith FM, Blazek M, Brown DM, van Blerk L. . Social & Cultural Geography 2016, 17(7), 959-979.
  • Blazek M, Smith FM, Lemešová M, Hricová P. . Geoforum 2015, 61, 45-55.
  • Blazek M. . Geoforum 2014, 56, 101-112.
  • Blazek M. . Emotion, Space and Society 2013, 9, 24-32.
  • Blazek M, Hranova P. Emerging relationships and diverse motivations and benefits in participatory video with young people. Children's Geographies 2012, 10(2), 151-168.
  • Blazek M. Place, children's friendships, and the formation of gender identities in a Slovak urban neighbourhood. Children's Geographies 2011, 9(3-4), 285-302.

• Authored Book

  • Blazek M. . Bristol: Policy Press, 2015.

• Book Chapters

  • Blazek M, Askins K. . In: Miggelbrink, J; Hörschelmann, K; Henn, S, ed. Research Ethics in Human Geography. Principles, Practices, and Perspectives. London, UK: Routledge, 2021.
  • Blazek M. . In: Skelton, T; Aitken, S, ed. Establishing Geographies of Children and Young People. New York: Springer, 2018.
  • Smith FM, Blazek M, Brown DM, van Blerk L. . In: Jupp, Eleanor; Pykett, Jessica; Smith, Fiona M, ed. Emotional States: Sites and spaces of affective governance. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2017.
  • Blazek M. . In: Evans, Ruth; Holt, Louise; Skelton, Tracey, ed. Methodological Approaches. Singapore: Springer, 2017, pp.243-260.
  • Blazek M, Hricová P. . In: Kraftl, Peter, ed. Children's Emotions in Policy and Practice: Mapping and Making Spaces of Childhood. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015, pp.204-220.
  • Kraftl P, Blazek M. . In: Kraftl, Peter, ed. Children's Emotions in Policy and Practice: Mapping and Making Spaces of Childhood. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015, pp.291-307.
  • Blazek M. . In: Craig, G., Waite, L., Lewis, H., Skrivankova, K, ed. Vulnerability, Exploitation and Migrants: Insecure Work in a Globalised Economy. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015, pp.72-85.
  • Blazek M, Kraftl P. . In: Blazek, M. and Kraft, P, ed. Children's Emotions in Policy and Practice: Mapping and Making Spaces of Childhood. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015, pp.1-16.
  • Blazek M. . In: Hackett, Abigail; Procter, Lisa; Seymour, Julie, ed. Children's Spatialities: Embodiment, Emotion and Agency. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015, pp.95-111.

• Edited Books

  • Hopkins P, 缅北禁地 Social Geographies Collective, Pain R, Shaw R, Gao Q, Bonnett A, Jones C, Richardson M, Rzedzian S, Benwell MC, Lin W, McAreavey R, Stenning A, Blazek M, Pande R, Najib K, Finlay R, Nayak A, Ridley G, Mearns G, Bonner-Thompson C, McLaughlin J, Boussalem A, Iqbal N, Heslop J, Jarvis H, Burrows R, Bambra C, Copeland A, Tate S, Campbell E, Thompson M, James A, Raynor R, Cunningham N, Powells G, Herbert J, Hocknell S, ed. . London, UK: Rowman and Littlefield, 2021.
  • Blazek M, Kraftl P, ed. . London: Palgrave, 2015.

• Editorials

  • Holt L, Blazek M, Benwell MC, Van Blerk L. . Children's Geographies 2020, 18(2), 125-127.
  • Blazek M, Windram-Geddes M. . Emotion, Space and Society 2013, 9, 1-3.