Sharp's dissertation was published in 2000 under the title Condensing the Cold War: Reader's Digest and American Identity.[4] She was a Professor at the University of Glasgow from 1995 to 2019, and later a Professor at the University of St Andrews.[5]
Research
Geopolitics and critical political geography
Sharp's dissertation (2000), focused on the American magazine Reader's Digest and how it contributed to the creation of a certain "American identity" between 1922 and 2000. According to her, Reader's Digest consolidated its image of America in opposition to the Soviet Union and communism.[6]
Feminist geography
Sharp has published significant research on feminist geography, notably with co-author Linda McDowell.[7]
Postcolononial geography
According to Heidi Bojsen:
"Joanne Sharp reminds us that colonial cartography, that of conquered territories, first served colonizers to control and occupy colonized countries and, second, as a concept that allowed the colonized to imagine themselves as 'nations' and thus to claim their independence."[8]
Personal life
Sharp was born and raised in Perth, Scotland and attended Perth Academy. She credits her love of geography to her “inspirational” teacher, Kenneth Maclean.[9]
Sharp became Geographer Royal for Scotland in April 2022.[5][2] This distinction was created in 1682 and the first geographer to hold this title was Robert Sibbald. It was reintroduced in 2015, having not been awarded for nearly a century. Sharp is the first woman to hold this title. Her position as Geographer Royal for Scotland is scheduled to last for six years, from 2022 to 2028.[11]
Sharp has also received the following medals, distinctions, and awards:
2009: Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society[12]
2010: President's Medal of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, which recognises the achievement of geographers and the impact of their work on society[3]
2017: Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh[14]
Principal publications
Works
Linda McDowell and Joanne Sharp, Space, Gender, Knowledge: Feminist Readings. London, Routledge, 1997, 483 p. (ISBN 9781315824871, DOI https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315824871)
Linda McDowell and Joanne Sharp, A Feminist Glossary of Human Geography, London, Routledge, 1999, 382 p. (ISBN 9781315832449, DOI https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315832449)
Joanne Sharp, Paul Routledge, Chris Philo and Ronan Paddison, Entanglements of Power. London, Routledge, 1999, 320 p. (ISBN 978-0-415-18434-2, 0-415-18434-7 et 978-0-415-18435-9, OCLC 156864646, DOI 10.4324/9780203011270)
Joanne P. Sharp, 2000, Condensing the Cold War: Reader's Digest and American Identity, NED-New edition, University of Minnesota Press, 2000 (ISBN 978-0-8166-3415-6, DOI 10.5749/j.ctttsx1j)
Joanne P. Sharp, 2008, Geographies of Postcolonialism. London: Sage. ISBN 9781526498823
Articles and chapters
Joanne P. Sharp, “Publishing American identity: popular geopolitics, myth and The Reader's Digest”, Political Geography, vol. 12, no 6, November 1, 1993, p. 491–503 (ISSN 0962-6298, DOI 10.1016/0962-6298(93)90001-N, read online [archive], accessed August 19, 2022)
Joanne P. Sharp, “Gendering Nationhood: A feminist engagement with national identity”, in Nancy Duncan, BodySpace: Destabilizing Geographies of Gender and Sexuality, London, Routledge, 1996, 288 p. (ISBN 9780203974070, DOI 10.4324/9780203974070-15/gendering-nationhood, read online [archive]), pp. 97–107
Lorraine Dowler and Joanne Sharp, “A Feminist Geopolitics?”, Space and Polity, vol. 5, no. 3, 1 December 2001, pp. 165–176 (ISSN 1356-2576, DOI 10.1080/13562570120104382, read online [archive], accessed 19 August 2022)
John Briggs and Joanne Sharp, “Indigenous knowledges and development: a postcolonial caution”, Third World Quarterly, vol. 25, no. 4, 1 May 2004, pp. 661–676 (ISSN 0143-6597, DOI 10.1080/01436590410001678915, read online [archive], accessed 19 August 2022)
Joanne Sharp, Venda Pollock and Ronan Paddison, “Just Art for a Just City: Public Art and Social Inclusion in Urban Regeneration”, Urban Studies, vol. 42, nos. 5–6, May 2005, pp. 1001–1023 (ISSN 0042-0980 and 1360-063X, DOI 10.1080/00420980500106963, read online [archive], accessed 19 August 2022)
^ abCharles W. J. Withers, « », Scottish Geographical Journal, 16 August 2022, p. 1–7 (ISSN 1470-2541, DOI 10.1080/14702541.2022.2112273)
^Julia Mickenberg, «Condensing the Cold War: "Reader's Digest" and American Identity (review)», American Literature, vol. 74, no 1, 2002, p. 181–183 (ISSN 1527-2117)
