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Professor Mark Boyle

Professor Mark Boyle

Mark Boyle]

Tel: 353 1 708
E-mail: mark.g.boyle@nuim.ie

Iontas 2.24

Office Hours

Tuesday 11.00 - 13.00
Wednesday 11.00 - 12.00

Biography

Mark Boyle graduated with a first class honours degree in Geography from Glasgow University in 1988 and a PhD in Geography from the University of Edinburgh in 1992. In 1988 he was awarded the Royal Scottish Geographical Society Student Medal for graduating as the top student in Glasgow University. In 1992 he was appointed Research Assistant at the University of Glasgow and in 1993 he was appointed Lecturer in Geography at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. In 1999 he was awarded the Royal Scottish Geographical Society President's Medal for ‘outstanding research contributions to Geography in Scotland'. In 2001 he was promoted to Senior Lecturer in Geography at the University of Strathclyde. In 2003 he was appointed Research Associate at the National Institute of Regional and Spatial Analysis at NUI Maynooth in Ireland and greatly enjoyed his first encounter with Maynooth and County Kildare. In 2006 he served as a Leverhulme Research Fellow, conducting research on Irish migration to Scotland. In 2007, he was appointed Professor of Geography, Chair in Geography, and Head of the Department of Geography (2007 to 2012) at that National University of Ireland Maynooth. He currently serves on the Governing Authority (the supreme body) of NUI Maynooth as one of two Elected Professors (2010 to 2015). He served as President elect (2009/10) and now as President of the Geographical Society of Ireland (2010/12), the country's only Professional Geography Association. He serves as External Examiner for the MA in Human Geography, University of Aberdeen (2009 - Present), as External Examiner in Geography, Undergraduate Programme for St Patrick's College (Dublin) (2011-2015) and as External Examiner in Geography, Undergraduate Programme, Mary Immaculate College (Limerick) (2011-2015)

Research Interests

Following completion of his PhD thesis in 1992 on the role of European City of Culture Festivals in the regeneration of European Cities, Mark Boyle's core research interests have been in the area of urban geography and more specifically the politics of urban development in older industrial cities. His research has focussed upon the social, economic, political, and cultural impacts of a) the various regeneration projects which have been pursued in the city of Glasgow (Scotland) and b) the rise and fall of the Celtic Tiger on Irish cities, and in particular Dublin. Throughout this period nevertheless he has pursued a variety of additional interests including: International migration - he has conducted research on a) the role of recruitment agencies in channelling international migration and b) the historical geography of the Irish diaspora and in particular oral histories of the Irish migrant community in Scotland, and c) the topic of Diaspora and Development. Geopolitics - he has conducted research on religion and geopolitics and specifically against the backdrop of critical commentary on Samuel Huntington's Clash of Civilisation thesis has examined the role of Christianity in the making of a peaceable West. The philosophy of Jean Paul Sartre - his recent work, which has involved collaborative research with Professor Audrey Kobayashi, Professor Geography at Queens University in Canada and sought to reintroduce Sartre's theory of racism and colonialism into Postcolonial Geography. His work has been characterised by regular and sustained publication in the world leading journals in the discipline of Geography and regular and sustained hosting of and participation in the leading Geography conferences in the world. He has published twice in both the Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers (in 2002 and 2011) and the Annals of the Association of American Geographers (in 2005 and 2010). A signature feature of his work is his interest to make substantive research programmes speak to and extend current theoretical interpretations of unit concepts in the discipline of Geography.

Metropolitan Anxieties: On the Meaning of the Irish Catholic Adventure in Scotland

(Ashgate, August 2011). (Book flyer, PDF document)

Summary: The purpose of this book is to harness the complex and rich theory of colonialism which French philosopher, political activist and novelist Jean-Paul Sartre developed and struggled over, to venture a qualified and partial interpretation of Irish Catholic migration to and settlement into Scotland. Presenting findings from a new oral history archive consisting of 67 interviews with members of the Irish Catholic community in Scotland, attention is given to the themes of national identity, estrangement and belonging; diasporic imaginings of Ireland; anti-imperial activism, agitation and advocacy; culture, faith and family; and poverty, work education and equality.
‘This is the first major work by a geographer to apply a Sartrean lens to understand the complexities of human adventure. Boyle expands the Sartrean lexicon to encompass a range of topological and topographical conditions that define human being in situ: on the ground, in the messy, complicated, sometimes tragic and humiliating, but often touching or celebratory situations in which they live their lives and come to terms with what remains of a powerful and resilient colonialism. He shows that historical actions have consequences. Jean-Paul Sartre would surely approve.' - Professor Audrey Kobayashi, Queen's University, Canada

'Entangled geographies of Scotland and Ireland narrated with verve and sympathy. Metropolitan Anxieties looks set to become a landmark in Irish studies, postcolonial geographies and diaspora studies.'
- Professor James D. Sidaway, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands

'A book of great integrity, rigour and compassion that combines a wealth of original source material and an equally original framework for exploring its subject. An undoubted success in its ambitions to explore the complexity of the Irish Catholic community in Scotland and to develop and deploy Sartre's insights about the possibilities of progressive cultural politics.' - Professor Catherine Nash, Queen Mary, University of London, UK

Diaspora and Development

Mark Boyle has always enjoyed an intermittent research interest in international migration, the principal outputs of this work to date have been research articles (including research monographs in Espace, Populations, Societies (1994), International Journal of Urban and Regional Affairs (in both 1996 and 2006) and International Journal of Population Geography research (2001), and publication of a research book, Metropolitan anxieties: On the meaning of the Irish Catholic adventure in Scotland (Ashgate, 2011).

His work on ‘diaspora and development' now constitutes his core research interest. Thus far - and in collaboration with among others Professor Rob Kitchin - his work on diaspora and development has principally taken the form of specially commissioned consultation research.

Scotland - He conducted an examination of actual and potential skill shortages in the Scottish economy in the wake of Scotland's extraordinary low birth rate for the think-tank ‘Scot Econ' (2004), and has co-authored two research reports commissioned by the Scottish Government (Analytical Services Division) on firstly the country's flagship international recruitment strategy ‘Fresh Talent Scotland' (2006), and secondly, drawing out lesson's the Scottish state might draw from Ireland's approach to engaging its overseas nationals (2009).

Ireland - Funded by the Irish Government (Department of Foreign Affairs), he co-organised and co-chaired  Exploring Diaspora Strategies workshop in Dublin involving key policy makers from Ireland, Australia, Chile, India, Jamaica, Lithuania, New Zealand and Scotland, plus the World Bank (2009). In addition, he co-authored two research reports for the Irish Government (Department of Foreign Affairs) on firstly, the lessons Ireland might learn from other countries (2009), and secondly, the principles with might underpin the design of a diaspora strategy for Ireland (2009). He has also co-authored a book chapter on Ireland's diaspora strategy which is in press (2012).

Lithuania - He was invited as part of a NUI Maynooth delegation by the Lithuanian Government (Department of National Minorities and Lithuanians Living Abroad) and Vytautas Magnus University's Center for Immigration Studies (Kaunas) to Kaunas and Vilnius to discuss diaspora research and diaspora strategizing in Ireland and in Lithuania (2008).

Armenia - He was invited by the National Competitiveness Foundation of Armenia and USAID, and supported by the Armenian Ministry of Diaspora, to co-present an overview of how countries engage their diaspora, to the Board of the National Competitiveness Foundation of Armenia in Yerevan (2009). In addition he co-authored a report for the National Competitiveness Foundation on the challenges and prospects of developing a diaspora strategy for Armenia (2011).

Canada - Funded by the International Council for Canadian Studies ‘Understanding Canada Canadian Studies Faculty Research Program', the Canadian Government (Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade), and The Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada (a think tank based in Vancouver) he conducted a research project on the possibilities of formulating a Canadian Diaspora strategy (2010), participated in a Round Table Discussion titled Global Citizens: Understanding their Influence on International Relations organized jointly by the DFAIT/APF Canada at the Annual Convention of the International Studies Association in Montreal (2011), and co-published a report on Canada's diaspora strategy with the Asia Pacific Foundation (2011).

In addition to these case studies, he has also been commissioned to write and participate in a number of more general projects.

  • A co-authored publication, The Nirsa diaspora strategy wheel: Ten principles of good practice has been selected as one of ten publications from ‘leading thinkers' for inclusion in the Global Diaspora strategies toolkit (2011), a new physical and virtual fora designed to share best practice in the design and implementation of diaspora strategies.
  • He has been commissioned by the Penn State University Press to co-author a chapter on ‘Towards a new generation of diaspora strategies' for a publication titled Diaspora and the Development of Institutions in Sending States funded by the MacArthur Foundation and directed and edited by Senior Economist at the World Bank Yevgeni Kuztnestov.
  • He was interviewed  by the Global Head of Reuters, Chrystia Freeland,
    http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/07/world/americas/07iht-letter07.html?_r=1
    He spoke about the new realities of "brain circulation" that are replacing older fears of the brain drain. The interview has been picked up by the New York Times, the Times of India and the Toronto Globe and Mail.

Diaspora and Development Publications and Presentations

Papers

Presentations

Selected research funding

  • June 1996, £38,000 grant from the European Union (under the Training and Mobility of Researchers Scheme) to study Glasgow's marketing strategy (with Dr Emmanuele Sabot)
  • June 1997, £7,800 from the European Union (Erasmus scheme) to study Regional development in the European Union.
  • May 2000, £3,200 from the British Academy to study the Irish diaspora in Scotland.
  • January 2003, £8,000 from Scot Econ to study Scottish expatriates in Dublin.
  • October 2005, £20,375 from the Leverhulme Trust for a Fellowship for the academic year 2005-2006 to explore a new oral history archive he personally collected focusing upon the experiences of Irish diasporeans in the west of Scotland.
  • January 2006 (with Professor Paul Boyle and Dr Dan Exeter), £25,000 from NHS West of Scotland Research Consortium to study health selective migration within the Glasgow Housing Association Stock.
  • June 2006 (with Dr Robert Rogerson and Professor Colin Mason), £23,870 from the Scottish Executive to conduct an interim progress report on the Fresh Talent Scotland Initiative.
  • September 2008 (With Professor Rob Kitchin) Euro 10,000 from the Scottish Government to explore Scotland and Ireland's diaspora strategy.
  • September 2008 (with Professor Rob Kitchin) Euro 20,000 from the Irish Government (Department of Foreign Affairs) to host an international workshop on diaspora strategy.
  • July 2010 to April 2011 total of 10,000 Canadian Dollars from the Canadian DFAIT, Asian Pacific Foundation of Canada, and Canadian ICCP for a study of Canada's diaspora policies.
  • October 2010 (with Dr Jan Rigby [lead PI] and Dr Martin Charlton, and) Euro 237,000 from the Health Research Board Ireland, to study Health Inequalities in Ireland.

Selected Publications

Book
Boyle M (2011) Metropolitan anxieties: On the meaning of the Irish Catholic adventure in Scotland (Ashgate, London) pp289.

Edited Editions of Journals

  • Boyle M (ed) (2008) Geopolitics Roundtable Intervention: ‘Geography, civilisational thinking, and the colonial present' Geopolitics 724-760.
  • Boyle M (ed) (2005) ‘Kitchin, Hubbard, and Valentine's New Thinkers in Geography: authors meets critics' Environment and Planning A. 37 161-187.
  • Boyle M (ed) (2002) ‘The fate of ‘nations' in as globalised world' - special edition of the Scottish Geographical Journal (118).
  • Imrie R, Pinch S, and Boyle M (eds) (1996) Identities, Citizenship, and Power in the Cities special edition of Urban Studies 1255-1521.

Selected Refereed Journal Articles

  • Kitchin R, O'Callaghan C, Boyle, M, and Gleeson J (in Press) Placing Neoliberalism: The rise and fall of Ireland's neoliberalism. Environment and Planning A
  • Boyle M (2011) Commentary: The NUP thesis, Ruminating on MacLeod and Jones' six analytical pathways Urban Studies 48 2673 to 2683
  • Boyle M and Kobayashi A (2011) Metropolitan Anxieties: a critical appraisal of Sartre's theory of colonialism Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers Ns 42 158-177
  • Boyle M (2010) ‘Beyond the sigh of the oppressed creature: A critical geographical enquiry into Christianity's contributions to war and peace'. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 100(3) 678-694
  • Exeter D J, Boyle P J, Feng Z, and Boyle M (2009) ‘Shrinking areas of mortality: An artefact of deprivation effects in the west of Scotland' Health and Place 15 399-401
  • Boyle M, Rice, G, and McWilliamson C (2009) ‘Actually existing neoliberalism in Glasgow 1977 to Present' Geografiska Annaler B 89 222-236
  • Boyle, M. (2006) 'Culture in the rise of Tiger economies: Scottish expatriates in Dublin and the 'creative class' thesis', International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 30 403-426
  • Boyle M and Rogerson R J (2006) ‘Third Way' urban policy and the new moral politics of community: A comparative analysis of Ballymum in Dublin and the Gorbals in Glasgow.' Urban Geography 27 201-227
  • Boyle M (2005) ‘Sartre's circular dialectic and the empires of abstract space : a history of space and place in Ballymun, Dublin' Annals of the Association of American Geographers. 95 181-201
  • Boyle M (2003) 'The 'scalar dialectic' and the metamorphosis of the waste management hierarchy in member states' European Planning Studies 11 481-502
  • Boyle M (2002) ‘Cleaning up After the Celtic Tiger: 'Scalar fixes' in the political ecology of Tiger economies 'Socio-Nature' in the Political Ecology of Tiger Economies.' Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers NS 27, 172-194
  • Boyle M (2001) ‘Towards a Theorisation of the Historical Geography of Nationalism in Diasporas: The Irish Diaspora as Exemplar.' International Journal of Population Geography Research, 7, 1-18
  • Rogerson R and Boyle M (2000) ‘Property, politics, and the neoliberal revolution in urban Scotland' Progress in Planning 54 133-196
  • Boyle M (2000) ‘Euro-regionalism and Struggles Over Scales of Governance: the Politics of Ireland's Regionalisation Approach to Structural Fund Allocations 2000-2006'. Political Geography 19, 737-69.
  • Imrie R, Pinch S, and Boyle M (1996) ‘Identities, citizenship, and power in the cities' Urban Studies 33 1255-1261
  • Boyle M, Findlay A, Lelievre E, and Paddison R (1996) ‘World cities and the limits to Global Control: A case study of executive search forms in Europe's leading cities' International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 20 488-517
  • Boyle M (1995) ‘Civic boosterism in the politics of local economic development - ‘institutional positions' and ‘strategic orientations' in the consumption of hallmark events' Environment and Planning A 29 1975 to 1997
  • Findlay A, Lelievre, E Paddison, R and Boyle M (1994) ‘Skilled Labour migration in the European Context : Franco-British capital and skills transfers' Espace, Populations, Societies 85-94
  • Boyle M, Hughes G (1994) The politics of urban entrepreneurialism in Glasgow, Geoforum, 25, 453-470
  • Boyle M and Hughes G (1991) The politics of the representation of the real: Glasgow's role as the European City of Culture 1990 Area 23 217-228

Book Chapters

  • Kitchin R, Boyle M, and Ancien D (In press) Diaspora strategy: the quiet strategy of obligation and opportunity in Gilmartin M and White A (2011) Ireland's Migrations: Ireland in a Global World. Manchester University Press, Manchester
  • Boyle M (2002) ‘Edifying the Rebellious Gael: the Uses of Memories of Ireland's Troubled Political Past in the West of Scotland Irish Diaspora', in Harvey D. Jones D, McInroy N and Milligan C, (Eds.) Celtic Geographies, Landscape, Culture and Identity. (London: Routledge) 173-191.
  • Boyle M and Rogerson R (2001) ‘Power, Discourse and City Trajectories' in Paddison R, (Ed) Handbook of Urban Studies. (London: Sage) 402-425.
  • Boyle M, Findlay A, Lelievre E, and Paddison R (1994) ‘French investment and skill transfer in the United Kingdom' in Gould WTS and Findlay A (eds.) Population migration and the changing world order (Wiley, London) 47-65

Selected Commissioned Reports

  • Boyle M, Kitchin R, and Ancien D (2011) The Nirsa diaspora strategy Wheel and ten principles of Good Practice in Aikins K and White N (eds) Global Diaspora Strategies ToolKit (Ireland Funds, Dublin)
  • Boyle M and Kitchin M (2011) A diaspora Strategy for Canada; Enriching debate through heightening awareness of international best practice (Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, Vancouver)
  • Kitchin R and Boyle M (2011) Diaspora Strategies in Transition States: Prospects and Opportunities for Armenia (Nirsa Working Papers, NUIM)
  • Ancien D, Boyle M and Kitchin R (2009) The Scottish Diaspora and Diaspora Strategy: Insights and Lessons from Ireland (Scottish Government, Edinburgh)
  • Ancien D, Boyle M and Kitchin R (2009) Exploring Diaspora Strategies: Lessons for Ireland (Nirsa, Dublin)
  • Ancien D, Boyle M and Kitchin R (2009) Exploring Diaspora Strategies: An International Comparison (Nirsa, Dublin)
  • Boyle M and Kitchin (2008) A diaspora strategy for Ireland (Nirsa Working Papers, NUIM)
  • Boyle M and Motherwell S (2004) Skill shortages and the Fresh Talent Scotland Initiative: lessons from the Scottish expatriate community in Dublin (Scot Econ, Main report)
  • Boyle M, Findlay A, Paddison R and Lelievre E (1992) Skill exchanges between France and the UK; Survey evidence. A report for DATAR, the French Planning Agency