Today we launch States of Precarity in UK HE Geography.
Thank you to the 364 colleagues whose experiences shaped this work.
Download the report, share widely, and join us in advocating for change.
Launch event (1:00-2:30GMT):
www.rgs.org/events/upcom...
Read report:
www.rgs.org/research/hig...
The image is a profile of the Prize Co-ordinator Dr Jack Lowe. On the left is an image of Jack smiling, wearing a hoodie in front of a multi-coloured wall. There is a title on the right, "Introducing...JACK LOWE Knowledge Exchange Manager, UWE Bristol". The beige text box below reads, "Jack is the creator of Pin the Tale: an online, map-based game about discovering and sharing stories connected to places in the UK: pinthetale.co.uk. Something fun to share with the community: If you’ve ever wandered through an old graveyard, looked at the barely readable headstones and imagined the lives of those buried there, you might enjoy this little free mystery game: https://interment.itch.io/play". A final black box at the bottom reads, "Research interests: Place, digital games, creative methods, locative and mobile media, psychogeography". The background is made up of interlocking geometric shapes to highlight the photo and text.
👋 Now say hi to Jack Lowe (he/him), our Prize Co-ordinator, helping to recognise outstanding research in digital geographies.
@jackalowe.bsky.social recommends you check out Pin The Tale (pinthetale.co.uk) and this free mystery game (interment.itch.io/play) to wave Monday goodbye!
#DGRGCommittee
Statement from the Digital Geographies Research Group (RGS-IBG)
The Royal Geographical Society’s (RGS-IBG) Digital Geographies Research Group (DGRG) are deeply concerned about the impacts and implications of ongoing crises facing Geography departments in UK Universities. 1/6
New Pin the Tale newsletter out today, with details of an event this weekend about mapping unofficial stories of Bristol, and sharing some of the wonderful poetry written during our recent workshops hosted by Watershed: mailchi.mp/9adcda28d944...
Pin the Tale will be part of this wonderful event in Sparks on 15th Nov about mapping meaningful landmarks and unofficial place names in central Bristol. Will be old maps galore and plenty of fun, interesting and creative things to do. Drop in any time 11am-5pm and bring fellow Bristolians with you!
Some feedback from this workshop:
“Very inspiring and a great way to get back into writing for me. I loved it”
“Really enjoyed the workshop, it was great that it was led with poetry foregrounded and the platform was actually really intuitive”
Huge thanks to Bridget for making this happen!
We also wrote a collaborative poem about Stonehenge, where we each wrote two lines and then Bridget assembled the piece into its final form. You can read it below, or find it (alongside lots of other poetry/stories written about places all over the UK) on Pin the Tale here: pinthetale.co.uk
Last Thursday, Bridget Hart and I ran an online version of our Pin the Tale poetry workshop, hosted by @wshed.bsky.social. Deeply inspiring + moving to hear the site-specific poetry our participants wrote in a short space of time. Many of these poems have now been uploaded to the Pin the Tale map.
The DGRG Dissertation Prize 2025 Winner is Levina Purewal for “‘I can’t think without ChatGPT’: A Cognitive Sociotechnical Assemblage Analysis of Student-AI Entanglement at Durham University”. Reviewers praised the contribution, multi-method approach, analysis & ambition 1/2
@geogdurham.bsky.social
Are you a Bristol-based poet?
If so, we’re inviting you to creatively explore the city through Pin the Tale — a digital platform for mapping stories, poems and place.
Join us for FREE online Thu 16 Oct 18:30. https://www.watershed.co.uk/whatson/13457/pin-the-tale-poetry-workshops
“A lovely, interesting and unique workshop which inspired some new writing. Engaging, creative, intriguing.”
“Really accessible and welcoming atmosphere, thought the tie in with the software was super interesting and an interesting and useful device to inspire creativity. Thanks so much!”
If this sounds like the kind of activity you’d enjoy, you’re in luck. We have an online version of this workshop happening on Thursday 16th October, 6.30pm – 8pm, where you can join from – and write poetry about – anywhere in the UK! Get your free tickets here: www.watershed.co.uk/whatson/1345...
Was an absolute joy hosting a Pin the Tale poetry workshop at @pmstudiouk.bsky.social last Thursday with Bridget Hart. Participants shared poems about places all across Bristol, written using what3words addresses, and we even wrote a collective poem about Bristol’s iconic Turbo Island!
Delighted to share the first research report from
@immersiveartsuk.bsky.social
It's a deep dive into the immersive arts exhibition and distribution ecosystem, bringing together interviews and recommendations from an incredible group of experts. immersivearts.uk/news/first-r...
The featured stories in this one are very cool. Always so inspiring to see how people approach writing stories with what3words and the kinds of places they choose to write about!
You can have a go at writing your own place-based stories with what3words here: pinthetale.co.uk/play
After a couple of weeks away on leave, got a warm fuzzy feeling from writing our latest Pin the Tale newsletter. It shares news of our latest software update, successful and upcoming workshops, and our recent Container Magazine piece.
mailchi.mp/78b0b7ed3c28...
With Pin the Tale, we’re creating a little corner of the internet that is all about sharing and connecting with the everyday, human stories that make places important to us.
It would be lovely to see a healthy bunch of geographers being part of this community 🌍
pinthetale.co.uk
There is also a Pin the Tale workshop you can take part in TOMORROW as part of the @dgrgrgs.bsky.social pre-conference event, 'Exploring place-based creativity in a digitally-mediated world', 12pm - 5.30pm.
www.rgs.org/research/ann...
Are you at the RGS-IBG conference in Birmingham this week? And do you have a story to share about a place that is meaningful to you?
Look out for our Pin the Tale stand in the Teaching and Learning Building foyer, where you can browse our online map, read other people’s stories and add your own.
Now, if you want the map to zoom into where you are (and see your current location via the blue dot), just click the map pin button indicated here. To use this, location must be turned on on your device and your privacy settings must allow your web browser to access location. (2/2)
Small update: Pin the Tale no longer needs GPS to be active to load the map! If you were ever met with an infinite loading screen, it’s because location was being blocked on your device. This won’t happen anymore! (1/2)
This is great! Really useful approach for thinking about worldbuilding.
I wrote a design diary about the intersections of macro & micro history and how they can be used for worldbuilding and writing.
It’s about our work on Amberspire, but I think it’ll be of interest to both game devs, writers, and historians interested in creative histories more generally 🌒
Our latest Pin the Tale newsletter was sent out earlier this week, telling of some exciting developments in the land of what3words storytelling: mailchi.mp/959fcc48aadd...
Expecting to send out another issue pretty soon; there's lots happening!
Just published! I wrote an article for Container Magazine on my what3words storytelling game Pin the Tale: what it is, how people have used it and what it means for how people engage with places: containermagazine.co.uk/pin-the-tale...
Goddamn. What a sobering and poignant piece of conceptual art. What an amazing artist.
The immersive artists I informally call "the Children of Punchdrunk" have been experimenting with overt game mechanics in their work for a long time, so it's fascinating to see Punchdrunk finally debut this oft-teased video game/theatre hybrid!
Really excited to be part of this workshop on Place-Based Creativity in a Digitally-Mediated World at RGS-IBG this year. A fantastic line-up; should be of interest to all who engage with cultural and digital geographies.
It's under 'Map Tools'!
Proud moment for Pin the Tale: what3words have listed us on the Products page of their website!
Thank you to the what3words team for their enthusiasm and support for what we’ve made.
#geography #geosky #map #gamedev #indiedev #indiegame
