Ali Mert Ipek

I am a third-year, SEED-funded postgraduate researcher in Human Geography at the University of Manchester, undertaking a PhD project supervised by Prof Noel Castree and Dr Nathaniel Millington.

Broadly, my research explores the complex interplay between agrarian change, rural livelihoods, and tourism development. Drawing insights from critical realist and Marxian understandings of human geography, I investigate the processes of livelihood diversification, the commodification of nature through tourism, and the state's role in facilitating these transformations in rural spaces.

Through a multidisciplinary approach, I aim to contribute to broader debates on political ecology, rural development, critical agrarian studies, and tourism geographies.

I am a member of the Society and Environment Research Group (SERG) at the University of Manchester.

I am also an Associate Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) and a member of the American Association of Geographers (AAG).

I have extensive teaching experience and a strong background in supporting various academic courses.

At the University of Manchester, I have worked as a Teaching Assistant for the following courses, leading seminars and tutorials: 

• Nature, Society and Social Power (undergraduate module, assisting Prof Erik Swyngedouw and Dr Mark Usher)
• Economic Geography (undergraduate module, assisting Prof Martin Hess)
• Key Issues in Environment and Development (postgraduate taught module, assisting Dr Katarzyna Cieslik)

At my previous institutions, I have served as both a research and teaching assistant, providing support for a diverse array of courses such as Approaches to State-Society Relations, Theories of the State, Political Sociology, Introduction to Politics, and Political Economy.