Zack Palmer
Thesis title: Selling Space, Controlling Land: A Political Economy of Cartography in Early Modern England
Broadly, my PhD project exists within the parameters of economic history, wherein I view historic data, trends, and changes through the lens of economic theory. Specifically, I am examining the English map trade, beginning as early as the sixteenth century, alongside political developments to explore the production, circulation, and use of maps by the state and wider society. The theory that I draw on most prominently is that of political economy (namely, the interplay between ideology, state practice, and economic change), and economics of information (notably, the effect of generating and disseminating knowledge on economic growth).
I am also interested in geopolitical theory, specifically as it relates to ideas of territory, sovereignty, and scale. I explore the effect that historic depictions of political space have had on the construction of national identity over time, and in the process I endeavour to do the following: contributing to new understandings of the origins of modern territorial politics; inform present-day debates concerning scale in governance (e.g., devolution in the UK, subsidiarity in the EU, etc.); and develop new conceptual insights into the economic effects of information exchange and territorial policy using the 'cartographic knowledge economy' framework that I have developed.
Biography
My first degree was in English and History at the University of Nottingham. Upon completing that, I continued to study History at MA level before doing a master's in Social Science with a focus on Economics. I am now in the process of conducting doctoral research at the University of Nottingham on the ESRC's Economic and Social History Pathway.
Alongside receiving these formal degrees, I also spent the summer of 2022 at the Barcelona School of Economics studying macroeconomics and finance, and, during the autumn of 2022, I was a visiting researcher at Aston University's business school.
Moreover, in tandem with my academic pursuits, I act as a consultant for 180DC (which is the pro bono arm of consulting firm, Q5), a role that allows me to provide strategic advice to charities in order for them to operate more effectively.
Other Research Interests
Asset bubbles; the history of economic thought; financial institutions; geopolitics; economic geography; political systems.
Economic & Social History
University of Nottingham
2021 Cohort, 1+3
https://www.linkedin.com/in/zack-palmer
Supervisory Team
Dr David Gehring
Dr Margaret Small
Dr Nick Baron