Biography
Andrew Warren is Lecturer in Human Geography, Department of Geography and Sustainable Communities, University of Wollongong, Australia. An economic geographer, Andrew’s research interests are in the areas of cultural political economy, industrial cities, manufacturing and employment relations. His PhD conducted a labour geography of the surfboard manufacturing industry. The thesis analysed how technological change and managerial ambitions to up-scale business operations impacted relations between local board makers/customers and generated new geographies of (mass) production. A central finding from Andrew’s PhD included understanding the way particular cultural values, beliefs and meanings of work can exacerbate precarious working conditions. In collaboration with Chris Gibson, Andrew has recently published a book Surfing Places, Surfboard Makers (University of Hawai‘i Press, 2014) that explores the global economic geography of surfboard manufacturing through the experiences of the people who make surfboards for a living. The book includes research with more than 130 board makers from 35 commercial workshops in Australia, Southern California and Hawai‘i. Aside from the surfboard industry Andrew has also published on other forms of cultural production including music and custom car design. Connected to his love of the ocean Andrew is currently involved in a project researching the cultures and politics of human-shark encounters. With cultural geographer Dr Leah Gibbs, this work is attempting to understand the relationship between human ocean-use and roll-out of lethal approaches towards shark management. Pursued under the guise of protecting human life and tourism assets the argument is that rather than killing and culling sharks, human behaviours and practices must change in relation to the ocean and its marine life (see Gibbs and Warren 2014). Andrew is an avid surfer and lives on the South Coast of NSW with his wife and daughter.
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Relevant publications
- Warren, A. 2015. Masculinities in the Workplace: A Cultural Economy of Surfboard Making. In Masculinities and Place, A Gorman-Murray and P Hopkins (eds.). Ashgate: Farnham.ISBN 978-1-4724-0979-9
- Warren, A. and Gibson, C. 2014. Surfing Places, Surfboard Makers: Craft, Creativity and Cultural Heritage in Hawai’i, California and Australia. University of Hawai‘i Press: Honolulu. ISBN 978-0-8248-3943-7. Web page:http://www.uhawaiipress.com/p-9116-9780824839437.aspx
- Warren, A. 2014. The agency and employment experiences of non-unionized workers in the surfboard industry.Environment and Planning A 46 http://dx.doi.org/10.1068/a130330p
- Gibson, C. and Warren, A. 2014. Making Surfboards: Emergence of a Trans-Pacific Cultural Industry. Journal of Pacific History 49(1): 1-23
- Gibbs, L. and Warren, A. 2014. Killing Sharks: cultures and politics of encounter and the sea. Australian Geographer 45(2): 101-107
- Warren, A. and Gibson, C. 2013. Crafting Regional Production: Emergence, Crisis and Consolidation in the Gold Coast Surfboard Industry. Australian Geographer 44(4): 365-381
- Warren, A. and Gibson, C. 2013. Making Things in a High Dollar Australia: The Case of the Surfboard Industry. Journal of Australian Political Economy 71(1): 26-50 Available: http://australianpe.wix.com/japehome#!current/c1cok
- Warren, A. and Waitt, G. 2008. ‘Talking Shit over a Brew after a good Session with your mates’: surfing, space and masculinity. Australian Geographer 39(3): 353-365.