Professor David Storey

Honorary Professor of Human Geography

School of Science and the Environment

Geography and Environment

Contact Details

David has an eclectic range of research interests covering aspects of territory and identity, sport and place, rural change and development. He has published widely on these topics and has delivered papers at various international conferences.

Territory and national identity
Professor Storey is interested in how geographic space can be used to assert, to maintain or to resist forms of power, the ways in which ideologies and social practices are manifested in space, and the geographical outcomes of territorial strategies. He explores the associations between place and national identity and the ways in which generic landscapes or specific places are seen to be central to national narratives is of particular interest. These issues form the core material of his book Territories. The Claiming of Space (3^rd edition currently in press) and related articles and book chapters. He has also contributed to these topics in major international reference works.

Sport, place and identity
Ideas of identity, place and belonging are reflected through elements of popular culture such as sport. In this second strand of research, David explores some of the intersections, complexities and contradictions that this raises, in a context of increasing migration of sporting talent and international sports people representing countries other than the one in which they were born or brought up. This has featured in many articles and chapters and is the subject of David’s recent book, Transferring Allegiance: Football, Place and National Identity (2021)

Rural development and place promotion
David has explored various aspects of rural socio-economic development in Britain and Ireland. He is particularly interested in the issues surrounding the use of community and partnership working in rural areas. His research has also examined the commodification of place, the uses (and abuses) of heritage and the dual nature of heritage as both cultural product and economic resource. He has been involved in various research projects undertaken for a range of statutory bodies and voluntary organisations.

David has held external examiner roles (both undergraduate and postgraduate) at a number of universities in the UK and Ireland. He has regularly refereed papers and reviewed books for a wide range of academic journals. He is a founder member of the Sport and Politics Research International Network (SPRING). Prior to his retirement, David served on a range of university committees, including the Research Degrees Board, and was the Research Degrees Programme leader in the School of Science and the Environment.

A link to David's recent Academic Blog.

Academic History/Qualifications

Principal Lecturer in Geography, University of Worcester (retired 2023)
Visiting International Fellow, University of Minnesota Duluth, 2012
Lecturer in Human Geography, University of Glamorgan, 1992
PhD student/part-time Tutor/Research Assistant, University College Cork 1986-92
PhD Geography, University College Cork (1993)
MSc Geography, Trinity College Dublin (1988)
BA Geography and Economics, Trinity College Dublin (1982)

Link to David's Author WRaP page.

Publications

Selected Publications

Storey, D. (forthcoming) Territories. The Claiming of Space, (3rd edition), London: Routledge.

Storey, D. (2023) Footballing journeys: Migration, citizenship and national identity, Journal of Geography in Higher Education.

Storey, D. (2021) Football, Place and National Identity: Transferring Allegiance: London: Rowman & Littlefield.

Storey, D. (ed) (2020) A Research Agenda for Territory and Territoriality, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

Storey, D. (2020) National allegiance and sporting citizenship: identity choices of ‘African’ footballers, Sport in Society, 23:1, 129-141.

Storey, D. (2020) Soccer, identity and sporting citizenship in Ireland: Border crossings, in J. O’Brien, R. Holden and X. Ginesta (eds), Sport, Globalisation and Identity: New Perspectives on Regions and Nations, London: Routledge, 36-51.

Storey, D. (2020) entries on ‘Political Geography’ and ‘Rural development’, in A. Kobayashi (ed) International Encyclopedia of Human Geography (2nd edition) Oxford: Elsevier.

Storey, D. (2018) Territory and territoriality, in A Paasi, J. Harrison and M. Jones (eds) Handbook on the Geographies of Regions and Territories, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 34-43.

Storey, D. (2017) States, territory and sovereignty, Geography 10 (3), 116-122.

Storey, D. (2017) Territory and territoriality, in B. Warf (ed) Oxford Bibliographies in Geography, New York: Oxford University Press.

Storey, D. (2016) Using heritage to promote rural places, Town & Country Planning 85 (7), 286-288.

Storey, D. (2016) Which boys in green? Identity issues in Irish soccer, in C. Howley and S. Dun (eds) The Playing Field. Making Sense of Spaces and Places in Sporting Culture, Oxford: Inter-Disciplinary Press, 129-140.

Storey, D. (2016) Territory, space and society, in P. Daniels, M. Bradshaw, D. Shaw, J. Sidaway and T. Hall (eds) An Introduction to Human Geography (5th edition), Harlow: Prentice Hall, 421-438.

Storey, D. (2015) entries on 'State, Geography of', and 'Territoriality: geographical' in J. Wright (ed) International Encyclopedia of Social and Behavioral Sciences (2nd edition), Oxford: Elsevier.

Storey, D. (2014) Football in Africa. Migration, identity and globalisation, Geography Review 27 (4), 2-4.

Storey, D. (2013) ‘New’ migrants in the British countryside, Journal of Rural and Community Development, 8 (3), 291-302.

Storey, D. (2013) Sport, culture and identity, in C.M Rees (ed) Changes in Contemporary Ireland: Texts and Contexts, Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 80-95.

Storey, D. (2012) Heritage, culture and identity: the case of Gaelic games, in J. Hill, K. Moore and J. Wood (eds), Sport, History and Heritage: An Investigation into the Public Representation of Sport, Boydell and Brewer, 223-234.

Storey, D. (2012) Territories. The Claiming of Space, (2nd edition), London: Routledge.

Storey, D. (2012) Land, territory and identity, in I. Convery, G. Corsane and P. Davis (eds) Making Sense of Place: Multidisciplinary Perspectives, Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 11-22.

Holmes, M. and Storey, D. (2011) Transferring national allegiance: cultural affinity or flag of convenience? Sport in Society 14 (2), 253-271.

Storey, D. (2011) Football, place and migration: Foreign footballers in the FA Premier League, Geography 96 (2), 86-94.

Barton, A., Storey, D. and Palmer, C. (2011) A trip in the country? Policing drug use in rural settings, in R.I. Mawby and R. Yarwood (eds) Rural Policing and Policing the Rural. A Constable Countryside? Farnham: Ashgate, 147-158.

Storey, D. (2010) Using the past: heritage and re-imagining rural places, in D.G. Winchell, D. Ramsey, R. Koster and G.M. Robinson (eds) Geographical Perspectives on Sustainable Rural Change, Rural Development Institute, Brandon University, 374-383.

Storey, D. (2010) Partnerships, people and place: Lauding the local in rural development, in G. Halseth, S. Markey and D. Bruce (eds) The Next Rural Economies: Constructing Rural Place in Global Economies, Wallingford: CABI, 155-165.

Recent Conference Presentations/Invited Talks

Geographies of Sport: Football, Citizenship and National Identity. Lovatt Lecture in Geography, University of Worcester, November 2023.

Sport, Identity and Citizenship: Nationality Choices in International Football. York St John University, May 2023.

Territory and National Identity. Geographical Association, North Staffordshire Branch, Staffordshire University, January 2023.

Territory and National Identity. Geographical Association, Birmingham Branch, February 2022.

Migration, Identity and Representation: Africa's Diaspora Footballers. SPRING Foundation Symposium, Université Catholique de Lille (France), October 2021.

Sport, Migration and National Identity: ‘African’ Footballers and Questions of Allegiance. European Association of Geographical Societies conference, University of Galway, May 2019.

“Africa won the World Cup”. Football, Identity and Nationality Swapping. Pint of Science, Worcester, May 2019.

Sport, National Identity and Citizenship. RGS-IBG Annual Conference, Cardiff University, August 2018.

Crossing the Border: Football, Identity and Ireland’s Boys in Green. Political Studies Association/Sport and Politics Group International Conference, University of Vic (Spain), June 2017.

The Gaelic Athletic Association: Balancing Community, Tradition and Modernity. Inter-Disciplinary Net Conference, Mansfield College, Oxford, September 2016.

Migration: Myths and Realities. Beacons Development Education Centre Annual Conference, Worcester, March 2016.

Which Boys In Green?: Identity Issues In Irish Soccer. Space, Place and Sport conference, Mansfield College Oxford, September 2015.

Re-imagining Market Towns. 8th Quadrennial Conference of British, Canadian and American Rural Geographers, Swansea University, July 2015.

The In-Humanitarian Present. Waging Endless War. Conference of Irish Geographers, Queens University Belfast, May 2015.

Sport, Place and Identity in Contemporary Ireland. Conference of Irish Geographers, University of Galway, May 2013.

'New' Migrants in the British Countryside. 7th Quadrennial Conference of British, Canadian and American Rural Geographers, Duck Mountain (Canada), July 2011.

Wearing the Green. A Game of Political Football. Conference of Irish Geographers, Maynooth University, May 2010.