Peter Hopkins

Peter Hopkins is a British academic and social geographer. He is currently professor of social geography in the School of Geography, Politics and Sociology at Newcastle University.

Academic career Hopkins is professor of Social Geography at Newcastle University. At the university, he has held several positions including being the first University Dean of Social Justice from 20018-2021. He was also director of the ESRC doctoral training centre. Within the School of Geography, including Postgraduate Director (2008–2012), Director of Research (2017–2018), and Impact Director during the first semester of 2017–18. He also held the role of convenor for the Geographies of Social Change research cluster from 2014 to 2015.

Hopkins has published widely on issues related to Islamophobia, Muslim identities, and the everyday lives of minority communities in the United Kingdom. His research focuses on race, religion, migration, Anti-racism, and social justice, with particular attention to Islamophobia and intersectionality. He has also published about youth identities, men and masculinities, and the use of focus groups in research.

Hopkins is a member of the Publications Committee of the American Association of Geographers and the Nominations Committee of the Academy of Social Sciences. He is an editor of The Geographical Journal and was previously the managing editor of Gender, Place & Culture. He serves on the 2029 REF panel for Geography and Environmental Studies.

Hopkins led the first-ever public inquiry into Islamophobia through the Cross-Party Group on Tackling Islamophobia in the Scottish Parliament. The group, chaired by Anas Sarwar MSP, produced several recommendations to address Islamophobia in Scotland, including the introduction of media guidelines for journalists.

Hopkins was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2024 and to the Fellowship of the Academy of Social Sciences in 2018. 2023: Leverhulme Major Research Fellowship 2012: President’s Medal of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society 2011: Gill Memorial Award of the Royal Geographical Society

Selected publications

Books Hopkins, Peter (2025). "Everyday Islamophobia". Bristol University Press. Tate, Simon; Hopkins, Peter (2020). "Studying Geography at University: How to Succeed in the First Year of Your New Degree". Routledge. . Benwell, Matthew C.; Hopkins, Peter (2017). "Children, Young People and Critical Geopolitics ". Taylor & Francis. Gorman-Murray, A and Hopkins Peter, (2014) Masculinities and Place. Ashgate. Hopkins, Peter (2010). "Young people, place and identity". Routledge.

Articles

Hopkins, Peter; Giazitzoglu, Andreas (2025). "Hegemonic masculinity: new spaces, practices, and relations". Progress in Human Geography. 49 (1): 84–98. . . Hopkins, Peter (2019). "Social geography I: Intersectionality". Progress in Human Geography. 43 (5): 937–947. . . Hopkins, Peter; Botterill, Katherine; Sanghera, Gurchathen; Arshad, Rowena (2017). "Encountering Misrecognition: Being Mistaken for Being Muslim". Annals of the American Association of Geographers. 107 (4): 934–948. . . Hopkins, Peter (2014). "Managing Strangerhood: Young Sikh Men's Strategies". Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space. 46 (7): 1572–1585. . . Hopkins, Peter (2011). "Towards critical geographies of the university campus: understanding the contested experiences of Muslim students". Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers. 36 (1): 157–169. . . Hopkins, Peter (2007). "Thinking Critically and Creatively about Focus Groups". Area. 39 (4): 528–535. . Hopkins, Peter (2007). "Positionalities and Knowledge: Negotiating Ethics in Practice". ACME: An International Journal for Critical Geographies. 6 (3): 386–394. . Hopkins, Peter; Pain, Rachel (2007). "Geographies of Age: Thinking Relationally". Area. 39 (3): 287–294. . Hopkins, Peter (2006). "Youthful Muslim Masculinities: Gender and Generational Relations". Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers. 31 (3): 337–352.