Tony Binns

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James Anthony (Tony) Binns (born 1948 in Greater Manchester) [1] is the Ron Lister Professor of Geography at the University of Otago in New Zealand.

Contents

Background

Tony Binns was born in Prestwich and grew up in Bury, Greater Manchester, UK. He attended Stand Grammar School, [2] Whitefield. He graduated from Sheffield University (Geography, 1970; Dip.Ed., 1971) and taught geography in schools while attending the University of Birmingham (MA African Studies 1973; PhD African Studies and Geography, 1981). He taught geography at University of Sussex from 1975 to 2004, before moving to the University of Otago as Professor and latterly Head of Department.

Binns has two children, and holds British and New Zealand citizenship.

Scholarly contributions

Binns' prime interest is African community development and the livelihoods and wellbeing of Africans. His early work was in Sierra Leone, working from Kayima in the north east of the country on links between diamond mining and the farming sector, the two main occupations of local residents. He has continued to follow these trends since 1974, and in 2014 he was elected an honorary chief of Kayima for his continued support to the community. [3]

Since then he has worked in

He has also worked in

Recognition

Key publications

Related Research Articles

Sierra Leone Country on the southwest coast of West Africa

Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, informally Salone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Sierra Leone has a tropical climate with a diverse environment ranging from savanna to rainforests, a total area of 71,740 km2 (27,699 sq mi) and a population of 7,092,113 as of the 2015 census. The capital and largest city is Freetown. The country is divided into five administrative regions which are subdivided into sixteen districts. Sierra Leone is a constitutional republic with a unicameral parliament and a directly elected president serving a five-year term with a maximum of two terms. The current president is Julius Maada Bio. Sierra Leone is a secular nation with the constitution providing for the separation of state and religion and freedom of conscience. Muslims make up about three-quarters of the population, though with an influential Christian minority. Religious tolerance in the West African nation is very high and is generally considered a norm and part of Sierra Leone's cultural identity.

Economy of Sierra Leone National economy

The economy of Sierra Leone is that of a least developed country with a gross domestic product (GDP) of approximately US$1.9 billion in 2009. Since the end of the Sierra Leone Civil War in 2002 the economy is gradually recovering with a GDP growth rate between 4 and 7%. In 2008 its GDP in PPP ranked between 147th and 153rd (CIA) largest in the world.

West Africa Westernmost region of the African continent

West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo as well as Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. The population of West Africa is estimated at about 381 million people as of 2018, and at 381,981,000 as of 2017, of which 189,672,000 are female and 192,309,000 male. The region is demographically and economically one of the fastest growing on the African continent.

Rural area Geographic area that is located outside towns and cities

In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are described as rural. Different countries have varying definitions of rural for statistical and administrative purposes.

Africanus Horton

Africanus Horton (1835–1883), also known as James Beale, was a Krio African nationalist writer and an esteemed medical surgeon in the British Army from Freetown, Sierra Leone.

Temne people West African ethnic group

The Temne, also called Atemne, Témené, Temné, Téminè, Temeni, Thaimne, Themne, Thimni, Timené, Timné, Timmani, or Timni, are a West African ethnic group. They are predominantly found in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. Some Temne are also found in Guinea. The Temne constitute the largest ethnic group in Sierra Leone, at 35.5% of the total population, which is slightly bigger than the Mende people at 31.2%. They speak Temne, a Mel branch of the Niger–Congo languages.

Feminist political ecology is a feminist perspective on political ecology, drawing on theories from marxism, post-structuralism, feminist geography, ecofeminism and cultural ecology. Feminist political ecology examines the place of intersectional social relations in the political ecological landscape, exploring them as a factor in ecological and political relations. Specific areas in which feminist political ecology is focused are development, landscape, resource use, agrarian reconstruction and rural-urban transformation. Feminist political ecologists suggest gender is a crucial variable – in relation to class, race and other relevant dimensions of political ecological life – in constituting access to, control over, and knowledge of natural resources.

Yalunka people

The Yalunka, or Dialonké, are a Mandé people who were one of the original inhabitants of the Futa Jallon, a mountainous region in Guinea, West Africa. The Yalunka people live primarily in Guinea, particularly in Faranah, while smaller communities are found in Kouroussa. Additional Yalunka are also located in northeastern Sierra Leone, southeastern Senegal, and southwestern Mali.

Kasewe Forest Reserve is an area of hills in the Moyamba District of Sierra Leone. It is designated as a forest reserve and contains moist semi-deciduous and evergreen forests that cover an area of 1.224 km2. Made up of volcanic rock the hills stand about 500m above the interior plains of the country. The nearest town is Lunsar.

Paul Richards (anthropologist)

Paul Richards is an emeritus professor of technology and agrarian development at Wageningen University, The Netherlands, and adjunct professor at Njala University in central Sierra Leone. He was formerly a professor in the Department of Anthropology, University College London for many years, and previously taught anthropology and geography, at the School of African and Oriental Studies, University of London and the University of Ibadan, Nigeria.

African Institution Early 19th century society formed to create a refuge for freed slaves in Sierra Leone

The African Institution was founded in 1807 after British abolitionists succeeded in ending the slave trade based in the United Kingdom. The Institution was formed to succeed where the former Sierra Leone Company had failed—to create a viable, civilised refuge for freed slaves in Sierra Leone, in West Africa. It was led by James Stephen and William Wilberforce. From 1823, its work was mostly taken over by the Society for the Mitigation and Gradual Abolition of Slavery Throughout the British Dominions, and it ceased to exist sometime between 1826 and 1828.

Agriculture in Sierra Leone

Agriculture in Sierra Leone is a significant part of the economy of Sierra Leone, with it accounting for 58 percent national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2007. Two-thirds of the population of Sierra Leone are involved in subsistence agriculture.

Women in Sierra Leone Overview of the status of women in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a Constitutional Republic in West Africa. Since it was founded in 1787, the women in Sierra Leone have been a major influence in the political and economic development of the nation.

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Freetown, Sierra Leone.

Robert B. Potter was a British academic geographer, focussing on urbanisation and development issues in the Caribbean. He was Emeritus Professor at the University of Reading, UK.

Sierra Leonean English is the dialect of English spoken by Sierra Leoneans which has been heavily influenced by the Sierra Leone Creole people.

Peri-urban agriculture

Peri-urban regions can be defined as 'superficial' rural areas that are within the orbit of immediate urban hubs, in other words, areas that surround large population centers. These regions can also be referred to as 'exurban areas', 'the rural-urban fringe' or the 'fringe', they include the transition zones between the outer limits of the commuter belt and the edge of newly constructed suburban areas.

Orishatukeh Faduma Christian missionary and educator (1855–1946 AD)

Orishatukeh Faduma was an African-American Christian missionary and educator who was also an advocate for African culture. He contributed to laying the foundation for the future development of African studies.

The Sierra Leone Women's Movement (SLWM) was a Sierra Leonean women's organization founded by Constance Cummings-John in 1951 in collaboration with women leaders from Sierra Leone markets.

Deborah Fahy Bryceson is an American academic currently holding positions at the respective African studies' centres at the University of Edinburgh and University of Uppsala. She pioneered research into sectoral change in Africa, looking primarily at 'transnational families' and coining the term 'de-agrarianisation'. She has published 16 books and over 130 journal articles and book chapters, specialising on livelihood, labour urbanisation and agrarian studies.

References

  1. Cunliffe, Simon (October 2005). "The World at his Feet" (PDF). University of Otago Magazine (12): 25.
  2. Demolished 2001. http://www.prestwichandwhitefieldguide.co.uk/news/prestwich_history/8259040.Stand_Grammar___s_rescue/
  3. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine : Becoming a Chief. YouTube .
  4. "Tony Binns, Geography, University of Otago, New Zealand". www.geography.otago.ac.nz. Archived from the original on 17 August 2010.