John Allen

Description
John Allen is Professor of Economic Geography in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and a member of The Open University Central Academic Staff based in Milton Keynes. Since 1979 he has chaired and worked on Open University module teams and written course materials for geography courses and level I social science courses. He was an Open University Associate Lecturer in the London region until 1986 and tutored in prisons in England. As Head of Department in Geography at The Open University he visited the H blocks of the Maze and Long Kesh Prison on 23 June 1990 to teach a geography day school on uneven global development.

Metadata describing this interview

Title:	John Allen Interview
Interviewer:	Jenny Meegan
Abstract:	John Allen Professor of Economic Geography at The Open University describes; starting work at The Open University in Milton Keynes in 1979; working with Stuart Hall, Laurence Harris, and Doreen Massey on D102 Module pro ... duction team and writing a chapter on Race and Class; becoming an Associate Lecturer in the London region and subsequently conducting day schools including in prisons; experiences teaching a D101 summer school module in Gartree , Holloway and Wormwood Scrubs Prisons in the early 1980s; recollections of a geography student writing an essay on a sense of place in Wormwood Scrubs; leading a day school for D205 students in the Maze Long Kesh[H Blocks-the Maze and Long Kesh Prison]; surprise at being met by spokesperson for the Republicans and being told why they were political prisoners; teaching D205 to Republican students in the morning and a Loyalist student in the afternoon; reflections on being in the role of student when receiving a political lecture; reflections as a geographer on issues of space place and power in Maze Long Kesh; teaching Block 6 D205, issues of topic of uneven development; writing course material for D103 on regional change; issues in teaching about a geographical imagination in prisons and the contribution of Doreen Massey to understanding the relationship between uniqueness and interdependence of place and relevance to prisons; recollections of discussion in Module Teams and Exam Boards of particular circumstances of studying in prison; issues teaching online Open University courses in prisons today; enjoyment of teaching day schools in a face-to-face environment; reflecting on the strong memory of that single visit to Maze Long Kesh 27 years ago and the role reversal of teacher and student.
Date of interview:	12-07-2017
Interview duration:	00:32:28
Recording type:	Audio interview
Rights statement:	Rights owned or controlled by The Open University
Restrictions on use:	Contact the OU Archive prior to any re-use. Contact university-archive@open.ac.uk
Interviewer note:	John Allen was interviewed by Jenny Meegan, an Open University colleague
Available to public:	no