The group has a wide-ranging historical focus from the ancient and medieval periods up to the present day. Geographically, its interests are centred on Britain and Ireland, Europe, and North America. However, concerns with diaspora, travel and exploration mean that studies include considerations of places much further afield. The group also pays particular attention to ways of disseminating its research to the general public through exhibitions, websites and other learning opportunities.

The group is internationally recognised for its work in intellectual history, focusing on the history of geography as a discipline and the history of allied debates such as those about Malthusianism and temporal consciousness. Landscape research is another ongoing area of interest with studies into monuments in the geographic environment and into literary representations of landscapes. The group is also especially well known for work on the philosophical agendas of performativity and non-representational theory, embodied visual and material cultures, and the ways in which such agendas impact on how we present knowledge both within and beyond academic contexts.

Our work has also been recognised in cognate disciplines. We have published extensively in many disciplines beyond geography including history, art history, architecture, literature, history of science, cultural studies, museum studies and Irish studies. We have also secured grants from the major funding councils including the British Academy, the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the Leverhulme Trust as well as developing collaborative partnerships with a range of museums and galleries in Britain, North America and Australia. The group edits the discussion and review forum H-Net HistGeog as well as two commercially published monograph series in historical geography (with Ashgate and IB Tauris).