معرفی
Dr Christopher Harker serves as Associate Professor and Deputy Director at the UCL Institute for Global Prosperity. His academic career spans multiple institutions with a focus on human geography, particularly examining debt, finance, and prosperity within specific geographical contexts including Palestine and East London.
His educational background includes a PhD in Geography from the University of British Columbia (2004-2009), an MA in Geography from the same institution (2002-2004), and a First Class BSc (Hons) in Geography from the University of Bristol (1999-2002).
Harker's research critically examines financial systems and practices that enable human flourishing within planetary limits. His work challenges normative financial relations while exploring existing alternatives and future possibilities for inclusive prosperity. He focuses particularly on how quality of life can be financed, how societies can pay for desired social structures, and how to create more inclusive forms of value that support the majority of people excluded from existing financial systems.
His publications reveal a consistent focus on the spatial dimensions of debt, particularly in Palestine. The research shows an evolution from examining debt as a spatial phenomenon in Ramallah (2017-2020) toward broader questions of financial inclusion and prosperity (2021-2024). The work increasingly connects local contexts with global financial systems while emphasizing community-based solutions and alternative financial practices.
Harker leads an ESRC-funded project titled 'Transforming Financial Inclusion to Finance Inclusive Prosperity in Ramallah, Palestine' and is committed to supporting diverse PhD students globally. His teaching portfolio includes courses on Debt, Finance and Prosperity; Methods for Problem Solving; Social Theories of Prosperity; Urban Futures; and Economic Geography.
His research methodology combines ethnographic approaches with human geography frameworks, grounded in long-term fieldwork in Ramallah, Palestine, and more recent work with community organizations in East London. This dual geographical focus enables comparative analysis of financial systems in different contexts while maintaining attention to local specificities and community resilience.
