Heather Winlow

Heather Winlow is a Senior Lecturer in Human Geography at Bath Spa University, part of the School of Sciences. She holds a PhD from Queen's University, Belfast (1999) and a BA from the University of Wales, Lampeter (1995). Her research focuses on cartographic representations of race, the history of cartography, and cultural landscapes. A Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society/Institute of British Geographers, she also serves on the Editorial Board of Cartographica and has been a Recognized Reviewer for Elsevier.

Her teaching includes core modules such as Geography Dissertations, Identities and Inequalities: Past to Present, and Contested Geographies: Histories and Debates. She has held external roles including External Examiner for the University of Central Lancashire's Geography programs (2016–2020). Her research explores late 19th-century racial cartography, US state mapping of Indigenous exclusion, and photographic representations of Indigenous groups. Recent work examines the colonial underpinnings of Western mapping practices.

Key contributions include analyses of Griffith Taylor’s racial zoning theories, W.Z. Ripley’s racial mapping, and Lamarckian influences on early geography. Her pedagogical research investigates foundation degree programs and focus groups in teaching and learning strategies.