The materiality of research: sinking into the sand: explorations of the coast in sociology by Nick Osbaldiston

In this feature essay, Nick Osbaldiston proposes the notion of a sociology of the coast, linking pre-modern divisions between the ‘known’ land and ‘unknown’ sea to more contemporary anxieties as the spectre of climate change threatens our coastal futures. By engaging in the imaginative play enabled by actually ‘being there’, this allows us to contemplate the pressing, future possibilities of the coast today.