Keele UniversityFaculty of HumsSocSci
Sociology
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Sociology Research
Members of the Sociology Programme are involved in the Centre for Social Policy in the Research Insititute for Social Sciences.
Our research is clustered around two broad themes:
- Cultural Analysis
- Families, Communities and Wellbeing
Sociology is a diverse and wide ranging discipline. This disciplinary diversity is reflected in the research specialisms of Keele Sociologists, which include media and culture, consumption, urban space, globalisation, witchcraft, families, ageing and health. Every member of the Sociology programme team is research active and engaged in the production of world class research in their specialist fields. This work entails the production of significant monographs, articles, papers on a range of topics, including utopianism, consumer culture, and health research, and taking an active role in the wider discipline, where members edit and contribute to significant journals, such as The Sociological Review and Cultural Politics. Indeed, The Sociological Review, which remains one of the most prestigious Sociology journals in the world, is based at Keele and members of the Sociology group sit on its Editorial Board.
Sociology also plays host to the well established Sociology Seminar Series which runs throughout the year and includes both internal and external speakers. Beyond this work in the disciplinary life of Sociology, members of the group also play a full part in the wider research culture of the University and beyond. For example the 'Boomers and Beyond' project, part of the AHRC/ESRC 5 year, £5 million Cultures of Consumption programme, generated significant data on the role consumption plays in transition to midlife and later life. Members of Sociology have also recently convened two ESRC-funded seminar series - Motherhoods, Markets and Consumption and Regenerating Medium-sized Cities - and lead inter-disciplinary research units, including the Cultural Research Unit and the Keele Urban Research Network (KURN), and continue to make significant contributions to other long established Keele research strengths, such as Social Gerontology. Keele Sociologists also work closely with colleagues in Criminology in the hosting of research seminars and are actively involved in running their institutional home, The Centre for Social Policy.
We are proud of our dynamic research environment and support postgraduate students working in a diverse range of fields. We welcome applications in any area of Sociology or related disciplines. Follow this link for further information on postgraduate opportunities and take a look at our staff pages for more information about what we do.
