Laura Clancy - Laura is a joint AHRC- and ESRC-funded PhD candidate in Sociology and an Associate Lecturer at Lancaster University. Her doctoral research is concerned with the ways in which the contemporary British monarchy is represented in media culture, and the cultural meanings and ideologies circulating through monarchical imaginaries. In particular, mobilizing the work of Stuart Hall and British Cultural Studies, the research explores how discourses of classed power in Britain are manifest in the (re)production and (re)appropriation of images of the royal institution.

Laura's wider research interests include gender and feminist studies, celebrity studies, classed inequalities, "the elites" and alternative or creative methodologies. She is part of the Executive Committee for the Feminist and Women's Studies Association. Laura joined the BSA Postgraduate Forum team in 2016.

You can follow her on Twitter at @Laura__Clancy

Alan Mackie - Alan is a full-time PhD at the University of Edinburgh, on a 1+3 ESRC scholarship. He entered Higher Education through an Access to HE course, going on to obtain a BA (Hons) in Community Education. Alan spent two years in the field working with young people in employability before returning to complete his MSc in Educational Research Methodology. His PhD is looking at the social justice experiences of young people post-school, how youth workers respond to this and the social justice implications of Scottish policy relating to this group of young people. Having worked as a youth worker for many years, Alan is interested in how social justice theory, youth sociology and educational research overlap and how we can fuse these areas to further understand the lives of young people growing up in this messy world. 

Alan's wider interests include social policy, political participation, class and the implications of inequality. He can be found most weekends either climbing the Scottish Munros or struggling up hills on his bike. 

Twitter: @oldmanmackie

Ashli Mullen - Ashli has 1+3 funding at University of Glasgow, and is currently doing her MRes year. If any of you are curious about Ashli, she has her own page on the Postgraduate Forum website!

Jon Rainford - Jon is a part time doctoral researcher at Staffordshire University and whilst situated within the School of Education is exploring issues surrounding widening participation in Higher Education through a Sociological Lens. He completed a MA in Social Science with the Open University in 2012 and more recently a Masters in Education whilst working as a Secondary School Teacher.

Jon has been a member of the BSA since 2011 and has interests in many areas of Sociology, notably the Sociology of Education, public sociology, the use of digital and visual research methods and inequalities as broadly defined. He has written both academic and personal blogs since 2007, currently blogging about his academic journey on jonrainford.wordpress.com He has also contributed guest blogs to several projects and is active on twitter @jonrainford