Congratulations to all Sociology Doctorates!
Sociological research seeks to understand all aspects of human social behaviour, including the social dynamics of small groups of people, large organisations, communities, institutions and even entire societies. Each year there is a significant amount of sociological research undertaken across the UK and beyond, and the BSA wishes to recognise those researchers and to extend its warmest congratulations to all who received their doctorate for sociological work.
Presenting the 2024 Graduates in sociological research:
University of Birmingham
Ioana Cerasella Chis
Thesis title: The Politics of Disablement and Precarious Work in the UK: Prefiguring a Non-Productivist Future
Presenting the 2022 Graduates in sociological research:
University of Sheffield
Natalie Wotherspoon
Thesis title: Exploring the contested diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis
Presenting the 2021 Graduates in sociological research:
Lancaster University
Cara Molyneux
Thesis title: Disabled People, Work and Small-Medium Size Enterprises
University College, London
Rachel Benchekroun
Thesis title: Mothers with insecure immigration status: enacting relational belonging and sharing support in a hostile environment
Emmi Suonperä
Thesis Title: Making the “Miracles” Happen – Parenting Stress and Experiences among Parents of Extremely Preterm Young Adolescents in England: A Convergent Mixed Methods Study
University of Exeter
Aimee Middlemiss
Thesis title: The reproductive politics of second trimester pregnancy loss in England
University of Glasgow
Rhi Harvey Humphrey
Thesis title: "We are finding our voice is so unheard that it’s being erased by these bigger voices": Investigating relationships between trans and intersex activists in Australia, Malta and the UK
Presenting the 2020 Graduates in sociological research:
Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations, Coventry University
Thea Shireen Catherine Shahrokh
Thesis title: Young people with migration-related life experiences: Navigating identities and belonging in South Africa
Manchester Metropolitan University
Konstantinos Theodoridis
Thesis Title: 'There's just nothing stable anymore': A sociological examination of the relationship between social media consumption and youth identity in an age of uncertainty
University College London, Institute of Education
Hanaa Abdulla Almoaibed
Thesis Title: Choosing a career in Saudi Arabia: The role of structure and agency in young people’s perceptions of technical and vocational education
University of Essex
Lauren Jenna O’Connell
Thesis title: Being and doing anorexia nervosa: an exploration of diagnosis, identity-work and performance of illness
University of Liverpool
Laura Harris
Thesis Title: Animating the Arts Centre: The Socio-Material Production of an Exhibition at Bluecoat, Liverpool’s Centre for the Contemporary Arts
University of Manchester
Dieuwertje Dyi Huijg
Thesis Title: Intersectional Agency: A theoretical exploration of agency at the junction of social categories and power, based on conversations with racially privileged feminist activists from São Paulo, Brazil
University of Nottingham
James Pattison
Thesis title: Precariousness, diminished resources and stigma: Urban structural violence in a post-industrial colliery town
University of Salford
Dillon Newton
Thesis Title: Walking, Talking and Sensing Community: Lived Experiences of a Multi-Ethnic Neighbourhood
University of Stirling
Charlotte McPherson
Thesis title: The youth transitions of young people of low socioeconomic status in Scotland: Social justice, social generations, and the need for a new policy frame
Presenting the 2019 Graduates in sociological research:
Cardiff University
Asma Shahin Khan
Thesis Title: Beliefs, Choices and Constraints: Understanding and Explaining the Economic Inactivity of Muslim Women in Britain
Durham University
Alex David James Fry
Thesis Title: Gender Attitudes amongst Anglo-Catholic and Evangelical Clergy in the Church of England: A Qualitative Examination of how Male Priests Respond to Women’s Ordination as Priests and their Consecration as Bishops
Middlesex University
Magdolna Lőrinc
Thesis Title: The aspiration generation. The aspirations and implementation strategies of young Londoners at risk of educational underachievement
Queen Mary University of London
Susanna Jane Dowrick
Thesis Title: The unseen work of implementation: A case study of the Identification and Referral to Improve Safety (IRIS) primary care domestic violence and abuse training and support programme
Sheffield Hallam University
Ghayda Aljuwaiser
Thesis Title: Saudi Women's Identities and Their Online Practices across Social Media Platforms
SOAS, University of London
Naomi Lawson Jacobs
Thesis title: The Upside-down Kingdom of God: A Disability Studies Perspective on Disabled People’s Experiences in Churches and Theologies of Disability
Staffordshire University
Jon Rainford
Thesis Title: Equal practices? A comparative study of widening participation practices in pre and post-92 higher education institutions
University of Birmingham
Louise Isham
Thesis title: Exploring the experiences and needs of family carers affected by harmful, violent or abusive behaviour by the older person for whom they care: a qualitative study
University of Central Lancashire
Claire Feeley
Thesis title: Practising outside of the box, whilst within the system’: A feminist narrative inquiry of NHS midwives supporting and facilitating women’s alternative physiological birthing choices
University of Edinburgh
Maggie Laidlaw
Thesis Title: Volunteering as a balancing act: Who's got time for that?
Órla Meadhbh Murray
Thesis Title: Doing Feminist Text-Focused Institutional Ethnography in UK Universities
University of Essex
Aiko Ikemura Amaral
Thesis Title: Identity, work, and mobility amongst Bolivian market vendors in El Alto and São Paulo
University of Lancaster
Paul Robbins
Thesis: British Swimming Coaches as Leaders and their development of a Contextual Fit
University of Leicester
Laura A Way
Thesis title: Just typical girls?: an exploration of older women's construction and maintenance of punk identities
University of Liverpool
Jayne Price
Thesis Title: Exploring pathways and transitions between the juvenile secure estate and young adult/adult estate
University of Manchester
Charlotte Branchu
Thesis Title: Bruised and Battered: Physicality and Moral Careers in Women's Rugby
Sarah Campbell
Thesis Title: Atmospheres of Dementia Care: Stories told through the bodies of men
Deborah Giustini
Thesis Title: Towards a Sociology of Interpreting: The Embedded Strangers
University of Oxford
Julianne K Viola
Thesis Title: Civic Identity in the Digital Age: An investigation into the civic experiences of American young people
University of Warwick
Alexandra Kviat
Thesis Title: Placemaking in the Post-Functionalist and Post-Digital City: The Case Study of Ziferblat
Julian Vinicio Molina
Thesis Title: Intervention work: an ethnography of ‘NEET to EET’ transitions
University of Westminster
Petra Mäkelä
Thesis Title: Narratives of brain injury and self-management after hospital discharge
University of York
Shuang Qiu
Thesis Title: Living apart together (LAT) relationships: intimacy, family practices and agency among Chinese women
Western Sydney University, Australia
Khalida Sajida Malik
Thesis Title: Pembea kazi (career seesaw) for Kenyan Asians in Australia: Capital mobilisation in skilled migrants’ career experiences
Presenting the 2018 Graduates in sociological research:
Goldsmiths College, University of London
Vicki Dabrowski
Thesis Title: The Role of the State in Shaping Young Women’s Experiences of Austerity
Kingston University London
Josh Bullock
Thesis Title: The Sociology of the Sunday Assembly: ‘Belonging Without Believing’ in a Post-Christian Context
Lancaster University
Katherine Jones
Thesis Title: Literacy and numeracy support for homeless adults: An exploration of third sector employment and skills provision
London School of Economics and Political Science
Clare Coultas
Thesis Title: Managing Local-Global Knowledge Encounters: Unpacking the Dynamics of Comprehensive Sexuality Education in Conditions of Precarity
Ryukoku University (Japan)
Hiroto Shimizu
Thesis Title: Workplace Depression in Modern Japanese Society: Psychiatry, Occupational Health, and Individual Experience
University of Edinburgh
Lisa Kalayji
Thesis Title: Collective Relationships & the Emotion Culture of Radical Feminism in Britain, 1983-1991
University of Essex
Tatiana Sánchez Parra
Thesis Title: Born of War in Colombia: Narratives of Unintelligibility, Contested Identities, and the Memories of Absence
University of Glasgow
Sharon Greenwood
Thesis Title: ‘I Try Hard Not To Blame My Dad’: A Sociological Interpretation of the ‘Problem’ With Parental Problem Substance Use
Maureen McBride
Thesis title: Towards a better understanding of sectarianism
University of Leeds
Cassandra McLuckie
Thesis Title: Orgasm Machines, Even Stevens and Sexy Monsters: Accounting for Straight Sex
University of Manchester
William Shankley
Thesis Title: The new geographies of ethnic diversity: The internal migration patterns of Polish migrants and their residential decision making
University of Southampton
Luiz Valério P. Trindade
Thesis Title: It is not that funny. Critical analysis of racial ideologies embedded in racialized humour discourses on social media in Brazil
University of Trento
Filippo Oncini
Thesis Title: Feeding Distinction: Constrictions and Constructions of Dietary Compliance
University of York
Kailing Xie
Thesis Title: Embodying the Exemplary Gender Ideal: The Lives of China’s Privileged Daughters
Presenting the 2017 Graduates in sociological research:
Goldsmiths, University of London
Sarah Burton
Thesis Title: Crafting the academy: writing sociology and disciplinary legitimacy
SOAS, University of London
Carrie Ann Benjamin
Thesis Title: 'In defence of the neighbourhood': narrating place, belonging, and gentrification in the Goutte d’Or
Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
Cormac Mc Namara
Thesis Title: The Betting Shop: A Sociological Perspective
University of California, San Diego
Yao-Tai Li
Thesis Title: Making and Unmaking Pan-ethnicity: The Formation and Decline of Overseas Chinese Identity in Australia
University of Cambridge
Alka Sehgal Cuthbert
Thesis Title: A Progressive Case for Liberal Subject-Based Education; with empirical case study based on the English Literature syllabus
Sarah Hoare
Thesis Title: Understanding end-of-life admissions: an interview study of patients admitted to a large English hospital shortly before death
University of Central Lancashire
Kelly Bracewell
Thesis Title: Teenagers' Experiences of Domestic Violence Refuges
University of Leicester
Katarzyna Kucaba
Thesis Title: Europe in Times of Distress: Assessing Life Satisfaction
University of Manchester
Aimee Harragan
Youth, Politics and Place: Political Engagement among Young People in Manchester
University of Nottingham
Emma Craddock
Thesis title: Emotion and Gender in Local Anti-Austerity Activist Culture
University of Sheffield
Sharleen Estampador Hughson
Thesis Title: Nostalgia, Soft Power and the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme
Presenting the 2016 Graduates in sociological research:
Cardiff University
Teresa Finlay
Thesis title: UK Users’ and Genetics Clinicians’ Experiences of Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing
De Montfort University
Kylie Baldwin
Thesis Title: Ice, ice baby? A sociological exploration of social egg freezing
Glasgow Caledonian University
Victoria Palmer
Thesis Title: The negotiation of physical activity in three generational families.
Heriot-Watt University
Gavin Maclean
Thesis Title: Art versus commerce? The work of musicians in the Field of Cultural Production
International Memorial University
Stephanie Sodero
Thesis Title: Navigating Disruption: Mobile Society and Hurricanes Juan and Igor
Kings College London
Angela M Filipe
Thesis title: Conceiving ADHD: Diagnosis and Practice in the Portuguese Clinic
Shanon Shah Mohd Sidik
Thesis Title: The making of a gay Muslim: social constructions of religion, sexuality and identity in Malaysia and Britain
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Joanna Reynolds
Thesis Title: Enacting ‘community’: conceptualisations and practices of ‘community’ in a UK area-based empowerment initiative
Royal Holloway, University of London
Michelle Webster
Thesis Title: The Experience and Management of Childhood Epilepsy within the Family
The Open University
Caroline Pearce
Thesis Title: Recovering Normal: A qualitative study of grief following bereavement
University of Cambridge
Robert Pralat
Thesis title: Thinking and Talking about Parenthood: Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Perspectives
University of East London
Jenny Thatcher
Thesis Title: A Better Choice? A Case Study of Polish Migrants’ Educational Aspirations and School Choice for their Children
University of Edinburgh
Alison Wheatley
Thesis Title: Good Soldiers, Good Guys, and Good Parents: The Meanings of Donation and Donated Tissue in the Context of the Danish Donor Sperm Industry
University of Glasgow
Richard Brunner
Thesis Title: Surviving, thriving and being outside: applying the capabilities approach to reconceptualise the social justice experiences of people with mental distress
University of Leeds
Yana Manyukhina
Thesis Title: "Ethical Consumption as a Subjective Life Project: Reflexive Construction of an Ethical Self in the Contexts of Objective Reality"
University of Liverpool
Aminu Musa Audu
Thesis Title: Community Policing: Exploring the Police and Community Relationship for Crime Control in Nigeria
University of Manchester
Adi Moreno
Thesis Title: Crossing Borders: Remaking Gay Fatherhood in the Global Market
University of Nottingham
Rachel Hale
Thesis Title: An actor network analysis of the healthcare worker influenza immunisation programme in Wales – 2009-11
University of Southampton
Hamis Mugendawala
Thesis Title: Educational Process Factors for Effective Education in Resource Constrained countries: A multilevel analysis
University of Warwick
Siobhan Dytham
Thesis Title: Relational Popularity and Social Status in Secondary School
Kirsty Lohman
Thesis Title: Punk Lines: Contesting Boundaries in the Dutch Punk Scene
Nazia Hussein
Thesis Title: Boundaries of Respectability: New women of Bangladesh
International
University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany
Alison Lamont
Thesis Title: The Societal Impacts of the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake, China: Normalising after catastrophic disaster
Wageningen University, The Netherlands
Yuliya Hilevych
Thesis title: Strong families and declining fertility: a comparative study of family relations and reproductive careers in Soviet Ukraine
Presenting the 2015 Graduates in sociological research:
Bangor University
Ian Gardner
Thesis Title: Nimby, Network or Social Movement? Individual and Collective Opposition to Windfarms
Bournemouth University
Vanessa Heaslip
Thesis Title: "The Lived Experience of Vulnerability". Understanding healthcare vulnerability from a Gypsy/Travelling community perspective
Brunel University London
Anne Chappell
Thesis Title: Professional learning: teachers' narratives of experience
Emeka Dumbili
Thesis Title: Media, Alcohol Consumption and Young People in an Eastern Nigerian University Campus
Cardiff University
Gareth M Thomas
Thesis Title: The Everyday Work of Healthcare Professionals: An Ethnography of Screening for Down's Syndrome in UK Antenatal Care
Glasgow Caledonian University
Michael Roy
Thesis Title: Conceptualizing social enterprise as a health and well-being 'intervention'
Kingston University
Carole Murphy
Thesis Title: Doing Recovery: A Membership Categorization Analysis (MCA) of Recovery from Addiction
Royal Holloway University of London
Urszula Wolski
Thesis Title: The Social Construction of a Scientific Community: CAQDAS
University of Bradford
Rosemary Peacock
Thesis Title: Relationships, Personal Communities and Visible Facial Difference
University of Durham
Amy Halls
Thesis Title: Men with breast cancer negotiating gender
Natasha Kriznik
Thesis Title: “What’s the problem of “health inequality” represented to be?”: A post-structuralist analysis of English public health policy 1980-2011.
University of Edinburgh
Canan Nese Karahasan
Thesis Title: Exhibiting 'Turkishness' at a Time of Flux in Turkey: An Ethnography of the State
Megumi Nakamura
Thesis Title: Mixed Families: An Ethnographic Study of Japanese/British Families in Edinburgh
Alison Wheatley
Thesis Title: 'Good Soldiers, Good Guys, and Good Parents: The Meanings of Donation and Donated Tissue in the Context of the Danish Donor Sperm Industry'
University of Exeter - Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry
Kath Maguire
Thesis Title: Public and Patient involvement in Theory and in Practice
University of Glasgow
Nicola Boydell
Thesis Title: Personal communities and safer sex: a qualitative study of young gay and bisexual men in Scotland
Alison Eldridge
Thesis Title: Photography and Sociology: An Exercise in Serendipity
University of Huddersfield
Kate Smith
Thesis Title: Children and family wellbeing (asylum and migration) in the Centre for Applied Childhood, Youth and Family Research
Camilo Tamayo Gomez
Thesis Title: Memory, Recognition and Solidarity: the victims of Eastern Antioquia as Communicative Citizens
University of Leicester
Oliver Williams
Thesis Title: Bio-spheres of Risk-Aversion and Equitable Health: An Ethnography of Neoliberal Area-Based Public Health Policy Intervention and Physical Activity in a Deprived English Neighbourhood
University of London
Anna Bull
Thesis Title: The musical body: how gender and class are reproduced among young people playing classical music in England
University of Northumbria
Melanie Steer
Thesis Title: Complexity, Collaboration and Change: A Realist Exploration of the Implementation of Place Based Services and the Potential to improve Health and Wellbeing
University of Nottingham
Emma Katz
Thesis Title: 'Surviving Together: Domestic Violence and Mother-Child Relationships'.
University of Sussex
Rebecca Webb
Thesis Title: Doing the Rights Thing: An Ethnography of a Dominant Discourse of Rights in a Primary School in England
University of York
Matthew Sparkes
Thesis Title: Borrowed Identities: Credit, Debt and Classificatory Struggles in Neoliberal Britain
Hwajeong Yoo
Thesis Title: Living cohabitation in the republic of Korea: Reported experiences of lesbians, gays and heterosexuals
Presenting the 2014 Graduates in sociological research:
University of Aberdeen
Anna-Mari Almila (BSA Member)
Thesis Title: Hijab as Dress: Muslim Women's Clothing Strategies in Contemporary Finland
Anglia Ruskin University
Linda Cooper (BSA Member)
Thesis Title: Extended Mothering: Maternal Influences in Daughters' Higher Education
Bangor University
Teresa Crew (BSA Member)
Thesis Title: Beyond Graduation: Trajectories of Graduates from Higher Education in North Wales
Marta J. Eichsteller
Thesis Title: ‘Becoming a Citizen of the World’: Sociological Study of Biographical Narratives of New Cosmopolitans
University of Birmingham
Rich Moth (BSA Member)
Thesis Title: ‘The Business End’: Perspectives on Mental Distress in the Context of Neoliberal Restructuring of Community Mental Health Services
University of Cambridge
Erica Borgstrom (BSA Member)
Thesis Title: Planning for Death? An Ethnographic Study of Choice and English End-of-life Care
Cardiff University
Revd Peter Phillips (BSA Member)
Thesis Title: Roles and Identities of the Anglican Chaplain: A Prison Ethnography
Julie Porter
Thesis Title: Motivations and Trajectories: A Study of Polish Migrants in Cardiff, Wales
University of Chester
Katie Powell (BSA Member)
Thesis Title: A Sociological Analysis of an Area-based Health Initiative: A Vehicle for Social Change?
University of Durham
Karen Elliott
Thesis Title: Policy Implementation as a Wicked Problem: A Study of the Horse-world
University of Edinburgh
Maddie Breeze
Thesis Title: Just a big sexy joke? Getting taken seriously in women’s roller derby
Jennifer Peet (BSA Member)
Thesis Title: An Institutional Ethnography of Aboriginal Australian Child Separation Histories: Implications of Social Organising Practices in Accounting for the Past
University of Essex
Richard Andrew Davis
Thesis title: Home is Where the WiFi Connects Automatically: The Everyday Practice of Internet Use
University of Glasgow
Kathryn Skivington
Thesis Title: Incapacity Benefit, Employment Transitions and Health: Evidence from Longitudinal Data and a Qualitative Study
Hull York Medical School
Amy Gadoud
Thesis Title: A Palliative Care Approach for People with Advanced Heart Failure: Recognition of Need, Transitions in Care and Impact on Patients, Family Carers and Clinicians
Institute of Education, University of London
Rachel Rosen (BSA Member)
Thesis Title: Playing with inequality: An Ethnographic Study Examining the Ambiguities of Young Children’s Death and Violence Play
King’s College London
Paul Newton
Thesis Title: Comparing and Contrasting Healthcare Professionals’ and Patients’ Perceptions, Understanding and Experiences of Type 2 Diabetes
University of Manchester
Sebastian Schulze-Marmeling
Thesis Title: Conflict at Work and External Dispute Settlement – A Cross-country Comparison
University of Nottingham
Kristoffer Halvorsrud (BSA Member)
Thesis Title: Negotiating the ‘Racial’ and Ethnic Boundaries of Citizenship: White South African Migrants in the UK and Their Sense of Belonging
Queen’s University, Belfast
Stephanie Smith
Thesis Title: The Structure of Professional Communication among Cross-Community Youth Leaders in North Belfast
University of Salford
Lisa Morris
Thesis Title: Accomplishing Social Work Identity in Interprofessional Mental Health Teams Following the Implementation of the Mental Health Act 2007
University of Strathclyde
Knut Laaser
Thesis Title: Moral Economy of Work and Employment in British Banks
University of Stirling
Maria Desougi (BSA Member)
Thesis Title: Death and Dying in Human and Companion Canine Relationships
Siân Lucas (BSA Member)
Thesis Title: Social Work in a Multilingual World: Interpreter Mediated Encounters
University of Sunderland
Dorothy Coe
Thesis Title: An Investigation into the Caring Practices of District Nurses
University of Surrey
Sandeep Chandra Ashwath
Thesis Title: Life of Myths in an Indian City: A Study of Situated Practices
Paula Mary Aubrey
Thesis Title: Approaching the Family for Organ Donation Consent in the Emergency Department: A Donor Family Experience
Elena Avetova
Thesis Title: Understanding Socioeconomic Health Disparities in Post-Communist Countries
Yijin He
Thesis Title: Back to the Soil: Sociological Practice and Chinese Society, 1903 – 1952
Charles Leddy-Owen
Thesis Title: 'Can anyone be English?' Racialisation, Nationalism and English Identities
Helen Moore
Thesis Title: Race, Rurality and Respectability: English Villagers, Eastern European Migrants and the Intersection of Whiteness and Class in Rural England
Alexandra Lee Scherer
Thesis Title: ‘We liked reading with you as it was something we chose to do’: Situating Reading Picturebooks in the Lives of Children; An Exploration of Children, Reading and Identity in a School Setting
University of Sussex
Liz Thackray (BSA Member)
Thesis Title: The Meanings of the 'Struggle/Fight Metaphor' in the Special Needs Domain: The Experiences of Practitioners and Parents of Children with High Functioning Autism Spectrum Conditions
University of York
Rachel Thwaites
Thesis Title: Women, Marriage, and Selfhood: How Names Impact upon Gendered Identity
International
University of Bordeaux (France)
Baudry Rocquin (BSA Member)
Thesis Title: A Sociology Without Sociologists? Britain's Search for a Discipline (1904-2014)
University of Queensland (Australia)
Sheilla van Wijk (BSA Member)
Thesis Title: Fair Trade and Community Supported Agriculture as Middle class Social Movements in Hong Kong
University of Western Ontario (Canada)
Kathleen Ellis (BSA Member)
Thesis Title: Knowledge Translation and the Governance of Health Research in Canada: A Critical Discourse Analysis
University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA)
Jennifer Sims (BSA Member)
Thesis Title: Doing Race: Physical Appearance, Identity and the Micro-Politics of Racial Ambiguity
Is your name or University on the list?
We are still accepting more names for our list of graduates – if you are a recent graduate, or your department’s graduates are not listed here, please email the BSA Membership Team.
This list will be updated once more periodically throughout the year and we will create a PDF version as well. If you are graduating or you know a very deserving graduate, please get in touch.