• University Teacher (Interdisciplinary Studies)

email: Annette.Thomson@glasgow.ac.uk

Office hours: Wednesday 12 – 1 during autumn semester, otherwise by appointment.

Biography

I was born and educated in Ravensburg, Germany. After initial studies in literature and musicology at Tübingen and Heidelberg Universities, I moved to Dumfries and also changed academic direction to the social sciences. I completed a BA (Hons) in psychology with the Open University, followed by an ERSC funded PhD at Strathclyde University.

Previous non-academic posts include work with children in need of special care at the Camphill Rudolf-Steiner School in Aberdeen, and with adults with learning disabilities at Key Housing Association in Dumfries. I have also taught German to children and adults at various levels.

Present research plans and projects

Teaching: Action Research work on teaching critical evaluation in psychology, currently involved in research on teaching academic literacies.

Research: I am presently working on a psychobiography of Erich Fromm, and have research plans for projects on developmental aspects of creativity.

Further academic interests include: applied social psychology in general, positive psychology, developmental psychology. I find these hard to pin down because the social sciences in general, and psychology in particular, offer such vast field of insightful research and theory, relevant to just about any aspect of life at an individual and societal level. Once ‘hooked’ on the social sciences, it’s hard to look away.

Undergraduate

• Level 1: Social Psychology: An Introduction
• Level 1: Introduction to Social Studies

External teaching

I teach a level 1 course in social science, a 3rd level course in social psychology (course team for assessment) and learning skills for the Open University. I also work for Bell College, teaching psychology on the BSc/DipHE Nursing Course (Crichton Campus).