School of Social & Political Sciences

Sociological & Cultural Studies Blog

Research, reflections and critical interventions from staff and doctoral students in the Division of Sociological & Cultural Studies. New postings regularly.

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Why sociology needs games (and games need sociology).

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 14:38:00 BST

Ian Greener urges sociologists to take games and gaming more seriously.

Meeting polite society to discuss inequalities.

Wed, 01 Jul 2026 09:00:00 BST

Gerry McCartney on what the Deaton Review on social inequality fails to ask.

Is the Online Safety Act censoring sexual health content?

Mon, 01 Jun 2026 08:42:00 BST

Judas Kelley reflects on some potentially troubling consequences of the Online Safety Act.

Urban ethnography and walking Nan Shepherd’s mountain.

Mon, 04 May 2026 12:14:00 BST

Natanya Mark explores a lesson from Nan Shepherd about how we might properly attend to the places we inhabit.

On the double binds of telling stories in research, firepits, and the trees we grew under (or didn’t).

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:51:00 BST

Erdem Avsar reflects on the value of gatherings and restorative storytelling in academia.

What is wrong with climate change journalism?

Mon, 06 Apr 2026 10:38:00 BST

Dominic Hinde reflects on the failure of contemporary journalism to reckon with the planetary consequences of climate change.

Away from the faeries: the rehabilitation of Tam Lin.

Mon, 02 Mar 2026 08:55:00 GMT

Fergus McNeill asks: 'what does an old Scottish folk-tale have to teach us about the meaning of rehabilitation?'

Teaching migration otherwise: ethics, discomfort, and critical pedagogy in practice.

Sun, 01 Feb 2026 12:20:00 GMT

Teresa Piacentini shares lessons for how we might teach migration in the classroom.

Populism, anti-populism, and the politics of the ‘left behinds’.

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 09:15:00 GMT

Salomé Ietter reflects on a forgotten history of progressive populism and its significance today.

Public memorials as hauntings within postindustrial urban space.

Fri, 09 Jan 2026 15:00:00 GMT

Dylan Brewerton-Harper reflects on public memorials in Port Glasgow.

Hey mister, can we have our game back? The elite capture of English cricket.

Thu, 20 Nov 2025 13:00:00 GMT

Andy Smith reflects on the extent to which English cricket has become a game for the elite.

Who has a ‘duty to integrate’?

Mon, 03 Nov 2025 09:17:00 GMT

Gareth Mulvey argues that it is British elites who most stubbornly refuse to integrate.

Tracing migration journeys in empty squats along the Balkan route.

Wed, 01 Oct 2025 12:00:00 BST

Karolina Benghellab discusses the real consequences of Europe's increasingly militarised border regimes.

Books, podcasts and the value of combining them.

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 09:00:00 BST

Matt Dawson reflects on how a love of books led him to become a podcaster.

What does a sustainable and liveable city look like to you?

Thu, 28 Aug 2025 15:06:00 BST

Kassandra Moosbrugger invites us to think about different ways of moving through the city and the barriers that might shape access to those possibilities.

Bodies of work: pain, perfection, and disability in the world of orchestral music.

Thu, 31 Jul 2025 18:34:00 BST

Eleanor Brown outlines her British Academy funded postdoctoral fellowship exploring how orchestral music, disability, and human rights come together.

Man and woman sitting on a bench in the winter sun talking
Man and woman sitting on a bench in the winter sun talking

A great day in Harlem.

Mon, 14 Jul 2025 11:07:00 BST

Les Back shares reflections from a visit to Harlem.