Author: Sociology Website Editor

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Interview with Les Back on release of ‘Academic Diary’

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Academic Diary, written by Les Back, Professor of Sociology at Goldsmiths (UoL) is the first book to be published by Goldsmiths Press.

Composed of highlights from 30 years in academia, Academic Diary provides an articulate reflection on higher education, the various challenges of academia and the day to day encounters British universities face. Structured in Terms (Autumn, Spring and Summer), Academic Diary offers a companionate guide, borrowing from many perspectives toward higher education: the Undergraduate, Postgraduate, Lecturer and Professor.

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Emma Jackson shortlisted for Thinking Allowed Ethnography Award

Dr Emma Jackson’s ‘Young Homeless People and Urban Space: Fixed in Mobility’ is in the running for this year’s BBC Radio Four and British Sociological Association Ethnography Award. Published in August 2015, the book is based on an innovative multi-method study of the young people using a King’s Cross day centre. It explores contemporary spaces … Continue reading Emma Jackson shortlisted for Thinking Allowed Ethnography Award

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Tackling the housing crisis by building your own home

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For too long “building your own home” in the UK has been a privilege reserved for those who already own property. Expensive land, tough planning rules and the time and expertise required have meant that most people self-build homes were more architectural vanity projects – like you might see in Grand Designs and less a practical housing solution. While design-led homes might be the dream for architects, TV producers and the restless urban middle classes, they tend to be an unaffordable luxury for almost everyone else.

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Cours de Poetique: More Than Just a Car Park by Charlotte Bates — Streetsigns

Apprehension. The sounds of the city are all around us, but here inside a brief reprieve. Darkness. Ears relax and open as the harsh streetscape fades. An assault to the nose. Urine. Glass crackles underfoot. Sitting here on my musical stool I begin to sense the city anew. In front, traffic, a busy rush between […] … Continue reading Cours de Poetique: More Than Just a Car Park by Charlotte Bates — Streetsigns

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What’s Sociological About Selfbuild? by Michaela Benson — Streetsigns

Selfbuild: ‘where the first occupants arrange for the building of their own dwelling and, in various ways, participate in its production’ (Duncan and Rowe 1993: 1331) Recently, I appeared on Thinking Allowed, BBC Radio 4’s flagship social science programme, talking about my research on selfbuild in an episode focussed on the sociology of housing. You […] … Continue reading What’s Sociological About Selfbuild? by Michaela Benson — Streetsigns

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Daniel Neyland featured in ‘The Conversation’

Surprisingly, the online advertising industry’s future may lie in offering more privacy, not less

Daniel Neyland, Goldsmiths, University of London

The online advertising industry has faced a considerable backlash recently as a greater understanding of how the practices of data scraping, aggregation, mining and user profiling are carried out behind the scenes. From Edward Snowden’s revelations of governments using social media to perform mass surveillance, to the often creepy presence of targeted adverts that slow mobile web browsing to a crawl, we’re now much more aware and concerned about who knows what about us.

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