Laura Williams

Before joining Buckinghamshire New University in 2021, I studied at BNU myself as a mature student graduating with a first-class honours in BSc Criminology.

I studied for my Masters in Sociology at Goldsmiths College, University of London. My specialist areas of interest include poverty, social inequalities, homelessness, culture, and urban sociology. I am particularly interested in the built environment and the ways in which it affects individuals’ life experiences. My previous research has explored recreational drug use, particularly the normalisation of drug use amongst self-identifying recreational drug users and retrospective experiences of surveillance in the homeless ‘hostel’, where it was found surveillance was often not implemented universally amongst those who reside in these settings with gendered experiences of surveillance occurring. I aim to continue researching the experience of people who are homeless in my PhD.

My passion for my topics of interest stems from a strong belief in social justice and equality for all, this is something that transpires in my work at the university when working with the diverse population of students at Buckinghamshire New University; a university I am proud to have graduated from and continue to be a part of. Within my work I aim to present theory in the ‘real world’ making links between lived experience and what we read in academic literature, helping social sciences ‘come to life’.

I have previously participated on a research internship at the University of Oxford as part of the UNIQ+ programme on the Oxford Rethinking Performance Initiative, exploring corporate sustainability. I also have experience as a volunteer at The Oasis Partnership a charity focused on the health and wellbeing of individuals who reside in Buckinghamshire and as an examiner with a leading exam board.

• Lecturer