Research Interests

My route into higher education was a circuitous one. I left school at 16 with 2 'O' levels and did various jobs until I realised that my Dad had been right all along and I wasn't going to be able to get the kind of job I wanted unless I had more qualifications! College and night school lead on to an excellent social science degree at (then) Manchester Polytechnic as a mature student, during which I discovered that learning was exciting and that I was quite good at it. Revelation! Yes, higher education did change my life and I now enjoy watching our students make the same life-changing transitions.

My academic life has been intertwined with my work as a political activist over many years. In the 1970s and 1980s I was deeply involved in the Women's Movement and the Lesbian and Gay Movement, mainly in Manchester, UK. I am passionately committed to social justice for all marginalised and oppressed groups, and my teaching and writing share this as their main concern.

Since I arrived here in 1989, I have taught on all of the degree schemes in the department, but currently my teaching is focussed on the Social Work programmes. I teach about 'Social Divisions and Social Diversity' to both BA & MA students. I am a qualified social worker and have experience in the statutory sector in both residential and field work, mainly working with children and families. In the voluntary sector, in the 1970s I was an early member & organiser of 'FRIEND', a counselling service for LGBT people.

Oh, yes. And as you can see, Elvis lives - but he's shrunk a bit!