Dr Francis Dodsworth
- Faculty of Business and Social Sciences
- Department of Criminology, Politics and Sociology
- School of Law, Social and Behavioural Sciences
- Penrhyn Road
Senior Lecturer in Criminology
About
I joined Kingston in September 2014 after 10 years working at the Open University in the ERSC Centre for Research on Socio-Cultural Change (CRESC), with a particular focus on urban studies and governmentality. Before that I studied the cultural history of crime and policing at the University of Manchester in the late 1990s during the era of the 'cultural turn', and this perspective continues to inform my research.
I have published in a range of fields from the material culture of religion and commerce, to urban exploration and improvement, but the bulk of my work focuses on the historical sociology of crime, policing and protection.
My most recent book focuses on the history of security in modern Britain, particularly the gender dynamics of the politics of protection, from public policing to self-defence. My current research has two main strands: one on self-defence and personal protection, and a second on police legitimacy, both historically and from a more contemporary perspective with a particular focus on social media.
Qualifications
- PhD, University of Manchester
- MA, University of Manchester
- BA (Hons), University of Wales, Lampeter