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Karen Henwood  BSc, PhD (Bristol)

Professor Karen Henwood

BSc, PhD (Bristol)

Professor of Social Sciences

School of Social Sciences

Overview

I am a social psychologist by training and have worked at the Cardiff School of Social Sciences since 2006.  My main research areas span the social science of risk (environment and personal lives) and identity studies. I am a qualitative research specialist.

Supervision

I am interested in supervising doctoral students who have a keen interest in contemporary life practices, how they are imbued with cultural meanings and values, and have implications for identity, social and personal relationships and everyday ways of living with risk.

I encourage the use of biographical, generational and historical lenses as these can help to create more dynamic, temporal understandings of how people live with socio-cultural and environmental change. Students will approach their inquiries as social scientists with particular strengths in qualitative research methodologies and methods – established and novel.

Publication

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2003

2002

2001

1999

1995

Articles

Book sections

Monographs

Research

In my research I investigate ways of living in a changing world, in particular, how environmental and socio-cultural change has implications for understanding questions of identity and risk in late modernity. I also have extensive interests in interpretive social research methodologies, methods and practices, and in qualitative longitudinal and temporal methods for studying changes in and through time. I have been involved in developing a number of arts-social science collaborations in the sustainability, climate change, and risk fields. My work has involved using visual and narrative methods to generate intriguing research encounters, and I led on developing and showing a three day public exhibition "A Sense of Energy". The latter  used multimodal and multisensory social science data, materials, artefacts, ideas and methods to create unique public-science engagement opportunities. The policy relevance of my work is in the domains of : family policy, public understandings of nuclear risk, and low carbon energy transitions.  

Teaching

Social Science Research Methods (masters level) - qualitative methods (SIT700)

Biography

Professional memberships

British Psychology Society (Associate Member)

Academic positions

  • University of East Anglia (1999-2005,
  • Bangor University (1995-1999),
  • Brunel University (1989-1995),
  • Bristol University (RA position, 1984-1989)