Cardiff School of Social Sciences

Research Interests

Main theoretical interests relate to sociology and organisational change with particular reference to occupational change and issues of regional regeneration.

Main substantive research interests relate to:

• Questions of labour organization, forms of social solidarity; individualism and collectivism; trade unionism; labour politics.
• Questions raised by "globalisation", de-industrialisation and post-industrial societies and regions especially issues raised in programmes of "regeneration".
• Historical sociology and the use of biographical methods in relation to issues of labour organisation and social class.
• Environmental questions and changing patterns of social protest.

Recent Projects

Huw was the founding director of the Wales Institute of Social Economic Research Data and Methods (WISERD), retiring from the post in August 2010.

Recent Publications

Huw Beynon, Rhys Davies and Steve Davies (2012) “Sources of Variation in Trade Union Membership across the UK: The case of Wales”, Industrial Relations Journal,  May pp

Huw Beynon (2011) “Engaging Labour: British Sociology 1945-2010”, Global Labour Journal, Volume 2, Number 1.pp 5-26  Special Issue edited by Michael Burawoy 

Huw Beynon (2010) “O Paradoxo Inglaterra” in Flavio Limoncic and Francisco Carlos Palomanes Martinho (editors) O Grande Depressao: Politica e Economia na decade de 1930, Civilazacao Brasileira pp 277-304

Huw Beynon (2009) “Twenty Five Years On: Life on the Coalfields of Durham and South Wales” in  Granville Williams (editor) Shafted: The Media, The Miners’ strike and the Aftermath, CPBF pp 145-155

Huw Beynon (2008) “Issues of Class, Ethnicity and Migration in a London Borough” in SAGE Race Relations AbstractsVol 32 (3) pp 30-43

Huw Beynon and Quilley,S. (2006) ”The Guernsey Tom: The Rise and Fall of an island Economy”, Food and History, Volume 3. No.2 pp 151-196, ISSN 1780-3187

PhD Supervision

Recent Completions:

Helen Blakely  (2011) - “A Second chance of life”: Labour, Love and Welfare on a  South Wales Estate

Gabriela Sabatini (2011) - Transient Working Lives:  Migrant Women’s Everyday practices in London’s Hospitality Industry

Samuel Sarpong (2010) - Multinationals and the social perspective:  an assessment of the mining communities of Western Ghana

Heike Doring (2009) - The influence of culture and identity on regeneration:  a comparative analysis of two UK coalfield communities.

Joseph Lee  (2008) - Privatisation and trade union organisation the case of  Taiwan Railways.

Pam Robinson (2008) - Banana production, supermarkets and the commodity chain; the case of Cost Rica

Current Supervisions: 

Steve Davies - Public services, public trade unionism and the public good.

Mohamed Ghanem - The Social Construction of Accidents at Sea: