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Shane Blackman

Professor Shane Blackman

& Research Supervisor

Professor Blackman conducts research projects into sociological and ethnographic aspects of young people's culture.

Before starting my career in sociology and cultural studies I worked in the music industry as a manager of an Our Price Records store in Oxford Street, London. I was an ESRC scholarship student at the Institute of Education, University of London and awarded my Ph.D in Sociology in 1990. I was supervised by Professor Basil Bernstein, my second supervisor was Professor Phil Cohen, my Examiners were: Professor Laurie Taylor and Professor David Downes.

My first academic appointment was at the Institute of Education, on a feminist action-based research project: Girls and Occupational Choice ESRC funded directed by Dr. Lynne Chisholm and Dr Janet Holland. I have previously held posts at the University of Surrey and University of Greenwich.

I have conducted research projects into sociological and ethnographic aspects of young people's culture, undertaking funded research for the Home Office, London Health Authorities, the Kent Constabulary and local authorities in Kent. I am a consultant for the British Board of Film Classification (London), and I am also a Research Associate at Goldsmiths, Sociology Department, University of London.

Research interests & Supervison

Do you want to do a research degree? Are you interested in English Literature and Film Studies and Media and Cultural Studies and Music and Sociology or related topics? Then I would be pleased to hear from you.

Current Ph.D Research Students

I am currently supervising Ph.D research students on the following topics: ethnography and schooling, health and ethnography, youth work, youth culture alcohol and drugs, cultural shopping, popular music production & consumption, computer games, piracy and youth and young Asians and sexuality. I have supervised 8 PhD students to successful completion; I have been an external examiner of PhDs at Brunel, Kent, Reading and Teesside, and internally examined 10 PhDs at Surrey University and Canterbury Christ Church University, including 2 Practice Based PhDs.

Anyone interested in undertaking MPhil/PhD studies in these areas should contact Shane: shane.blackman@canterbury.ac.uk

Research interests include ethnography, social and cultural theory, youth cultures and subcultures, popular music, drug war politics, drug education and prevention, schooling, feminist theory, homeless young people and social exclusion.

 

Publications and research outputs

Blackman, S. (1995) Youth: positions and oppositions - style, sexuality and schooling, Aldershot: Avebury Press. (269).

Blackman, S. (1996) Drugs Education and the National Curriculum, Home Office, Drugs Prevention Paper 11, Central Drugs Prevention Unit: Home Office London. (1996: 74).

Blackman, S. (1997) "Destructing a Giro": a critical and ethnographic study of the youth ‘underclass’, Youth, the 'Underclass' and Social Exclusion (ed.) MacDonald, R. London: Routledge. (113-129).

Blackman, S. (1998) "Poxy Cupid" : an ethnographic and feminist account of a resistant female youth culture - the New Wave Girls, in Cool Places: Geographies of Youth Cultures, (eds.) Skelton, T. and Valentine, G. London: Routledge. (207-228).

Blackman, S. (2004) "Chilling Out": the cultural politics of substance consumption, youth and drug policy. Maidenhead: McGrawHill-Open University Press, (230).

Blackman, S. (2005) Youth Subcultural Theory: a critical engagement with the concept, its origins and politics, from the Chicago School to post modernism, Journal of Youth Studies, 8, 1, (1-20).

Blackman, S. (2007) 'Hidden Ethnography': crossing emotional borders in qualitative accounts of young people's lives, Sociology, Vol.41, No. 4: (699-716).

Research Projects

  • “WE’VE GOTTA TEACH THE NATION WAGWAN” A CRITICAL APPROACH TO THE CRIMINALISATION AND CENSORSHIP OF UK DRILL MUSIC.. Researcher(s): Miss ISOBEL INGRAM. Supervisor(s): Dr Barry Blackburn, Professor Shane Blackman. [Postgraduate Research Project (past)]
  • 'An Algerian Musical Mosaic': an ethnographic 'interpretation' of Algerian female survival in a conservative society - a case study of live and online music events and wedding ceremonies.. Researcher(s): Dr Radia Kasdi. Supervisor(s): Professor Shane Blackman, Dr Ruth Sanz Sabido. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • 'Disability Trouble?': exploring autoethnography and policy analysis to question the work capability assessment used as a gateway to social security in the United Kingdom.. Researcher(s): Mr Dan Thorpe. Supervisor(s): Dr Toni Wright, Professor Shane Blackman. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • ‘Songs of Heroes – To Paint’. Researcher(s): Ms Shuna Taylor. Supervisor(s): Dr Tim Long, Professor Shane Blackman. [Postgraduate Research Project (past)]
  • ‘TRAVELLING TO THE WEST’: VOICES OF ALGERIAN PH.D. STUDENTS’ TRANSITION TO BRITAIN.. Researcher(s): Dr Yasmine Sadoudi. Supervisor(s): Professor Adrian Holliday, Professor Shane Blackman. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • A critical ethnography examining ways in which continual dialogic processes between female refugees and host communities expose spaces for mutual learning, through analysis of digital narratives and creative nonfiction. Researcher(s): Ms Alison Page. Supervisor(s): Professor Shane Blackman, Dr Ruth Rogers. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • A Neuropsychological Exploration of the Creation and Consumption of Mediated Music.. Researcher(s): Mrs Charlotte Bilicki. Supervisor(s): Professor Matt Wright, Professor Shane Blackman. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • AN ETHNOGRAPHIC EXPLORATION OF THE LIVED EXPERIENCES OF ALGERIAN BRITISH IMMIGRANTS IN THE U.K.. Researcher(s): Miss Siham Benzai. Supervisor(s): Professor Shane Blackman, Professor David Bates. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • An Ethnographic Study on the Influence of Popular Music on Young Algerian’s Cultural Identity: fashion, style and everyday life.. Researcher(s): Miss LEMYA SOUAISSID. Supervisor(s): Professor Shane Blackman, Professor Adrian Holliday. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • Cannabis and contemporary change: Drug decriminalization and normalization within Portugal and the Netherlands.. Researcher(s): Miss Buse Ozdirench. Supervisor(s): Professor Shane Blackman, Dr Jennifer Dvorak. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • DID YOU JUST MAKE THAT UP? AN AUTO-ETHNOGRAPHIC INVESTIGATION INTO THE EMERGENCE/GENERATION OF IMAGES IN PAINTING, AS SITUATED WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF C20TH BRITISH ART. [NB. Also, candidate to decide whether C20TH is appropriate given that he is working in C21ST. Candidate should be consulted for final title]. Researcher(s): Mr Charles Williams. Supervisor(s): Dr Tim Long, Professor Shane Blackman, Dr Jonathan Barnes. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • Doctoral Research Project. Researcher(s): Ms Rabea Brok. Supervisor(s): Professor Bee Scherer, Professor Shane Blackman. [Postgraduate Research Project (past)]
  • Doctoral Research Project. Researcher(s): Miss Cissie Catherine Buxton. Supervisor(s): Dr Jennie Bristow, Professor Shane Blackman. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • Doctoral Research Project. Researcher(s): Mr Keith Saunders. Supervisor(s): Professor Shane Blackman, Dr Simon Hoult. [Postgraduate Research Project (past)]
  • Doctoral Research Project. Researcher(s): Dr Jake Monk Kydd. Supervisor(s): Professor Shane Blackman, Dr Kenneth Fox. [Postgraduate Research Project (past)]
  • Doctoral Research Project. Researcher(s): Dr Elizabeth Samson. Supervisor(s): Dr Andy Birtwistle, Professor Shane Blackman. [Postgraduate Research Project (past)]
  • Doctoral Research Project. Researcher(s): Mr Zak Waters. Supervisor(s): Mr Rob Ball, Professor Shane Blackman. [Postgraduate Research Project (past)]
  • Doctoral Research Project. Researcher(s): Ms Ruth Walker. Supervisor(s): Professor Shane Blackman, Professor Matt Wright. [Postgraduate Research Project (past)]
  • Doctoral Research Project. Researcher(s): Dr Mengyao Jiang. Supervisor(s): Professor Shane Blackman, Dr Ruth Sanz Sabido. [Postgraduate Research Project (past)]
  • Doctoral Research Project. Researcher(s): Mr James Frost. Supervisor(s): Dr Tim Long, Dr Lesley Hardy, Professor Shane Blackman. [Postgraduate Research Project (past)]
  • Doctoral Research Project. Researcher(s): Miss Mariah Worthington. Supervisor(s): Professor Shane Blackman, Professor Chris Pallant. [Postgraduate Research Project (past)]
  • Doctoral Research Project. Researcher(s): Miss Amy Connors. Supervisor(s): Professor Chris Pallant, Professor Shane Blackman. [Postgraduate Research Project (past)]
  • Does youth democracy work?‘ - What impact does youth democracy in the UK have on local and national decision making and policy development?. Researcher(s): Mr SHANE MOCHRIE-COX. Supervisor(s): Dr Ruth Rogers, Professor Shane Blackman. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • Empowerment and solidarity in the transition to parenthood: Exploring the benefits of outdoor antenatal education groups for marginalised parents in the UK. Researcher(s): Ms Anna Caffrey. Supervisor(s): Dr Ruth Rogers, Professor Shane Blackman. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • Exploring Othering with Intersectional Feminist Aspirations: between Lived Experiences and Stand-up Comedy.. Researcher(s): Dr NOUR SOULEH. Supervisor(s): Professor Adrian Holliday, Professor Shane Blackman. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • Exploring the Japanese anime fandom subculture in China: an ethnography of otaku culture, forms of resistance, and class issues.. Researcher(s): Mr Chongwen Jiang. Supervisor(s): Dr Rob McPherson, Dr Nicholas Furze, Professor Shane Blackman. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • Folklore and New Media Communications: An exploration of Journey to the West, its modern orality and traditional storytelling in contemporary online spaces’. Researcher(s): Dr Mathew Sillett. Supervisor(s): Dr Andy Birtwistle, Professor Shane Blackman. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • Gender and Sports in Algeria: Visual and Thematic Analysis of Media, Social and Cultural Factors.. Researcher(s): Miss Radia Sidi Said. Supervisor(s): Professor Agnes Gulyas, Professor Shane Blackman. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • How are vine videos communicated within a campaign. Researcher(s): Miss Hannah Berkeley. Supervisor(s): Professor Agnes Gulyas, Professor Shane Blackman. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • John Cage: Musicological Relevance, Societal Impact and New Dissemination. Researcher(s): Mr Stuart Slater. Supervisor(s): Professor Matt Wright, Professor Shane Blackman. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • Life of the Lady Launchers: A sociocultural study into the history of the RNLI women volunteers of Dungeness.. Researcher(s): Miss Rachel Hancock. Supervisor(s): Professor Shane Blackman, Dr Rob McPherson, Dr Ruth Sanz Sabido. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • Looking into conservation photography. Researcher(s): Mr Danial Goodwin. Supervisor(s): Professor Shane Blackman, Dr Rebecca Kent. [Postgraduate Research Project (past)]
  • Many faces of cancer: the roles of video, animation,?and interactivity?in?exploring evolving identities associated with a breast cancer diagnosis.. Researcher(s): Miss Joanna Samuel. Supervisor(s): Professor Alan Meades, Professor Shane Blackman. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • Mementos,collections and archives: How can abstracted artistic representations of personally significant objects and collections convey the emotional context of peoples' lives and memories... Researcher(s): Mrs Miriam Ellis-Bayne. Supervisor(s): Dr Tim Long, Professor Shane Blackman. [Postgraduate Research Project (past)]
  • Modest Fashion? Dress, Body, and Space: an ethnographic account of Muslim female stakeholders’ experiences in the modest fashion industry. Researcher(s): Miss Amina Boudjella. Supervisor(s): Professor Shane Blackman, Professor Adrian Holliday. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • Music journalism: How the production of music magazines impacted the music industry and the readers significantly. Researcher(s): Miss Karley Myall. Supervisor(s): Professor Shane Blackman, Dr Rob McPherson. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • Operational and organisational frameworks of hyperlocal media. Researcher(s): Dr Carol Arnold. Supervisor(s): Professor Shane Blackman, Professor Agnes Gulyas. [Postgraduate Research Project (past)]
  • Research on the media image of characteristic towns based on integrated marketing communication. Researcher(s): Miss Chengchen Pan. Supervisor(s): Dr Jane Lovell, Professor Agnes Gulyas, Professor Shane Blackman. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • RESILIENCE CONSTRUCTION AMONG INTERNATIONAL PHD STUDENTS: LEARNING FROM FACEBOOK POSTS, DAILY PRACTICES, AND CREATIVE NONFICTION.. Researcher(s): Dr AMIRA OUKRAF. Supervisor(s): Professor Adrian Holliday, Professor Shane Blackman. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • Safeguarding Sports: Respecting Differences in Conceptualising Safeguarding’s Legal Culture. Researcher(s): Mrs Yvette Kearns. Supervisor(s): Dr Dikaia Chatziefstathiou, Dr Philip Hurst, Professor Shane Blackman. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • Sites of resistance: an online ethnography of harm reduction work within community drug treatment services.. Researcher(s): Miss Adele Phillips. Supervisor(s): Professor Shane Blackman, Dr Ian Marsh. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • The Camera in Conservation: Determining photography’s place in the preservation of wildlife. Researcher(s): Mr Robert Day. Supervisor(s): Ms Miranda Hutton, Professor Shane Blackman. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • The Canterbury scene diaspora: musician relocation, overseas impact, an international fanbase redefined through modern digital methods; and the emergence of new generations of Canterbury influenced bands. Researcher(s): Mr Phil Howitt. Supervisor(s): Professor Shane Blackman, Professor Matt Wright, Professor Alastair Borthwick. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • The city and art production: Visual art practice of the post-80s generation artists in Nanjing. Researcher(s): Miss Ying Yin. Supervisor(s): Professor Shane Blackman, Professor Alastair Borthwick. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • The cyclical nature of horror films, addressing Hollywood remakes and originally Asian horror, exploring changing social anxieties and representations of demographics.. Researcher(s): Miss Ellen Brown. Supervisor(s): Dr Andrew Butler, Professor Shane Blackman. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • The development of a psychometric questionnaire to assess patient satisfaction with anaesthetic care for joint arthroplasty under regional anaesthesia; to determine the level of patient satisfaction with this service and identify interventions that can improve the patient experience.. Researcher(s): Dr David Ewart. Supervisor(s): Professor Shane Blackman, Dr Ruth Rogers, Dr Julie MacInnes. [Postgraduate Research Project (past)]
  • the effect of social media on modest fashion business: a qualitative study on the role of fashion shows, magazines and female Muslim influencers in online marketing. Researcher(s): Miss RIM BENYOUB. Supervisor(s): Professor Shane Blackman, Professor Agnes Gulyas. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • The Future of Culture, Politics and, Activism: Black Aesthetics and Intersectionality within British Art, and the role of A.I, NFT Art and social media within the management and narration of Black British Art.. Researcher(s): Ms Michi Masumi. Supervisor(s): Professor Shane Blackman, Dr Katie McGown, Professor Matt Wright. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 AND DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION ON THE MARKETING AND COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS, IN RELATION TO STUDENT RECRUITMENT.. Researcher(s): Miss Emma-Jean Williams. Supervisor(s): Professor Agnes Gulyas, Professor Shane Blackman. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • The professionalization of esports has constructed a field, as defined by French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu (1984). This project aims to explore this field, its structure, its forms of capital and its boundaries, through operating Bourdieu’s conceptual toolkit.. Researcher(s): Mr Richard Montgomery. Supervisor(s): Professor Angela Pickard, Professor Shane Blackman. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • The representation and application of Western Hunan Province Miao minority visual culture elements to graphic design. Researcher(s): Ms Quan Quan. Supervisor(s): Professor Shane Blackman, Dr Andy Birtwistle. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • The sober self, sisterhood and non-drinking practices: a feminist ethnography of women’s recovery culture within online sobriety communities.. Researcher(s): Ms Claire Davey. Supervisor(s): Professor Shane Blackman, Dr Ruth Sanz Sabido. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • THE SOCIAL NETWORK SURGE: AN INVESTIGATION ON THE CATALYSTS OF YOUTUBE AND ITS GROWTH. Researcher(s): Ms Stacie Killgallon. Supervisor(s): Professor Shane Blackman, Dr Andy Birtwistle. [Postgraduate Research Project (past)]
  • Under the folds of masculinity: A study of young fathers’ parenting identities in London and Kent, in the context of intergenerational relations.. Researcher(s): Miss Cissie Catherine Buxton. Supervisor(s): Dr Jennie Bristow, Professor Shane Blackman. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • Understanding the relationship between Universities and Community Development: An exploration of the different understandings of university-community partnerships and an examination of the models for sustaining university-community partnerships into the future.. Researcher(s): Dr EMILY LAU. Supervisor(s): Dr Ruth Rogers, Professor Shane Blackman. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • Unveiling the Tapestry of Maya Women’s Contemporary Representation: Decolonial Narratives, Cultural Resistance and the Health System in Guatemala. Researcher(s): Mrs M MIRALLES TERÁN DE WILKIN. Supervisor(s): Professor Shane Blackman, Dr Ruth Sanz Sabido. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • Visual ethnography and Autoethnography: an exploration of how bereavement and grief are depicted and used in contemporary arts and the everyday.. Researcher(s): Miss NIKKI PRICE. Supervisor(s): Professor Shane Blackman, Dr Ruth Rogers. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • What impact is county lines and gang involvement having on multi agency support for vulnerable young women in education. Researcher(s): Miss Lara Rufus. Supervisor(s): Professor Shane Blackman, Dr Ruth Rogers, Dr Alan Meades. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • Youth Digital Cultures and Gender: A Comparative Mixed Method Analysis of Algerian Influencers' Discourses and Performances on YouTube in a Multi-Thematic Context. Researcher(s): Miss Dalal Belarbi. Supervisor(s): Professor Agnes Gulyas, Professor Shane Blackman. [Postgraduate Research Project]

Journal / Editorial Experience

  • ESRC Peer Review College 2010 -
  • Associate Editor: Journal of Youth Studies, 2011 -
  • Associate Editor: YOUNG: Nordic Journal of Youth Research, 2012
  • Editorial Board: Journal of Youth Studies, 1988 - 2011.
  • Editorial Board: YOUNG: Nordic Journal of Youth Research, 2012
  • Editorial Board: Sociology, 2010 -
  • Editorial Board Associate: Sociology, 2006 - 2008.
  • Editorial Board: Images, YMCA Journal of Reflective Practice, 1995-2004.
  • Editorial Board: Journal of Youth and Policy, 1993-1998.
  • Editorial Board: Journal of Comprehensive Education, 1985-1991.

Also referee papers for the following journals

  • The Sociological Quarterly (USA)
  • Qualitative Sociology (USA)
  • American Journal of Law and Social Inquiry (University of Chicago)
  • Journal of Criminal Justice and Popular Culture (USA)
  • International Journal of Drug Policy
  • Journal of Addiction Research and Theory
  • Journal of Social Policy
  • Emotion, Space and Society
  • International Journal of Sociology and Anthropology
  • Crime, Media, Culture: an International Journal
  • International Journal of Social Research Methodology
  • Gender and Education
  • Criminology & Criminal Justice
  • Drugs and Alcohol Today
  • SAGE Open
  • Sociology
  • Journal of Youth Studies
  • Sociological Research Online
  • Sociology Compass
  • YOUNG: Nordic Journal of Youth Research