Staff profile
Laura Bower
Postgraduate Research Student
Affiliation |
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Postgraduate Research Student in the Department of Sociology |
Biography
Biography
I originally joined Durham University in 2016, completing both a BA (Hons) in Criminology and a MA in Social Research Methods (Criminology) and now I have the privelged of being a Teaching Fellow and PhD Researcher in the Department. Curently I am rounding off my doctoral research that is funded by the ESRC NINE DTP, conducted in partnership with Rape Crisis in Darlington and Survivors West Yorkshire.
My research centres on victim-survivor identity with people with lived experience of sexual violence and/ or professionals working on a day-to-day basis with victim-survivors. Particularly passionate about conducting Arts-Based Research and using creative research methodologies, especially visual methods and participant-made art. I also have significant interests in the use of trigger warnings in criminology classrooms, especially when considering the implications that their usage can have for trauma-affected students, considering the victim-survivor binary.
Currently, I am teaching on the Introduction to Criminology module as a seminar leader, as well as delivering workshops on Research Methods in Action. I am also the acting module convenor for Feminist Anti-Violence Activism at Level Three.
Twitter: @theberetgirl
Recent Works
Research Area
Research Area
My research centres around the meanings and associations with ‘victim’ and ‘survivor’ identities, as well as the implications that these labels hold for victim-survivors of non-consensual sexual experiences. Artwork and photographs can function to visually display the powerful emotions behind identity and labels in a way that words simply may not fully encapsulate. My thesis utilises an arts-based framework to understand the multiple realities of identity for victim-survivors, as well as service providers offering services to those with lived experiences of sexual assault.
Research Interests
Research interests
- Sexual violence
- Victim ideology and victimisation
- The survivor discourse
- Symbolic interaction and victim-survivor identity
- Arts-based research methods and methodologies
- Trigger warnings, disability studies pedagogy and the victim-survivor binary
Teaching
- Introduction to Crimological Theory (seminar leader and guest lecturer)
- Research Methods in Action (workshops)
- Feminist Anti-Violence Activism (module convenor)
Research interests
- Sexual violence
- Victim ideology and victimisation
- The survivor discourse
- Symbolic interaction and victim-survivor identity
- Arts-based research methods and methodologies