Bio

Neil attained his PhD in Social Change from the University of Manchester in the UK. His doctoral thesis ‘The Cosmopolitan Play: A Biographical Network Approach’ explored how someone may evolve a cosmopolitan stance – an openness and willingness to engage with the ‘other’. Through analyzing the intersection of young British and Spanish adults’ biographies, life-story narratives, and friendship networks, the work identified key life-events, familial structures and relational networks that encouraged a cosmopolitan sociability and stance. Neil attained his joint Bachelor and Masters’ degree in Social Sciences from Uppsala University in Sweden, this included a year at Leiden University in The Netherlands, and research internships at the University of Seville, in Spain. Prior to arriving in Canada and UBC in 2015, he was a Sociology Lecturer at Canterbury Christ Church University in the UK, teaching undergraduate courses on Youth Studies, Sociology of Education and Research Methods.

He currently works as a Learning Strategist at the Centre for Student Involvement and Careers (CSI-C) at UBC. Through this role Neil is a ‘Prof-in-Commons’ in the Chapman Learning Commons (IKB), where he holds office hours and runs initiatives such as #ProfWalks and ‘Knitting with Neil’. Further, among other duties he is responsible for the academic training of student leaders and facilitators on programs such as Jump Start and Student Directed Seminars, the assessment and evaluation of First Year Experience (FYE) in the CSI-C, and informs the academic direction of the Multidiscplinary Undergraduate Research Conference (MURC). Through this work Neil is continually embedding activities that provide students with experiential learning opportunities that are valuable for their career exploration and skill development.

Research Interests:

Student-led Pedagogy, FYE, Youth Transitions, Mixed Methods, Critical Heritage, Sociology of Sport.

Publications:

The Biographical Network Approach, Sociological Research Online 21(2), 2016

Heritage, Pride and Place – Exploring the contribution of World Heritage Site status to a city’s future development (Report for Liverpool City & English Heritage, 2014)

Multiple Senses of Community in Migration and Commuting – The Interplay between Time, Space and Relations International Sociology 22(6), 2007 with I Maya-Jariego.

‘Los puentes hacia el empleo: las transiciones personales de los jóvenes en Sevilla’ in Ojeda, A et al. El empleo juvenil en la cuidad de Sevilla. Sevilla: Servicio de Juventud del Ayuntamiento de Sevilla, 2006 (The Bridges of Employment: The personal transitions of young adults from Seville)

Core Faculty