The Biosocial Research Network

The Biosocial Research Network invites researchers from across domains who are interested in the intersections of the biological, social, cultural and political.

The intersection of life sciences, social science and humanities is emerging as an important trans-disciplinary space for understanding the complexity of the human body, human cultures, health and wellbeing, and the experience of being a person. Biosocial research has the potential to transform the way we think about the biological, the social and the cultural and bring radically new approaches to and insights into pressing concerns that span expert areas.

The significance of this interface is increasingly recognised, but researchers are only beginning to realise the potential of bringing together state-of-the-art findings from across domains or for trans-disciplinary biosocial research. The Biosocial Research Network will:

  • act as a hub for connecting researchers from across disciplines
  • offer opportunities to share ideas
  • provide a forum for developing biosocial research agendas
  • share biosocial research findings
  • identify the usefulness of biosocial research findings for policy, professionals and the public.   

The network is open to researchers located in any discipline, including arts, biological sciences, chemistry, criminology, cultural studies, disability studies, education, epigenetics, feminist and gender studies, humanities, neuroscience, new materialism, psychology,cience and technology studies, social policy, social sciences, sociology, systems biology. 

Contact the Biosocial Research Network 

research-office-soe@contacts.bham.ac.uk

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Deborah Youdell's blog

The Pedagogy of Equality
There is currently a vigorous debate in the UK over the teaching of equality, in particular in primary schools, with strongly felt positions presented over what should and should not be taught and to whom. I am not going to discuss this current debate here – I want to take some distance from questions of … Continue reading The Pedagogy of Equality

Against Ability
Schools should ditch the idea of ability. This isn’t the first time that I’ve said this, but test-driven education hurtles on and we need to keep stopping to notice what’s wrong with that. Ability is a staple of education policy and guidance; it is part of common sense; it is a cornerstone of the meritocratic … Continue reading Against Ability

What rats can teach teachers
I’ve been reading about rat brains and bahaviors and how they are changed by the sort of care they get. The research looks at rat mothers’ licking and grooming behavior and shows that rats that get lots of licking and grooming are different from rats that don’t. The ‘HPA axis’ (hypothalamic, pituitary, and adrenal activity) … Continue reading What rats can teach teachers

 

 

Network members

Founder Deborah Youdell

Recent publications

Youdell, D. (2017). Bioscience and the sociology of education: the case for biosocial education. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 1-14. https://doi:10.1080/01425692.2016.1272406 

Youdell, D. (2016). A biosocial education future? Research in Education, 96(1), 52-61. https://doi.org/10.1177/0034523716664579