Historian | Researcher | Lecturer | Consultant
I am a social and cultural historian of modern Britain, with a particular interest in the histories of young people and youth culture; family history; public & community history; histories of women, gender & sexuality; and oral history. My published work has primarily focused on histories of youth and youth culture in Britain, exploring the intersections of age, gender, class and race.
I have also published on the practice of working-class history, urban poverty and the ‘slums’ of the Victorian and Edwardian city, and reform homes for young women in nineteenth and early twentieth century Britain. I also write and conduct research into innovative and inclusive pedagogies.
I am an elected fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
Image © York Explore Archives
Areas of research expertise include:
- Nineteenth and twentieth century British social and cultural history
- Histories of young people and youth culture
- Oral history, family history and community histories
- History of women, sexuality and gender relations
- Urban history and social geography
- Working-class histories
- Creative and inclusive pedagogies
Current research
My current research explores young women’s everyday experiences of sexuality in the period before the sexual revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, offering an intersectional history of sexuality, the body and the self. Based primarily on a study of magazines read by young women in their teens and early twenties between 1898-c.1965, I am examining depictions of femininity, female health and female bodies in articles, advertisements and romance fiction, and exploring the advice columns and letters pages where young people could confide their secrets and concerns.
This project also uses history to build a greater awareness of issues around body image, appearance and sexuality in the present, with history providing a safe distance to discuss difficult subjects affecting people today. How young people engage with traditional and social media; the impact this media can have on body image, societal attitudes towards appearance, and the sexual landscapes of young people; and how girls and young women feel about themselves and their bodies, are all fundamental questions on which history has much to teach us.
Collaborative practice
Collaboration is central to my research, teaching, and academic leadership. As a collaborative public historian, I have worked in partnership with a range of community groups, heritage organisations, and other external partners, including the National Lottery Heritage (NLHF) funded projects ‘This is Your Bristol Life’ with BCfm, and ‘The Story of Yeovil’ with Yeovil Arts Space.
Dr Laura Harrison 