Biography

Laura joined the University of Portsmouth in January 2011, having previously worked as a Lecturer in Sociology at Kingston University and as a Research Officer at the ESRC Question Bank at the University of Surrey. She also undertook her doctoral research and MSc in Social Research Methods at Surrey, and obtained a BA in Sociology at the University of Reading.

She is also a Convenor of the British Sociological Association’s Happiness Study Group and is involved with the organisation and promotion of conferences, seminars and other events relating to sociological inquiry into happiness and well-being.

Research interests

Laura’s main research interest is in the sociological study of happiness, and her doctoral thesis examined culture and discourse in relation to people’s everyday experiences and perceptions of this. She also has interests in the sociology of emotions, self, identity and subjectivity, qualitative and quantitative research methods and social theory.

Research Clusters

• Sociology and Social Theory