Sociology at Royal Holloway: a long history, a new chapter
Sociology at Royal Holloway is entering an exciting new chapter. Bringing together sociologists from across the University, we are partnering with our world-leading colleagues in Geography to form the new Department of Geography and Sociology. At its heart, our newly established Sociology Research Group provides a lively intellectual home for research engaging with some of the most pressing questions facing contemporary societies.
This renewal builds on a remarkable sociological heritage. Sociology at Royal Holloway traces its roots through Bedford College, which established a Social Studies course in 1918 and, from 1925, contributed to the University of London’s BA in Sociology, at a time when sociology was still establishing itself as a university discipline in Britain. Over subsequent decades, Bedford and later Royal Holloway became home to influential sociologists including Barbara Wootton, Bernice Martin, George Brown, Margot Jefferys, Mike Bury and Jon Gabe.
Today, we are building on this history while taking sociology in new directions. Our internationally excellent research spans social and critical theory; inequalities and social justice; violence and society; gender, sexuality and race; public and mental health; religion; and migration. Our sociologists are internationally recognised in their respective fields, while collectively we are developing new collaborations, funded projects and interdisciplinary research that address major contemporary challenges. Our work reaches well beyond academic debate, contributing to policy, third-sector organisations, professional practice and wider public conversations.
Our place within the Department of Geography and Sociology is central to this ambition. We share with human geographers an interest in questions of place, inequality, migration, health, identity, religion and social justice, while bringing distinctively sociological perspectives to institutions, power, culture and social relations. This creates an intellectually open environment in which ideas, methods and conversations can travel productively across disciplinary boundaries.
Research also sits at the heart of our teaching. From 2027, our new BA Sociology will offer students the opportunity to study sociology as a single-honours degree, alongside our established joint degrees, including Criminology and Sociology and Sociology and Philosophy. Students encounter sociology as a living and evolving discipline, taught by researchers actively shaping debates in their fields, while being encouraged to develop their own interests, questions and intellectual perspectives.
We also warmly welcome prospective postgraduate researchers, particularly those whose projects connect with our areas of expertise or would benefit from supervision spanning Sociology and Geography. Bringing together staff, doctoral researchers and visiting scholars, the Sociology Research Group connects Royal Holloway’s distinguished sociological heritage with an ambitious and outward-looking new generation of research.
Professor Simon Blockley
Head of Department
Professor Sylvia Walby
Sociology Research Group
