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- Qualifications:MA (Hons); MA; PhD; FRHistS; SFHEA
- Position:Associate Professor in Modern History
- Department:College of Arts, Technology and Environment School of Arts
- Telephone:+441173284521
- Email:Laura2.Harrison@uwe.ac.uk
About me
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, and oral history; and histories of women, sexuality and gender relations.
I began teaching at UWE in 2016 following my Fulbright scholarship year at Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri, as the Fulbright-Robertson Visiting Professor in British History.
At UWE, I have been Programme Leader for the BA History programme, 2019-2022, Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) School Academic Lead, 2020-2021, Associate Head of School (Creative Writing, History and Linguistics), 2021-2023, and Associate Director of the Regional History Centre, 2023-2024. I am currently the Admissions Tutor for the History undergraduate degree programme.
I was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society in 2022.
Research
My research has primarily focused on histories of youth and youth culture in Britain, exploring the intersections of age, gender, class and race, and has been published in a number of leading journals.
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.
Dangerous Amusements: Leisure, the young working class, and urban space in Britain, c.1870-1939
My first book traces the beginnings of a distinct youth culture in streets and neighbourhoods across Britain, and was published by Manchester University Press in June 2022. In neighbourhoods and public spaces across Britain, young working people walked out together, congregated in the streets, and paraded up and down on the 'monkey parades'. Drawing on an extensive range of sources, from newspapers and institutional records to oral histories and autobiography, this book explores the relationship between the leisure lives of the young working class and urban space, offering new perspectives on a number of familiar and important themes in British social history, such as leisure and consumption, street cultures, courtship and sexuality.
Doing Working Class History: Research, Heritage and Engagement
I am co-editor of Doing Working-Class History: Research, Heritage and Engagement, published by Routledge in 2024. This edited collection addresses the core question: what are the possibilities of working-class history in the university classroom, the heritage world, and beyond?
Telling our stories: family history and historical narratives
Drawing and reflecting on my own experience of family history research, this project brought together academic historians, Bristol-based family historians, writers, and other creative practitioners to explore and exchange ideas on the intersections of family history, community history and creative approaches to history and storytelling.
Some of this work has been published in my chapter '"Everyone has a tale to tell": Family history, family historians and working-class histories'.
Elsewhere, I have published on urban poverty and the slums of the Victorian and Edwardian city, institutional attempts to informally police young women's behaviour in public, and memories of growing up in the countryside in the early twentieth century.
Pedagogic research
I also conduct research into impactful, inclusive and innovative pedagogy, and I have an interest in creative practice and its application in the History HE classroom. My most recent article, co-authored with UWE History students, was published in History in 2025, and explores the space I aim to create within my teaching for students to engage imaginatively and creatively with history.
You can read more about my research and published work on my website.
Area of expertise
- 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 history in Britain
- Creative and inclusive pedagogies
Research supervision: I welcome enquiries from students interested in these areas. Please don't hesitate to get in touch if you would like to discuss your research ideas.
Collaborative practice
As a collaborative public historian, I have worked in partnership with a range of community groups, heritage organisations, and other external partners, including the NLHF-funded projects 'This is Your Bristol Life' with BCfm, and 'The Story of Yeovil' with Yeovil Arts Space.
Teaching and pedagogy
I teach across all three years of the History undergraduate degree, and as the first person in my family to go to university, I am particularly passionate about breaking down barriers to learning, and opening up access and opportunities across communities.
Collaboration is central to my teaching and research practice, particularly in supporting students to work with partners and communities in exploring their own histories in ways relevant to their lives. My research and collaborative practice informs all my teaching, including the specialist modules I lead on histories of youth & youth culture, and of gender & sexuality.
I have been a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy since 2018, and in 2022 was awarded Senior Fellowship status.
Recent media appearances
You can hear me speaking to Jane Garvey on BBC Radio 4's 'Woman's Hour' about the history of the school summer holiday here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0007k5n
I spoke to Doctor Who and Broadchurch actor Jodie Whittaker about her family history as part of the BBC series Who Do You Think You Are? You can see further details about the episode here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000nh4f
Publications
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