Senior Lecturer in Social Sciences
I am a Senior Lecturer in Social Sciences and Vice-Chancellor’s Research and Knowledge Exchange Fellow. I joined the University as a Lecturer in 2018 from Northumbria University, having worked here previously as a visiting lecturer and research associate. I am Programme Leader for BSc Sociology and a member of the MSc Inequality and Society team. I teach undergraduate and postgraduate students in social theory and social research methods.
My research interests are largely in areas of urban and cultural geography and sociology. I am interested in the everyday experience and the development of post-industrial cities and urban culture, the sociology and political economy of the arts and cultural and creative industries, everyday geographies, moral economy, urban regeneration and sustainability practices, and the theory and practice of social research.
I am a Vice-Chancellor's Research and Knowledge Exchange Fellow (2023-2025) carrying out research into the cultural landscape of the city of Sunderland, the social and spatial impacts of cultural regeneration on the city's cultural economy, communities, and the urban 'sense of place'.
Teaching and supervision
- Theorising the Social: Challenges and Changes in Modern Society
- Social Science Research and Inquiry
- Research and Evidence
I supervise dissertation students on MSc Inequality and Society.
I currently supervise the following postgraduate research students:
Ms Jacqueline Merchant: ‘The existential crunch that is midlife’: An exploration of psychosocial wellbeing for women at midlife, and the implications of lifecourse events in contemporary Western society.
Research interests for potential research students
I welcome applications of interest from candidates interested in the sociology and geography of arts and cultural and creative industries, postindustrial urban transformations, cities, everyday geographies, culture, aesthetics, and community, as well as realist and/or complexity-informed research, and/or quantitative, ethnographic, narrative, spatial, or creative research methods.
Research
My research interests are broadly concerned with (especially postindustrial) cities and urban transformations, cultural and creative industries, the social significance of art and culture, everyday geographies, and the philosophy and practice of social research.
My VC’s Research and Knowledge Exchange Fellowship is exploring the regeneration of Sunderland’s urban landscape (centred on the Riverside developments and the ‘cultural quarter’ around the Fire Station and Keel Square); focusing particularly on the significance and meaning of place, and a ‘sense of place’, for cultural developments, the role of cultural institutions and organizations in redevelopment and their significance for communities. This research involves working with cultural and creative, public sector, and community organizations in city of Sunderland. I am using a mixed-methods approach – including visual methods and photo diaries – to explore the urban developments and the significance of a ‘sense of place’.
I am also Principal Investigator on a research project funded through the UKRI Policy Support Fund exploring ‘beautiful back-lanes’ projects and the everyday factors, the policy-context, and the evidence-base involved in community-led urban beautification and sustainability practices.
I am a Co-Investigator on another UKRI-funded project investigating the culture and geography of safeguarding practices in the Church of England.
I have previously been involved in research concerned with postindustrial cities and artistic identities, cultural and creative industries, interpersonal violence, third sector organizations and austerity, and student experiences of higher education.
Publications
Article
Roberts, Nicola, Donovan, Catherine and Durey, Matthew (2023) Students’ help-seeking for experiences of interpersonal violence: how can universities respond? Criminology & Criminal Justice. ISSN 1748-8958
Roberts, Nicola, Donovan, Catherine and Durey, Matthew (2022) Gendered landscapes of safety: How women construct and navigate the urban landscape to avoid sexual violence. Criminology and Criminal Justice, 2 (22). pp. 287-303. ISSN 1748-8958
Durey, Matthew (2021) Seeing Through Adorno's Prism: Adorno, Negative Dialectics, and the 'Creative City'. Geographische Zeitschrift, 109 (2-3). pp. 126-143. ISSN 0016-7479
Roberts, Nicola, Donovan, Catherine and Durey, Matthew (2019) Agency, Resistance and the Non-'Ideal' Victim: How women deal with sexual violence. Journal of Gender-Based Violence, 3 (3). pp. 323-338. ISSN 2398-6808
Book Section
Durey, Matthew, Roberts, Nicola and Donovan, Catherine (2022) Negotiating landscapes of (un)safety: atmospheres and ambivalence in female students’ everyday geographies. In: Landscapes of Hate: Tracing Spaces, Relations and Responses. Spaces and Practices of Justice . Bristol University Press, Bristol, pp. 78-97. ISBN 978-1529215175
Donovan, Catherine and Durey, Matthew (2018) Well That Would Be Nice, but We Can’t Do That in the Current Climate: Prioritising Services Under Austerity. In: Austerity Policies. Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 197-220. ISBN 9783319791197
Reports, briefing/ working papers
Durey, Matthew and Connelly, Sarah (2024) Disciplines divided: an exploration of the condition of taught UK social science. Project Report. UNSPECIFIED. (Unpublished)
Durey, Matthew, J. (2023) The Quest for Economic and Social Inclusion: a response from culture and aesthetics. Discussion Paper. UNSPECIFIED. (Unpublished)
Donovan, Catherine, Roberts, Nicola, Tudor, Kate and Durey, Matthew (2016) Emerald Project Interim Report. Project Report. University of Sunderland. (Unpublished)
Roberts, Nicola and Durey, Matthew (2015) The Criminology Retention Project: First-year preliminary findings. Project Report. University of Sunderland. (Unpublished)
Donovan, Catherine, Durey, Matthew, Butterworth, Kate and Hugman, Catriona (2015) Rape Crisis Tyneside and Northumberland : Tyneside Rape Crisis (covering Gateshead, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, North Tyneside and South Tyneside) : service evaluation. Project Report. UNSPECIFIED.
Donovan, Catherine, Durey, Matthew, Butterworth, Kate and Hugman, Catriona (2015) Rape crisis Tyneside and Northumberland : Grace (covering Northumberland) : Rape Crisis service evaluation. UNSPECIFIED. UNSPECIFIED.
Donovan, Catherine and Durey, Matthew (2014) Evaluation of the North East Domestic Abuse Project University of Sunderland. Project Report. UNSPECIFIED.
Donovan, Catherine, Tunmore, Jane and Durey, Matthew (2014) Evaluation of the introduction of the Sunderland Customer Services Network to Children's Service. Project Report. UNSPECIFIED.
Conference or Workshop Item
Durey, Matthew, J. (2023) The geography of ambiguity: a reflection on agency and morality in urban negotiation. In: Royal Geographical Society (with Institute of British Geographers) Annual Conference 2023, 29 Aug - 01 Sep 2023, Royal Geographical Society, London. (Unpublished)
Durey, Matthew (2019) Against Inclusivity: Boundaries, Bad Concepts, and why we should resist Universalization. In: Boundary Breaking - Faculty of Education and Society First Annual Staff Research Conference, 4th June, 2019, University of Sunderland, UK.
Roberts, Nicola, Donovan, Catherine and Durey, Matthew (2019) Challenging Boundaries: How students construct and navigate boundaries of safety based on their gendered and/or racialised subjectivities. In: First Annual FES Research Conference: Boundary Breaking, 4 June 2019, University of Sunderland. (Unpublished)
Roberts, Nicola, Donovan, Catherine and Durey, Matthew (2019) Landscapes of Safety: The construction and navigation of the urban landscape by students based on their gendered and/or racialised subjectivities. In: Cass Seminar Series, 22 May 2019, University of Sunderland. (Unpublished)
Donovan, Catherine, Roberts, Nicola, Tudor, Kate and Durey, Matthew (2018) Positioning Universities as a source of Help when Gender Based Violence, Harassment and/or Hate Are Experienced by Students. In: British Society of Criminology Annual Conference, 3 - 6 Jul 2018, Birmingham City University. (Unpublished)
Donovan, Catherine, Roberts, Nicola, Tudor, Kate and Durey, Matthew (2017) Help-Seeking of Students. In: Symposium, Tackling Gender-Based Violence in Universities, 14 Mar 2017, Newcastle University. (Unpublished)
Donovan, Catherine, Roberts, Nicola, Tudor, Kate and Durey, Matthew (2017) Initial Findings from the Emerald Project: Exploring relationships between structural vulnerabilities and perceptions and experiences of violence and abuse amongst students. In: CASS Seminar Series, 2017, University of Sunderland. (Unpublished)
Book
Durey, Matthew, J. (2023) Art Work: Cities, Identities and Cultural Work. Palgrave Macmillan (imprint of Springer Nature), UK. ISBN 978-981-99-5554-1