Paul Fields is a PhD Researcher based in the School of Economic, Social and Political Sciences at the University of Southampton.
Paul’s research focuses on the intersection of punk studies and contemporary social justice movements.
Paul’s PhD research is a qualitative study into the nature and scope of safe space policies at punk live events, and considers the opposition to these from within punk scenes. Alongside his PhD project, Paul researches punk subcultures more generally. Topics of recent projects include punk humour, the adoption of ostensibly punk principles by mainstream organisations, rules-based systems in punk, and religious qualities to punk.
Paul is a member of the Punk Scholars Network, an international group of punk scholars, fans, and enthusiasts—from both within and outside of academia—whose aim is to study punk and post-punk from an academic and scholarly perspective.
Thesis title: Antisocial Justice Warriors: A Study Into Arguments Around Safe Spaces in Punk Rock
Supervisors: Dr Charlie Walker (primary) and Dr Craig Webber (secondary)
Date started: September 2020
Alongside his PhD Research at the University of Southampton Paul is a Senior Lecturer in Music at Buckinghamshire New University. Before joining Buckinghamshire New University, Paul spent much of the late 1990s and 2000s immersed in the UK underground punk music scene as a self-managed musician. Highlights from these years include winning the National Battle of the Bands, signing to an iconic independent record label, receiving Radio 1 airplay, and performing at some of the UK's biggest and most famous music venues. Paul is a multi-instrumentalist and continues to play, write, and record music.