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The University of Southampton
Economic, Social and Political Sciences
Email:
nmr1@soton.ac.uk

Dr Nick Rayner BA and PhD

Lecturer and Tutor in Anthropology and Sociology

Dr Nick Rayner's photo

Dr Nick Rayner is Lecturer in Social Anthropology within Sociology, Social Policy & Criminology at the University of Southampton.

I enjoy teaching in an exciting multi-discipline Department in which I specialise in teaching Social and Cultural Anthropology.

I teach several modules as sole Lecturer and Tutor within Undergraduate Programmes linked to my own Department of Sociology, Social Policy, Criminology and Anthropology. I also teach modules linked to the Department of Archaeology for their students enrolled on the BA Archaeology and Anthropology Degree Programmes. In all cases, my modules focus on Social and Cultural Anthropology. I have one pan-discipline UOSM module linked to Anatomy, Archaeology and Anthropology called UOSM2030 The Body & Society in which I take some Lectures.

I started my University Degree studies when I was 29 after working in the public sector for many years. I was also a Local and Regional Trades Union Official for a major Union through much of the 1980’s. For one year I was a freelance photojournalist. I left employment as a Statistician to start my Undergraduate studies in 1993. I graduated from The University of Hull with 1st Class Honours (Special) in Sociology & Social Anthropology in 1996. I started my Postgraduate studies in the same year. After gaining my ESRC research qualification I took a short break to attain my TEFL international qualification from The University of Cambridge.  I started Lecturing and Tutoring at The University of Southampton in 2000 when I was teaching Certificate of Higher Education Year 1 courses which ran in the evening and weekends; in which I was Programme Leader for two years. Eventually I moved through Part-time to Full-time 3 Year Degree Programme teaching. In 2006 I gained my Doctorate from Nottingham Trent with an ethnographic study of Muslim and Latin American community and identity formation in the UK. 

Teaching is my dedicated professional career here at the University, and I take great pride in teaching enthusiastic Undergraduate students who wish to empirically and theoretically explore human cultures and societies around the world. The University employs many Anthropologists with different connections to different teaching and research interests, but I have the rare privilege of teaching in all of the named Undergraduate Anthropology Degree Programmes we have. 

I also teach on the ‘Minor’ Degree Programme of Anthropology which is open to any student in Year 1 to opt for who is enrolled on a compatible Single Honours Degree ‘Major’ Programme. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Research interests

My main research interests include migration, community, identity, and ethnicity in contemporary Europe. Other research interests include the anthropology of British communities, the construction of social and cultural identity, and the works of Fredrik Barth, Pierre Bourdieu, and Anthony P. Cohen. Previous published research focuses upon issues in media representation and the social construction of knowledge. Personal interests involve the study of representation in ethnographic film.

PhD supervision

I consider PhD students who have research links to my main research interests. These include migration, community, identity, and ethnicity in contemporary Europe (with active ongoing research into Muslim and Latina migration into the UK). Other research interests include the anthropology of British communities, the construction of social and cultural identity, and the works of Fredrik Barth, Pierre Bourdieu, and Anthony P. Cohen.

Over the years I have been Programme Leader, UCAS Admissions Tutor for both Department and the wider Academic School, Outreach Co-ordinator for Schools and Colleges, Undergraduate Dissertation Convenor, while also holding down numerous other responsibilities.

 

 

 

In any typical year I am – 

  • Module Co-ordinator for ANTH1001 Exploring Other Cultures plus half the Lectures and all Seminars.
  • SOCI1003 Social Problems and Social Policy – Some Lectures
  • Module Co-ordinator for ANTH2002 Culture, Communication and Cognition plus all Lectures and Seminars.
  • Module Co-ordinator for ANTH3003 Anthropology. Film and representations of “The Other” plus all Lectures and Seminars.
  • UOSM2030 The Body and Society - Some Lectures.
  • Undergraduate Dissertation Research Project Supervision.
  • Personal Academic Tutor to many Undergraduate Students. 
Dr Nick Rayner
Reception Building 58 University of Southampton Southampton SO17 1BJ United Kingdom

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