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Dr Gavin Maclean

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Gavin Maclean

Lecturer

Biography I am a Lecturer in Sociology within the School of Applied Sciences at Edinburgh Napier University. Prior to this I worked as a Research Assistant in the Employment Research Institute at Edinburgh Napier University.

My research interests lie in the overlap between sociology and cultural studies with a focus on culture, work, organisation and care. I am particularly interested in the relationship between culture, economy and 'nature'; processes of commodification or 'value conflicts' in work and organisation; plants, gardening and organising sustainability; bureaucracy in society and culture; work within digital, cultural or public sector contexts; and representations of work and organisation in media and culture. My research is influenced by the work of Pierre Bourdieu, Stuart Hall, Raymond Williams and feminist thought more widely.

I have a degree in Management, a Masters by Research in Social Research and a PhD, all from Heriot-Watt University. My PhD examined the conflict between artistic freedom and the commercial pressures of work within the recorded music industry.

I am currently a co-investigator on a Leverhulme/British Academy Small Research Grant researching the work of producing sustainability in restaurant work. Prior to this, I worked on an ESRC-funded project investigating the use of temporary accommodation to house asylum seekers and refugees during the Covid-19 outbreak, and have previously worked on projects funded by the EPSRC, Carnegie and other funding bodies.
Research Interests sociology of culture; work and employment; organisation; social inequalities; cultural industries; digital labour; cultural labour; social reproduction; nature; plants;
Teaching and Learning I have acted as the Programme Leader for the BA (Hons) Social Sciences since 2020 and I teach across the programme in the area of sociology. I currently lead the modules Sociology of Media & Culture, Sociology of Work & Organisation and the introductory first year module Understanding Social Change.