Dr Rebecca Barnes

Faculty: Education, Health and Sciences

School: School of Education

Subject Area: Social Science

I've been a full time lecturer in Sociology at the University of Derby since August 2007. I teach across undergraduate programmes in the Sociology subject area, making core contributions to research methods teaching in particular. I'm currently supervising four PhD students; two as Director of Studies and two as Second Supervisor. I'm available for PhD supervision in the areas of domestic and sexual violence, the family, sexuality and gender.

Teaching responsibilities

My current teaching contributions include:

• Researching the Social World (module leader, level 4)
• Thinking Sociologically (teaching team, level 4)
• Doing Qualitative Research (teaching team, level 5)
• Researching People: Patterns and Trends (module leader, level 5)
• Family Forms and Personal Ties (module leader, level 5)
• Gender and Violence (module leader, level 6)
• Sociology Independent Study (module leader and tutor, level 6)
• Applied Research Project (module leader and tutor, level 6)

Research interests

My main area of interest is domestic violence, and in particular, violence and abuse in women's same-sex relationships. My doctoral study was one of the first studies of violence and abuse in women's same-sex relationships in the UK, and I have particular interests in issues of how women's violence is conceptualized; the long-term impacts of domestic violence and the implications of public perceptions of 'victims'; and the negotiation of gender roles in same-sex relationships. From October 2012 until October 2014 I shall be working as a Co-Investigator alongside Professor Catherine Donovan from the University of Sunderland on the ESRC-funded project, 'Understanding the relationship practices of abusive partners in same-sex and/or trans relationships and their implications for theory and practice'. This will be the first national study of the perpetration of domestic abuse in same-sex and/or trans relationships. It will adopt a mixed-methods approach involving those who self-identify as having behaved abusively in previous same-sex and/or trans relationships and practitioners.

In addition to this main area of interest, I have also been involved in two smaller internally-funded projects, the first in collaboration with Dr Philip Henry of the Multi-Faith Centre examining youth, identity and community in a youth inter-faith forum, and the second examining LGBT students' experiences of learning in higher education and lecturers' perceptions of their learning needs.

Membership of professional bodies and advisory committees

I have fellowship of the Higher Education Academy. I'm a member of the British Sociological Association and the Feminist and Women's Studies Association (UK and Ireland).

I also belong to Nottinghamshire Domestic Violence Forum's same-sex domestic violence focus group.

Recent Conferences

• (with Cobb, F.) 'Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students' experiences of learning in higher education: staff and student perspectives', Understanding the Social World Conference, University of Huddersfield, July 2011.

• (with Henry, P.) 'Blurring the Boundaries?: From communities of faith to a community of faiths in the Derby Youth Inter-faith Forum', Youthful Spaces of Belief strand, Royal Geographical Society/Institute of British Geographers Annual Conference, Royal Geographical Society, London, 1 September 2010.

• "I sound like such a victim...I'm not at all": the accounts and self-presentations of female survivors of same-sex domestic violence', Present and Future of Symbolic Interactionism: International Symposium, Pisa, Italy, 3-5 June 2010.

• (with Henry, P.) 'False impressions: the relational construction and negotiation of faith identities amongst young people', Present and Future of Symbolic Interactionism: International Symposium, Pisa, 3-5 June 2010.

Additional Interests and Activities

I am a member of the University's Research Centre for Society, Religion and Belief. I am keen to hear about opportunities to give guest lectures and talks on the subject of same-sex domestic violence in academic, policy and practice contexts.

Undergraduate qualifications

• BA (Hons) Sociology with Applied Studies, University of Derby

Postgraduate qualifications

• MA Research Methods in Sociology, University of Nottingham
• PG Cert in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, University of Derby

Research qualifications

• PhD on woman-to-woman partner abuse, University of Nottingham

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