Associate Professor Paul Taylor

Head of School

School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Dr Paul Taylor

Paul is Head of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. In addition to humanities and social science disciplines, the School is home to a Centre for Student Exchange and Language Development.

With a rich history of academic excellence, the School is a hub of knowledge, innovation, and critical thinking. The vibrant and intellectually stimulating culture make it a fulfilling place to work or study.

At the heart of our School is a diverse range of programmes that span the entire spectrum of humanities and social sciences. What sets the School apart is the staff commitment to fostering a dynamic learning environment and the student's willingness to engage, contribute and influence the learning process. Together, staff and students, through learning, teaching and research, celebrate diversity, curiosity, and the power of ideas.

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Paul leads the undergraduate dissertation module for students of social and political sciences. He also contributes to teaching and learning on the criminology programme and sociology programme. In addition to this, Paul is an experienced principal supervisor of students pursuing Professional Doctorates and PhDs.

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Paul's research and scholarly work are underpinned by sociological and criminological ideas and perspectives. He has a particular interest in how occupational biographies and working lives feature in social behaviours and experiences. For example, Paul has conducted research examining police firearms officer's mental health and wellbeing, former members of the armed forces experience of intimate partner victimisation, and occupational culture(s) among those who work within inpatient acute psychiatric care.

Further to the above, Paul has scholarly interests, broadly, in the area of psychiatric power and social control. Namely: the convergence of mental health and criminal justice discourse, legislation, policy and practice; psychiatric 'care' in the 19th and early 20th century; and asylum/semi-penal institution architecture.

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Books

Taylor, P., Morley, S., & Powell, J. (Eds.).(2020). Mental health and punishments: Critical perspectives in theory and practice. London, United Kingdom: Routledge.

Taylor, P., Albertson, K., & Murray, E. (Eds.).(2020). Military past, civilian present: International perspectives on veterans' transition from the armed forcesNew York, NY: Springer. 

Turner, J., Taylor, P., Morley, S., & Corteen, K. (Eds.).(2017). A companion to the history of crime and criminal justice. Bristol, United Kingdom: Policy Press. 

Morley, S., Turner, J., Corteen, K., & Taylor, P. (Eds.).(2017): A companion to state power, liberties and rights. Bristol, United Kingdom: Policy Press.

Corteen, K., Morley, S., & Turner, J. (Eds.). (2016). A companion to crime, harm and victimisation. Bristol, United Kingdom: Policy Press.

Taylor, P., Corteen, K., & Morley, S. (Eds).(2014). A companion to criminal justice, mental health and risk. Bristol, United Kingdom: Policy Press. 

Taylor, P., & Wagg, P. (Eds).(2014). Work and society: Places, spaces and identities. Chester, United Kingdom: University of Chester Press.

Book chapters

Taylor, P., & Reeves, A. (2022). Building a voice of influence: Supporting social science doctoral students with disabilities. In R. Twinley & G. Letherby (Eds.). The Doctoral Journey as an Emotional, Embodied, Political Experience: Stories from the Field. Abingdon, United Kingdom: Routledge.

Taylor, P. & Reeves, A. (2020). Combatting self-harm and suicide in the US military and after: Culture, military labour and no-harm contracts. In P. Taylor, K. Albertson & E. Murray (Eds.). Military past, civilian present: International perspectives on veterans' transitions from the armed forces. New York, NY: Springer.

Taylor, P., & Powell, J. (2019). Ageing and veteran offenders: New challenges for critical social work. In S. Webb (Ed.). The Routledge handbook of critical social work. London, United Kingdom: Routledge.

Reeves, A., & Taylor, P. (2017). Self-harm and suicide. In A. Vossler, C. Havard, G. Pike, M. Barker, & B. Raabe. Mad or bad? A critical approach to counselling and forensic psychology. London, United Kingdom: Sage. 

Taylor, P., & Powell, J. (2017). The UK welfare state system: With special reference to the mental health care system. In C. Aspalter (Ed.). The Routledge research companion to welfare state systems. London, United Kingdom: Routledge.

Powell, J., & Taylor, P. (2017). Theorizing trauma: A new critical understanding. In N. Thompson, G. Cox, R. Stevenson (Eds.) Handbook of traumatic loss. London, United Kingdom: Routledge. 

Taylor, P. (2016). Anti-psychiatry movement. In S. E. Boslaugh (Ed) The SAGE encyclopaedia of pharmacology and society. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Taylor, P. (2016). Deinstitutionalization. In S. E. Boslaugh (Ed) The SAGE encyclopaedia of pharmacology and society. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. 

Corteen, K., Taylor, P., & Morley, S. (2014). The coroner’s inquest and visceral reactions: considering the impact of self-inflicted deaths on the health and social care professional. In P. Taylor & P. Wagg (Eds.) Work and society9, 37. 

Taylor, P. J. (2013). Governing the Body (Taylor, P.) The legal, administrative and discursive control of the psychiatric patient. In C. Ogden & S. Wakeman (Eds.) Corporeality: The body and society. Chester, United Kingdom: University of Chester Press. 

Articles

Murray, E., & Taylor, P. (2019). ‘Soldiering by consent’ and military-civil relations: Military transition into the public space of policing. Illness, Crisis & Loss. 27(4).

Taylor, P., Keeling, J., & Mottershead, R. (2019). Intimate partner violence and abuse against men: Voices of victimization among ex-servicemen of the British armed forcesIllness, Crisis & Loss, 27(2). 1054137317717964. 

Powell, J., & Taylor, P. (2017). The "insiders world" Participation action research and mental health - the new foundation of social inquiryJournal of Biomedical Research and Practice, 01(01). 100002.

Carver, L., Morley, S., & Taylor, P. (2017). Voices of deficit: Mental health, criminal victimization, and epistemic injustice. Illness, Crisis & Loss25(1), 43-62.

Morley, S., & Taylor, P. (2016). ‘Cashing In’ on curiosity and spectacle: the forensic patient and news mediaThe Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology27(5), 705-721.

Powell, J. L., & Taylor, P. (2016). Rethinking risk and ageing: Extending working livesSocial Policy and Society15(4), 637-645.

Keeling, J. J., Van Wormer, K., & Taylor, P. J. (2015). Women’s narratives on their interactions with the first response police officer following an incidence of domestic violence in the UK. Sociology and Criminology. 3(122):1-8. ISSN 2375-4435

Powell, J., & Taylor, P. J. (2015). Gender, masculinity, contemporary history and the psychiatric secure estate: Back to the future?. World Scientific News. 22, 145-156.

Powell, J., & Taylor, P. J. (2015). The Global South: The case of populational aging in Africa and Asia. World Scientific News. 6, 89-99.

Taylor, P. J., & Williams, S. (2014). Sentencing reform and prisoner mental healthPrison Service Journal. 211, 43-49.

Taylor, P., Corteen, K., & Morley, S. (2013). Service user suicides and coroner's inquestsCriminal Justice Matters92(1), 32-33.

Taylor, P. (2012). Severe personality disorder in the secure estate: Continuity and changeMedicine, Science and the Law52(3), 125-127.

Taylor, P., Corteen, K., Ogden, C., & Morley, S. (2012). ‘Standing’ by: disability hate crime and the police in England. Criminal Justice Matters87(1), 46-47.

Taylor, P., Ogden, C., & Corteen, K. (2012). Tobacco Smoking and Incarceration: Expanding the ‘Last Poor Smoker Thesis’ An Essay in Honour of Dr David Ford. Internet Journal of Criminology, 1-19.

Book reviews

Taylor, P. (2015). Violent offenders: Understanding and assessment, by Christina Pietz and Curtis Mattson, New York, NY, Oxford University Press, 2014, 568 pp.,£ 45.99 (paperback), ISBN: 9780199917297. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research15(4), 321-322.

Engagement and Impact

Special Issue Editor of 2017, 25(1) Illness, Crisis and Loss (Sage) titled 'Mental health, welfare, protection and crisis: Critical considerations - a UK case study.

Network Memberships

Reimagining Conflict: Pedagogy, Policy and Arts Group - Liverpool John Moores University.

Observatory for Military Veteran Affairs (OMVA).

Member: British Society of Criminology.

Writing by Invitation

London School of Economics (LSE) British Policy and Politics Blog (with J. Powell, 2016) 'Ageing in an era of neoliberalism: the impact on extending working lives'.

International Network for Critical Gerontology (McMaster University, Canada) (with J. Powell) 'Aging and the military veteran offender'. 

Conference Presentations

May 2017, 'Intimate Partner Violence and Abuse: Testimonies of Suffering, Subservience and Surviving Among Male Ex-Armed Forces' (Taylor, P.), at Bringing Conflict Home, University of York, UK.

September 2014, 'Exploring Veteran's Experiences of Domestic Violence' (Keeling, J., Mottershead, R., Thomas, M., & Taylor, P.), at 14th Annual Conference of European Society of Criminology, Prague, Czech Republic. 

July 2014, ‘Disability hate crime and the police in England’ (Taylor, P., Corteen, K., Ogden, C., & Morley, S.), at 2nd Conference on Intellectual Disability and Criminal Justice, University of Chester.

February 2012, Key Note Presentation ‘From Me to We - The Journey from PhD to Publication’, (Corteen, K., & Taylor, P.), at The Annual Postgraduate Research Conference, University of Chester.

September 2011, ‘Out with the Old and In with the New- From the Asylum to the Hospital; The Impact of Architectural Change upon Mental Health Work’, (Taylor, P.), at British Sociological Association Medical Sociology Conference, University of
 Chester.

June 2011, ‘Narrative Inquiry- the Potential in Sociological Analyses of Mental Health Work’ (Taylor, P.), at The Narrative Practitioner Annual Conference, Glyndwr University.

March 2011, ‘Governing the Body- The Emotional Labouring of Mental Health Personnel’ (Taylor, P.), at Corporeality; The Body and Society, University of Chester.

  • BSc(Hons) Criminology
  • PG Cert Learning and Teaching in Higher Education
  • MA Crime and Justice
  • MBA
  • PhD
  • Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA)