Research
You will find a complete range of our monographs, muti-authored and edited works including peer-reviewed, original scholarly research across the social sciences and aligned disciplines. We publish long and short form research and you can browse the complete Bristol University Press and Policy Press archive.
Policy Press also publishes policy reviews and polemic work which aim to challenge policy and practice in certain fields. These books have a practitioner in mind and are practical, accessible in style, as well as being academically sound and referenced.
In this chapter a social science researcher exposes the façade of ‘equal opportunities’ in UK academia by charting his struggles through academia as a Black man from a Global South country. He contrasts his success in being offered places on multiple PhD programmes to his daunting challenges in completing a PhD without access to external funding and in a second language. The author further highlights the barriers in accessing concrete opportunities to continue an academic career in the UK, and ties this specifically to the documented and persistent underrepresentation of Black people in the sector. Pointing out the discrepancy between statements of equal employment opportunities in job adverts and the lack of opportunities for Black researchers, the author powerfully highlights the hypocrisy in UK academia. The author details how the significant labour spent in applying for academic jobs is emotionally and psychologically draining and ponders whether it is worth it.
This chapter examines the importance of not going into PhD study uninformed. The author states that many opportunities are missed due to a lack of knowledge of the available roles and opportunities, or knowing where to look. He feels a duty to share what he can to help guide others. This is a reference to the Black tax or academic mousetrap, whereby students who are minoritised and historically excluded feel burdened to take on extra work to improve the situation for those coming after them. Reflecting on their journey, they express gratitude for the opportunities that they had, which allowed them to progress to their current position. However, this reflection is balanced and the author recounts seeing underrepresentation in his undergraduate and master’s environment and the importance of seeing Black figures (albeit in isolation) in these spaces who had reached, and could light, his path. The theme of resilience is shown here again where, despite clear aptitude and talent, many unsubstantiated rejections were received, highlighting the importance of academic recruitment becoming more transparent and uniform. Had someone not believed in the author and their ability to conduct research, yet another Black student would have been lost from the academic pipeline.
This chapter looks at the author’s PhD journey, which entailed undertaking research on Black women’s experiences in prison. Opening with making the decision to apply to study at the Open University after studying at the University of Oxford for her master’s, the chapter focuses on the role of supervisors as the main support mechanism for doctoral students. The supervisors built up her confidence as an aspiring academic, enabling her to conduct fieldwork in challenging environments. The chapter also looks at the struggles she encountered when studying while pregnant, as well as reflecting on the positionality as a Black woman researching Black women in prison. The author ends by highlighting the value of her work and the importance of being validated and believed in as a Black woman in academia
In this chapter, the author argues that the academy is a site of anti-Blackness and that students face structural barriers at the postgraduate level. Leading Routes was set up by the author and her colleagues as Black students to challenge the status quo and provide better opportunities and outcomes for Black students. Along the way they have faced academic prejudice, as other scholars felt that they, as Black students, did not know what they were talking about. They faced anti-Black racism, with universities refusing to believe there was an issue, until the author and her team confronted them with direct evidence. This chapter outlines Leading Route’s journey to date and discusses the challenges and successes that they have had in trying to make the university a positive place for Black students.
The introduction sets out the context from which the book was brought together. It argues that Black doctoral students have come through the system of doctoral study to the PhD in spite of, not because of, the system. These students have shown amazing tenacity and resilience against great odds to study for the highest academic qualification. The introduction argues that the experiences of Black students in higher education is tied to the wider experiences of Black communities in Britain. An experience that has been characterised and shaped by the legacies of colonialism, transatlantic enslavement and the contemporary nightmare of institutionalised racism. The introduction shows how higher education attempts to set itself above the furore of ‘race’ but is heavily implicated in practices that devalue and dehumanise Black and Brown bodies. The awarding gap, the lack of Black professors and the unacknowledged colonial histories of institutions and disciplines prove universities have deep-seated racism issues. Having set out the context, the introduction outlines the methodology that grounds that work, which follows the cycle of studying for a PhD from application through to graduation. The introduction ends with a call to create an academic environment free from racism.
This chapter looks at a journey that was redirected without the original intention of pursuing a PhD. The author details her initial plan to attend medical school and the blatant bias experienced during an interview that was not too dissimilar to behaviours received during unsuccessful applications to PhD programmes. Again, the lack of transparency on feedback and why the student was unsuccessful in an application is evident. The author describes the impact of an inequitable decision with her degree classification, getting marked down despite having the same attendance as her lab partner (awarding gap bias). This confidence-knock led to delays and ultimately acceptance into a PhD. Further experiences are outlined where, again, the processes of recruitment were not uniform, and clear biases were shown. However, the author persisted, was resilient and, after 17 applications, six interviews, and five additional years of research experience, was accepted onto a PhD project where she is now excelling. Overall, this chapter shows the importance of passion in pushing a student through, but also shows the extra obstacles that Black PhD students may encounter in the attempt to become part of a system that is ill-equipped to recruit and retain them.
In this chapter the author outlines how an academic network for Black postgraduate and community members was started and developed, the African Diaspora Postgraduate Network. The author reveals how his early experiences as an isolated PhD student shaped his understanding of doctoral study, so that when an opportunity arose to collaborate with an academic colleague, the idea of a Black doctoral support network was born. The chapter charts the development of the group and its ethos of providing a safe and supportive space for students to develop Black intellectual curiosity and showcase their Black genius. The author highlights how a spirit of ubuntu was tantamount to the success of the group. Everyone was welcome to attend and Chatham House rules were observed, so that students could express the highs and lows of their educational journeys and get advice from a Black perspective on how to pull through and succeed.
The author explores their unique journey towards their PhD, highlighting personal motivations and structural challenges in pursuing interdisciplinary research in a novel field, ‘Neuroaesthetics’. Tracing their journey from early education all the way into the PhD application process, Greaves focuses on the impact of educational environments, navigating interdisciplinary studies at different stages of education, and the power of Black academic communities. The author reflects on the contrast between their experience in racially diverse environments in secondary education and non-diverse environments in higher education. They also detail their route as an interdisciplinary student, highlighting the challenges faced in pursuing both creative and scientific interests, but ultimately how they persisted in developing academic interests as a Neuroaesthetician. The author discusses how this persistence was driven by personal motivation but also aided by degree programme designs and supportive academic supervisors. This is set in the context of making the transition between undergraduate to postgraduate studies and finally PhD applications. Greaves concludes with reflections on recent involvement with Black academic communities and the inspiration, opportunities, personal development and sense of belonging these have enabled against the wider academic ecosystem where Black representation is lacking.
The final chapter in this part, ‘The missing ones’, is a space to recognise missing contributions. The reader is invited to reflect on the many Black scholars who, for whatever reason associated with the machinations of doctoral study, have been airbrushed from the pages of academia. This chapter puts into context that, beyond the many stories in the book, there are still many voices of Black scholars in the UK that have yet to be meaningfully recognised.
