Dr. Robert Lawson
Associate Professor, School of English | Birmingham City University
Birmingham, UNITED KINGDOM
Dr. Robert Lawson is an expert on language use in Scotland and the UK, and the application of sociolinguistic research beyond academia.
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Biography
Dr Robert Lawson completed his ESRC-funded PhD thesis at the University of Glasgow in 2009 which focused on urban adolescent language use in Glasgow. During the course of his PhD, he completed a period of overseas research training at the University of Arizona, taught a range of undergraduate courses at the University of Glasgow and University of Stirling, and presented at a number of international conferences.
Since starting in his role at Birmingham City University, Dr Lawson has continued to focus on language use in Scotland and the UK, as well as the application of sociolinguistic research beyond academia. In the academic year 2012/13, he was seconded to the University of Pittsburgh as the recipient of the Fulbright Scholar's Award in Scottish Studies, during which he completed a major edited volume about sociolinguistic research in Scotland and started a longer term project examining the application and impact of sociolinguistic research beyond academia (with Dr Dave Sayers).
Dr Lawson is also working on a project with Dr Ursula Lutzky which analyses patterns of interruption and turn-taking in the television show 'Mock the Week' and examines these patterns in relation to issues of institutional sexism in the entertainment industry.
Areas of Expertise (6)
Research Application and Impact
Language in the Public Eye
Language and Gender
Sociolinguistics
Ethnography
Language in the Media
Education (1)
The University of Glasgow: M.A., English Language and Linguistics 2004
Selected Articles (3)
Sociolinguistics: the study of speakers’ choices
Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development
2016 Sociolinguistics in the public eye. Routledge. Sociolinguistic Research: Application and Impact. Forthcoming.
Fight narratives, covert prestige and performances of ‘tough’ masculinity: Some insights from an urban centre
Language and Masculinities: Performances, Intersections, Dislocations
2015 Fight narratives, covert prestige and performances of ‘tough’ masculinity: Some insights from an urban centre. Routledge.Language and Masculinities: Performances, Intersections, Dislocations. 53-76. Published.
Sexuality and Sociophonetics
Encyclopedia of Human Sexuality.
2015 Sexuality and sociophonetics. Encyclopedia of Human Sexuality. Wiley-Blackwell.1-4. Published.
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