Sam Hillyard
Biographic Data
| ID | 213015 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Sam Hillyard |
| GIVEN NAMES | Sam |
| FAMILY NAME | Hillyard |
| SIGNATURE | HILLYARD S |
| AFFILIATIONS | Durham University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-6412-8407 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 24 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 41 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 22 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 2 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2001 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2023 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Sociological Research in the Digital Age: Where Have We Come From; Where Are We Going
Atrocity Stories and Access to Elite Universities: Chickens at the Station
The article explores the interactional management of class relations using atrocity stories as a conceptual device vis-à-vis new case study data. We argue that interactionist ideas are well placed to comment on the hidden injuries of class in the higher education sector and demonstrate this using atrocity stories and Goffman's work. We use the atrocity stories of atypical cases (non-traditional graduates of an elite university) to expose class di…
The enduring insignificance of a school for its village: An English case study
The Rising Salience of the Absent: An Interactionist Analysis
The paper uses examples from rural studies to demonstrate the relevance of symbolic interactionism for unlocking the complexity of contemporary society. It does so by making a case for a nonprescriptive theory-method dialectic. Case examples are drawn upon in support of the argumentation, including early interactionism and ethnographic work in the United Kingdom, and, in the second half of the paper, rural sociology and fieldwork. The main argume…
In the field with two rural primary school head teachers in England
The research focuses on the complexities associated with contemporary rural primary school leadership. The paper draws on in-depth ethnographic research undertaken in two contrasting English rural primary schools and their surrounding community over a period of three years and in particular the experiences and perspectives of the two head teachers from these schools. The paper is conceptually informed by the work of Bourdieu [1984. Distinction: A…
Gender Identity and Research Relationships
Many researchers in recent years have begun to reflect on their gender identity and how this impacts on the research process and discuss how this helps build rapport with participants and creates successful or unsuccessful pieces of qualitative research. However, how does this intersect with other forms of identity, such as class, ethnicity, disability, age, sexuality? In this volume contributors explore these issues by reflecting on their own st…
Doing Fieldwork
Fieldwork is central to Sociology, but guides to it often treat the real questions invisibly or over-load the reader with micro-details. This refreshing, authoritative volume, written by two experienced, highly respected fieldworkers, provides a one-stop, engaging guide. The book: \n•Clearly explains fieldwork methods \n•Shows how to locate a field and map it \n•Covers common problem areas and ethical considerations \n•Provides a ready reckoner o…
Bullshot: Sporting shooting, alcohol and the two cultures
This paper discusses the role and function of alcohol in sporting shooting in the UK. It seeks to understand and critically comment upon alcohol consumption relating to this sport, to widen empirical knowledge of sporting shooting and to use the lens of alcohol to enhance our theoretical understanding of changes taking place in the global countryside. The paper contextualises the activity of sporting shooting by discussing the characteristics of …
School choice in an English village: Living, loyalty and leaving
In late modernity, the marketisation of public services has become a global policy phenomenon. In the case of schooling, this has resulted in parents discursively positioned as consumers of education making a choice between providers of education. To date the majority of research on parental choice has focused on the urban; this paper is concerned with the rural. Using ethnographic data collected through interviews (N = 24) and observations in on…
Doing Fieldwork
Rural Putsch: Power, Class, Social Relations and Change in the English Rural Village
The paper uses ethnography to discuss a political putsch - a move from Old Guard to newcomer dominance - in an English rural village. Applying the conceptual ideas of Goffman on symbols of class status and Thrift (2012) on space and an expressive infrastructure, it responds to Shucksmith's (2012) call for research into the micro workings and consequences of class power in rural contexts. The analysis stresses the relevance of 'sticky' space (the …
Big Data? Qualitative Approaches to Digital Research
This volume seeks to address the emerging relationships between qualitative research and digital data. At the present time, ubiquitous digital data is altering the foci of research, the contexts in which research takes place, and the methods and tools available for qualitative research. Alongside new challenges and opportunities, there are many ways in which established qualitative methods are being used to situate and interpret digital phenomena…
Big Data: Qualitative Approaches to Digital Research
Community strikes back? Belonging and exclusion in rural English villages in networked times
The paper draws upon ethnographic research of two contrasting English primary schools and their villages to explore the themes of belonging and exclusion in contemporary rural contexts. The paper first describes the schools and the villages. A second, conceptual section explores the meaning of rurality in relation to the themes of class, belonging and exclusion. The final section of the paper then weaves these sections together through an analysi…
Rural schools, social capital and the Big Society: A theoretical and empirical exposition
The paper commences with a theoretical exposition of the current UK government's policy commitment to the idealised notion of the Big Society and the social capital currency underpinning its formation. The paper positions this debate in relation to the rural and adopts an ethnographically‐informed methodological approach to provide an in‐depth look at two contrasting English rural primary schools and their relationship with their village communit…
The fieldworker not in the head's office: An empirical exploration of the role of an English rural primary school within its village
This paper presents the findings of a project exploring the role of an English primary school inside its rural village. The fieldwork discovered that the school had lacked a full-time head teacher for a number of years and the paper explicates three dynamics to unravel why: (1) interpersonal issues (high staff turnover and the legacy of a former head); (2) the political–economic development of the village and its shifting local ‘squirearchy’; and…
Shotguns and Firearms in the UK: A Call for a Distinctively Sociological Contribution to the Debate
The outcome of a UK government's Home Affairs select committee's discussion of the regulation of gun ownership called for reform. The impetus for the review was the shootings in Cumbria and Northumberland in 2010. This article challenges why the social science community has had little to say about the legal ownership and use of guns in the UK and argues that opportunities to shape the debate have been lost. This article demonstrates that there is…
Chapter 1 What's (still) wrong with ethnography
Ethnography has come of age as a research approach on both sides of the Atlantic, as evidenced by the number of specialist texts and journals now dedicated to the field. Yet relatively recently, a leading UK commentator perceived something to be fundamentally wrong with ethnography (Hammersley, 1990, 1992) and reiterated such concerns (Hammersley, 1995, 2000, 2002, 2007, 2008a, 2008b). This opening chapter examines the thesis that there is a dile…
New Frontiers in Ethnography
Introduction / Sam Hillyard -- ch. 1. What's (still) wrong with ethnography? / Sam Hillyard -- ch. 2. The vitality of ethnographic research on race / Gregory Jeffers, Rashawn Ray, Tim Hallett -- ch. 3. On the value of Marxism in the understanding and analysis of social class in educational ethnography and the misunderstanding of class as an epistemological category by critics of Marxist and other critical traditions / Dennis Beach -- ch. 4. Ethno…
Ethnography's Capacity to Contribute to the Cumulation of Theory: A Case Study of Strong's Work on Goffman
This article discusses how ethnography can contribute toward the development of sociological theory. It uses a case study of one theoretical idea refined through ethnographic fieldwork-Phil Strong's (1979; 1988) work on Erving Goffman's theory of ceremony.The article argues that Strong effectively applied Goffman's ideas to different settings and successfully extended Goffman's ideas on ceremony. In doing so, Strong demonstrated how ethnography c…
Knowledge, Higher Education, and the New Managerialism: The Changing Management of UK Universities
The nature of Higher Education in the UK has changed over the last three decades. Academics can no longer be said to carry out their work in ‘ivory towers’, as increasing government intervention and a growing ‘target culture’ has changed the way they work. Increasingly universities have transformed from ‘communities of scholars’ to ‘workplaces’. The organization and administration of universities has seen a corresponding prevalence of ideas and s…
As relevant as banning polo in Greenland: The absence of ethnographic insight into country sports in the UK
The article argues for the reinvigoration of sociological and ethnographic interest in the rural. It makes this case in three stages. First, Newby's work is used to demonstrate early ethnographic insight into the rural. The second stage then critiques the missed ethnographic opportunities in contemporary qualitative studies of country sports. Finally, new empirical visual research findings on gamekeeping in the UK are introduced to demonstrate wh…
Stress and stereotypes: Children's reactions to the outbreak of foot and mouth disease in the UK in 2001
In 2001 foot and mouth disease broke out in the UK and millions of farm animals were slaughtered in order to eradicate it. This affected farmers, town dwellers, adults and children. Based on a small sample of 56 e-mails to a children's BBC (CBBC) message board and using an ethnomethodological approach, this article explores the way in which children in rural and urban areas responded to the effects of this epidemic and how they structured their u…
Books Reviewed
Rural schools, social capital and the Big Society: A theoretical and empirical exposition
The paper commences with a theoretical exposition of the current UK government's policy commitment to the idealised notion of the Big Society and the social capital currency underpinning its formation. The paper positions this debate in relation to the rural and adopts an ethnographically‐informed methodological approach to provide an in‐depth look at two contrasting English rural primary schools and their relationship with their village communit…
Ethnography's Capacity to Contribute to the Cumulation of Theory: A Case Study of Strong's Work on Goffman
This article discusses how ethnography can contribute toward the development of sociological theory. It uses a case study of one theoretical idea refined through ethnographic fieldwork-Phil Strong's (1979; 1988) work on Erving Goffman's theory of ceremony.The article argues that Strong effectively applied Goffman's ideas to different settings and successfully extended Goffman's ideas on ceremony. In doing so, Strong demonstrated how ethnography c…
School choice in an English village: Living, loyalty and leaving
In late modernity, the marketisation of public services has become a global policy phenomenon. In the case of schooling, this has resulted in parents discursively positioned as consumers of education making a choice between providers of education. To date the majority of research on parental choice has focused on the urban; this paper is concerned with the rural. Using ethnographic data collected through interviews (N = 24) and observations in on…
Community strikes back? Belonging and exclusion in rural English villages in networked times
The paper draws upon ethnographic research of two contrasting English primary schools and their villages to explore the themes of belonging and exclusion in contemporary rural contexts. The paper first describes the schools and the villages. A second, conceptual section explores the meaning of rurality in relation to the themes of class, belonging and exclusion. The final section of the paper then weaves these sections together through an analysi…
The fieldworker not in the head's office: An empirical exploration of the role of an English rural primary school within its village
This paper presents the findings of a project exploring the role of an English primary school inside its rural village. The fieldwork discovered that the school had lacked a full-time head teacher for a number of years and the paper explicates three dynamics to unravel why: (1) interpersonal issues (high staff turnover and the legacy of a former head); (2) the political–economic development of the village and its shifting local ‘squirearchy’; and…
In the field with two rural primary school head teachers in England
The research focuses on the complexities associated with contemporary rural primary school leadership. The paper draws on in-depth ethnographic research undertaken in two contrasting English rural primary schools and their surrounding community over a period of three years and in particular the experiences and perspectives of the two head teachers from these schools. The paper is conceptually informed by the work of Bourdieu [1984. Distinction: A…
Shotguns and Firearms in the UK: A Call for a Distinctively Sociological Contribution to the Debate
The outcome of a UK government's Home Affairs select committee's discussion of the regulation of gun ownership called for reform. The impetus for the review was the shootings in Cumbria and Northumberland in 2010. This article challenges why the social science community has had little to say about the legal ownership and use of guns in the UK and argues that opportunities to shape the debate have been lost. This article demonstrates that there is…
The enduring insignificance of a school for its village: An English case study
New Frontiers in Ethnography
Introduction / Sam Hillyard -- ch. 1. What's (still) wrong with ethnography? / Sam Hillyard -- ch. 2. The vitality of ethnographic research on race / Gregory Jeffers, Rashawn Ray, Tim Hallett -- ch. 3. On the value of Marxism in the understanding and analysis of social class in educational ethnography and the misunderstanding of class as an epistemological category by critics of Marxist and other critical traditions / Dennis Beach -- ch. 4. Ethno…
Atrocity Stories and Access to Elite Universities: Chickens at the Station
The article explores the interactional management of class relations using atrocity stories as a conceptual device vis-à-vis new case study data. We argue that interactionist ideas are well placed to comment on the hidden injuries of class in the higher education sector and demonstrate this using atrocity stories and Goffman's work. We use the atrocity stories of atypical cases (non-traditional graduates of an elite university) to expose class di…
The Rising Salience of the Absent: An Interactionist Analysis
The paper uses examples from rural studies to demonstrate the relevance of symbolic interactionism for unlocking the complexity of contemporary society. It does so by making a case for a nonprescriptive theory-method dialectic. Case examples are drawn upon in support of the argumentation, including early interactionism and ethnographic work in the United Kingdom, and, in the second half of the paper, rural sociology and fieldwork. The main argume…
Bullshot: Sporting shooting, alcohol and the two cultures
This paper discusses the role and function of alcohol in sporting shooting in the UK. It seeks to understand and critically comment upon alcohol consumption relating to this sport, to widen empirical knowledge of sporting shooting and to use the lens of alcohol to enhance our theoretical understanding of changes taking place in the global countryside. The paper contextualises the activity of sporting shooting by discussing the characteristics of …
Rural Putsch: Power, Class, Social Relations and Change in the English Rural Village
The paper uses ethnography to discuss a political putsch - a move from Old Guard to newcomer dominance - in an English rural village. Applying the conceptual ideas of Goffman on symbols of class status and Thrift (2012) on space and an expressive infrastructure, it responds to Shucksmith's (2012) call for research into the micro workings and consequences of class power in rural contexts. The analysis stresses the relevance of 'sticky' space (the …
As relevant as banning polo in Greenland: The absence of ethnographic insight into country sports in the UK
The article argues for the reinvigoration of sociological and ethnographic interest in the rural. It makes this case in three stages. First, Newby's work is used to demonstrate early ethnographic insight into the rural. The second stage then critiques the missed ethnographic opportunities in contemporary qualitative studies of country sports. Finally, new empirical visual research findings on gamekeeping in the UK are introduced to demonstrate wh…
Books Reviewed
Stress and stereotypes: Children's reactions to the outbreak of foot and mouth disease in the UK in 2001
In 2001 foot and mouth disease broke out in the UK and millions of farm animals were slaughtered in order to eradicate it. This affected farmers, town dwellers, adults and children. Based on a small sample of 56 e-mails to a children's BBC (CBBC) message board and using an ethnomethodological approach, this article explores the way in which children in rural and urban areas responded to the effects of this epidemic and how they structured their u…
Knowledge, Higher Education, and the New Managerialism: The Changing Management of UK Universities
The nature of Higher Education in the UK has changed over the last three decades. Academics can no longer be said to carry out their work in ‘ivory towers’, as increasing government intervention and a growing ‘target culture’ has changed the way they work. Increasingly universities have transformed from ‘communities of scholars’ to ‘workplaces’. The organization and administration of universities has seen a corresponding prevalence of ideas and s…
As relevant as banning polo in Greenland: The absence of ethnographic insight into country sports in the UK
The article argues for the reinvigoration of sociological and ethnographic interest in the rural. It makes this case in three stages. First, Newby's work is used to demonstrate early ethnographic insight into the rural. The second stage then critiques the missed ethnographic opportunities in contemporary qualitative studies of country sports. Finally, new empirical visual research findings on gamekeeping in the UK are introduced to demonstrate wh…
Chapter 1 What's (still) wrong with ethnography
Ethnography has come of age as a research approach on both sides of the Atlantic, as evidenced by the number of specialist texts and journals now dedicated to the field. Yet relatively recently, a leading UK commentator perceived something to be fundamentally wrong with ethnography (Hammersley, 1990, 1992) and reiterated such concerns (Hammersley, 1995, 2000, 2002, 2007, 2008a, 2008b). This opening chapter examines the thesis that there is a dile…
New Frontiers in Ethnography
Introduction / Sam Hillyard -- ch. 1. What's (still) wrong with ethnography? / Sam Hillyard -- ch. 2. The vitality of ethnographic research on race / Gregory Jeffers, Rashawn Ray, Tim Hallett -- ch. 3. On the value of Marxism in the understanding and analysis of social class in educational ethnography and the misunderstanding of class as an epistemological category by critics of Marxist and other critical traditions / Dennis Beach -- ch. 4. Ethno…
Ethnography's Capacity to Contribute to the Cumulation of Theory: A Case Study of Strong's Work on Goffman
This article discusses how ethnography can contribute toward the development of sociological theory. It uses a case study of one theoretical idea refined through ethnographic fieldwork-Phil Strong's (1979; 1988) work on Erving Goffman's theory of ceremony.The article argues that Strong effectively applied Goffman's ideas to different settings and successfully extended Goffman's ideas on ceremony. In doing so, Strong demonstrated how ethnography c…
Shotguns and Firearms in the UK: A Call for a Distinctively Sociological Contribution to the Debate
The outcome of a UK government's Home Affairs select committee's discussion of the regulation of gun ownership called for reform. The impetus for the review was the shootings in Cumbria and Northumberland in 2010. This article challenges why the social science community has had little to say about the legal ownership and use of guns in the UK and argues that opportunities to shape the debate have been lost. This article demonstrates that there is…
The fieldworker not in the head's office: An empirical exploration of the role of an English rural primary school within its village
This paper presents the findings of a project exploring the role of an English primary school inside its rural village. The fieldwork discovered that the school had lacked a full-time head teacher for a number of years and the paper explicates three dynamics to unravel why: (1) interpersonal issues (high staff turnover and the legacy of a former head); (2) the political–economic development of the village and its shifting local ‘squirearchy’; and…
Big Data? Qualitative Approaches to Digital Research
This volume seeks to address the emerging relationships between qualitative research and digital data. At the present time, ubiquitous digital data is altering the foci of research, the contexts in which research takes place, and the methods and tools available for qualitative research. Alongside new challenges and opportunities, there are many ways in which established qualitative methods are being used to situate and interpret digital phenomena…
Big Data: Qualitative Approaches to Digital Research
Community strikes back? Belonging and exclusion in rural English villages in networked times
The paper draws upon ethnographic research of two contrasting English primary schools and their villages to explore the themes of belonging and exclusion in contemporary rural contexts. The paper first describes the schools and the villages. A second, conceptual section explores the meaning of rurality in relation to the themes of class, belonging and exclusion. The final section of the paper then weaves these sections together through an analysi…
Rural schools, social capital and the Big Society: A theoretical and empirical exposition
The paper commences with a theoretical exposition of the current UK government's policy commitment to the idealised notion of the Big Society and the social capital currency underpinning its formation. The paper positions this debate in relation to the rural and adopts an ethnographically‐informed methodological approach to provide an in‐depth look at two contrasting English rural primary schools and their relationship with their village communit…
School choice in an English village: Living, loyalty and leaving
In late modernity, the marketisation of public services has become a global policy phenomenon. In the case of schooling, this has resulted in parents discursively positioned as consumers of education making a choice between providers of education. To date the majority of research on parental choice has focused on the urban; this paper is concerned with the rural. Using ethnographic data collected through interviews (N = 24) and observations in on…
Doing Fieldwork
Rural Putsch: Power, Class, Social Relations and Change in the English Rural Village
The paper uses ethnography to discuss a political putsch - a move from Old Guard to newcomer dominance - in an English rural village. Applying the conceptual ideas of Goffman on symbols of class status and Thrift (2012) on space and an expressive infrastructure, it responds to Shucksmith's (2012) call for research into the micro workings and consequences of class power in rural contexts. The analysis stresses the relevance of 'sticky' space (the …
Gender Identity and Research Relationships
Many researchers in recent years have begun to reflect on their gender identity and how this impacts on the research process and discuss how this helps build rapport with participants and creates successful or unsuccessful pieces of qualitative research. However, how does this intersect with other forms of identity, such as class, ethnicity, disability, age, sexuality? In this volume contributors explore these issues by reflecting on their own st…
Doing Fieldwork
Fieldwork is central to Sociology, but guides to it often treat the real questions invisibly or over-load the reader with micro-details. This refreshing, authoritative volume, written by two experienced, highly respected fieldworkers, provides a one-stop, engaging guide. The book: \n•Clearly explains fieldwork methods \n•Shows how to locate a field and map it \n•Covers common problem areas and ethical considerations \n•Provides a ready reckoner o…
Bullshot: Sporting shooting, alcohol and the two cultures
This paper discusses the role and function of alcohol in sporting shooting in the UK. It seeks to understand and critically comment upon alcohol consumption relating to this sport, to widen empirical knowledge of sporting shooting and to use the lens of alcohol to enhance our theoretical understanding of changes taking place in the global countryside. The paper contextualises the activity of sporting shooting by discussing the characteristics of …
The Rising Salience of the Absent: An Interactionist Analysis
The paper uses examples from rural studies to demonstrate the relevance of symbolic interactionism for unlocking the complexity of contemporary society. It does so by making a case for a nonprescriptive theory-method dialectic. Case examples are drawn upon in support of the argumentation, including early interactionism and ethnographic work in the United Kingdom, and, in the second half of the paper, rural sociology and fieldwork. The main argume…
In the field with two rural primary school head teachers in England
The research focuses on the complexities associated with contemporary rural primary school leadership. The paper draws on in-depth ethnographic research undertaken in two contrasting English rural primary schools and their surrounding community over a period of three years and in particular the experiences and perspectives of the two head teachers from these schools. The paper is conceptually informed by the work of Bourdieu [1984. Distinction: A…
The enduring insignificance of a school for its village: An English case study
Atrocity Stories and Access to Elite Universities: Chickens at the Station
The article explores the interactional management of class relations using atrocity stories as a conceptual device vis-à-vis new case study data. We argue that interactionist ideas are well placed to comment on the hidden injuries of class in the higher education sector and demonstrate this using atrocity stories and Goffman's work. We use the atrocity stories of atypical cases (non-traditional graduates of an elite university) to expose class di…
Sociological Research in the Digital Age: Where Have We Come From; Where Are We Going
Sociology (19 works) · Political science (13 works) · Anthropology (10 works) · Ethnography (10 works) · Law (9 works) · Epistemology (8 works) · Gender Studies (8 works) · Social science (8 works) · Psychology (6 works) · Rural development and sustainability (6 works)