Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Get to know the new Course Director for Criminology
Dr. Kirsty Cameron is the Course Director for the Criminology Degree here at Leeds Beckett and joined the university as a lecturer in 2021. Before coming to LBU, she worked for a social housing association and completed her studies at the University of York. With a PhD in Social Policy and Social Work, Master's in Social Research and a BA (Hons) in Social Policy find out what led Kirsty into criminology.
Tell us a bit about you and what led you to work at Leeds Beckett?
The thing that drew me to Leeds Beckett was the clear focus on student support that is offered at the university. The staff that work here are genuinely passionate about supporting their students, providing high quality teaching and conducting important research, which seemed like a good mix to me!
I come from a working class background, with parents who had never considered going to university. Rather than do my A levels, I completed an apprenticeship and actually decided to do my studies when I drove my sister to an open day and realised there were opportunities for people like me to study at university. I enrolled on an ‘extended degree’, which allowed me to do a foundation year before starting my degree formally. When I (eventually) decided I wanted to become a lecturer, I wanted to make sure I worked for a university that supported diverse students to succeed in their degrees, and that actively sought to support students from different backgrounds. That’s why I applied to Leeds Beckett, and why I became a Course Director for Criminology.
What makes you passionate about your work and why is it important?
I think the things that led me to this role are what makes me passionate about my work. Coming from a working class background made me want to support students from diverse backgrounds succeed in their degrees. I recognise that when you don’t have parents or other family members who have been to university, it can be harder to imagine yourself doing a degree, and hard for your family to offer the support you need whilst you are at university (I can’t tell you how many times my parents have said, “But what do you DO though?”).
Working at a social housing provider also inspired me to conduct my own research alongside my teaching. I am especially interested in how diverse groups experience antisocial behaviour and social housing. I loved working for a social housing provider, and I do think I was able to support people when I worked there, but I feel I have more opportunity to make real change through conducting research, sharing findings and campaigning for change.
How is collaboration integral to your work, and what are one or two collaborations that have been most meaningful to you?
Collaboration is vital to the good running of a degree, and one of the things I love about working at Leeds Beckett is the team work that I always see in our criminology department. Before becoming Course Director, I was a Level Lead for our third year students, meaning I was an added level of support that they could reach out to when needed, and I would also keep them updated with careers events, volunteering opportunities and more. Working closely with my Level Lead colleagues for the first and second years (Dave Thompson and Lewis Simpson), we developed the Level Lead role to ensure we were working with the (then) Course Director to offer the best support for our students across all three years.
Collaboration is also key to good research. In my research exploring experiences of antisocial behaviour victimisation for migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, I worked closely with a community researcher at Migration Yorkshire, a charitable organisation that coordinates and provides support for migrants. Doing research with a non-academic organisation can lead to exciting opportunities for exploring new topics and gaining different insight into an issue, and the project would not have been a success without their input.
What achievements have you been most proud of while working at Leeds Beckett?
One of the things I am proud of is the designing and running of the ‘Criminological Intersections’ module – long title, I know, but stick with me. I took over this module when I had just returned from maternity leave and redesigned it completely, building the reading lists, lecture content and delivering all the sessions. As a core second-year module, it had (and continues to have) lots of Criminology students on it, but we also have students who study Criminology and Psychology and Sociology with Criminology. This module explores how difference and diversity, inequality and privilege in society impacts how the Criminal Justice System is experienced. I take it as a point of pride that since running this module, more and more students are starting to talk about ‘intersectionality’ in their final year projects, which tells me they enjoyed and understood that module.
I am also really proud of becoming Course Director. I applied for the role with a vision to ensure our degree explores inequality and difference in society, offers an inclusive environment to students and allows students to become interdisciplinary scholars, meaning they learn from lots of different disciplines, not just Criminology. If you come to LBU, please do let me know how I’m doing with that vision!
Dr Kirsty Cameron
Kirsty is the Course Director for the Undergraduate degree in Criminology whose teaching focuses on applying theories of intersectionality and vulnerability to experiences of the criminal justice system and other services. She is interested in the overlap between criminal justice and social welfare, particularly in relation to antisocial behaviour and housing. Within this area, she is especially focused on how social divisions and vulnerability impact interventions into deviant or nuisance behaviour.
