Dr Lucy Mayblin

Research Interests

Political and historical sociology, colonialism, postcolonialism, decoloniality, human rights, asylum, immigration, and citizenship.

Current research

Lucy is a postdoctoral research associate on the ERC funded project Living with Difference, led by Gill Valentine. The research programme involves five inter‐linked projects which will explore the extent and nature of everyday encounters with ‘difference’, by each collecting original data in the UK (a post‐colonial European state) and Poland (a post-communist European state). The findings are intended to provide an integrated evidence base that will inform European policies and strategies for living with difference. Lucy works specifically on work streams D (Generating Social Change) and E (Creating Meaningful Contact).

Lucy’s ESRC funded doctoral research took a historical institutionalist perspective in analysing current British asylum and refugee policy. Through an institutional orders approach adapted from US political science, the project investigated the links between Atlantic slavery, British colonialism and decolonisation as driving forces in attitudes towards immigrants, minorities and ‘others’ from outside of Europe, with particular reference to politics and policy making on asylum.

Other activities

Lucy is co-convenor of the British Sociological Association’s Comparative and Historical Study Group, a member of the editorial board for the journal Studies in Social and Political Thought, and co-organiser with Gurminder K Bhambra of forthcoming conference ‘Race, Migration, Citizenship: Postcolonial and Decolonial Perspectives’.

Key Publications

Journal Articles

• Mayblin, L. (forthcoming). Colonialism, Decolonisation, and the Right to be Human: Britain and the 1951 Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees. Journal of Historical Sociology.
• Mayblin, L. (2012). Never Look Back: Political Thought and the Abolition of Slavery. Cambridge Review of International Affairs, iFirst, 1-18.
• Battel-Lowman, E. and Mayblin, L. (2011). Theorising the (Post)colonial, Decolonising Theory. Studies in Social and Political Thought, 19.
• Anderson, J., Askins, Kye, Cook, I., Desforges, L., Evans, J., Fannin, M., Fuller, D., Griffiths, H., Lambert, D., Lee, R., MacLeavy, J., Mayblin, L., Morgan, J., Payne, Pykett, J., Roberts, D. and Skelton, T. (2008). What is Geography’s Contribution to Making Citizens? Geography, 93(1): 34-9
• Cook, I., Evans, J., Griffiths, H., Mayblin, L., Payne, B. and Roberts, D. (2007). Made in... ? Appreciating the Everyday Geographies of Connected Lives. Teaching Geography, Summer edition.

Reports

• Kitchin, H., Phillimore, J., Goodson, L., Mayblin, L., Jones, A., Pickstock, A., Weir, S. and Blick, A. (2009). Communicating Cohesion: Evaluating Local Authority Communication Strategies. Local Government Association, London.
• Lee, P., Mayblin, L., Liu, X., Tice, A., Saunders, H. and Rowlands, R. (2008). Transform South Yorkshire Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder: Final Evaluation Report. Centre for Urban and Regional Studies, Birmingham.
• Phillimore, J., Ergün, E., Hennessy, D., Lee, P and Mayblin, L. (2007). Evaluating the Outcomes of Refugee Support. Report for Birmingham City Council.
• Wells, P. and Mayblin, L. (2006). Applying Innovative Methodologies to Evaluation Research. Yorkshire Forward, Leeds.
• Cole, I. and Mayblin, L. (2006). Improving the Residential Offer in Leeds City Region: Developing a Strategic Response to the Challenges of Economic Growth. Report to Leeds City Region Development Partnership, Annex to Leeds City Region Development Plan Submission 2. Leeds, Leeds City Council.

Working Papers

• Mayblin, L. and Soteri-Proctor, A. (2011). The Black and Minority Ethnic Third Sector: A Review of the Literature. TSRC Briefing Paper 58, Third Sector Research Centre, University of Birmingham.
• McCabe, A., Phillimore, J. and Mayblin, L. (2010). Below the Radar: A Summary Review of the Literature. TSRC Briefing Paper 29, Third Sector Research Centre, University of Birmingham.

Book Reviews

• Mayblin, L. (2012). Captives: Britain, Empire and the World 1600-1850 by Colley, L. 2003. Reinvention: an International Journal of Undergraduate Research, 5(2).
• Mayblin, L. (2012). Decolonizing European Sociology: Transdisciplinary Approaches by Rodríguez, E. G., Boatca, M., and Costa, S. (eds.) 2010. Sociology, 46(4), 772-773.
• Mayblin, L. (2011). International Relations and Non-Western Thought: Imperialism, Colonialism and Investigations of Global Modernity by Robbie Shilliam (ed.) 2011. International Organisation, 87(5), 1230-2131
• Mayblin, L. (2011). Citizenship and Immigration by Christian Joppke, 2010. The Sociological Review, 59(1), 183-185.
• Mayblin, L. (2010). The Idea of Human Rights, by Charles Beitz, 2009. Political Studies Review, 8(3), 376.
• Mayblin, L. (2009). The Exclusionary Politics of Asylum, by Vicki Squire, 2009. Critical Policy Studies, 3(1), 147-148.
• Mayblin, L. (2008). Gender, Conflict and Migration, by Navnita Chadha Behera, 2006. Journal of Refugee Studies, 21(1), 138-140.

Other Media/Publications

• Mayblin, L. (2011). Dall’Inghilterra. «Non siamo più la generazione post-ideologica: noi oggi siamo il cuore della resistenza», Menodizero (Italian online sociological journal), 13.02.11
• Mayblin, L. (2010). Beyond the Hostile State: Imagining Universities of Sanctuary. Oxford Monitor of Forced Migration, 1(1), 35-40
• Mayblin, L. (1 Dec 2010). We are no longer the post-ideological generation; we are now the generation at the heart of the resistance. Campaign for the Public University (www.publicuniversity.org.uk), republished by The Sociological Imagination (http://sociologicalimagination.org/) and the International Sociological Association blog 'Universities in Crisis' (www.isa-sociology.org/universities-in-crisis)
• Mayblin, L. (13 Oct 2010) University of Sanctuary. The Sociological Imagination: http://sociologicalimagination.org/
• Mayblin, L. (15 July 2010) Thinly Veiled Persecution. The Sociological Imagination: http://sociologicalimagination.org/
• Mayblin, L. (25 June 2010) New Politics? Even for Asylum Seekers? The Sociological Imagination: http://sociologicalimagination.org/
• Mayblin, L. (2010). The Problem of Riches: An interview with Professor Karen Rowlingson. Network (BSA magazine)
• Mayblin, L. (2010). Dear Prime Minister. Policy World, Summer edition.
• Mayblin, L. (2010). Historically European, Morally Universal? The 1951 Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees. e-International Relations [online journal], available at: www.e-ir.info
• Mayblin, L. (2009). Another Sociology is Possible: An interview with Boaventura De Sousa Santos. Network (BSA magazine), Issue 103
• Mayblin, L. (November 2009). Interview with Professor Boaventura De Sousa Santos. BSA Postgraduate Forum Podcast, available on itunes.